Current conditions in Minneapolis for those abroad that think Americans aren't pushing back.

Human brains are weird. So much is happening in the world. A lot of it is adversely affecting my friends/fam. Yet... Right now I'm mostly POed w/ my neighbor's wind chimes. Can I train a squirrel to get around the security camera and steal it? I guess that would be one way to cope with it all.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Apropos of everything. This picture of an aurora was taken almost 7 years ago. In TRØMSO, NORWAY. A town within the arctic circle, with an amazing tunnel system of roads, that includes many roundabouts. And amazing scenery like this. And an excellent university.

This is your reminder that Hungarian-Jewish scientist George de Hevesy dissolved two Nobel Prizes in aqua regia to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis. He then left the dissolved solution on his shelf and fled to Sweden. (After the war he un-dissolved the gold and the prizes were re-cast.)

De feloranje larven van zwartkopvuurkevers (Pyrochroa coccinea) kunnen best groot worden en zijn roofdieren die achter schors op andere insecten jagen. Maar kijk dan naar dat snoetje. 😍 #ElkeDagEenInsect

if you need a moment's distraction from Events, pls consider @monotomidae.bsky.social's extremely good new paper on passandrid beetles stridulating with their armpits. THERE'S VIDEO, WITH SOUND link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New work from Princeton’s BAM-lab and Illinois’s ABC-lab. What can we learn from grasshoppers wings for gliding UAV design? news.illinois.edu/grasshopper-...

Deja vu all over again. #EntSoc25 #SICB26

Come and join me and my colleagues at the Department of Biology, #LundUniversity in #sweden! We have am open position as Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Biodiversity. Apply here no later than February 11 2026: https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:848749/type:job/where:4/apply:1

It’s been raining a lot today. Oh well. #WelcomeToJamrock #HappyNewYear #RainbowsAndUnicorns

The countdown begins… ⏰ Sunday at #SICB2026 is already STACKED! 🗂️ Whether you’ve built your itinerary or you’re still deciding, we’ve got you covered with these at-a-glance schedules. 👉 DCB & DVM folks: tag us so we can hype your talks and posters! More at-a-glance posts coming soon 👀

See ya, same place, ~ 15 years from now. I’ll promise to do my best to ensure that there will still be a sandy beach for you (or your female special friend) to land. #WelcomeToJamRock

New Ant Lab video today about pincer wasps and a new research project. This one has some really cool, newly-filmed insect behavior in it! youtu.be/9osTBzQ0zbk

Oh dear. There are so many ominous ones from that year. I’ll go with the #1 European movie. Not growing up is one way to cope. “The #1 movie when you were 10 years old is how your 2026 is going to go.”

🌺 Caribbean fam, we’re gathering! Join Meghyn Fountain on Dec 21 for a virtual space to connect, collaborate, and build community across the islands. 💙 🔗 Register through the membership portal.

What artist would you invite to a party? I bet Judith Leyster would be a blast & everybody would want to sit next to her www.nga.gov/artworks/370...

Same-sies.

Who is using flow-through respirometry on small insects (in US/ pref Midwest)? Student wants to do a simple study on metabolic rate in bees (dead/not dead), but it's been 30yrs since I worked in this area & feel that my advice is inadequate. (Also, RIP Rob and Michelle R, thanks for the laughs)

Icicles have formed on the edge of my roof in Chicago. A combination of below-freezing temperature and strong sun radiation during the day created the perfect conditions for the large quantities of snow to drip non stop. December 2025. #icicles #Chicago #winter #weather #photography #sky

I want to see this question in every one of my students’ proposals or papers: “But will it work for cheese?” After all, they joined a Dutch person’s lab.

If you have a student, anywhere in the world, who would like and entomological society membership please have them come on over to our entopoc.org website to sign up for up to three free memberships per student!

My people have a weird fascination with witches sitting backwards on brooms and wreaking havoc. 🤷🏻‍♀️ #OostNederland 🇳🇱

There’ll be several opportunities to join the group, starting w/ a PhD studentship via the BBSRC-NRP Doctoral Training Partnership. Team up w/ us, @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social & @berasymbionts.bsky.social to answer how microbes shape insect behavior: biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/mic...

