JUST IN: Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.

Amidst the craziness that is being a #newPI and teaching classes, we also have four children and are renovating a house. Living life at the fullest. This evening I'm taking a break from the rate race: just a dinner & evening stroll 👌

Incredibly proud of this manuscript. Two reviews came back with no – no! – input other than praise for our writing. This is my PhD student Libelje's first chapter presenting the first checklist of fungi from #Honduras. So excited to seeing this published! 🍄❤️ #LFEE #LuminaQuaeruntur #newPI

Our group discussion during the first class on #WritingScience revealed many good and bad habits to writing. Fun to see what works for some but doesn't for others. @ds-ugent.bsky.social @michieldegroot.bsky.social

Seeing Rhodotus palmatus (common name: wrinkled peach) in Białowieża National Park this week reminded me that I should finalize an old manuscript on this fungus in the USA. Spoiler: American collections of R. palmatus are a different species! #studentproject #summerschool #taxonomy 🍄🍑

Thrilled to announce that the special issue on fungal #conservation that @cfemycolab.bsky.social and I are co-editing for the @britmycolsoc.org.uk c.org.uk journal Fungal Ecology is open for submissions! www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

Reflections after #mbkceesme2025: the Science Communication round table with Svetlana Ugarcina Perovic (@svetlanaup.bsky.social), Mary Allen, Danny Haelewaters & Christina Pavloudi was inspiring - a reminder that science is also about sharing knowledge. Thanks @mikrobiokosmos.bsky.social! #edusky

We took a hike in the strict protected area deep in Białowieża Forest, and found the beautiful – and rare – Rhodotus palmatus, the wrinkled peach (among others)! 🇵🇱🍄 #fieldmycology

On my way to Białowieża Forest to help in the #FieldMycology summer school 'from fungal morphology to genotype'. This is the 5th edition, and my 2nd time participating as teacher. Very excited to be in one of the last remaining parts of the ancient forest once covering northeastern Europe.

Mycena citriformis is a pathogenic fungus causing leaf spots on coffee plants. It also infects stems, leaves, and fruits of other plants. And it is a hotspot for enzymes that break down pectin, a complex plant fiber. I learnt this from Dr. Lene Lange at #mbkceesme2025 @mikrobiokosmos.bsky.social

Jimmy Kimmel: "The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from their job. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke."

Collega Francis Meerburg en ik schreven een opiniestuk over #biopiraterij voor @eoswetenschap.bsky.social. Van kurkuma, de Afrikaanse San-bevolkingsgroep en basmatirijst, tot wat jij kan doen als consument. #scicomm www.eoswetenschap.eu/natuur-milie...

The work reports on abiotic factors influencing the parasite-host interactions of a microfungus & the invasive harlequin ladybird (#Harmonia axyridis). @michieldegroot.bsky.social @adriaenstim.bsky.social @dhaelewa.bsky.social @teamlaboul.bsky.social @inbo.be Photo credit: Trey Wardlaw (CC-BY-NC)

Why might one use a hotdog roller in research? Have a read of this new #OpenAccess research in #RESEcolEnt and find out! Effects of #temperature & #humidity on the presence & prevalence of a common fungal #parasite on an invasive ladybird doi.org/10.1111/een.70014 Video courtesy of article authors

The lab is looking for a (voluntary) Data Specialist! beetlehangers.org/2025/09/20/l... #database #LFEE #TeamLaboul

Environmental challenges, like extreme weather events & critical changes in Earth systems, remain a priority, underlining the importance of risk mitigation in an interconnected world.🌐⚠️ —WEF Global Risks Report 2025 https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/global-risks-report-2025-bleak-predictions/

This past month I have been called vile, petulant, unreasonable, and disrespectful. I gotta make sure I remember all this. Quite a list already.

