Lemon tree borer, Oemona hirta

Knobbled orbweaver, Socca pustulosa

Torpedo bug, Siphanta acuta

Common garden katydid, Caedicia simplex, with spermatophore attached

I'd rather not leave David Seymour at the top of my feed, so here are some far more delightful creatures that I've seen in our lovely little city of Ōtautahi this year.

I'm taking a few week's break from social media. Happy holidays to those of you who take them at this time of year. See you in January!

Government to change free speech rules for universities A union says the move seems aimed at ensuring people can spread disinformation on university campuses.

😟

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

A slide mounted cunaxid mite, Cunaxa capreolus, collected from leaf litter in northern California recently. Only 0.5 mm long, but sure to strike fear into the hearts of the litter springtails it might have encountered.

20 years ago we were suing teenagers for millions of dollars because they were torrenting a single Metallica album and now billionaires are demanding the free right to every work in history, so that they can re-sell it.

The law only ever serves capital.

“Wooden carving of a crab with protruding eyes and eight bent legs. Each leg is composed of two pieces of wood, nailed together, and the legs are immovable. The body and legs are painted red, and the face is painted in red, black, and white.” “These articulated characters are known as dług̱we’ treasures (as are the theatrical dances in which they appear). The Kwakwaka’wakw have a history of puppetry related to their ceremonial feasts. The winter potlatches are known for their spectacular performances, suffused with cultural teachings and supernatural content, such as the coming of Winalagalis, the supernatural warrior. Dances and songs associated with Winalagalis include the tuxw’id, which is performed by women, who have the power and rights to make the dług̱we’ treasures (puppets) come to life. For instance, a tuxw’id dancer could summon a crustacean to life, on invisible cords, in the flickering firelight.”

front-facing view of the crab puppet showing face

For #Crustmas on #Woodensday:
gamisida długwe' ( #Crab Puppet)
Kwakwaka'wakw, BC, Canada, before 1952
Painted wood 11.4x22.9x67.9cm
UBC MOA
collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?...
#FirstNationsArt #NativeAmericanArt
The Kwakwaka’wakw have a history of puppetry related to ceremonial feasts.

Even the street lamps in Lyme Regis are ammonite themed.

Pink on black sign showing a naked woman riding on the back of a beetle.

This sign, marking the side entrance to the 58th Street jazz bar speakeasy in Peckham, raises more questions than it answers.

A photograph of a round, hard-bodied mite covered in very long, barbed spines.

Today I found this impressive mite in some leaf litter.

Oribatids are masters of self-protection: they've evolved protective armour flaps, some wear their old moults on their back like shields, and this Neotrichozetes spinulosa has instead opted to become a sentient pincushion!

🧪 #Invertebrates

Question for British people: Have you ever heard or used the word 'pottle', and if so what do you think it means?

Supporting trans and nonbinary ornithologists: WOS2022 DEIJ recap — The McLaughlin Lab This blog post is a little different than my previous ones. I recently was invited to facilitate a discussion for the 2022 Wilson Ornithological Society meeting on trans and nonbinary inclusion in o...

okay since apparently this is turning into my Stuff I've Written (or helped write) about Trans Inclusion in STEM, a few more things. here's a recap of a presentation I did for @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social back at the 2022 conference.

yes, conference organizers, you too can organize a similar one!

Trans inclusion in the biology classroom — The McLaughlin Lab One of my favorite parts of working at a university is getting to teach. I find biology utterly fascinating and magical, and getting to impart that to students is an incredible joy. Although I don’t c...

looking over the arguments also is a good (by which i mean viscerally horrifying) example of why there's a *specific* need for those of us who teach biology to be explicit in how we talk about sex and gender. so much transphobic rhetoric gains a foothold bc of misconceptions of biology + genetics

Thanks Chris!

Thanks Jitte!

Thanks John. That looks very useful. Much appreciated!

The Irish National Biodiversity Data Centre runs a citizen scientist project monitoring butterfly populations, so you should find some useful information here: biodiversityireland.ie/surveys/butt...

"Sugaring" would be an excellent iNaturalist project but I just checked for such and couldn't find anything.

Thanks Steve!

I generally get ground cover, soil type, digital location coords etc. when looking for ants 🧪

I’m going improve my metadata for next year to include:

Temperature
Humidity
Wind speed (tiny anemometer from eBay)
Cloud cover
Soil moisture

Going to revisit Darwin Core & look for relevant fields

Making a case for compassionate entomology Here, I make a case for something that I call compassionate entomology, which is a way of studying insects and other arthropods that upholds the intrinsic value and welfare interests of the individ…

🦋 Is it time for entomology to embrace compassion? This compelling read challenges traditional practices, urging us to study arthropods with care for their welfare and intrinsic value. 🪲

#entomology #compassion #ecocentrism #conservation

blog.ecologicalcitizen.net/2024/12/10/m...

Sorry, I should have been clearer that I was referring to *terrestrial* invertebrate monitoring, but I'd happy to hear about wetter places too.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone doing regular repeated invertebrate #monitoring about what other #metadata you record when you visit your sites.

A photograph of a collection of elongated lollipop-shaped brown fruiting bodies of slime mold on a dead log surface.

A photograph of a pair of balloon/lollipop-shaped white fruiting bodies of slime mold on a dead log surface.

A photograph of a collection of balloon/lollipop-shaped black fruiting bodies of slime mold on a dead log surface.

A photograph of a single balloon/lollipop-shaped orange fruiting body of slime mold on a dead log surface.

Slime molds may resemble fungi, but are in fact a distinct group of unrelated organisms.

Although they're single-celled organisms, they'll also perform an astonishing feat of cooperation - gathering together as a collective ‘organism’ to form amazing fruiting bodies.

Which is your favourite? 🧪🍄

Around 9,000 species have already gone extinct in Australia and we’ll likely lose another this week – new study

⬇️https://theconversation.com/

Can anyone point me in the direction of a standardised repeatable method for surveying #butterflies? If it makes a difference, it should be easy for non-experts to follow and be suitable for urban / suburban conditions. Thank you so much!

Thank you so much everyone. I will report back when I've tried some of these methods in New Zealand conditions. I'm looking forward to trying this out.

I look forward to hearing more about it.

I'm interested in beetles too, all insects in fact. What else is sugaring good for?

Here's something you don't see every day. An entire school classroom on the back of a truck, waiting to be moved to a new location. The ultimate in recycling!

Thanks Pieter
Much appreciated!