We are certainly down the wrong road. In our hubris, we imagine we can make things better when we only ever make things worse...Eden exterminated

M Meerkat@kackbro.bsky.social · 2w ago

Absofreakinlutely This....... 👇

I said to the woman sitting next to me “Sit still, there’s a fly in your hair”. Which meant “I’m just grabbing my phone to take a pic of the large venomous predator in your hair”! What a beauty! #Robberflies #Asilidae

My son has sent me a photo of him sitting at Varna airport in #Bulgaria eating a banitsa or banitza. Filo pasty stuffed with feta cheese. Now I really want one for my breakfast!

A great paper on #diptera biology + neuro but also well worth a careful read of the ‘methods’ section. Astonishing!

Yichen Luo 骆奕辰@camellyc.bsky.social · 2d ago

1/8 Breathing seems automatic. But it's a finely tuned motor behavior that has to be controlled. In this preprint, I map the circuits that match a fly's respiration to the metabolic demands of flight and mitigate the risk of dehydration. 🧵🪰 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Sorry if this is kind of a gross image, but it's also fascinating. These are acrobat ants that killed and are dismantling a gulf fritillary caterpillar, pulling the meat away from the ample gut contents. The passionvine plant attracts ants with nectaries, and the ants are earning their pay here.

Vote Binface....

Count Binface@countbinface.bsky.social · 3y ago

Under a Binface government, anyone who doesn’t accept human-made climate change as fact will be sent back to school, from Year 1 right the way to A Levels, to see if anything goes in the second time round. #VoteBinface

I am beyond excited to share that our paper, "Neurodivergent Perceptions, Experiences, and Perspectives in Academic Biological Sciences Spaces" has been published! A 🧵incoming because this paper is so special to me and the co-authors. doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

Neurodivergent Perceptions, Experiences, and Perspectives in Academic Biological Sciences Spaces

Abstract. Neurodiversity has received considerable attention recently from the general population and academic researchers, coinciding with an increase in

doi.org

Well… no sh*t! Climate deniers say “It’s happened before”. Which any geologist will tell you is true. The problem with the current anthropogenic #ClimateChange is the RATE of change. Too fast and nature can’t keep up. That includes your food crops!

Guardian Environment@environment.theguardian.com · 5d ago

‘It’s too fast, too big’: speed of climate crisis is devastating crops, say farmers

The State Department said ​it takes "full responsibility" for "hastily" altering and then presenting a map of Africa at a global AIDS conference that mislabeled every single country it highlighted. An analysis by Reuters found a watermark in the map image that suggests it was made with OpenAI.

Here's the working prototype of my setup. It's a 3D-printed black block with a socket to hold a watch glass, and a 3D-printed diffuser that sits on top of the block. Recessing the glass greatly reduces stray light & glare. #NaturalHistoryCollections #Macrophotography #FocusStacking #DIYImagingStage

Craig B@mutillidae.bsky.social · 6d ago

I've been working on a better setup for capturing focus-stacked images of immature insects in alcohol...and it's working well. 🙂 #NaturalHistoryCollections #Macrophotography #FocusStacking #Psephenidae #APennyForYourThoughts

A single paper describing a decade’s worth of massive effort! Not a paper that I can read on my phone, I’ll probably have to colour print that one and read it somewhere quiet with my coloured pens!

Stanley Heinze@stanley-heinze.bsky.social · 7d ago

New preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Nearly a decade after starting the project, the first major results from our comparative connectomics work is online! Comparing the head direction circuits of the central complex in bees, ants and flies, recapitulating >300million years of evolution.

Here's a little highlight reel of our @latitudefestival.bsky.social 2026. Full panels and podcast and more to come! From killer crabs to astronauts and puppet cows to battery tech, there really was something for every type of curious mind in the Cosmic Shambles Forest this year. See you in 2027!