One of my favorite entomologists, @flygirlnhm.bsky.social, is featured on an episode of @perfect-specimen.bsky.social , and now I am smiling ear to ear. Such a fun watch/listen. I tried to pick out my favorite quote to help "sell" this skeeet, but there are just too many. Typical. #MoreOfThisPlease

HUGE NEWS, SICB is *thee* biomechanics conference, the queen of sciences, the funniest and most confusing videos you will see in your life

Pay attention to these efforts. Don’t blink.

I do not like your AI slop I do not want this worthless glop I do not read its overviews I don't care what Grok says is true I do not like it here nor there I'm tired of it everywhere

The difference is clear. Listing decisions are to be made on the basis of scientific evidence of endangerment. Only critical habitat decisions can weigh economic impact. www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/es...

Dublin - midday - after too many oysters and occasional Guinness all weekend - just before the pope mobile came by. Francis had a friendly smile and wave, but didn’t cure my nausea. Didn’t expect him to. Should have heeded that “no raw (shell)fish-type food while traveling” commandment.

Early Career Rescue Fellowships in Germany, open to early career researchers w/ 1-7 years of postdoctoral experience from all over the world, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA. (Work at Unis of Konstanz, Freiburg, or Tubingen) www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...

Wanna be my colleague? We've got TT positions open! 1 in genetics/genomics jobs.missouristate.edu/postings/83638. 1 in biology education / open jobs.missouristate.edu/postings/83639. 1 in freshwater fisheries biology jobs.missouristate.edu/postings/83637 Date of first consideration is Jan 4 2026

That spider is about to have a VERY confusing tea party. 🤭

We need some help from folks more familiar with describing insect body parts. This is a fragment of a figure for a paper. In the text, we need to describe structure ii. (The click beetle is in this position in our test rig.)

Did you know 1 in 4 animal species is a beetle? 🪲 With 400k+ species, beetles are among Earth’s most diverse lineages. Learn about the huge project mapping their tree of life in a FREE talk with Dr @beetlequeen.bsky.social in Feb 2026. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1815106274... @nhm-london.bsky.social

Was reminded of this awesome “essay” by T Josek from many moons ago - when us scientists still used the bird website. T’s use of hashtags here is pretty much perfect. Informative and funny. Some of the entries are - uhm - timely? (Note: October 1936) entomologytoday.org/2015/02/27/f...

Twelve-spotted skimmers (Odonata: Libellulidae: Libellula pulchella) are often seen near lakes and ponds throughout much of North America. Mature males like this one have twelve dark spots and eight light spots. Females and immature males lack the light spots. Clayton Michigan, 27 Jun 2014.

I am happy to report that #insects are very well represented in the exhibition “Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600-1750” at nmwa.org

Under the rainbow with @cotesia.bsky.social 🌈

Had a great and productive Status of #Insects #RCN working group meeting! Thank you @cbahlai.bsky.social and Eliza, Matt, Dave, Chris E and Chris H and everyone there! 🦋🐝🐞🐜🦗🦟🪰🪲🪳

Today is a big day in Oregon. The 55th Anniversary of Oregon's Exploding Whale. www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CL...

The United Farm Workers is holding the country of Jamaica and all Jamaicans in our hearts as we witness the devastation being wrought on the island by Hurricane Melissa. We are praying for the safety and wellbeing of our members and their families. 1/

Support Jamaica. Donate at this .gov.jm website. “In [Melissa’s] aftermath, recovery will take every helping hand. Together, let us stand ready to protect and help families recover, rebuild homes and restore livelihoods once the storm passes.” supportjamaica.gov.jm

Just putting this here since people have been asking about how they can help. I'll keep looking out for details. #Jamaica #Melissa (Also, the Gleaner is the main newspaper on the island. I check it every few hours for updates on the storm.

Touched that my Dutch🇳🇱&US🇺🇸family/friends/colleagues are already reaching out to me, or directly to my Jamaican family/friends, before the storm hits our beloved island. I hope all this goodwill towards its people will be of help to JA over the next few days/weeks/months. Hold on tight yardies! 🇯🇲❤️🇯🇲

Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only. (I adore Omar Sy and the show Lupin.)

I'm trying to put together a list of resources for students in my lab who are interested in leading projects, writing, papers, etc. Does anyone have any resources they like about coming up with research questions, conducting lit reviews, or writing academic papers that are accessible to undergrads?

Uncanny how much this resembles a sloppy beetle dissection

Big fan of this weevil's color scheme, pointy snoot, and huge feet! www.inaturalist.org/observations...

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)