Accompanying video now on youtube! 🦋https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XVaDaf_lOM&list=PLD860DB4CD231C21F&index=2 @currentbiology.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social

Charlotte Wright@charlottewright.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Delighted this huge team effort is out! By surveying >20,000 people from >100 countries, we used to butterflies to show that aesthetic biases distort scientific research & environmental policy. Understanding this bias is a key step towards more balanced decision-making 🦋 www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...

Smith staff will hold an open office hour on September 10 from 10:00–11:00 a.m. PT to answer lingering application questions. Drop by anytime during the hour; as with in-person office hours, others may be present while your question is discussed. Register below to add the session to your calendar:

I am immensely proud of my postdoc, Dr. Chelsea Skojec, for publishing this work on Automeris moths and mimicry of owl faces: doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

It's out! We found that: •🦋Beauty drives public attention, research & conservation •Beautiful 🦋s are ⬆️represented in the Bern Convention & Habitats Directive •European IUCN Red Lists show no beauty bias •Recognizing beauty bias aligns conservation with ecological urgency doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...

🐶 Trees as good citizens. Washington, D.C.American Tree Association[1922] [Source]

The Biodiversity Heritage Library is turning 20! 🎉 We’re starting celebrations with a special anniversary blog series #BHLat20: Treasures from BHL, featuring remarkable works chosen by the people who know them best: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2026/03/cele... #ILoveBHL

NSF Update through March 13, 2026 1/2

Introducing the newest species of moth from the US, and likely one of the rarest. Cicinnus albarenicolus is known from just 19 specimens, all in white sand scrub in peninsular Florida. Only one verified extant population! zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1817...

A new species of sack-bearer moth (Lepidoptera, Mimallonidae) from Florida

A rarely reported new species of Mimallonidae from Florida, USA, is described. Remarkably, the distinctive new species has not been seen across much of its historical range since the 1960s, and all re...

zookeys.pensoft.net

🚨🚨🚨Publication alert! 🚨🚨🚨 Taking a breather from #uproarchallenge, there's a new paper online today that was several years in the making (all the best papers are!): conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Addressing Gaps in Butterfly Population Monitoring to Catalyze Global Insect Conservation

The conservation community sorely lacks a global indicator of change in insect populations. Given widespread insect declines, addressing this gap is key for conservation and policy targets. We sugges...

conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Extremely proud of my Ph.D. student, Sajan KC, for describing a new species of giant skipper, Aegiale occidentalis, KC, McGuire, and Shirey from Sonora: doi.org/10.3897/zook...

A new species of Tequila Giant Skipper Aegiale C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860 (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae, Megathymina) from Sonora, Mexico

Aegiale C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860 has traditionally been treated as a monotypic genus of Giant Skippers (Hesperiidae: Megathymina), represented by A. hesperiaris (Walker, 1856), which occurs fro...

doi.org

Super excited about these results and new system. Mapping, Expression, Loss-of-Function I'm floored by how this locus seem to integrate all the spatial info to sketch the minute details of the phenotype, and how this is prone to evol tweaks Large hyperdiverged haplotype without an inversion.

Luca Livraghi@lucalivraghi.bsky.social · 8mo ago

New pre-print with some updates on ivory:miR193 in a highly polymorphic moth. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We mapped ivory (again!?) this time controlling aspects of camouflage in Anticarsia gemmatalis. Mapping, SVs, Expression and Function. Comments/suggestions welcome!

ICYMI: New online! Evolution, genomics and conservation of butterflies and moths

Evolution, genomics and conservation of butterflies and moths

Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 16 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00128-8Butterflies and moths are key indicators of functioning and healthy ecosystems around the world. This Review describes the evolutionary history of the order Lepidoptera and tracks shifts in researchers’ understanding of the clade in the genomic era; it also explores biogeographic patterns and conservation efforts for threatened species.

dlvr.it

Now online! In this review, we cover four major topics on butterflies and moths: their evolutionary history and diversification dynamics, genomics, global diversity patterns, and conservation 🦋🌏 (1/8) @natrevbiodiv.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Evolution, genomics and conservation of butterflies and moths - Nature Reviews Biodiversity

Butterflies and moths are key indicators of functioning and healthy ecosystems around the world. This Review describes the evolutionary history of the order Lepidoptera and tracks shifts in researcher...

nature.com

The Map butterfly differs in wing size and color between seasons. We tested how these differences influence body temperature dynamics, revealing potentially optimized thermal performance between seasons. 🦋☀️ The study, led by Dani and Irča, is in preprint version: doi.org/10.64898/202...

