I'm happy to share our latest publication which records the first evidence of intraspecific variations in the venation of D. chrysippus. These variations are of taxonomic importance vis-a-vis the genus. doi.org/10.33307/ent...

Bye-bye butterflies. Since 1991, more than half of Europe's grassland butterflies have vanished, according to the European Environment Agency's grassland butterfly index. europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/byebye-...

Springer Nature has removed two studies by Max Planck. A bot may be to blame. www.science.org/content/arti...

BHL is featured in @theguardian.com's Age of Extinction series. The article highlights the extraordinary value of BHL and the urgent need to ensure it remains free and open into the future. Please read and share: www.theguardian.com/environment/... 🧪 🌎 📖 🔗 🐟 💚

Just start writing. My new post: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Duke of Burgundy numbers in Kent have increased 9000% over the last two decades thanks to nature recovery efforts! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I've been keeping this quiet for a while, but now's as good a time as any to announce: I have a book contract for a new textbook, Applied Evolutionary Medicine, with Princeton Univ Press. Core theme: "What, if anything, do medical practitioners do differently when they understand evolution"?

Our team at @arcadiascience.com is hiring! We're looking to hire a computational evolutionary biologist interested in asking how and why protein sequences/structures/functions differ across the tree of life 🧬 jobs.lever.co/arcadiascien... Please share widely!

🎉 Big news! Our WG4's first meeting report is now published in Evolutionary Applications! A milestone for our working group, check it out 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LepEU #10KLepGenomes #Genomics #Lepidoptera

academics trying to normalize acceptance of AI hallucinated citations in their field: do you seriously expect me to show my work and check my work me, baffled, a naïf, a fool: yes that’s why it’s called *your* *work*

This series of crow portraits, with others showing the nictitating eye lid in operation, were really satisfying. #BirdOfTheDay #ScrollBack #Favourites #Crows #Birds #Photography #Wildlife #Nature

PhD Funded Position in Medical Entomology at University of Basel, Switzerland A fully funded PhD in Medical Entomology at Swiss TPH offers hands-on research in mosquito ecology, vector control strategies, and global public health. Ideal for biology and epidemiology graduates.

Open #PhD #position on “Projecting the #human #impact on #biodiversity” (fully funded 4 years position) in my group @University Zurich & @eawag.bsky.social 🌐 🌍 📈 🦀 🐟 🌳 All #details & application instructions 🎯: apply.refline.ch/673277/1356/... ❗Thx for spreading the word / apply now!

New PhD position: Butterfly Evolution at High Elevations 🦋⛰️🧬 The project aims to understand the rapid evolution and adaptation of Andean white butterflies using genomics. DEADLINE: May 8, 2026 Start: Autumn 2026 (Czechia) More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/

Offering a free online class titled “how to ignore the thing you don’t like on the internet”

The horrors persist, but so do mushrooms

I am NOT saying there are not lots of interesting features in organisms. What I am saying is that just because something is interesting and seems to be important does not mean it came to be via natural selection and also does not mean you can immediately conclude that it always improves fitness.

Nice summary of long distance insect migration in the Guardian today with fancy graphics www.theguardian.com/environment/...

the "lost" species Monarda mexicana is still out there! Known from just 2 historical collections (most recent from the 1950s). Imagine my joy in stumbling on a picture of it on @inaturalist.bsky.social !!! We've now documented the first known modern populations and revived the species name:

📣The CETAF Scientific Research Working Group is organising an upcoming live webinar: "What Defines a Species in the Molecular Age? Delimitation and Diagnosis with DNA Barcodes" 📅 13 May | 14:00–16:00 CET 👉Registration is now open: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #Taxonomy #Systematics

"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?