When monsoon season hits, we may see more of these friendly moths, the Hyles lineata, commonly known as the white-lined sphinx moth. Their larvae thrive in the abundant plant life that the monsoon rain brings, making them a staple of Arizona’s summers.

Since 2022, Art Under the Microscope has been an annual collaboration between the ASU Biocollections and the ASU School of Art. From June 29 through July 2, 2026, the ASU Biocollections welcomed high school students for a four-day workshop of discovery and artistic expression.

Guava is near and dear to the ASU herbarium’s heart and history. Former collection manager Dr. Les Landrum specializes in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) and his 26 years working in the collection directly resulted in huge growth in this family.

Our entomology department is one of 13 US Institutions that have teamed up to create over one million high-resolution images of our bee specimens, with over 5,000 bee species from around the world. This project gives access to our bee specimens, advancing our understanding of the world of bees.

This featured moth, Aristotelia elegantella, is a micro moth in the family Gelechiidae with a wingspan of about 13 mm, or roughly half an inch! Although tiny, this species displays striking metallic silver, brown, and bronze coloration that can easily catch the eye under the microscope.

Happy World Bee Day! While the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) targets ground beetles, mosquitos, ticks, macroinvertebrates, and zooplankton with its standardized sampling, not bees, we have bees and all sorts of other organisms to discover in our invertebrate bycatch samples. ✨🐝🪲🐛

Let's take a look at a familiar face around Arizona recently: the Pallid-Winged Grasshopper (Trimerotropis pallidipennis). They span from Canada to South America, preferring hot dry areas, and thriving on flat surfaces, such as parking lots. (making them perfectly at home in Arizona’s urban desert!)

We are excited to have a full house for our first annual student symposium! It is a great tradition that we are starting to give our students a platform to share their work!

Come visit us at the Nature at Night event at the Chandler Nature Center THIS SATURDAY!! We have some nocturnal and light-trap specific specimens to showcase and share with you at our table. We will be located in the Painted Desert Classroom! Event Address: 4050 E Chandler Heights Rd., Chandler, AZ

Shrew identification can be challenging! Laura Steger (lovingly) reviews the determination for every Sorex archived in the NEON collection. Only 1500 left!

Today, we are highlighting Dr. Robert A. Johnson, an evolutionary ecologist, expert on ants, and Faculty member at ASU. For his doctorate, he conducted a comparative study between ants and bees, ultimately deciding to focus on ants!

Thank you to everyone who came to see us at the Roots of Creation Festival! Thank you to the City of Surprise for having us and to the ASU School of Art for sharing a booth with us for a fun, art, and science! Catch us at our next event and get notified by signing up for our email list!

Let’s take a look at an insect some of you may not know has habitats here in Arizona! Dynastes grantii, more commonly known as the Western Hercules Beetle. They are most commonly found in areas with higher elevations and forested areas, providing ideal environmental conditions for this species.

Come join us tomorrow in at the Surprise Xeriscape Garden for the Roots of Creation: Art & Nature Festival! FREE to attend and for ALL AGES!! Hope to see you there! 🦋🪲🐿️🐗

ASU Biocollections@asubiocollections.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Roots of Creation: Art and Nature Festival! Location: Surprise Xeriscape Garden Address: 16126 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ 85374 Event Date: 1/24/2026 Event Time: 12:00-4:00pm Join us in celebrating art and nature! More information at surpriseaz.gov/RootsOfCreat... Art by: Dante De La Rosa

Roots of Creation: Art and Nature Festival! Location: Surprise Xeriscape Garden Address: 16126 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ 85374 Event Date: 1/24/2026 Event Time: 12:00-4:00pm Join us in celebrating art and nature! More information at surpriseaz.gov/RootsOfCreat... Art by: Dante De La Rosa

Roots of Creation: Art and Nature Festival! Location: Surprise Xeriscape Garden Address: 16126 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ 85374 Event Date: 1/24/2026 Event Time: 12:00-4:00pm Join us in celebrating art and nature! More information at surpriseaz.gov/RootsOfCreat... Art by: Dante De La Rosa

ASU Biocollections Outreach Events of 2025! What a year! And what a joy to look back on the many wonderful outreach events where we brought our specimens out and beyond our doors, or where we brought you behind-the-scenes, to share with you the incredible biodiversity of our planet! (1/3)

Join the ASU Biocollections at the annual Bug Fest! Visitors are encouraged to dress up as well! Date: Sunday, November 2nd Time: 10AM-2PM Location: Arizona Boardwalk Courtyard 9500 E Vía de Ventura, Scottsdale, AZ 85256 Cost: FREE! All ages! #asubiocollections #butterflywonderland #bugfest

Some snippets of the displays we created for our Spook-tober Tours! Look forward to more events to come! We are so grateful for your eagerness and enthusiasm with this debut! #asubiocollections #spooktobertours #biocollections #naturalhistorycollections #spooktober #insects #vertebrates #lichens

Join us for some SPOOKY tours of our collections this October 27th or 29th. Admission: $22 for adults, $12 for students and kids Sign up by scanning the QR code or through Linktree in our bio! #asubiocollections #halloween #spookyscience Artwork by Dante De La Rosa

Dragonfly & Butterfly Bash! We want to invite you to this FREE community event for ALL AGES centered around Dragonflies & Butterflies this Saturday 10/4/2025 from 9AM-12PM at the Chandler Nature Center (4050 E Chandler Heights Rd, Chandler, AZ 85249)! Hope to see you there!

Creature Feature Friday! Today’s highlighted mammal is the Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus)! These little critters are actually NOT rodents, and belong to the family Eulipotyphla, which are true insectivores. They are more closely related to hedgehogs and moles than mice! Check Insta for more info!

¡Les esperamos en el jardín de Blanca en Spaces of Opportunity (Opportunity 1200 W Vineyard Rd, Phoenix, AZ, son a las 6:30PM - 8PM, 10 de Agosto) para ver de cerca a los insectos nocturnos que viven en nuestros ecosistemas! Conecta con tu comunidad. ¡Este evento es gratuito! 💡🪲🔎

We are excited to announce a public insect light trapping event! Please join us at the Spaces of Opportunity (1200 W Vineyard Rd, Phoenix) on August 10th from 6:30pm to 8pm to take a look at some of the local nocturnal insects that inhabit our ecosystems. It's a free event for all ages! 💡 🪲 🔍

Discover how Rianna Sandoval, Leodivina Dodoo from ASU, and Maggie Hantank (w/ assistance from Brendan Enochs) from the University of Dayton are studying the impact of environmental factors on red-backed salamander color patterns. Insights from NEON data reveal climate's effect in these variations.

Welcome to Creature Feature Friday! Meet the Poetry Moth (Neumoegenia poetica), a native of the dry landscapes of the Southwestern U.S. and Northern Mexico. Its dazzling golden wings shimmer in the light, often with hints of green and bronze.

@asu-insectcoll.bsky.social Welcome to Bluesky!! 🦋

Hi all! This is the Bluesky account for the ASU Biocollections. We consist of the ASU Natural History Collections & NEON Biorepository. Our collections of insects, lichens, plants, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, shells, fossil plants, a cryo facility, & more are available for research & education

I had so much fun taking photos of my colleagues at the @asubiocollections.bsky.social last week. Here is Sangmi Lee, ASU Hasbrouck Insect Collection Manager. She poses with her study species -Gelechiidae - the twirler moths.🦋✨