Adrian Smith

A squishy-looking caterpillar sits on a leaf. It has four thin black lines alternating with white running down its back, with alternating orangish-red and yellow stripes down the sides. Along its body are a few tentacle-like protuberances covered in stinging spines. There are smaller round, evenly spaced warts covered in spines along the body as well.

A squishy-looking caterpillar sits on a leaf. It has four thin black lines alternating with white running down its back, with alternating orangish-red and yellow stripes down the sides. Along its body are a few tentacle-like protuberances covered in stinging spines. There are smaller round, evenly spaced warts covered in spines along the body as well.

A squishy-looking caterpillar sits on a leaf. It has four thin black lines alternating with white running down its back, with alternating orangish-red and yellow stripes down the sides. Along its body are a few tentacle-like protuberances covered in stinging spines. There are smaller round, evenly spaced warts covered in spines along the body as well.

The squishy head region of a caterpillar can be seen curling around the edge of the leaf, its spiky protuberances can also be seen cresting the edge of the leaf.

🚨 Spicy gummy worm alert! 🚨 🐛

Though it may look delicious, the bright colors warn of its ability to sting. Kinda looks like it's wearing pajamas...

Thanks to @dradriansmith.bsky.social for hosting the specimen.

stinging rose #caterpillar
#Limacodidae: #Parasa indetermina
NC, USA

We think there is a lot of room for natural history museums to produce interesting, unique, and informative content made for online audiences. A lot of those stories could be from the unique collections and research happening at these institutions. (research project led by @ruzimyrmex.bsky.social !)

in short, there is an opportunity gap for natural history museums in the US to use YouTube better! In particular, research and collections functions of natural history museums are often not featured in what they communicate via YouTube. We show this via surveying 400+ videos from 28 US museums.

Natural history museums are missing an opportunity to present research and collections on YouTube There have been repeated calls in the US for scientists to communicate the importance of biological collections to both a general public audience and to policy makers. Natural history museums that hou...

We put out some social science research via preprint: "Natural history museums are missing an opportunity to present research and collections on YouTube" doi.org/10.1101/2025...

A reddish-brown Indian jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator) with large dark eyes grasps a pale yellow cricket with its mandibles and front legs on a white surface.

🐜⚡ These Indian jumping ants don't just jump for show – they use powerful leaps to pounce on prey like crickets. Researcher @dradriansmith.bsky.social 's slow-motion footage shows how these predatory ants hunt with the agility of much larger predators. #science #nature

👉 Learn more: zurl.co/kyQs1

From fire ants in Florida to filming batflies in North Carolina, our latest interview is with @dradriansmith.bsky.social, who has built a career at the intersection of insect science and storytelling. 🐜🎥

#scicomm #science #sciants #stem #YouTube #twitch

youtu.be/xEXwFel5DEY

Very cool!

YouTube video by Ant Lab Bizarre Bugs in Flight! Slow Motion - 14 species

New video today! Megaloptera, owlflies, bioluminescent click beetles, and MORE!

youtu.be/lD8sKzA_FZU

Ultrafast elastocapillary fans control agile maneuvering in ripple bugs and robots Rhagovelia ripple bugs use specialized middle-leg fans with a flat-ribbon architecture to navigate the surfaces of fast-moving streams. We show that the fan’s directional stiffness enables fast, passi...

How do tiny ripple bugs surf raging rivers? Check out our new work in @science.org

Work led by Victor Ortega-Jimenez, Dongjin Kim, Sunny Kumar, Changhwan Kim, Je-Sung Koh, and Saad Bhamla - a collaboration between UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, and Ajou University.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Let's Discuss: Bug Basics! Intro to insect body anatomy.

Let's Investigate: Insect Legs! In which we detour for some reason into talking about human hands.

Insect leg pattern 1: Bees, ants, and flies.

Insect leg patterns 2 and 3: Beetles and dragonflies.

I don't think I've ever posted this here on Bluesky, so have some bug-drawing tutorials... (1/3)

YouTube video by Digital Naturalism Laboratories (Andrew Quitmeyer) Mothbox - Wildlabs Award 2024

Here's a super cool documentary about the Mothbox!

Learn about the development and use of this fun #openscience #opensource tool for DIY biodiversity monitoring!

youtu.be/1LGz3aWpeVE?...

YouTube video by Ant Lab These Are the Best Ants. Seriously. (Harpegnathos saltator)

This is such a good video by @dradriansmith.bsky.social. Not only does it show cool Harpegnathus jumping and stinging action, but it also features Gigantiops, one of my favorite ants, for a quick comparison!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hBX...

New video today on one of the coolest ants, Harpegnathos! youtu.be/-hBXOAJ7l1I

Thanks, Gil!

