Beautiful new preprint from Antonio and Andres on the evolution of eye loss in spiders! Find the full thread below for details on unequal losses across parallel visual systems, possible regains of eyes, 1000s of surveyed species, ecological and developmental clues, and a gratuitous dinosaur emoji 🦕

New perspective on the evolutionary potential of symbiotic interactions! Is there something special about symbiosis that leads to new traits and adaptations? If so, how would we know and how would this work? academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...

Consider your sign to stop and stare at logs a little more often because just LOOK at this glorious velvet mite! (Third photo is where it was spotted.) 📷 jeremyhegge on iNaturalist 📍 Australia 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Oh, you're tired after taking care of your one kid for the entire day?

Day 13 #InsectAdvent & have you decorated the tree yet? What about this tree? This in fact the hairy whorls of a male Chaoborid or Phantom midge’s antennae. Packed full of sensors, this ‘tree’ is more than a mere decoration @royentsoc.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social

Super thankful for the opportunity to share a bit more about this eccentric discovery! The wonderful Melissa Mayer captures the story behind this fun find perfectly 🫶

Rafflesia hasseltii: a plant seen more by tigers than people. Watching this flower open by night was the closest thing to magic:

🚨New paper! 🚨 @jasminealqassar.bsky.social led this work on the silk glands of the pantry moth. These two long tubes inside the caterpillar continuously make a ton of silk How does this special organ work? www.cell.com/iscience/ful... @cp-iscience.bsky.social 🧵THREAD🧵

Do you work (/want to work) with caterpillars? Or sensory systems? Or BOTH?! Well good golly do we have the paper for you! We explain the senses that caterpillars have, what they use them for, and how anthropogenic sensory pollution might be messing it all up 🐛 doi.org/10.1007/s003...

Imagine a drop of ancient resin. Inside is an insect, trapped for 53 million years, so well preserved it looks like it might twitch back into life. These amber fossils offer us a breath-taking glimpse into long vanished ecosystems. But there’s a catch

🎃🕷️Tick or treat? Just in time for spooky season... I found a tick on an electric eel in the MCZ collections. Not even the fish are safe! Check it out here: doi.org/10.1093/jme/...

Reposting for the Monday morning scrollers! Funded PhD opportunity with me @multipleye-lab.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social - spiders, their eyes, and their babies under long- and short-term light pollution!