The question of how to distinguish species boundaries from intraspecific geographic variation is now more of an issue than ever in the genomic age. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

The infamous human bot fly (Dermatobia hominis). This specimen is from a rainforest in Honduras, deposited at the Biological Museum, Lund University. [MZLU 00131504] #Diptera #Oestridae 🪰

Many species not yet formally recognised may already be at risk of extinction. The findings underscore the urgent need for more fieldwork in understudied areas 📉 New paper out @consbiog.bsky.social by Farooq, Geldmann & Faurby👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #conservation #biodiversity

📢 A beetle outcompeting jaguars and vultures for carrion? In this #carrionecology study we recently published in Scientific Reports, we show that Coprphanaeus lancifer 🪲 buried >90% of the 🐹 carcasses deployed in terra firme Amazonian forests during the wet season! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

As the Arctic warms, mosquitoes—and the diseases they carry—float north. A recent study finds Jamestown Canyon virus and snowshoe hare virus present in mosquitoes in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of North America.

An integrative taxonomic treatment of the Mycetophilidae of Singapore, describing 98 new species of fungus gnat Now also with a brand new cover, featuring Integricypta fergusondavie gen. et sp. nov. Free download: doi.org/10.18476/202... @rudolf-meier.bsky.social @derschwingfliegen.bsky.social

Just out. Lots of muscid info packed into 1,341 pp. archive.org/details/be18...

Happy New Fungus Gnats! 🥂🦟🦟 Prof. Dalton Amorim and co-authors name 98 new species of Mycetophilidae from Singapore in a monograph just published in @integsyst.bsky.social The paper can be downloaded for free from the following link: tinyurl.com/342cs43t Enjoy! @rudolf-meier.bsky.social

Reflections on the evolving practice of systematic biology, a joy to write with Michael Donoghue for the upcoming 75th volume of Systematic Biology! academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...

With the coming of the holiday season and the beginning of #InverteFest, we wanted to wish our followers Happy Holidays and highlight some reindeer parasites in the process!

There is also a museum record, back in 1941, on Gasterophilus larvae infestation in lion: #NaturalHistoryCollection #Diptera #Oestridae

🐝🌏 An illustrated type catalogue of bee species collected by Alfred Russel Wallace and described by Frederick Smith from Southeast Asia @ejtaxonomy.bsky.social:

It’s a good day to talk about women scientists. Let’s also remember Margaret W. Rossiter, who died in August of this year. She coined the “Matilda Effect” (named after suffragist Matilda Gage), which describes bias against acknowledging women’s achievements.

#FlyFriday new revision of assassin-fly genus Acronyches Williston, 1908 (Asilidae: Leptogastrinae) with @ento-allan.bsky.social out - 4 new species from Central + South America - flies catch spiders in their web (see www.inaturalist.org/observations... doi doi.org/10.4289/0013... #asiloidflies

An eel donated to a natural history museum in 1873 had two ticks embedded in its skin, making it the first known instance of ticks parasitizing a fish. But it was only first documented this year, when a tick specialist identified the ticks and reported the case in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

🪰🐞🐝 There are roughly 212 holotypes in 10 insect orders from the Torrevillas collection that were used to describe new species, helped improve Philippine biodiversity knowledge, and advanced careers of entomologists across the globe: 🇺🇸🇦🇺🇧🇪🇬🇧🇨🇿🇳🇱🇵🇭🇩🇪🇭🇺🇮🇳🇮🇹🇯🇵🇸🇮🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/...

Oxford’s Rafflesia Messaging Sparks Debate Over Representation, Scientific Credit, and Global South Visibility:

Poof! Not a magic trick:

🦟🐍

Leonard L. Co

#FlyFriday beautiful dark-colored assassin fly Diogmites nigripennis (Macquart, 1847) (Asilidae: Dasypogoninae) with wasp prey - collected at La Selva, Costa Rica in 2010 - 1 of 125 species of assassin flies known from this lowland rainforest habitat - n2t.net/ark:/65665/3... #asiloidflies

The end of an era: the Tree of Life Web Project is going dark after 3 decades. Anyone interested in communicating phylogeny online should read David's account of goals, history, and future. @bembidion.bsky.social subulatepalpomere.com/2025/11/02/t...

