I need you to understand how pretty my cat is. Will I become the annoying cat dad who shares photos of their pet on their main science account? Absolutely.

Being sick for over a week and having to balance lectures, students, research, writing, and other projects has been a “fun” experience. Do not recommend the negative modifier.

How do you spend part of your Friday night? I had a lovely time in the @commondescentpod.bsky.social’s love Q&A chat about mimicry. And now? Borderlands 4

Everyone remembers that mason jar trend from a few years back? Yeah, we do if a little differently. About 300 C. mac pupa in here. They’ll eclose in about 2-3 days, but I have to sort them for the PORCD experiment first. #entomology #forensicentomology

It's LIVE CAM TIME. Fat bear week is upon us! explore.org/livecams/bro... The live cam sets have a "meditation" highlights reel and wow do they know their audience.

I decided that today is the day students are going to learn about regionality and regional data sets and how the same species can develop at different rates at the same temp due to where they're from. They're used to working with N. American data sets, let's see how they do with S. American.

Meet Bathydoris, a deep-sea nudibranch that ROV pilots filmed almost two miles beneath the surface on an abyssal plain east of the Río de la Plata Canyon during the #uruguaysub200 expedition. 🎥ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute

This little butterfly has a whopping 229 pairs of chromosomes! That is, I think, the most of any multicellular animal described so far. www.the-scientist.com/an-elusive-b...

I was going to give a talk on disability and fieldwork at ESA this year. But. Uh. I’m getting married the week before. So it’ll have to wait for next time. Got a little overzealous in thinking I could make timing work.

These little chalcid wasps are my fave! And the color combo with the grass leaf goldenrod is just stunning! #insects

I do love catching up on entomology news and finding out about the weird behaviors flies do (yes, I’m biased towards Diptera). phys.org/news/2025-02... #entomology

I am having A Day (although granted it’s a lot better than some people) so here’s a flying shrimp. Ok really they’re called Hummingbird Clearwing Moths. They love this wild bergamot #invertebrates #NativePlants 🌿

@alexsmithants.bsky.social Would it be possible to be added to the 10th Entomology Starter Pack?

@tkingfisher.com I have friends DMing me on FB about the email thing. I swear you have my right email now!

A 12-year effort by entomologists in Iowa solves mysteries about an elusive planthopper, Fitchiella robertsonii, including key host plants and environments. The 219 specimens they caught are 90% of those ever collected by scientists, marking a leap forward for potential conservation of the species.

I guess I have to be more active here and talk about the gross side of entomology more. Hopefully y’all are okay with me just being upset about all things entomology not being accurately portrayed in various media 😅

Devil’s advocate to this though. It’s “stinkbug” and not “stink bug” so it’s not a Hemiptera, but some weird hybrid insect. #entomology #grounded #grounded2

Every semester I get students who are absolutely terrified of insects. By the end of my class though they’re usually minoring, double majoring, or grabbing an ent certificate. Let’s see if that pattern holds this Fall.

I love Grounded and I'm enjoying Grounded 2. But @obsidian.net... we really gotta talk about your "stinkbug" model. I said it in the first game, and I'll say it here about the second. They don't have teeth or mouth parts like that. They have a rostrum, which is a piercing/sucking straw of doom

A new study confirms that two known species of subterranean termites in southern California are actually three. The new species, Reticulitermes rusti, joins R. hesperus and R. tibialis, and the distinction will allow for pest management strategies that are more specific to each.

I love entomology because we have terms like “egg burster” that we use and teach our students. It 100% sounds like something from DND or 40K.

A busy green Sweat Bee in a gorgeous glow #invertebrates 🌿 🐝 #BugSky

Nothing like having a meeting scheduled for the morning you get home from DragonCon (5 am btw) and the wifi goes out in the lab. I did get to inform one of my committee members about my PORCD research though (IYKYK). The thousand yard stare was worth it.

Hmmm what should I listen to on the way home? Oh look, @commondescentpod.bsky.social has an episode on decomposers 👀

Well DragonCon… It’s been real. I had an absolutely amazing time. Y’all loved my gross science and I look forward to doing it all again next year. #entomology #dragoncon

One last panel for me! Something I’ve been wanting to do for years. Science vs. Movies! #dragoncon #dragoncon2025

So excited for this panel! Let’s go learn about Bugs!

@dragoncon.org you showed up last night for Gross! I picked up that mic and you all went absolutely nuts! 2 hours of talking about gross science and ya’ll loved it! I’m so looking forward to next year. I’m so thankful to be able to do this and to my panelist and scitrack folks.

The new Deadpools

Finally got to see Hodgins, sign my straitjacket, and talk to him about forensic entomology. Told him about my work and research and he called me the “Real Life Hodgins”. I’ll take that compliment.

First panel at @dragoncon.org is “So, You like Bugs?” Looking forward to talking to everyone about entomology. #entomology #dragoncon

At one of the many stops on the way to @dragoncon.org we got to see this gorgeous mayfly.

I love entomology so much.

I just took pictures of some current research for the gross panel, and even I’m grossed out.

Alright Science, Bug, and Decomp Nerds of @dragoncon.org Here's the schedule! I managed to drag @rmcnealento.bsky.social along with me, so you get double the gross forensic entomology experience!

We’re going to have an amazing panel on bugs!

Not a stress fracture, thankfully. Apparently it’s a high ankle sprain. So guess I’ll be in a walking boot at DragonCon because these can apparently take 6 weeks to heal.

A week before DragonCon and I’m in the doctor’s office because my right foot decided now was when it needed to just give up. No clue what’s wrong. But it’s more puffed up than a dog that decided to eat some bees. But hey, maybe I’ll have a nifty scooter this time around.

PUMPED

How do I get him to come crash my Science is Gross panel which includes forensic entomology? Myself and one of the other panelists are both forensic entomologists. To say that Bones and its cast n crew has had a massive impact on all of us in the field is an understatement.

I’m told this is an action shot Mr me describing a “meaty water balloon” during today’s panel on forensic entomology. #killercon

Just got done giving my talk at #Killercon I absolutely loved telling y’all about my disgusting line of work. The groans and disgust noises will sustain me until #DragonCon

I'll be at #Killercon next Saturday for the first time. If you've ever been curious about forensic entomology, come see my talk at 12:30pm. Creepy Crawlies and Corpse Stories: The Science of Forensic Entomology

On the day Ozzy passed I was teaching a blood spatter analysis class to YAP campers at TAMU. I found out from one of them during an exercise of dropping blood from varying heights. We both had a moment and I had to say “look at what today is about: blood spatter. He’d want us to keep going”.

Science is Gross is back at @dragoncon.org this year! Yes, I will be talking about all the gross things that we do in the sciences with some fantastic fellow panelists. Some of whom might be with me on the Bugs and Super Heroes panel as well.

Generative AI makes me so tired. Apparently this was a photo that popped up for a colleague when she was looking for pictures of fleas.

You never know what you’ll find in the early morning when you’re checking traps. #entomology #imanentomologistJim #notanherpetologist

This photo fills me with glee.

Every year I have my students make memes that relate to vet/med entomology for extra credit. I blame @justinmcelroy.bsky.social and Sydney for this one. #entomology #strapachickentoit

We had our departmental banquet last night and the question came up “what do we do with all these balloons?” I decided to put them in my boss’s office. @adiegirl.bsky.social if it’s any consolation, everyone got really excited at the idea.