Always something going on in Bruges. Now they're placing ... a huge spider on the Belfry? ⚫️🟡🔴

The only known extinct species of the beetle subfamily Catopocerinae (Leiodidae), Archaeocerus uenoi Perreau, 2019, is redescribed. Learn more here: doi.org/10.3897/subt... #extinction #fossils #taxonomy ‪@dhaelewa.bsky.social @taxonexpeditions.bsky.social @michieldegroot.bsky.social

🍄Microfungi on insects🍄 Fungi in the genus Hesperomyces are associated exclusively with ladybirds, visible as yellowish-greenish elongated balloons. We aim to map them in Europe and describe #newspecies. Join the #FunDive campaign! #Biodiversa fun-dive.eu/en/get-invol...

So excited for Monae Taylor from Western Kentucky University to defend her Master's thesis research today! Monae has been working with us since 2023, catching bats in Panama, Sardinia, and Czechia. 🦇🪰🍄 #TeamLaboul #microfungi #NSFfunded

📣New paper alert📣 @michieldegroot.bsky.social ran laboratory experiments at the University of South Bohemia, which revealed that abiotic factors DO significantly affect parasitism of Harmonia axyridis by Hesperomyces harmoniae. Congratulations! Read more: doi.org/10.1111/een.... #TeamLaboul

Doing some actual lab work again. Refreshing! #newPI #LFEE

On Tuesday, Mary Allen @dhaelewa.bsky.social @cpavloud.bsky.social and I will be discussing SCIENCE COMMUNICATION 🎤 Full program: afea.eventsair.com/mbkceesme202...

So excited for my student Aimée Blondelle as she is getting ready for her PhD interview next week. Send lots of positive energy to her! 🙏 #TeamLaboul

Een tijdje geleden werd ik geïnterviewd in het kader van de cursus "Communicating Effectively" die ik samen met @robindevroe.bsky.social ga geven voor Nova Academy. De video is hier te zien: youtu.be/0I0ceynHGLg?... Inschrijven voor de cursus kan hier: nova-academy.be/en/programme...

During this evening's meetings with @jonathancazabonne.bsky.social and the @msafungi.bsky.social Electronic Communication Committee I will be having a Belgian beer. Much needed because, what a day. #newPI #academiclife 🇧🇪🍺

If you're looking to visit (a) herbarium collection(s), or improve or maintain small collections of plants/fungi/algae, consider applying for an @iaptglobal.bsky.social Research Grant or Small Collections Grant! Applications for the 2026 round will open soon. www.iaptglobal.org/grants

Some lab updates, which you should read while listening to 'Zoutelande' by BLØF and Geike Arnaert. www.dannyhaelewaters.com/lab-updates-... 🍄 #LFEE #TeamLaboul

I found a copy of my bachelor's thesis again. So this is the first time I am seeing my bachelor's thesis (2008), Master's thesis (2011), and PhD dissertation (2018) together ❤️ So many hours went into writing these! I'mma keep them close now.

I started this #Mycologists Starter Pack, aiming to get all professional fungal researchers on BlueSky in one place. DM if you want to be added. go.bsky.app/UMrVSsp

What is really cool about this finding is that this is a very rare species in Europe! It is on the Red Lists of 12 European countries, and was proposed as one of 33 fungal species for protection under the Bern Convention. #FunDive #FungalConservation

And look at these ascomata of Xylaria longipes, or Dead Moll's Fingers! When cut open, you can see the white and sterile stroma on the inside and the blackish perithecia, closed fruitbodies producing ascospores, on the outer margin. Just beautiful! In Zoutelande, #TheNetherlands 🍄🇳🇱

Myriostoma coliforme, the saltshaker earthstar (or pepper pot). A beautiful observation from Zoutelande in the Netherlands for #FunDive. 🍄🧂🇳🇱

What a week! #newPI 🍄 - Libelje submitted our Honduran checklist paper - drafted a manuscript on priorities for citizen science in mycology - Aimée started preparing for her PhD interview - planned fieldwork in #Brunei - started finalizing our #TeamLaboul best practices paper on #Laboulbeniomycetes