Latitude Festival 2026 | Highlights from the Cosmic Shambles Forest of Science & Culture

YouTube video by The Cosmic Shambles Network

youtube.com

Are wasps feeling the heat this summer? Be kind to wasps at your picnic this summer: share your meal & tell us what they're after. Is it Ham (protein-rich)? or Jam (sugary) @uclnews.bsky.social @theconversation.com @femi-benny.bsky.social @cintiaoi.bsky.social theconversation.com/where-have-a...

Where have all the wasps gone this summer?

And why you should let them share your picnic ham and jam.

theconversation.com

Elon Musk, Royal Society Fellow SHAME @royalsociety.org

Mr Elon Musk FRS | Royal Society Fellow

Elon Musk is the CEO and co-founder of SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink and The Boring Company.As lead designer at SpaceX, Elon oversees the development of rockets a...

royalsociety.org

Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · last wk.

When Elon Musk says "zero" children died in Africa from his DOGE cuts, he really means zero children died who are *worthy of any concern.* It's vile coded signaling to his global fascist audience. From me and @polphilpod.bsky.social, a deep dive into Musk's fascism: newrepublic.com/article/2135...

A Linepithema iniquum ant nest in a yellowed leaf sheath in the El Yunque rain forest, Puerto Rico.

It is NEVER ok to photograph people in toilets! OK… Caveat: unless they are the ONLY people in frame AND it’s your friend AND they asked you too.

Fiona Katauskas@fionakatauskas.bsky.social · last wk.

🐜 Eucalyptus trees and ants: an unexpected relationship 📄 Our members Joaquín L. Reyes-López and Francisco Jiménez-Carmona have just published a new study in the journal Sustainability analyzing the impact of Eucalyptus camaldulensis stands on ant communities in the Tabernas Desert 👇1/7

Latitude 2026 wrapped! Here’s our incredible team that turned a forest into a Shambles Forest over the past 8 days! Lots of videos, podcasts, pics and more to come from this year’s fest. Huge thanks to all the performers, Latitude crew and the many thousands of you that came! See you in 2027!

🧪 🪲 🌋 🌡️ When are things too hot to handle? Our new paper on insect thermal tolerance across elevation in @pnas.org nas.org suggest perhaps not too far in the future. @gdfcf.bsky.social sky.social @alexandreloureiro.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 🧵

Somehow we need to monetise this - and quickly

I would go if passing but it’s a helluva way from anywhere!

Alex Wild@alexwild.bsky.social · 2w ago

I have just learned of a second Australian town with ant-based tourism, complete with a giant meat ant statue. Aussies, man.

Southern fire ants, Solenopsis xyloni, carrying a pebble from an excavation project deeper in the nest. West Texas. I often think of this species as a western desert ant, but it used to be found coast to coast and was extirpated in the east by the red imported fire ants.

While camping at #LatitudeFestival I was washing up and noticed a few drowned alete #ants in the water. Dips in pocket for tube of EtOH and bagged them in for examination at home. #entomology

I'm late to the party, but @andreawulf.bsky.social's masterpiece is utterly brilliant. I knew almost nothing about Humboldt, but his impact on how we see nature in the West - both ecologically and emotionally - was nothing short of immense. But more than that, the story is brilliantly told. Read it!

The Brazilian Forelius ants that kill themselves to seal up the nest at nightfall. Like Hodor, but smaller. Still one of my favorite studies.

Hummingbird Hawk Macroglossum stellatarum emerged 830 am yesterday 36 days since egg laid 630 pm 17 June at Quince Honey Farm, South Molton, Devon - an amazingly quick life cycle. In this record year the caterpillars are fairly easy to find on Bedstraws growing in sunny spots like walls and dunes.

My Happy Place at #Latitude is the @cosmicshambles.com tent (tents plural this year!). @robinince.bsky.social I have a tiny gift for you if I see you this weekend.

Gall of the week is cause by the tephritid 'picture-wing fly' Urophora cardui on thistles, Cirsium spp. Male and female fly photos by Malcolm Storey, gall photo unknown.