Millipede fans rejoice: we published our revision of Apheloria! This is the most common cherry millipede genus, but its taxonomy has been riddled with nebulous subspecies names. No longer! We clarify species limits and provide a distribution map. mapress.com/zt/article/v... @apheloria.bsky.social

They've already far surpassed the new 177,000 minimum Danielle Smith set up for her buddies to make a separatist referendum easier. If they keep going at the same pace, they can hit that 300,000 threshold. Keep it up! #canada #alberta #cdnpoli #ableg #abpoli

It will always baffle me how easily people will believe that the poor, the sick, the marginalized, and the immigrant are the cause for all their problems, rather than the people in the most powerful positions in their country who refuse to fix problems and exploit them instead.

Six years ago, almost to the day, Apple removing a similar app from the Hong Kong App Store was seen as such a breach that Tim Cook wrote an all staff email to defend it www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Rogue Liberal MP Vince Gasparro announced government policy without authorization?! Canadians and visitors to Canada deserve to know that they are not subject to arbitrary policy decisions. Minister should answer these questions

Just putting out into the aether that despite coming out in December 2024, Caves of Qud is eligible for a number of this year's awards that have November cutoffs, like the Game Awards

A tiny snail. No idea what kind, except that it's very cute! Love these things. #snail #stylommatophora #gastropod #invertebrate #macro #macrophotography #bcparks #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Another nice little stand of Cladonia in the Okanagan. #lichen #cladonia #okanagan #bcparks #inaturalist #macro #macrophotography #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Do you ever think about the fact that Wikipedia is the last good major website on the internet? You aren't bombarded with ads. It doesn't try to push video on you, and it doesn't redirect you to a scam site.

I grouse a fair bit about politics, but I also enjoy thinking about how things could be different. Science-fiction is a great medium for that, so I wrote A Slice of Mars as a story of regular people in a substantially different society (not without flaws of its own). #booksky #books #scifi

Cladonia is such a diverse and fascinating genus of lichen. #cladonia #lichen #macro #macrophotography #bcparks #inaturalist #nature #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Ideas for building a better future are critical to share as we navigate how to adapt our public institutions to a changing world. Overseas examples are one powerful way to get those ideas. #canada #cdnpoli

Again, I recommend moving away from and being mindful of using of TikTok. Oracle, one of the most privacy-violating, pro-surveillance, genocide-supporting, pro-policing corporations to exist, is taking over co-ownership of TikTok.

A neat summary of the problem. The US is what a lot of us are thinking about, but Canada needs to be careful; most if not all of these points are coalescing or being advocated for in Canada too, either provincially or federally. Pretending it's not happening only helps it happen. #canada #cdnpoli

If it seems like everyone is on strike, it's because austerity is being imposed with a vengeance Rather than taking on the billionaires and oligarchs, austerity is imposed to discipline workers We're being told that we can't afford to have quality public services and fairness Fight back ✊

Didn't find a lot of springtails in the Okanagan last spring, so this Bourletiella hortensis (garden springtail) was quite exciting! #springtail #collembola #bourletiella #arthropod #invertebrate #bcparks #macro #inaturalist #macrophotography #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

A mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) spotted from the truck in the Okanagan! #deer #odocoileus #bcparks #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Another beautiful sphinx moth from the Okanagan, Smerinthus ophthalmica (a Western Eyed Sphinx; too bad I didn't get the eye!). #moth #smerinthus #sphinxmoth #sphinx #insect #macro #mothing #inaturalist #bcparks #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

One day I'll really get into mothing. This toadflax brocade moth (Calophasia lunula) was one of many pretty finds earlier this year! #moth #mothing #insect #invertebrate #macro #bcparks #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Fungi are so interestingly weird, I love them. I think this is in the family Lycoperdaceae. #fungi #lycoperdaceae #mushroom #fungus #macro #inaturalist #bcparks #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Another charming jumping spider (Habronattus hirsutus) blending in with the lichen. #spider #jumpingspider #habronattus #arthropod #macro #bcparks #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Another charming little Okanagan lichen, quite unlike what I usually see nearer to home. #lichen #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography #inaturalist #bcparks #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

More of my beloved Selaginella wallacei, I love finding it no matter where I am. Lycophytes represent a fascinating part of the evolutionary history of plants. #selaginella #lycophyte #plant #macro #bcparks #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

I enjoy the curious patterns lichen sometimes grow in. #lichen #macro #nature #bcparks #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

One of my favourite things is finding something new and exciting in nature. This bizarre thing is a colony of Nostoc bacteria, sometimes called star jellies, growing amidst moss in a seep. #bacteria #nostoc #macro #nature #bcparks #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

This charming little monkeyflower, Erythranthe patula, was growing in a fascinating moist seep in an otherwise semi-arid cliff in the Okanagan. #plant #flower #plantphotography #erythranthe #monkeyflower #inaturalist #bcparks #macro #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

