"Apatura ilia" 💜 Photography by Rita Barbie [FB] in Piedmont, Italy 🇮🇹 Apatura ilia, the lesser purple emperor, is a species of butterfly native to most of Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is named for its similarity to purple emperor butterflies #butterflies #purple #nature #photography

MLK Jr. said America suffers not just from "the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people." Remember this.

Do you study disinformation or want to start working in that area? Come to the DSI June 15-18th with @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @katestarbird.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, @rcalo.bsky.social, @naomioreskes.bsky.social, @emmaspiro.bsky.social, and many more. disinfoinstitute.org

As we all settle back in at home after an amazing #ssb2026 in Baton Rouge, it seems fitting to share this recent pub from @mbomaaaron.bsky.social where he writes about the utility of taxonomic education. Aaron was a @systbiol.bsky.social mentee and so it is very exciting to see this work of his out!

Finally got some photos of Australia’s “blue ant”, Diamma bicolor, which is not an ant at all but a shockingly large metallic blue thynnid wasp, wingless and solitary, that hunts mole crickets. Been meaning to shoot this thing for years.

I'm happy to announce that my paper, which makes a case for the enduring utility of taxonomy in biological research, has officially been published (open access). Gratitude to my mentor @oschwery.bsky.social who took time to read the initial drafts. qubeshub.org/community/gr...

Most extinctions today are ‘dark extinctions’….species that vanish before they’re described, monitored, or counted. No database can record what was never discovered. Biology is not accounting, and absence of paperwork is not absence of extinction. news.arizona.edu/news/extinct...

😎🪴🌵 good morning

Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.

If you're a #teacher interested in a great #openaccess write up on reading #phylogenetic trees, check out www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/system... created by @jonhendricks.bsky.social and Elizabeth Hermsen.

UPS bugs mating

Against a dark backdrop the colours of a mandarin duck show beautifully. #birds #photography

My main PhD work @monteirolab.bsky.social is now in @natecoevo.nature.com! We found a Hox gene promoter that helps butterflies🦋adjust their wing eyespots in response to seasonal temperatures🍃🍂, shedding light on the evolutionary origin of phenotypic plasticity. 1/9 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Tuileries Garden, Paris, France 🇫🇷 Once the royal gardens of the Louvre Palace, the Jardin des Tuileries is where Parisians have strolled for centuries beneath perfectly aligned trees 🍂🏛️ Photography by Julian Petrillo julianontheroute [IG] #autumn #palace #garden #outdoor #photography

Marry someone who says: -I love you -I support your dreams -Of course we can go insect collecting -No you haven’t taken too many bug photos -No I don’t mind looking for bugs 24 hours a day -Yes you can buy another tarantula

Master's degree position at Towson University with Daniel Caetano on macroevolutionary and phylogenetic comparative methods! Daniel is an awesome human and a great mentor, share with your students! caetanods.weebly.com/join-the-lab...

I'm looking for PhD students to join the lab starting August 2026. We study the evolution of insect chemical signals so if you're interested in evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, molecular biology, behavior, or genetics, this could be a good fit for you! More info here: tinyurl.com/mrxchwfm

I am recruiting graduate students to begin August 2026. Apply by Nov 15th!

Know anyone looking for a funded MS thesis project focused on native fish conservation? Send them this ad. NDOW and U. of Nevada-Reno are going to be learning more about this newly described species. (Note that the application deadline is quickly approaching.)

Probably the swamp dotted border butterfly (Mylothris bernice rubricosta). Oddly, on my way back, 30+ found dead in the stream.

