PJ Liesch

An illustrated poster with numbers and an identification key, highlighting the diversity of Hoverfly species found in North America. 18 flies are drawn on the poster. These flies are generally striped/have patterns that make them resemble bees. They are illustrated on a light earthy yellow-green background.

North American Hoverflies! 🪰

Some really tiny (~1 mm) Platygastrid wasps associated with whiteflies.

The lovely Halloween Pennant dragonfly 🎃

Took the quiz to find out that I’m a Platygastrid wasp 🤘

Seems about right 🤷🏻‍♂️

Infographic describing the appearance of the eastern condone kissing bug, which does not occur in Wisconsin or the Upper Midwest, and a common look-alike—the western conifer seed bug.

Chagas disease and kissing bugs have been in the news lately. I'll just leave this here:

#chagasdisease #kissingbugs

A white drepanid moth that looks like a bird poop with two flies eating it

MOST importantly, I found a single specimen of Macrocilix nr. maia in the unsorted/pro tempore section, the magnum opus of visual ecology

Back from vacation on the shores of Lake Superior and digging myself out of a pit of emails, just like this ant getting out of an antlion nest. At least my risk of getting eaten is much lower… #entomology

The graphic includes text that reads, “New Special Collection. Asian Longhorned Beetle. Read Now,” as well as publication title, “Environmental Entomology.” It also includes logos for Oxford University Press and the Entomological Society of America. There is a photo offset in a circle of the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Photo courtesy David Coyle, Clemson University. Forestry and Environmental Conservation, South Carolina.

Learn all about Asian longhorned beetles in a new special collection from Environmental Entomology!

Articles cover biology, behavior, natural enemies, survey tools, eradication methods, and more: academic.oup.com/insect-scien... @oxfordacademic.bsky.social

There are white grubs and then there’s this heckin chonker I found while building a fence last weekend. Larva of the stag beetle Lucanus capreolus.

Safely placed it back down amongst the mulch. #beetles #Coleoptera #WisconsinBugs

🐞 🐝 I'm recruiting students to join my lab at the University of Minnesota! Hoping to bring on 2-3 MS or PhD students (MS a pre-req for PhD students). Take a peek at the opportunities available and feel free to reach out with questions. Please share widely!

jhemberger.github.io/ibug_lab_web...

Goczał, Beutel & Gorb. 2025. Formation of #beetles #elytra and the most spectacular animal #radiation in the history of Earth. #evolution doi.org/10.1093/zool...

By default, I automatically repost awesome #scorpionflies 🤩
#Mecoptera

Large chunks of people's favorite trees seemingly go leafless overnight this time of year, usually thanks to caterpillars. Our paper (w/ @kellyoten.bsky.social & #nobluesky Robert Jetton) in @entsocamerica.bsky.social's JIPM highlights several species in the SE US: academic.oup.com/jipm/article...

I think the greenish one is the limited edition, Baja Blast flavor

I was wondering the same. That August 2018 flood was a crazy event. Totally wiped out the creek bike path near my house.

Invertebrates rule, vertebrates drool…

More Intense El Niños May Be Driving Loss of Tropical Insects

Insects and spiders are declining in tropical forests around the world, even in areas untouched by logging, mining, or farming.

In these places, new research posits, more potent El Niños are driving the losses.

Big blue bees are the BEST!

This is what happens when Scolytines run into the wall a few too many times without a helmet on.

Parenting: it’s like Fight Club, except you get to talk about it on social media 🤷‍♂️

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)

Large fuzzy black and white bumblebee mimic robberfly clutching a dry stalk looking intently for snacks

Large red and black wasp mimic robberfly with black wings, perched on a spiky dried flower of some sort, also looking intently for snacks

These are definitely Hymenopterans, don't worry about it

Insect display boxes

Live arthropod petting zoo booth

Outreach booths hosted by University of Wisconsin-Madison department of entomology

A guided walking tour to visit bee houses at Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Last Friday’s Wisconsin Insect Fest at Olbrich Botanical Gardens was a huge hit. Looking forward to seeing what we come up with for next year:

#entomology #outreach #insects

Animals as beautiful as these greenbottle flies (Lucilia sp.) are likely in your back yard at this moment! #diptera #insects #macrophotography #backyardbugs

Not all heroes wear capes.
Also check out Eric's new book!

press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

The black horse fly (Tabanus atratus) is an impressive beast at over an inch in length.

The black horse fly (Tabanus atratus) is an impressive beast at over an inch in length.

There are horse flies and then there are HORSE FLIES 💪

Found this chonker (Tabanus atratus) on the ground this morning in a store atrium.

Midges (lake flies) super abundant in Madison, WI at the moment. If you see what appears to be a smoke plume near the lake shore, it’s probably a cloud of these flies! #insects #Diptera

The top 10 flying insect clades rule the skies—but defy the rules. Weak or inverted latitudinal diversity gradients leave biogeographers puzzled. Entomologists? Mildly amused. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...