Shoutout to my PhD student Libelje Mortier who finalized her first PhD chapter, the #checklist of fungi for Honduras, and submitted it to #MycoKeys! A huge effort with the help of many, including @curataceae.bsky.social and the amazing Meike Piepenbring. #LFEE #LuminaQuaeruntur 🍄

This #FungiFriday, Fungarium Collections Manager Lee Davies returned from a week in Belgium at the “Arthropod–Fungal Associations: From Parasites to Pathogens” workshop, where he delivered a talk on preserving and curating this fascinating group. This got us thinking of what we have seen at Kew! 👇

This is our former #TeamLaboul member. Please donate if you can! #SlavaUkraini 🇺🇦

My Ukrainian friend and former student Anna reached out to me with an important request. She is a medical location team member in Sumy region in #Ukraine. She uses a Starlink Mini kit to detect FPV drones. Now she is asking for #donations to help cover monthly costs. Get in touch if you can help! 🇺🇦

My Ukrainian friend and former student Anna reached out to me with an important request. She is a medical location team member in Sumy region in #Ukraine. She uses a Starlink Mini kit to detect FPV drones. Now she is asking for #donations to help cover monthly costs. Get in touch if you can help! 🇺🇦

Leaving the beautiful Bruges for České Budějovice this morning. Ready for a busy week of administration, lab duties, and meetings! #newPI #TeamLaboul #LFEE

📣🍄🦇🍄🦇🍄📣 I am looking for a postdoctoral researcher for my lab in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia. We study biodiversity monitoring, ecology, conservation, and microbiology. Some of our work deals with bats, most with fungi! Email at danny dot haelewaters at gmail dot com if interested. #TeamLaboul #newPI

In my new book, The Urban Naturalist, I talk about inspiring community scientists like Graham Moates, who used his plastic cleanups to discover that, in the UK, 3 million mammals every year die inside discarded bottles and cans. His paper: lnkd.in/er8u49s8

It's no longer "enough" to know about seabirds. You also have to know about tracking, genetics, stable isotopes, contaminants, plastics, population modelling..... And consequently doing none of them terribly well

Get involved in mapping #Hesperomyces across Europe and become part of #TeamLaboul! @michieldegroot.bsky.social

🍄 As is tradition for MSA, we're hoping to highlight a student-designed logo for #MSAfungi26 in Portland, Oregon. Our theme is Bridging Mycology Across Communities and Disciplines. Tap into your creative side and submit a logo design for consideration. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

📣Submit your symposium & workshop proposals for #MSAfungi26 in Portland, Oregon now! Email your proposal (with title, organizers, rationale, speakers, and budget) to the Program Chair, Julia Kerrigan, at jkerrig[at]clemson.edu. Theme: "Bridging Mycology Across Communities and Disciplines"

(4/4) 🧬 Is your lab genome sequencing biodiversity? Join the global movement to sequence all eukaryotic life on Earth 🌍 Be part of the Genome Revolution 🚀—a once-in-a-generation effort to build the genetic library of life. 🔗 Reach out today, let’s sequence biodiversity, together! 🐛🌿🦎

(3/4) 🧬 Let’s decode life, together. 🔍🌱🌊 @ergabiodiv.bsky.social | @vertebrategenomes.bsky.social | @kurakulabmsm.bsky.social | @atlasea.bsky.social | @biogeneurope.bsky.social | @wiseancestors.bsky.social | @rodent2k.bsky.social | @sangerinstitute.bsky.social | @ggbnoutreach.bsky.social |

(2/4) 🧬 A global eukaryotic genome library 📚 is the foundation for discovery and innovation 💡. It enables scientists to explore life’s diversity 🪸 and develop bold solutions to global challenges like climate change 🌡️, food security 🌾, disease outbreaks 🦠, and biodiversity loss 🐾.