Had the best time listening to the most fascinating talks at ICA 2026. Also presented my research and won my first ever award!
Emma Van Reempts
@emmavanreempts.bsky.social
FWO-PhD fellow at Wybouw lab, Ghent University, interested in the genetic mechanisms behind host-endosymbiont interactions in arthropods
Finally spotted some entomopathogenic fungi again, Entomophtora muscae (most likely), in my garden after three years without seeing any! Crazy cool species that manipulates its host in a Cordyceps-like manner
Our study on complex cryptic co-infections of Spiroplasma in European Myrmica ants is now published with @tparmentier.bsky.social @emmavanreempts.bsky.social @selfishmeme.bsky.social Tessa, Wouter and Diego doi.org/10.1111/mec.... .
Spiroplasma Display an Intricate Continuum of Infection Heterogeneity and Persistence in Myrmica Ants
Many bacterial taxa evolved facultative symbiotic associations with insects and spread through host populations by horizontal and maternal transmission. Co-infection at the individual host level may ...
doi.org
We're thrilled to announce the Ctrl-Z Award, a US$2,500 prize for researchers “who discover substantial errors in their published work and take meaningful steps to correct the scientific record." Covered by @nature.com today; read more here: centerforscientificintegrity.org/2026/03/10/a...
Keep calm and be transparent: advice from scientists who retracted their papers
Retractions correct the scientific record, but they have stigma attached to them. Some in the research community want that to change.
nature.com
Niet mijn #vlareg www.demorgen.be/snelnieuws/n...
Natuurverenigingen hekelen ‘nul euro budget voor natuurherstel’ in Vlaamse begroting
Vlaanderen voorziet geen specifieke middelen om de natuur te herstellen. ‘De regering neemt de Europese natuurherstelwet niet serieus’, stelt de Belgische Biodiversiteitscoalitie.
demorgen.be
An amazing example of background matching by the European garden spider I saw in London last week!
Imagine being the first scientist to notice that some of the ants being studied had two butts & that one of them was a beetle that had latched on for a free ride. See the mandibles of the beetle (yellow arrow)? Latched on to the ant's 'waist', blending seamlessly. Ants with detachable butts.
Ainsley S@americanbeetles.bsky.social · 11mo agoNymphister kronaueri, you say? www.livescience.com/57837-beetle...
Truly had the most amazing time exploring the diversity of gall wasps (Cynipidae) today! Found 11 species on one oak 🤔 I unfortunately also spotted some larvae of the invasive Rhagoletis completa (walnut husk fly) in our walnut tree. These guys have some very cool Wolbachia though!
Big congrats to one of the most inspiring people I've ever met, eDNA for the win!
INBO (Research Institute for Nature and Forest)@inbo.be · 11mo agoVoortaan dr. Charlotte Van Driessche verdedigde vrijdag met succes haar doctoraat ‘Implementation of eDNA metabarcoding as an innovative tool for biomonitoring fish communities in lotic waters’, met @universiteitgent.bsky.social en @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social. Beluister 📻 bit.ly/PhDCharlotte
“Just when you think you’ve seen it all, social insects reveal another surprise.” https://scim.ag/47sVFyS
Ant queen lays eggs that hatch into two species
Bizarre discovery of interspecies cloning “almost impossible to believe,” biologists say
scim.ag
A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species go.nature.com/4mOb5T9
‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother
Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.
go.nature.com
Had a blast presenting my work on Wolbachia and Spiroplasma-induced sex allocation distortion in haplodiploids at #ESEB2025!
Fascinating talk by @emmavanreempts.bsky.social & Fien Van Reempts at #Nerdland Festival 🥼 Wolbachia to stop mosquito-borne diseases 🦟 With amazing illustrations by Ward Dermaut
