Dr Lu

Behind Every Beetle: The Complete Story of Cerambycidae Curation As I approach the end of my second year as a Curatorial Assistant at the Triplehorn Insect Collection, I wanted to reflect on the experience of the largest and most comprehensive assignment I have …

Check out the latest post on the Triplehorn Insect Collection’s Pinning Block blog. #curation #museums #insects #collections #entomology

An historic illustration of of two brown stripy butterflies and a caterpillar on a plant with white flowers.

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Your donation will keep biodiversity knowledge open, connected, and growing, and fund the dedicated staff who make it all possible. 📖 👩‍💻 🌱 🌏 🧪
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#BHLTransition #ILoveBHL

Terrible photo of an adult Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) in a take out container.

We spent the past 2 months hunting for nymphs of the spotted lanternfly in the garden. Found & removed hundreds. Now adults are emerging. 😭

This Budget Plan Would Devastate U.S. Space Science Scientists are rallying to reverse ruinous proposed cuts to both NASA and the National Science Foundation

"You’re punching a generation-size hole, maybe a multigenerational hole, in the scientific and technical workforce. You don’t just Cryovac these people and pull them out when the money comes back. People are going to move on.”

www.scientificamerican.com/article/prop...

Trump moves to slash NSF: why are the proposed budget cuts so big? Major US science funder could lose more than half its budget — and researchers are reeling.

"If the NSF budget were to be enacted as is, it “would spell the end of any pretence that the US leads the world in science and technology, handing that position to China”, says Neal Lane, who directed the agency under Democratic former president Bill Clinton." By @dangaristo.bsky.social

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The Weather & climate livestream continues. Amazing talks by gifted & dedicated scientists . Check it out! Support them! @wclivestream.bsky.social

BHL Transition Update #1 Leadership, Fiscal Sponsorship, and Hosting Opportunities In April 2025, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) released a public statement announcing that the Smithsonian Institution, our adminis…

Biodiversity Heritage Library transition update! blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/05/tran... #BHL

The Weather & Climate Livestream (@wclivestream.bsky.social) From May 28th to June 1st, join meteorologists and climate scientists from across the US for a 💯-hour livestream! We will share our science and show why America's forecasts are worth saving. [Photo: N...

@Follow Weather & Climate Livestream here: wclivestream.bsky.social

The link in the OP will no longer work, so here is a replacement which should keep working throughout the livestream:
wclivestream.com/watch

Live from NASA GISS, kicking-off the Weather and Climate 100-hour livestream YouTube video by The Weather & Climate Livestream

Tune into the 💯 hour Weather & Climate Livestream, brought to you by US meteorologists and climate scientists whose research is at risk due to proposed budget cuts. Learn about the federally funded science that makes weather forecasts and climate predictions possible!
www.youtube.com/live/CcWR6Cd...

Check it out!! *The weather & climate 100 hr livestream*!! Going on right now!! Scientists are talking about the importance of weather forecast to our daily life. 87 hours to go. Please support our colleagues, share widely. #NOAA www.youtube.com/@wclivestrea...

@siobhanleachman.bsky.social Hello!! I was looking for you! 🫂🥳

No irony! Endangered Species Day was just yesterday, May 16. 😒

International Museum Day - International Council of Museums Each year since 1977, ICOM has organised International Museum Day, which represents a unique moment for the international museum community.

Tomorrow is International Museum Day. But really, museum day is everyday. Let’s continue to celebrate & advocate for our #museums & #libraries #museumdayiseveryday

Neobarrettia spinosa (Caudell, 1907) Greater Arid-land Katydid

Neobarrettia spinosa (Caudell, 1907) Greater Arid-land Katydid

Neobarrettia spinosa (Caudell, 1907) Greater Arid-land Katydid

Neobarrettia spinosa (Caudell, 1907) Greater Arid-land Katydid

First word at opening this drawer was “whoa!” 😮💓
Neobarrettia spinosa (Caudell, 1907),
Greater Arid-land Katydids. The highlighted specimens are from Texas.

Here’s some context.

Deadline May 19!!!
Add your comments to gov proposed changes in the ESA aka “Rescinding the Definition of Harm under the Endangered Species Act”.

😍

Digital art of a vaguely heart-shaped paper wasp nest and two wasps balancing on it.

Hello #invertefest, here is a valentine for the beautiful paper wasps I got to know when I still lived in California. They were very polite about our shared porch and never tried to come inside, never acted aggressive towards me. Sadly I think they were an invasive type, but I was fond of them.

Brown paper shopping bag decorated with hand-painted drawings of wasps.

Detail of decorated brown paper bag showing drawing of a hand-painted butterfly

Join the fun that’s #Invertfest ! We’re no artists around here, but we use stencils, recycled materials, & creativity to spread awareness & share our love & appreciation for #insects These gift bags have sparked so many interesting conversations.

