Vaughn M. Shirey

A candle with the words "Smells like Data Chaos" with a picture of a burning file cabinet.

A postcard with a "Fuck RFK" sign put up to cover a broken window, evoking the bullet-ridden windows from the CDC attack

A mug with the text "FAFO is not a good public health strategy."

Decided to donate to the CDC mutual aid network to support laid-off and furloughed employees. They also have some *excellent* merch: www.cdcresourceportal.org

Two adult caribou and two baby caribou stand together on a foggy plain covered in patchy snow. The adults look towards the camera.

The Central Yukon Resource Management Plan has been rescinded.

“The Senate just plunged northern Alaska into chaos, ripping up a balanced land management plan that Alaskans spent years collaborating on,” said Cooper Freeman, our AK director. 🧵

More of our Public Lands work ➡️ bit.ly/3KIdNeK

A smooth green caterpillar with off-white stripes running down its back sits among pine needles on a pine twig. It has a reddish brown stripe in the middle of the back between two of the off-white stripes. The neck is turquoise and it has yellow stripes on the head.

A smooth green caterpillar with off-white stripes running down its back sits among pine needles on a pine twig. It has a reddish brown stripe in the middle of the back between two of the off-white stripes, and reddish brown colors on the top and bottom of the off-white side stripe. The neck is turquoise and it has yellow stripes on the head.

A smooth green caterpillar with off-white stripes sits among pine needles on a pine twig. It's looking at the camera. The neck is turquoise and it has yellow and black stripes on the head and face.

A smooth green caterpillar with off-white stripes sits among pine needles on a pine twig. It's looking at the camera. The neck is turquoise and it has yellow and black stripes on the head and face.

Continuing the series of caterpillars that look like candy, this pine sphinx larva looks very edible. I'm sure it's not, though 😂

Note that this species of hawkmoth larva does not have a "horn", so I guess it's not technically a "hornworm".

#Sphingidae: #Lapara
NC, USA

In hindsight, I guess you are all mammal friends so I probably should have specified mammologist...

Hi #mammal friends, are there any rasterized density maps for white tailed deer out there? Preferably with some historical data (ca. 1970 - present) as well? Many thanks!

the butterfly effect is when you see one and go ‘ooh butterfly!’ and then your day is better

Forecast 2-m temperatures today in Finland, based on the MEPS regional model.

20 straight days with 30 °C in Finland! Truly unprecedented heatwave still in full swing with maximum today about 32-33 degrees.

Even the Arctic regions (e.g. Sodankylä Tähtelä) have seen three weeks above 25 °C, and may rival tomorrow their August heat records.

two people are sitting on either side of a small wooden table in a dark space illuminated by a flashlight one is holding and looking at one of several large vials on the table

Nocturnal Neighbors 🦋🔦 Celebrating National Moth Week

Our lepidopterist @vmshirey.bsky.social is hosting two FREE evening events (July 25 & 26) that invite you to join scientists on night collecting fieldwork on @ufl.edu campus.

Pre-registration required:
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/noctur...

State of the Butterflies in the United States: A Roadmap for Recovery | Bug Banter Podcast You may already know that butterflies are in decline, but the speed at which it is happening may be surprising. Butterflies are being lost at a rate of 1.3% per year, which means more than one-fifth…

On this #BugBanter Podcast, we’ve got a plan to save butterflies.🦋🆘
This episode is all about diving into why butterflies are struggling & the steps everyone can take to help them recover!
Audio & transcript 📻 xerces.org/bug-banter/s...
Video w/ captions 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNzR...

Photo of dozens of winged insects swarming in a clear sky, their gauzy wings glowing, backlit by the sun.

Bluesky isn’t dying, it’s just buggy.

Cinnamon rolls in a baking dish.

Too late/languished to add “baking” to my alliterative interests? Blueberry cardamom rolls brought to you by current events.

Gorgeous shot of one of my absolute favorite genera.

Had a few evening thunderstorms here in FL that took out my power for a bit. What a wake-up call to get my butt in gear WRT hurricane season!

In case you couldn't bear to read all the way to the end (understandable), here is the proposed picture for the BIO Directorate.

