Torsten Dikow

Scientific American has updated the figure, now grouped into swimmers, fliers, walkers/runners, and vehicles. A person on a bicycle remains the most efficient way to travel, compared to all forms of biological locomotion and mechanical transport.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

Borussia Dortmund: Neue Schmetterlingsart nach BVB benannt Sie ist schwarz-gelb und lebt in Peru: Eine neu entdeckte Schmetterlingsart heißt nun Vanewrightia borussiadortmund. Den Namen hat sie einem Fußballfan zu verdanken. Peter Klausmeier ließ sich das etwas kosten.

Sie ist schwarz-gelb und lebt in Peru: Eine neu entdeckte Schmetterlingsart heißt nun Vanewrightia borussiadortmund. Den Namen hat sie einem Fußballfan zu verdanken. Peter Klausmeier ließ sich das etwas kosten.

CO-SIGNED!
I’ve met so many folks who want to study bugs and learn how to find new species, there are absolutely more interested parties than there are jobs

A two-column status table titled "Stage" and "Start Date" tracks the timeline of a manuscript submission from its preliminary data submission on October 8, 2025, to its eventual withdrawal on March 2, 2026. The log reveals a lengthy and repetitive administrative process, particularly between October 26, 2025, and February 19, 2026, where the status cycled more than ten times between "Contacting Potential Reviewers" and "Waiting for Reviewer Assignment," suggesting significant difficulty in securing peer reviewers. Following these numerous failed attempts to move into the active review phase, the final entry shows the manuscript was officially withdrawn on March 2, 2026, at 09:08:18.

My first paper had to be mailed to Stockholm, Sweden, and then mailed to reviewers around the world. Everything by mail! It was submitted, reviewed, revised, typeset, and published in 3 months. I feel bad for early-career scientists who can't find a single reviewer after 5 months. It's gotta change.

Good article, but the framing is wrong. There is not a dearth of interest in taxonomy. There is a scarcity of funding and positions, which is a deliberate choice by funding agencies and institutions. The youth love taxonomy! It's the olds that are failing to meet their passion!

‘I love midges because I know what their hearts look like’: is the passion for taxonomy in danger of dying out? Insect taxonomist Art Borkent has described and named more than 300 species of midges but fears his field of science is dying out, despite millions of insects, fungi and other organisms waiting to be ...

Incredible article about Art Borkent, biting midges, and aging taxonomists.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

MEINUNG •Neues Heizungsgesetz »Habeck ist doof« ist keine Strategie Christian Stöcker Eine Kolumne von Christian Stöcker Die Union legt die Axt an die deutsche Klimapolitik, die SPD macht mit. Das ist kurzsichtig: ökonomisch, gesundheitlich, geopolitisch und klimatisch. Die Koalitionäre ignorieren etwas Zentrales.

Kolumne: Die Welt verändert sich in atemberaubendem Tempo. Sie wird heißer, schneller, fossile Geschäftsmodelle sterben zwangsläufig, neue entstehen. Die Bundesregierung setzt stattdessen auf Retro-Technik. Das ist schlecht für das Land - und schlecht für die Menschheit.

a pair of mating Nymphomyia walkeri adults. These tiny little flies would have feathery wings when they first emerge, but lose their wings when they re-enter the water to mate.

A larva of Nymphomyia walkeri from Newfoundland. This is a tiny little white worm-like larva with a shiny head and little prolegs all along the abdomen.

Dorsal view of a Blepharicera tenuipes larva from Labrador, Canada. The larvae is a pale tan in colour, with a darker mark on its head. Each segment is expanded out on each side, with a proleg on each side.

Ventral view of a Blepharicera tenuipes larva from Labrador, Canada. The larvae is a pale tan in colour, and each segment is expanded, with a dark, circular sucker in the centre to help the larva hold on to rocks in fast water. Little finger-like gills can also be seen on each segment.

Quite a treat to encounter some cute little Diptera in vials inadvertently included amongst my Newfoundland and Labrador mayfly vials: these are Nymphomyiids and blepharicerids.

The "publish or perish" culture must perish. Scientists need time to think.

We just published our Slow Science Manifesto, where we argue that huge changes are needed in the way we fund, publish, and evaluate science.

Read more and sign here: www.slow-science.com

assassin fly eating a small flesh fly

assassin fly eating a small flesh fly

flowering plant on coastal dune

coastal dune habitat

#FlyFriday

assassin fly Neolophonotus sp. (Asilidae: Asilinae) with small flesh fly (Sarcophagidae) prey - photographed on a coastal dune in foggy/overcast weather at McDougall's Bay, Northern Cape, South Africa - 31 January 2026

#asiloidflies

She’s Back! Wisdom The Incredible Laysan Albatross Has Returned The world’s oldest known wild bird, Wisdom, the Laysan albatross, has returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to nest.

Wisdom the Laysan albatross is back! She's at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Originally banded in 1956, she's at least 75 years old, has flown >3 million miles (lifetime Premier 1K® on United), laid 50 to 60 eggs, and fledged ~30 chicks. 🪶

Photograph of a brilliant puffin spreading its wings amongst flowers on a cliff top

🔎 From biodiversity observations to insights: Hands-on training 🤝

Over the upcoming Fridays at 15:00 CET, @b-cubed.eu is hosting a training series to showcase emerging approaches that help make biodiversity data more actionable in practice.

🔗gbif.link/b-cubed-tr...

Beyond Digitization: Open Digital Curation of Collections-based Biodiversity Data Open digital curation can be a continuous, inclusive process that explicitly incorporates annotations, enhancements, and round-tripping across the biodiversity data lifecycle. This issue aims to illus...