#DAMA framework since 2014:

"Talking about #biodiversity without #taxonomy is like trying to build a puzzle without the pieces" Kate Evans works at the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre. In TETTRIs, she is leading the task of writing a blueprint for building taxonomic capacity.

New paper drop! 🚨 Led by my awesome postdoc @renamschweizer.bsky.social — we used genomics + museum DNA to explore the decline of Bombus franklini, a bee not seen in the wild since 2006 🐝 Now out in @PNASNews! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

🌱 Help secure the future of the Biodiversity Heritage Library! 🙏 Your donation will keep biodiversity knowledge open, connected, and growing, and fund the dedicated staff who make it all possible. 📖 👩‍💻 🌱 🌏 🧪 🔗 Donate: ancrywkv.donorsupport.co/page/BHLDona... #BHLTransition #ILoveBHL

@inaturalist.bsky.social www.inaturalist.org/observations...

The reviewer crisis: data from the journal Biological Invasions: "Reviewer acceptance rates dropped steadily over the past two decades. Early-career researchers had the highest acceptance rates, while senior scholars were least likely to accept review invitations." link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Have just read this impressive paper on the impact of #iNaturalist on biodiversity research. It makes fascinating reading. H/t to @rdmpage.bsky.social for sharing. academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biaf104/8185761 #HighlyRecommended

Extinction is such a heart-breaker:

#FlyFriday Apiocera pica Norris, 1936 (Apioceridae, USNMENT00832111) from Wandoo National Park, Western Australia collected in 2011 - more info here n2t.net/ark:/65665/3... #asiloidflies #USNMDiptera

Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans! sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...

Yesterday was the 130th anniversary of the #ICZN, the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature. It was founded during the zoology congress in Leiden, organized by the then director the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Frederik Jentink.

Protecting California from New World Screwworm: 🪰 #Diptera #Calliphoridae

Take a hike: #MuirWoods #HalfMoonBay #MountDiablo

International shipments and museum loans: some helpful, aggravating notes from Chris on the ECN listserv that I'm leaving here for future reference.

#FlyFriday rarely collected mydas-fly species Agaperemius hirtus Hesse, 1969 (Mydidae: Syllegomydinae; NMNW-H42889) - species is only known from 3 specimens - male from southern Namibia - more detail at @gbif.org record www.gbif.org/occurrence/1... #asiloidflies

howler monkey’s babies #myiasis #Diptera #Oestridae

“Political and biological reality checks:”

If “they were to come back like they were, it would put 90% of the cattle people out of business,” #myiasis #parasite #agriculture #Diptera

South American bot fly #types (#Diptera: #Oestridae) in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, #Brazil:

Fruit fly males of Themara lunifera face off in Mount Makiling. #Diptera #Tephritidae 🪰🪵🌳 🎥: A. Dupo

📢 The #BiodiversityHeritageLibrary is entering a bold new chapter – and we need your help! Today we release our official Call for Support. We’re seeking new hosts for BHL’s staff, infrastructure, and services. Learn more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/06/tran... #BHLTransition #ILoveBHL

🧪 “There’s just no moths on that sheet.” @tessairini.bsky.social writes in the @theguardian.com about #InsectDecline with #DanJanzen, #WinnieHallwachs and the caterpillars of the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste #ACG in #CostaRica @gdfcf.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

🌳🧫Extinction of experience among ecologists:

Human-Insect Entanglement: Past, Present, and Future

Forensic Entomology class:

Thanks for this, BioLogos folk: "We are convinced that supporting science is not just compatible with Christian faith — it is one of its modern expressions. ... Let us affirm science not out of political loyalty, but because it serves life, health, and justice." biologos.org/post/an-open...

#FlyWeek spaceship-like Namibotites argentata Barraclough, 2000 (Ulidiidae, picture-winged fly) from #Namib Desert - specimen USNMENT01518331 - this fly lives exclusively on !nara plants (www.inaturalist.org/taxa/84992-A...) that are endemic to dunes of Namib Sand Sea