At this risk of drama, I had a few prospective students with applications returned with a single line, "This is not possible" when it is very much something totally possible - we scrubbed "climate" this round from everything.

Eos@eos.org · 8mo ago

Students applying for NSF funding are having their applications “returned without review” for being “ineligible,” despite their proposed research falling squarely within the application guidelines. eos.org/research-and...

Good photography is a powerful tool to help tell stories and capture imaginations. 👏👏👏 Congrats to our staff Mariela Pajuelo, Kristen Grace & Jeff Gage, each recognized for their photography featuring elements of natural and cultural history! 📸 Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/thre...

butterfly timeline cleans

Last call! 👉 Florida Museum Registrar 🏛️📌 Apply by Oct 31, 2025 The Registrar oversees the technical and regulatory aspects of collection accessions, permitting, & exchanges. 🔸 Full position info: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/caree... 🔸 Apply via @ufl.edu: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...

Imagine what you might see if you could visualize relationships across data object-entity relationships in your database. See #TaxonWorks #biologicalassociations #magic #Miridae. @entcollnet.bsky.social @gbif.org @dissco.bsky.social have a look-see

TaxonWorks@taxonworks.bsky.social · last yr.

Welcome Miridae (and Reduviidae) to TaxonWorks! Comprehensive plant (and assassin) bug nomenclature with >44k names, distribution and host records are now imported. Christiane Weirauch, R. Toby Schuh and Michael Schwartz lead the evolution of this decades long effort on these important #insects.

#People #Networks. @vmshirey.bsky.social does this bring back memories? #TaxonName #Authors #dataviz #WoRMS #CatalogueOfLife look!

TaxonWorks@taxonworks.bsky.social · last yr.

#Taxonomy is *very* collaborative, this is authorship of the stonefly family Perlidae. The Sankey viz illustrates the connection between authors as defined by both being involved in the authorship of a TaxonName. Dynamic report coming to TW soon. #biodiversity #species #taxonomy #viz

Decided to donate to the CDC mutual aid network to support laid-off and furloughed employees. They also have some *excellent* merch: www.cdcresourceportal.org

The Central Yukon Resource Management Plan has been rescinded. “The Senate just plunged northern Alaska into chaos, ripping up a balanced land management plan that Alaskans spent years collaborating on,” said Cooper Freeman, our AK director. 🧵 More of our Public Lands work ➡️ bit.ly/3KIdNeK

Continuing the series of caterpillars that look like candy, this pine sphinx larva looks very edible. I'm sure it's not, though 😂 Note that this species of hawkmoth larva does not have a "horn", so I guess it's not technically a "hornworm". #Sphingidae: #Lapara NC, USA

Hi #mammal friends, are there any rasterized density maps for white tailed deer out there? Preferably with some historical data (ca. 1970 - present) as well? Many thanks!

the butterfly effect is when you see one and go ‘ooh butterfly!’ and then your day is better

20 straight days with 30 °C in Finland! Truly unprecedented heatwave still in full swing with maximum today about 32-33 degrees. Even the Arctic regions (e.g. Sodankylä Tähtelä) have seen three weeks above 25 °C, and may rival tomorrow their August heat records.

Nocturnal Neighbors 🦋🔦 Celebrating National Moth Week Our lepidopterist @vmshirey.bsky.social is hosting two FREE evening events (July 25 & 26) that invite you to join scientists on night collecting fieldwork on @ufl.edu campus. Pre-registration required: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/noctur...

On this #BugBanter Podcast, we’ve got a plan to save butterflies.🦋🆘 This episode is all about diving into why butterflies are struggling & the steps everyone can take to help them recover! Audio & transcript 📻 xerces.org/bug-banter/s... Video w/ captions 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNzR...

State of the Butterflies in the United States: A Roadmap for Recovery | Bug Banter Podcast

You may already know that butterflies are in decline, but the speed at which it is happening may be surprising. Butterflies are being lost at a rate of 1.3% per year, which means more than one-fifth…

xerces.org

Bluesky isn’t dying, it’s just buggy.

Too late/languished to add “baking” to my alliterative interests? Blueberry cardamom rolls brought to you by current events.