I love the striking red face markings of this Habronattus sansoni. #spider #jumpingspider #habronattus #arthropod #invertebrate #macro #bcparks #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) not really bighorning when I spotted it across the road. #sheep #bighornsheep #ovis #mammal #wildlife #inaturalist #bcparks #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

This adorable and fascinating little pygmy mole grasshopper, Neotridactylus apicialis, has established a tiny population on a small Okanagan beach. #grasshopper #neotridactylus #insect #arthropod #invertebrate #inaturalist #bcparks #macro #wildlife #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Another beautiful Cicindela tranquebarica (oblique-lined tiger beetle) from the Okanagan this May. #beetle #tigerbeetle #insect #arthropod #invertebrate #macro #inaturalist #bcparks #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

I gained a new appreciation for tiger beetles this summer, like this Cicindela tranquebarica (oblique-lined tiger beetle)! #beetle #insect #tigerbeetle #cicindela #arthropod #bcparks #macro #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Another super cute jumping spider (genus Phidippus) from the Okanagan. #spider #jumpingspider #phidippus #inaturalist #bcparks #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada #macro

This charming little scarab, perhaps Cremastocheilus (an anteater scarab), has nice subtle golden lines beneath its carapace. #beetle #scarab #cremastocheilus #insect #arthropod #invertebrate #macro #bcparks #wildlife #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

#cdnpoli #canada

This lichen - possibly Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca, but I'm not sure - was a common cute find on rocks around the Okanagan. #rhizoplaca #lichen #bcparks #inaturalist #macro #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

I love bristletails, tough to identify though they may be. They are among the few groups of insects that branched off before insects developed wings. #bristletail #archaeognatha #insect #arthropod #invertebrate #bcparks #inaturalist #macro #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Dielis pilipes, the yellow scarab hunter wasp, strikes a big presence when you meet them in person! #wasp #insect #dielis #invertebrate #arthropod #inaturalist #bcparks #macro #macrophotography #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

A blurry photo of my first lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)! I love the colour patterns on their faces, and they're a nice example of the surprising diversity of sparrows. #bird #sparrow #chondestes #bcparks #inaturalist #wildlifephotography #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

I've never seen a large moth in person before, so meeting this Ceanothus silk moth (Hyalophora euryalus) was very exciting! #moth #insect #hyalophora #bcparks #inaturalist #macro #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

In May I made what seems to be first known iNaturalist observation of Aubrieta deltoidea in the Okanagan-Similkameen region. Native to Europe, it appears to be widely introduced in North America. #plant #flower #aubrieta #macro #inaturalist #bcparks #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Selaginella wallacei, one of my most-observed species, and probably the most common lycophyte in southern BC. #lycophyte #plant #selaginella #macro #macrophotography #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

I love the tiny landscapes you can find with moss. And this extinguisher moss (Encalypta vulgaris) was a new one for me! #moss #encalypta #bryophyte #plant #inaturalist #macro #macrophotography #nature #bcparks #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Lewisia rediviva (bitterroot) is a beautiful dryland flower that is known for regenerating from seemingly dead and dry roots. It's a lovely pop of colour on the Okanagan hills. #flower #lewisia #bitterroot #plant #macro #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada #bcparks

A lovely vein of golden lichen on this rock. #lichen #fungi #macro #inaturalist #macro #macrophotography #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

I don't know anything about lichen ID, but they sure are pretty. #lichen #fungi #macro #inaturalist #macro #macrophotography #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Selaginella wallacei (Wallace's spikemoss) is a lycophyte, one of the oldest groups of land plants, with identifiable members represented in the fossil record as early as 425 million years ago. #selaginella #spikemoss #lycophyte #plant #inaturalist #macro #okanagan #similkameen #canada

These blister beetles (maybe Meloe angusticollis) were a strange sight! They're larger than most of the other insects in the area, and perhaps they can afford to be, since they secrete noxious chemicals. #beetle #meloe #inaturalist #macro #wildlife #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Claytonia rubra, or redstem springbeauty, is a charming little wildflower with thick leaves that I found growing in a lot of the needle litter of the Okanagan. #claytonia #plant #plantphotography #macro #macrophotography #flora #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Spotting so many snakes in the Okanagan was a really fun experience! I'm used to seeing garter snakes, and only for a second before they run off, so all the Okanagan racers were a whole new experience. #snake #coluber #inaturalist #wildlifephotography #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada

Dragonflies are beautiful and impressive little creatures. This one, possibly Rhionaeschna californica, is one of the ones I saw this summer in the Okanagan. #dragonfly #rhionaeschna #odonata #invertebrate #insect #macro #macrophotography #inaturalist #okanagan #similkameen #britishcolumbia #canada