Screenshot of the president’s FY 2026 proposed budget clearly stating “The 2026 Budget proposes to eliminate funding for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program”

While we are all reeling from the budget and its major cuts to NASA, NIH, USGS, etc. I want to also draw attention to this little nugget about State Wildlife Grants, which is the mechanism for funding State Wildlife Action Plans. Eliminating SWG will destroy state natural resource agencies.

Five people wearing field gear and smiling outside.

Successful Shirey Lab field work outing to San Felasco to conduct some giant skipper surveys!

A black and white image of a boardwalk through a swamp.

I've been really enamored over the last two months with making cameras out of all of my spare diet coke cans and tape.

Anyway, here is a shot that I'm really proud of from UF's campus. #pinhole #pinholeCamera

Monitor foliage arthropods anywhere in the world with woody vegetation!

Learn about
-how to set up a site
-mobile app
-training resources
-data viz tools
-and more!

Webinar TODAY @ 12p ET

#insects #birdfood #phenology #CitizenScience

caterpillarscount.unc.edu/getStarted

A New Future for the Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. A global consortium of over 660 contributors, BHL has made more …

A press release is out about the Biodiversity Heritage Library. From 1 January 2026 the Smithsonian will no longer host the administrative functions of BHL. BHL is looking for a new home. For further information see blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/04/new-...
#ILoveBHL #BiodiversityHeritageLibrary

There's still a few days to apply for this #PhD position @utu.fi to work on #biodiversity changes of #butterflies and #moths in my project - deadline is April 25 👇https://ats.talentadore.com/apply/vaitoskirjatutkija-projektitutkija-biodiversiteettimuutos/81PyEX?lang=en&UTUID=20826

A New Future for the Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. A global consortium of over 660 contributors, BHL has made more …

Change is in the air for BHL! In 2026, BHL hosting will transition away from the Smithsonian, opening doors to reimagine our future. Rest assured, our 63 million pages of biodiversity knowledge remain secure and accessible.
Learn what's next for BHL ➡️

peach coloured graphic with a drawing of a salamander and text that reads 2025 graduate researchers award

🦎 Are you a master's or PhD student ? 🎓

The 2025 Graduate Researchers Award will provide 💰 2x€5,000 prizes highlighting research and discovery in biodiversity informatics by graduate students whose studies rely on GBIF-mediated data. 🧬

Learn more 🔗 gbif.link/gra-2025

A cyanotypes print of a person with long hair and someone making peace signs.

Patterned blue and white cyanotype

Someone washing a cyanotype print.

Taught my first analog workshop on campus today using the ever stunning and versatile cyanotype process!

Was a good break from class ahead of finals and a great way to soak up some sunshine between meetings ☀️ 💙

Awesome new paper by @lucalivraghi.bsky.social et al.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
in @currentbiology.bsky.social
on the evo-devo of a butterfly color variation

enjoy the show!

A black and white image of a person with a beard wearing glasses and a western hat.

Spent some time this weekend experimenting with portraiture. Next up some digital negatives and experimenting with photochemistry.

Our article is now available open access! Come learn what we learned about the last 50 years of invertebrate conservation under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

doi.org/10.3389/fcos...

Yes! Fortunately, both students have a lot of prior experience in the group. :)

A photo of a person in a hat in nature.

A photo of a student looking at the tent of a giant skipper on the ground.

Two students with cameras walking along a trail.

Another great day looking for and learning about giant skippers with my students!

A person in a rich blue button down is casually posing for a portrait in an outdoor setting like a park

a large moth or butterfly of some kind with a thick body is hovering over a spherical flower trying to feed on it

a small butterfly with lobed wings is at rest on a surprisingly colored flower of some kind that looks unreal

A pivotal new study led by NatureServe reveals that >22% of native pollinators in North America are at an elevated risk of extinction.

Key findings and Q&A w/ Jaret Daniels, curator of Lepidoptera at the Florida Museum:
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/over...

Study: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Frontiers | 50 YEARS OF INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION UNDER THE UNITED STATES ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT-HISTORY AND THREATS TO SPECIES The United States Endangered Species Act celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. As a hallmark piece of environmental legislation, the Act has successfully ...

Stoked about this new article on 50 years of the Endangered Species act by @vmshirey.bsky.social and an amazing team of conservation scientists!

🧪 #academicsky

www.frontiersin.org/journals/con...