Robert Kennedy

You don't feed plants, you feed the soil and the soil feeds everything else.

Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For

Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!

"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."

Democracy dies in billionaire hands. [Cartoon by Michael de Adder]

Earthworms are indicators of healthy soil ecosystems.

A real fly, not a wasp.

6 January 2026 Joint Statement on Greenland Statement by President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Tusk of Poland, Prime Minister Sánchez of Spain, Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Frederiksen of Denmark on Greenland. Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe and it is critical for international and transatlantic security. NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up. We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries. The Kingdom of Denmark - including Greenland - is part of NATO. Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them. The United States is an essential partner in this endeavour, as a NATO ally and through the defence agreement between the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States of 1951. Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.

This is where we are. Read this joint statement by France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Denmark on Greenland:

"Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland."

The tiger clear wing is a tropical butterfly. The larvae feed on tomatos (among other Solanaceae). Several Solanum sp were domesticated in Mexico and the Andes.

🌱 "A forest is much more than what you see." —Suzanne Simard

I though you left out the best part where the fly gets released from its kidnapper but only because I didn't read further in the post lol. Happy New Year.

Graffiti: The planet doesn’t need more “successful” people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, & lovers of all kinds.

Reminder.

Important as decomposers and useful in household composting.

Hemiptera means true bug; a true bug has sucking mouthparts. The Coreids are called leaf-footed because some species have large, obvious leaf-like modifications on the legs. The family is distributed globally and in North America some species are pests on cucurbits (squash, cucumbers, melons).

🌱 "Mycelium is the glue that holds the forest together." —Paul Stamets

Photos of arthropods taken by Mark Sturtevant.

whyevolutionistrue.com/2025/12/21/r...

A yellow faced bumblebee with a ball of pollen on its back legs hovering over a Pride of Madeira flower

Yellow Faced Bumblebee on a Pride of Madeira
#photograph
#flowers
#bees

Me too. I couldn't agree more.

Huntsman spiders do not build webs instead, they hunt their prey. They are tropical, found in Indonesia, and terrific at camouflage. They come in different color forms but cannot change thier colors to match the background like squids can.

Fruit chafer beetle.

Rosalind Franklin and the damage of gender harassment Spurred by a recent report on sexual harassment in academia, our columnist revisits a historical case and reflects on what has changed—and what hasn’t

Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).

Evarcha culicivora photo by Robert R. Jackson

Only one predator species chooses its prey based on what it senses the prey has eaten. Specifically, it wants prey full of human (or other vertebrate) blood! Meet Evarcha culicivora, the spider that prefers blood-fed mosquitoes. Called the vampire spider, but this is misleading: it EATS vampires.

The hosts, wood-boring beetle larvae, are typically found within trees. The female Rhyssella uses her long ovipositor to bore into the wood and deposit her eggs. When the wasp larvae hatch, they feed on and kill the host larvae. The black "tube" in front of the middle leg is the ovipositor.

If it bleeds, it leads they say.

A queen bumble bee (Bombus bifarius) foraging on a pale green and white Frasera speciosa flower, with her proboscis extended into a nectary. Her orange pollen basket is prominently visible on her hind leg. Photo credit: Jane Ogilvie.

Improving plant DNA #metabarcoding accuracy with ecological filters and #Angiosperms353: Field and pollen microscopy validation

New in #AppsPlantSci by Benkendorf, @sophietaddeo.bsky.social, Fant et al

bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #botany #PlantScience #herbaria #ecology

A close-up of a long-legged spider holding a cluster of gray eggs beneath its body. The background consists of a brown, textured surface, possibly a dried leaf.

Arthropod Photo of the Week: October 1, 2025
Tailed cellar spider
Crossopriza lyoni
Araneae: Pholcidae
By Rodolfo Vega Littlewood (rvlfoto.weebly.com), Sonora, Mexico
#arthropodPOTW

You are truly a lab master if a pair of scissors lives with the parafilm box.

A green, lichen-mimicking insect is camouflaged on a mottled tree branch, blending in with the colors and textures of the bark and lichen.

Arthropod Photo of the Week: September 17, 2025
Katydid
Species unknown
Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae
By Tomás Oliveira, Minas Gerais, Brazil
#arthropodPOTW

Fall Clematis