Congratulations to Dr. Mapalo!

a stack of books including discovering moths by John Hemmelman The secret world of slugs and snails by david george gordon extraordinary insects by ann sverdrup-thygeson bugs in the system by may berenbaum broadsides from the other orders by sue hubbell the fly trap by fredrik sjoberg the secret life of flies by erica mcalister a sting in the tale by dave goulson dragonflies and damselflies by dennis paulson the smaller majority by naskreki

What are your favorite invertebrate books?

Here are a few of my favorite insect books (will post marine invert books later) that is by no means comprehensive because I've got shelves of them. But there's always room for more, so let's see your favorites! Nonfiction AND fiction.

#InverteFest

Exciting #Invertfest 2025!!

Digital art of a grousewinged backswimmer surrounded by small pebbles.

Digital art of a large milkweed bug surrounded by its babies, which do not yet have the distinctive orange and black markings of the adult, and are almost entirely solid orange except for black spots on the abdomen.

Digital art of a pink and white leaf beetle.

Illustration of a bombardier beetle in black and orange, ejecting its noxious spray against predators. Above it is text that reads "Respect my boundaries."

You may have noticed it's #Invertefest!
I draw a lot of invertebrates. I don't have a new one for you today, but one of my neighbors has started a tiny parking lot garden, and perhaps tomorrow I will go look for bugs to draw in it. #SciArt

Illustration of Bombus mixtus. This big chunky western bumble bee is mostly yellow, with black on the thorax and a wide black band on the abdomen, with a band of chestnut before transitioning back to yellow. It is posed as if viewed from above while standing on a flat surface.

Illustration of Bombus vancouverensis nearcticus. This black and yellow bumble bee has a black vertical stripe down the center of its back, dividing some of its wide yellow bands.

Illustration of Bombus vosnesenskii. This very common bumble bee of the North American west is mostly black, with a yellow head, yellow "shoulders" of the thorax, and a single yellow band near the distal end of the abdomen.

Illustration of Bombus insularis, a cuckoo bumble bee. This bee is very similar to the previous vosnesenskii incoloration but has an elongated, narrow abdomen instead of a fat round one. This is known as a cuckoo bee - instead of a queen raising a colony of her own species, female B. insularis invade bumble bee nests, kill the queen, and start laying their own eggs for the host species' workers to care for instead.

Hello #InverteFest let me share some of my recent #bees with you all! Done for @instbirdpop.bsky.social - wait, but one of these isn't like the rest! That last species is no normal bumble bee, that's a cuckoo bee! See alt text for details. 🎨 #SciArt

Art piece of a digital drawing of a clear wing hummingbird moth flying among fantastical-looking purple flowers. The moth has a light green head, white neck and shoulders, reddish-brown body and tail with black and white highlights. Its wings are outline in black and you can see through them.

Oh, yeah, #InverteFest time 🪲😎

Milkweed Munchers. A comic strip that uses 5 tall panels. Each panel depicts a different invertebrate that relies on milkweed as a host plant. First Monarch caterpillars, one of them exclaims “Delicious!” Next, Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetles, one beetle shouts “Exquisite!” The third panel shows a cluster of Oleander Aphids on the stem of the milkweed, several small speech bubbles that say “Yum.” are coming from the group of aphids. Then we have Large Milkweed Bugs. The adult bug says “Delectable!”. There’s a group of nymph bugs in the background. Lastly, the final featured invertebrate is the Small Milkweed Bug. The cute orange and black bug has words of praise “Tremendous Chef.” It says. Below the panels are the name of each invertebrate. Above is the title that is adorned with milkweed to the left and right. On the left the milkweeds is young and blooming and on the right the plant is older, has grown seed pods and the leaves have been consumed.

#Invertefest?! Okay!
This one is a personal favorite out of all my bug art.

Stylized illustration of a brightly colored luna moth in flight, facing the viewer so we appreciate its cute face and round body. The moth has large green wings with conspicuous magenta eye spots, magenta legs, and big yellow antennae. The background is a night sky dotted with stars that fades from dark blue at the top to pinky-purple, cyan and finally green at the bottom. The moon is huge and directly behind the moth.

Sometimes it feels nice to do a glamor shot of something beautiful for the first day of #Invertefest

Acrylic ink, pencils and a touch of gouache on hotpress paper

❤️‍🔥🫂

Chalk art of a velvet worm bearing the colors of the trans flag, with the colors running lengthwise along the worm. It is crawling aside the words, also colored like the trans flag: TRANS RIGHTS …with “RIGHTS” underlined three times.

This is my contribution to #Invertefest: a piece of chalk art done in 2023 during a Pride celebration at my old workplace of a velvet worm saying TRANS RIGHTS 🏳️‍⚧️