A small fly sits on a green leaf. It looks like a moth, with a very fluffy head and thorax to the right, and dark, fluffy wings held roof-like behind it. The wings are adorned with scattered, small, icy blue scales.

A small fly sits on a green leaf. It looks like a moth, with a very fluffy head and thorax to the right, and dark, fluffy wings held roof-like behind it. The wings are adorned with scattered, small, icy blue scales.

Fluffy.
Sparkly.
Adorable.

These are not the things you usually say about a fly, but here we are.

Let this little creature warm your heart 🥰

#Psychodidae #Setomima nitida
North Carolina, USA (w/ @dradriansmith.bsky.social)

Photo of a tall guy in a white t-shirt and jeans in front of a PowerPoint slide.

Adrian Smith @dradriansmith.bsky.social is at BugShot Arizona, explaining how to tell stories.

yeah, now I want to go through my wasp footage and see if their hind wings are also passively powered by the front ones too

New Ant Lab video out today: Ants mating and flying at the same time! youtu.be/bG9I9u-aM8g

Those are some red wings, wow!

We will be live tonight with a special SciAnts Thursday! We will be interviewing @dradriansmith.bsky.social, insect scientist and behavior expert, on his scientific journey, his incredible YT videos, and more!

9pm EDT

#scicomm #sciants #science #stem #twitch

www.twitch.tv/sciants_stre...

Two insects are shown in flight against a purple background with yellow text reading "INSECT FLIGHT" and black text reading "23 SPECIES!" - one appears to be a yellow-bodied flying insect on the left and a green beetle-like insect on the right.

🪲✈️ Slow-motion footage of 23 flying #insects by @dradriansmith.bsky.social explains the wide variety of flight mechanics out there. From beetles to stoneflies, each species developed different strategies.

👉 Learn more: zurl.co/OclZV

Finally checked off "rove beetle wing folding" from my need to film list. New video up now: youtu.be/uvXxiUjw-xY

Quote tweeting myself because I ❤️ MAKING THIS VIDEO!!!

YouTube video by Ant Lab What's the Point of Natural History Collections?

"What's the Point of Natural History Collections?" is out today on the YouTube/AntLab check it out and long live basic research!!!!!!!!!!
youtu.be/dxUbTn7d6Fw

Painting of a black and very rectangular warty leaf beetle. The beetle's exoskeleton is riddled with divots and lumps, with reddish-orange tint on its legs, face, mouthparts and antennae. It's somewhat stylized, and the rendering is very soft. The background is a light wash of brown

My favorite 🪲 lump

Acrylic ink & pencils on 3x4" hotpress

#InverteFest

YouTube video by thebrainscoop Trump is gutting museums and libraries.

Losing the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) would be an act of monumental neglect.

I made a video about what’s at risk, and how orgs like @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social and the American Alliance of Museums need us to help advocate for these critical places.

youtu.be/fYLC-KWy-Ks?...

A light brown caterpillar with a few random large, fuzzy, fleshy, tentacle-like projections coming out of the body, sits on a green leaf on a black background.

A light brown caterpillar with a few random large, fuzzy, fleshy, tentacle-like projections coming out of the body, sits on a green leaf.

A light brown caterpillar with a few random large, fuzzy, fleshy, tentacle-like projections coming out of the body, sits on a green leaf. This is a side view showing spiny tubercles containing stinging hairs.

A shot of this slug moth caterpillar showing the slug-like underside. The large brown fleshy protuberances can be seen above, but the underside is bright yellow and slimy looking. You can also see the amber colored head at one end.

Monkey slug? Hag moth caterpillar? Both phenomenal names.

But I ❤️ the genus name most: Phobetron. Sounds like a malevolent transformer or a giant alien space television.

These caterpillars have fleshy deciduous appendages (this one lost a few) & stinging hairs. Watch out! ☣️☠️

North Carolina, USA

YouTube video by Ant Lab The Invention of Ant Nest Architecture

🐜 #ant nest architecture came up in a lab meeting today and so we were obviously sharing photos of Walter Tschinkel's work - so beautiful!

Also so beautiful is the video that @dradriansmith.bsky.social made with Walt of the process and the history of the method!

Enjoy!

youtu.be/1LDja40tLAM?...

YouTube video by Pond Lab The Worm that lives on a Snail - Chaetogaster limnaei

Just posted a new video on my Pond Lab channel, all about a special worm that lives on pond snails, and helps stop it getting infected with parasites, including those that can go on to parasitise mammals like us! You can watch it here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHsy...
#bugsky #pondlife #ukwildlife

Thumbnail cover image for a YouTube video showing a stonefly and a green june beetle flying, text reads "insect flight - 23 species!"

New video! Flight footage from 23 species across 7 insect orders! youtu.be/gDI5g3rd0Ls