📢 Call for submissions: "Beyond Digitization: Open Digital Curation of Collections-based Biodiversity Data."

This topical collection aims to explore how #AI and human annotations can enhance #biodiversity #data and flow back to source systems.

📅 Deadline: 1 Sept 2026
Details 👇

an arctic fox on a snowy ledge

🎓 Student job alert! Are you studying in #Copenhagen, have an interest in open data and scientific literature and want to make some extra cash💰

⏰ 10-12 hours per week
💸 Competitive hourly wage
😍 Flexible hours
📍 Deadline: 27 February 2026

🔗 gbif.link/student-job

Aquatic Insects SIG 2026 Register by 25 February

Ready to level up your data skills? 📊

At #AquaticInsects SIG 2026, join a hands-on R + machine learning workshop exploring macroinvertebrate and environmental data.

📅 26-27 Feb (online)

Info & signup ⬇️

buff.ly/uLDNn9A

Registration deadline: 17:00 (GMT), 25 Feb

@entsocamerica.bsky.social

desk space in insect collection at Iziko South African Museum with view of Lions Head

assassin fly Anasillomos chrysopos with cicada prey

two male assassin flies of Acnephalomyia leukoros mounted on single card

assassin fly Teratopomyia cyanea - first species of Asilidae described from South Africa in 1781

#FlyFriday

visiting Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town today - great collection, great flies, (partial) view of Lions Head

assassin flies:
Anasillomos chrysopos with cicada prey
Acnephalomyia leukoros males
Teratopomyia cyanea - 1st species described from South Africa in 1781

#asiloidflies

1. Yes, this is real footage from Poland's Wrocław Zoo

2. The deer, a male muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi, aka "barking deer"), is hopped up on testosterone because its mate is in heat

3. Muntjac males weigh up to ~40 lbs (18 kg). Maruśka, the rhino, weighs 1.7 tons

www.thesun.co.uk/news/3786348...

wintery scene in Connecticut, USA

wintery scene in Connecticut, USA

wintery scene with Rhododendron leaves and snow in Connecticut, USA

Happy New Year everyone!

Relentless "improvement" of the countryside leaves no space for nature.

But ever more people are now helping the wild return, through *rewilding*.

No matter who you are or where you live, you too have a part to play in the fight.

There is no better New Year's resolution.

close up photo of a fish

News splash! 💦 🐟 GBIF data use surges globally, powering more than 12,000 studies across 180 countries! 🤯

The systematic review led by Dirk Steinke published in @pnas.org examined scopes, methods and complementary data sources in literature citing GBIF.

Read more: 🔗 gbif.link/systematic...

Megaphorus sp. - Asilinae: Apocleini

#asiloidflies

Notes on DiSSCo applications (II): ELViS - DiSSCo

What we had until today: a fragmented model of access/request of specimens. What #ELVIS (European Loans & Visit System) already offers: a single entry point for estandardised practices across institutions, better discoverability and traceability. DEMO 👉 www.dissco.eu/applications...

occurrence data at @gbif.org doi doi.org/10.15468/xyr...

online key at keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v4/acro...

photos at @figshare.com doi doi.org/10.25573/dat...

#asiloidflies #FlyFriday

specimen of new fly species, Acronyches gephyrus, mounted on a pin

specimen of new fly species, Acronyches gephyrus, mounted on a pin

specimen of new fly species, Acronyches gephyrus, mounted on a pin

map with distribution of Acronyches species

#FlyFriday

new revision of assassin-fly genus Acronyches Williston, 1908 (Asilidae: Leptogastrinae) with @ento-allan.bsky.social out - 4 new species from Central + South America - flies catch spiders in their web (see www.inaturalist.org/observations... doi doi.org/10.4289/0013...

#asiloidflies

Demodex mites live in your facial pores and have lost some of the genes that respond to daylight. They cannot make their own melatonin, so they use the melatonin your skin releases at night as a cue to crawl out and mate on your face.

You're never truly alone. ❤️

🧪 #entomology #invert 🪲🪳

A QR code for the survey

What are the most pressing questions
about the status of #insects? Our survey is available here in multiple languages: bit.ly/insectquestions! #insect #entomology #biodiversity

Die Große Wolfsfliege (Dasypogon diadema) ist eine Raubfliegenart, die regelmäßig Wespen und andere Hautflügler erbeutet. (Foto: Tommy Kästner)

Gemeinsam mit dem @rote-liste-zentrum.bsky.social haben wir die neue Rote Liste der #Raubfliegen Deutschlands veröffentlicht. Das Ergebnis ist alarmierend: Jede zweite Art ist bestandsgefährdet oder ausgestorben❗️
www.bfn.de/pressemittei...
#RoteListe #Biodiversität #Naturschutz #CitizenScience

If you have a student, anywhere in the world, who would like and entomological society membership please have them come on over to our entopoc.org website to sign up for up to three free memberships per student!

It's cold in the UK (and other parts of the world ;))

So lets turn our thoughts to next summer & the return of FLY SCHOOL - yes the most amazing Dipterological training experience in the Costa Rican Forest (with canopy access) is BACK

Can't wait @dipteracourse.bsky.social

Model Context Protocol (MCP) and triple stores: natural language queries for knowledge graphs Blog by Rod Page on biodiversity informatics, taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny, knowledge graphs, and other topics.

I wrote up some brief notes on Model Context Protocol (MCP) and triple stores iphylo.blogspot.com/2025/11/mode.... The idea of querying knowledge graphs using natural language is intoxicating.