Louis Nastasi
@toomanywasps.bsky.social
Professor of Entomology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Gall wasp systematics and more. More info at https://NastasiWaspLab.org/
Snakefly Season has arrived! Arguably the best season! This Ms. is Genus Agulla If you're asking, "What the WHAT?" You probably live east of the Rockies. Snakeflies are their own thing, Order Rhaphidioptera found west of the Rockies in NA. Beautiful and beneficial! #inverts #becurious 1/2
wow — the preprint host, arxiv, is banning authors for a year if they submit papers with hallucinated citations 🤖
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦@helenbranswell.bsky.social · 5mo agoI find this unsettling: A new study in #Lancet shows that the number of faux citations in scientific articles is on the rise, and #AI is likely to blame. @aniloza.bsky.social reports. www.statnews.com/2026/05/07/l...
My new paper describing a #newspecies of the elusive inquiline #gall #wasp genus Buffingtonella was just published in Zootaxa! www.mapress.com/zt/article/v...
Description of the second known species of Buffingtonella Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar, 2019 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Ceroptresini) and a possible host association for the genus | Zootaxa...
mapress.com
For some reason the Unsorted Exotic Diptera is full of microscopic Afrotropical wasps, what lucky individual who wants to ID them for us?? cc @toomanywasps.bsky.social @tapani-hopkins.bsky.social
10 years is tin, 20 years is china, 50 years is gold and 100 years is wasps.
Talk about spaced out! Found this 23"x 35" painting with no date and no title>Guess I'll call it "PAINTING WITH NO NAME".......Brother #watercolor
📢ISH executive committee is excited to announce the debut of our PODCAST series "HAMULI LIVE!" 🎥The interviews will be held live, and audience members will have a chance to ask questions live or submit them ahead of time. 🔗Registration link in bio!
I am not a podcast person by any means, but I'm excited about this series, and starting strong with my long time mentor Mike Gates!
International Society of Hymenopterists@hymenopterists.bsky.social · 5mo ago📢ISH executive committee is excited to announce the debut of our PODCAST series "HAMULI LIVE!" 🎥The interviews will be held live, and audience members will have a chance to ask questions live or submit them ahead of time. 🔗Registration link in bio!
This is Achrioptera manga, a giant phasmid or stick insect native to Madagascar. The specific epithet, "manga" means blue in Malagasy & it's not hard to see why. Only males are blue. The tiny back wings ("alae") are an example of brachyptery: they're useless for flight, but have other functions.
A fabulously weird Myopa (M. pellucida?) Bee Grabber fly - an endoparasite of solitary bees. North Herefordshire
Very pleased to find another Honeysuckle Sawfly in the garden. Impressive and burnished gold. We have lots of Honeysuckle and it's another great plant for wildlife.
Most surprising find @ bee aggregation '26 were lots of thick-headed #flies emerging! They're parasitoids of adult bees, grabbing them mid-air to inject eggs into the abdomen. Eww but cool! (I guess not if you're a bee 😂) Here's one on a flower: flic.kr/p/2ocMhfV #Conopidae: #Zodion NC, USA
The “America First,” president wants to cut billions of dollars from American innovation and scientific research. From NASA to NIH, no one would be spared. We cannot let this budget pass. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Nobody tells you that loving to cook means lugging around 2.784 metric tons of pots, pans, and utensils for the rest of your life - only when packing to move is the truth revealed
Congratulations to Forbes Lab postdoctoral scholar Louis Nastasi (@toomanywasps.bsky.social) for being featured in the 2026 Dare to Discover campaign! 👏 Visit research.uiowa.edu/dare-to to learn more about Louis’ research discovering new insect species using traditional taxonomy and genetics.
Meet the Hawkeyes who dare to
The Dare to Discover campaign showcases student and postdoc researchers, scholars, and creators from across the University of Iowa. The campaign is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Re...
research.uiowa.edu
Some good news - a new #gall #wasp paper from our group! This is one of my favorites so far - two new Diastrophus species, a review of “cryptic” galling (galls with no external sign of presence), and some novel hypotheses regarding evolution of gall inquilines. See more here: doi.org/10.1080/0022...
Minimalism is in: two new Diastrophus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) species inducing inconspicuous galls on cinquefoils (Rosaceae: Potentilleae), with evaluation of the extended phenotype across gall wasps
While the majority of galling insects induce visible alterations to their host plants, there are many species that induce inconspicuous galls, changing only the internal structure of the host plant...
tandfonline.com
Some good news - a new #gall #wasp paper from our group! This is one of my favorites so far - two new Diastrophus species, a review of “cryptic” galling (galls with no external sign of presence), and some novel hypotheses regarding evolution of gall inquilines. See more here: doi.org/10.1080/0022...
Minimalism is in: two new Diastrophus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) species inducing inconspicuous galls on cinquefoils (Rosaceae: Potentilleae), with evaluation of the extended phenotype across gall wasps
While the majority of galling insects induce visible alterations to their host plants, there are many species that induce inconspicuous galls, changing only the internal structure of the host plant...
tandfonline.com
New paper from the Martinson Lab! A fun study where we find a nice example of cascading speciation and describe three new species. Plus some exciting data to suggest that ecological guild may influence the impacts of host-associated differentiation. A 🧵. #galls #insects 🧪 doi.org/10.1111/mec....
Finally published! "Thirty-three new species of Agromyzidae (Diptera) from the United States and Canada, with new host and distribution records for 154 additional species." Now I've got some updating to do on BugGuide and iNaturalist...
Thirty-three new species of Agromyzidae (Diptera) from the United States and Canada, with new host and distribution records for 154 additional species | Zootaxa
mapress.com
Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 8mo agoBreaking news: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that they are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state.