⏳ Just under a month to go! 🌱 BHL’s Call for Support soft closes 31 Aug. That’s when we begin reviewing offers. Hosting, funding, services – every contribution counts. Help shape BHL’s future: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/06/tran... #BHLTransition #OpenScience 🧪

✨ The Bernhardt Lab at the University of Guelph is recruiting graduate students for 2026! Join us! We have several fully funded grad positions available ✨ Please spread the word! www.bernhardtlab.org/join-us #CSEE2025

Chris Judge’s “A Daily Cloud” project began in 2020, born from quiet days in the garden during lockdown. With simple lines and a touch of imagination, he turned everyday skies into playful scenes - one cloud at a time. [1/3] Credits: adailycloud [FB] #clouds #creative

If you are interested in biodiversity in deep time, check out my new preprint with @rachelwarnock.bsky.social and @dralexdunhill.bsky.social! We review methods of quantifying diversity and diversification, using the fossil record and phylogenies with extinct tips 🐚🦕📊 doi.org/10.32942/X2D...

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...

This is a very special moth found in the Amazon basin. Smicropus longalis (according to iNat experts). I'm not sure if much is known about this species. Mitú, Vaupes, Colombia #moths #bugsky #invertebrates 🌿 #moth 🪲

Join SSE, @asn-amnat.bsky.social & @systbiol.bsky.social in a Week of Action for NSF! Call and write congress and engage with colleagues, friends and family about the importance of NSF funding! Our Media Tool can help you get started: shorturl.at/i7WfU #WithoutNSF #SaveNSF #SupportNSF

Fractal cabbage

1. Quick—which of these shapes is different from the others?

RStudio hasn't been running on my laptop for a long time. I've tried uninstalling it multiple times, changing versions, but it just freezes on startup every single time. How can I fix this? None of the tips I got from the web fixed it. Help. 🧪.

An early spring blackberry looper moth rests on a Texas bluebonnet leaf. Austin, Texas, USA.

Plant some native wildflowers people. Help save butterflies and other pollinators! theconversation.com/butterflies-... Pollinator-Friendly Native Plant Lists: xerces.org/pollinator-c...

Do you want to see a Very Good Snail? This is Platymma tweediei from upland rainforests of Peninsular Malaysia. It's an absolute chonk. These pic ©moonriverlodge & ©sokgee (CC by-NC). More pics here: www.inaturalist.org/taxa/542416-...

Three butterflies and a colourful moth to brighten your last Sunday of the year.

In case you haven't seen anything cute today. 😅😅.

A hill I will die on

So here is a starter pack of African scientists and researchers across disciplines. It will continue to grow as I find more people and more migrate to this platform but gotta start somewhere 😊. go.bsky.app/GixA4xP

A little starter pack for fans of biological systematics. I’d love to gather more people and organisations- if that’s you please let me know :) go.bsky.app/GCP9Um

My entire team wrote an opinion paper about Common misconceptions of speciation research. Each section is written by 1-2 team members. The bulk of the writing happened during two writing retreats. It was a lot of fun and I am very happy with the result. academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

Nocturnes – trailer youtu.be/u7M7hsfqjQg?...

It seems to me that the time is ripe for a Bluesky thread about how—and maybe even why—to befriend crows. (1/n)

.. beyond the rewarding exchange, in our case it was also at least partly responsible for @mbomaaaron.bsky.social giving his first talk at @evolmtg.bsky.social #Evol2024 (the recording of which you should totally still check out if you have missed it!) bsky.app/profile/osch...

Definitely had a very rewarding year of monthly mentoring meetings with @mbomaaaron.bsky.social and strongly encourage anyone (mentor or mentee) to consider joining for the coming year... @systbiol.bsky.social (deadline next week) ...

Great talk by @mbomaaaron.bsky.social earlier today on his MSc work exploring variation in wing venation of Danaus butterflies! If you missed it, make sure to check out the recording later 😉 @systbiol.bsky.social #Evol2024

And we're back on! cran.r-project.org/web/packages...

#TheEmpiresMustFall

Tomorrow is #India National Science Day and I'm once again excited to nerd about butterflies 🦋 to strangers all day while showing off our lab's collection.

(1/3) Congrats @hwkmthcrspr.bsky.social for his new preprint showing how cis-elements of the ivory lncRNA control pigmentation and seasonal morphs in butterflies. Check out these CRISPR summer/autumn mosaics! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Decided to add two new pictures next to Darwin and Gould. 😅😅.