Apropos of nothing: in the history of science, no major advance in our understanding of life, the universe, or anything has ever been a result of venture capitalism

DON’T STACK ROCKS IN STREAMS

Very glad to see Wired covering this. They did a solid ask-around with the #entomology community too. 🧪 I don't think people realize how big this problem has gotten and this is the most thorough examination of I've seen outside of the literature.

Why do treehoppers look so weird?! Our latest paper, out this week in @pnas.org, suggests a perhaps unexpected reason - static electricity ⚡ We show that treehoppers can detect the electrostatic cues of predators and that their crazy shapes may boost their electrosensitivity! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE. This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined. It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.

Seriously, do not buy, stream, or otherwise support of promote more Harry Potter bullshit. It is no longer theoretical - Rowling is funelling those wizard bucks into getting the law changed to actively oppress an already-vulnerable minority.

Thanks for the opportunity, Ajay. It's been an amazing journey getting to know more about these cool little ants! Stay tuned #Opisthopsis #strobeants #ozants #ozfauna

Excited to share this cool paper on the evolution of defensive signals in Amata moths!!! I played just a little role, but happy to have contributed in such an interesting piece of research! ⚠️

Varroa mites are spreading across Australia—posing a serious threat to honeybee colonies. Here's what beekeepers can do to protect their hives. #bee #honeybees #varroa #australia #agriculture theconversation.com/australian-h...

United States entomologists are rapidly losing jobs due to the current chaos. Saddest reality is funding their lifetime research, training, and salary would cost less than one celebrity endorsement deal. We effortlessly pay for glamour while this field starts to fade.

"The eyes, Chico. The eyes. The eyes don't lie."

It's published! The largest research work I've ever undertaken: Lords of the flies: dipteran migrants are diverse, abundant & ecologically important Published in Biological Reviews: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... Thanks so much to co-authors @koralwotton.bsky.social & Myles Menz 1/x

This beetle doesn't make sense, do you want to be slender or do you want to show off? 😅

News article about our recent paper in Nature on global impoverishment of natural vegetation by Conny Sattler (cosattler.com) and myself in @theconversation.com @aunz.theconversation.com theconversation.com/invisible-lo... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We left the lodge at 5AM today to look for this fancy boy and I managed to spot him. 😁Resplendent Quetzals are considered near-threatened due to habit loss. And that tail is real, no April Fools joke here. 🪶 San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica

We don't know much about these odd-looking Zasphinctus ants, except they seem to raid other ant nests, steal their larvae and eat them... Their narrow elongated bodies probably help them enter small galleries. #ants #myrmecology non #armyants #fourmis #science

Stunning ants!!!

All hail the ancient cosmic tardigrade!!!

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Planning for the automobile city focuses on saving time. Planning for the accessible city focuses on time well spent. Beyond mobility, Cervero et al., 2017

Una imagen vale más que mil palabras. La Argentina de Javier Milei.

A friend included this anti-acknowledgement section on her PhD thesis. She also added the proposition: “Systematic bullying and undermining of girls and women in STEM starts early on and is the reason why they do not stay in science and related fields.” Absurd we still need to go through this 🧪👩‍🔬

Isopod Culture

Ants of Australia: Only some of them will try to kill you.

Avoiding Amazon? Please share this helpful article and also comment with your own suggestions for when shopping local isn’t an option. Let’s assemble a community of healthy $ resources. www.rollingstone.com/product-reco...

In this world of shrinking research budgets, academic layoffs and failing universities, Elsevier is still making an obscene profit. If anything has radicalised me to green it's these numbers. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

Interested in doing a PhD on #insect #migration or #conservation at @monashuniversity.bsky.social i in #Melbourne, #Australia? If so, please feel free to email me. For international students, the application deadline is late March. shawanchowdhury.com/join-us/

The world is a messy place right now, but at least I can get some comfort that I've managed to keep these little insect eaters alive 🤗 #carnivorousplants #venusflytrap #pitcherplant #sundew

On #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience let me remind you that we are NOWHERE NEAR parity. A few examples. 1. Women are credited less in science than men. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ecuador is also under the treat of a far right self-centered nepo baby.

‘Clear signs of authoritarianism’: Ecuador’s ‘iron fist’ leader seeks re-election www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

A collection of handsome tortoise beetles (Cassidinae) 🐢🪲 1 Ischnocodia annulus "Ringed Tortoise Beetle", Belize, 2015 2 Aspidimorpha sp golden tortoise beetle, Mozambique, 2018 3 unknown metallic green tortoise beetle, Colombia, 2023 4 Deloyala guttata "Mottled Tortoise Beetle", Oklahoma, 2020

Elon Musk is a threat to mankind.

Democracy doesn’t mean whoever wins a slight plurality in the national vote gets to rewrite every American institution to satisfy their own whims. The president is not an elected king. If we let him become one, the project of American democracy is over.

If you see this quote with flowers from your gallery

It is *very* important to understand that Jews were never the only target of the 1930s Nazis and they are not the only targets of today’s Nazis. A Nazi salute is not only antisemitic. It is also racist, ableist, and queerphobic.

Australia approved clearing of ~26,000 hectares of #threatenedspecies habitat in 2024. At the same time, incentives for private land owners to protect or enhance habitat remain ineffective. This is a trajectory we must change for everyone’s sake.

Razed to dust, this is what Israel's apocalyptic erasure of Northern Gaza looks like. Palestinians are "returning" to nuclear-scale desolation.

Good times to seriously considering leaving Facebook and all its associated apps.

It took over two years for me to see my first elephant mosquito in Australia. Always an exciting sighting!!! Toxorhynchites speciosus, NSW 🦟

Dear #ISN members, neuroethologists & followers, the ISN council decided to agree that we delete our X account 👋 We will continue to update you here on #Bluesky & we look forward to creating a new #neuroethology community to discuss neurothology topics & research 🧠🧪 Please share in your networks 🙏

Meta literally created a LGBTQ exception for calling someone mentally ill as an insult. You can't do it for any other group except LGBTQ people.

Only 8 days left to apply for our fully-funded 4 years #PhD position in island biogeography for plants! Work with Prof Rampal Etienne and me at @unigroningen.bsky.social & Macquarie University in #Sydney. Don’t miss this unique opportunity! Please share widely!

Trump is an insurrectionist who has no legal right to be president, his administration is illegal; even if it wasn't he is a fascist that must be stopped. Democracy is a negotiation and if that negotiation leads to the collapse of democracy, stripping of human rights, then negotiations have failed.

A quick insect pinning tutorial featuring Brachyponera (needle ants)! (Also quickly saving/sharing here in case we lose TikTok) #entomology

In Australia, some #ants are specialised #termite hunters. Their paralysing venom and extreme speed are essential to escape the sharp mandibles of soldier termites. This was really difficult to film, their sting is very painful ! #insects #nature #science #macro #macrophotography #myrmecology