I just saw a caterpillar pick poop off its butt and throw it at another.

One of the fun things about tidepooling is running into other people who like looking closely at the weird wonders of the world -- a gaggle of local science teachers were crawling over the rocks too, and one of them showed me this orange-peel doris (Acanthodoris lutea) (@maureenbug.bsky.social!)

BUY A T-SHIRT GET A FREE HUSBAND TODAY www.redbubble.com/i/poster/Ter...

Interesting update from the person who first called it out in the forums: "@procyonloiter and I just had a 3-hour in-person talk with @loarie and I am delighted to say that it has completely alleviated my concerns around this entire issue."

I get that people are deeply annoyed by iNat right now, but despite its deep flaws, I hope people can see that a better iNat, both the site functionality and the community, is worth fighting for. Here's my personal perspective.

okay so now we have a bit more clarity and idk, it's not the *worst* case scenario and there's a world where this could even be a genuinely interesting use case (after all, having those things pointed out is key to learning IDs). but i'm still not overall thrilled bc...

OMG back in 2020 I tried so hard to find velvet worms in Indonesia, from historical data and living observations, but found nothing. Finally some people took photos of them in 2023-2024 www.inaturalist.org/observations...

@asm.org this better not be anticipatory obedience. I have 5 lab members planning on going to ASM microbe this year. I will absolutely pivot to another meeting if ASM gives in to anti-DEI efforts.

I’m on one of ASMs IDEAA committees and we have received 0 communication from ASM staff on why this is happening. I had to find out via social media. Extremely disappointing.

SPINY sea cucumber anus but without the teeth! flic.kr/p/2i4dby4

Stare not too deeply into the Sea cucumber anus for it stares back into you! flic.kr/p/Du75MM

Brilliant capture of this crab by @PacificKlaus that LIVES IN THE ANAL bulb of this fire urchin! flic.kr/p/2hHwDps

OH! is it over yet? Sea Cucumber POOPY time! flic.kr/p/23z3tkJ

Sea cucumber POOPING TO DISCO www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA3a...

yes. MOAR Sea cucumber pooping! www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUs2...

A 17 year old video of "sea cucumber shitting"! Classy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr79...

and even MOAR sea cucumber "shitting" www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uVD...

oh! and a "reels" tiktok type Parastichopus pooping! youtube.com/shorts/9wmEZ...

Hi! I've seen an uptick in people sharing/following my (no longer updated) scraper block list. I'm making a pinned post with the (currently updated) block list that @franzanth.bsky.social has been maintaining. Please follow this one! bsky.app/profile/fran...

quick summary: - yes it's a real crab - no it doesn't have the illuminati eye irl - yes we started a religion the real crab: japanesedecapods.web.fc2.com/brachyura/Pa...

What a shame. Really didn't want to see genAI from APOD or NASA. Using this tech signals carelessness, disregard for accuracy, & disregard for people & the environment, among other negatives.

📌Welcome to the bat-feed! A place for posts by bat-scientists, ecologists, photographers etc. DM me to ask to be added as a contributor. Then use the 🦇 emoji for posts you want to show up in the feed. Rules in the next post: bsky.app/profile/did:...

Hello, I've officially moved the Content Scrapers blocklist to its own dedicated account. The old list will stay for the time being, but you'll need to manually re-subscribe to the new list if you want to stay up to date with the latest additions to the blocklist.

On the third day of #Crustmas, my true love gave to me Three triangular Phrynolambrus with a bajillion spikes

On the first day of #Crustmas, my true love gave to me One Uca fiddler crab from west of Panama City

New custom stamp just dropped 👀👀👀 (thanks @maureenbug.bsky.social and Jonelle !) #VEGA24

Attention: ALL OF ASIA Asia is home to rich, yet largely underdocumented biodiversity. This Fri-Sun, we're having a CONTINENT-WIDE community effort to record the wildlife around us. Join us in this historic effort—there's a high chance you'd be the first person ever to observe a new species.

I once vacationed with @maureenbug.bsky.social and there was a giant female one blocking our door and I named her Philly Cheesesteak the prophecy finally came true

I'm an ELDER now

In this house, we still follow the old ways.

it's so wild to me that the #InverteFest demographics are now so different, nobody is aware of the Dorito Crab lore anymore. thanks, twitterpocalypse.

#InverteFest is here (25-31 Aug), post your invertebrate art with the hashtag. Reminder that this season, we're also compiling YOUR artwork into a downloadable ebook. If you want in, submit your art here: docs.google.com/forms/d/1EZ2...

bay area, earthquake time

my favorite kind of photo caption is when the photographer glosses over an unmissable elephant in the room to direct all attention to their pet subject.

mammalogist @batgirlsusan.bsky.social has confirmed that cow is moosang therefore all of artiodactyla needs to follow this naming convention from now on

More December tidepooling pics: my best shots of Hermissenda opalescens (opalescent nudibranch), and my favorite nudi species! Half Moon Bay, CA. 📸Olympus TG6

CANADIAN PALS and people with VPNs: this very silly documentary airs tonight on the CBC, if you want to hear me once again talk about bug butts (while wearing my very best lobstershirt) gem.cbc.ca/the-nature-o...

An adorable little specimen of Hermissenda opalescens - perhaps our most beautiful California nudibranch (sea slug). Photographed last month during some tidepooling near Half Moon Bay, CA. 📸Olympus TG6

butt doc coming this month

hello I am back from the dead to announce that the 2023 hank card signup form is now open: forms.gle/eMNdofwsWF5f... I'll probably put in the printing order next week, so sign up soon if you want one, thanks!

This is so good. The article focuses on Europe, but surely @kellybrenner.bsky.social and @maureenbug.bsky.social are at the forefront of popular nudibranching too 🦑

#MicroSky We had a special guest in our lab today - #nudibranch Peltodoris atromaculata

hello I am back from the dead to announce that the 2023 hank card signup form is now open: forms.gle/eMNdofwsWF5f... I'll probably put in the printing order next week, so sign up soon if you want one, thanks!

Happy Halloween 🎃

🚨 New paper alert 🚨 microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... Here, Clement leverages paired metaG and metaT to look at phage diversity and activity across seasons in a mountainous soil (in the East River watershed).

My friend and I dressed up her elderly pug as a nudibranch and literally no one got it 🤣😭

hello, I'm still on a bsky/social media break-ish thing, but checking in to share my baby

Girls will say “I know a spot” then take you here

the first full bsky #InverteFest has been AMAZING so far 😍 shout out to @franzanth.bsky.social for leading it!!

Unicorns do exist, but they have eight legs. 🦄 Meet the arachnids known as daddy longlegs, harvesters, or opilionids. This fancy one is from Malaysia, shot by Bernard Dupont. 🧪