Derek Hennen, Ph.D.

the next president needs to feed ICE into the woodchipper

Cleidogona

a glossy brown millipede on some rotten wood

its millipede time

Centipedes are plagued by the necessity of dorsal and ventral photos. But it's surprising what squinting and tenacity can do for your identification of blurry photos skillz.

Could be, particular close to the Gulf of Mexico. Any stone centipedes and soil centipedes would be worth grabbing! Florida has some enigmatic and endemic genera that I've never seen specimens of, so they're hard to stick into my key.

Soil Centipedes (Order Geophilomorpha) Soil Centipedes from Hudson, FL 34667, USA on December 27, 2020 at 08:29 PM by Arturo Santos

If you're in any of the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and see a soil centipede that's kind of thick and has dorsal spots like this, please consider collecting it for me so I can confirm its ID. www.inaturalist.org/observations...

I just want to find the forbidden Florida soil centipedes (described once and never talked about again, but almost certainly real)

I find a friend in spirit, his sage words from three years ago speak to me: "I won't even pretend I know what it is, but it's cool as heck."

Feels like 19th century myriapodology. Everything identified as either Geophilus, Polydesmus, or Julus.

Squinting at blurry pixels on iNaturalist, trying to identify centipedes that you need to put under a microscope. Spurred on by Emily Dickenson, “Hope is the thing with feathers."

Time Magazine is bought by Marc Benioff, Salesforce Billionaire

Salesforce to invest $15 billion in San Francisco to advance AI

Time's 2025 Person of the Year: The architects of AI

A story in 3 acts

YouTube video by Claire Saffitz x Dessert Person Can Claire Saffitz Rebuild a Closed Brooklyn Bakery’s Iconic Cake? | Dessert Person

A couple months ago, @hyperfixedpod.bsky.social collaborated with baker and dessert detective Claire Saffitz on recreating a beloved cake, simply by descriptions and photos of that cake. And now Claire has a video on how to make it! Good luck and happy munchin’

While I agree with P.A.'s sentiments here, Walt Disney was notoriously awful to other animators. He lied to them about profit-sharing for Snow White, fired the creator of Goofy for trying to start a union, and tried to convince Congress the upset animators were "Commies."

#Crustmas

Day 10 of #InsectAdvent & the Christmas flirting has ramped up

This male Robberfly, Pegesimallus teratodes, has striking, feather-like scales on its hind legs, likely used for female attraction during courtship. (& cleaning the dance floor)

@royentsoc.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social

Field Botanist - Roanoke, Virginia, United States Title: Field Botanist State Role Title: Scientist II Hiring Range: $55,000 - $65,000 Pay Band: 5 Agency: Dept Conservation & Recreation Location: Roanoke, VA Agency Website: www.dcr.virginia.gov R...

Field botanist job with Virginia Natural Heritage, based in Roanoke, VA. $55-65K pay range. Please share widely! www.jobs.virginia.gov/jobs/field-b...

As the host for the largest flea in the world, this is the mammal we need to have intense conservation initiatives behind!!!

Field Botanist - Roanoke, Virginia, United States Title: Field Botanist State Role Title: Scientist II Hiring Range: $55,000 - $65,000 Pay Band: 5 Agency: Dept Conservation & Recreation Location: Roanoke, VA Agency Website: www.dcr.virginia.gov R...

Field botanist job with Virginia Natural Heritage, based in Roanoke, VA. $55-65K pay range. Please share widely! www.jobs.virginia.gov/jobs/field-b...

Save the Museum of the Earth and PRI – Secure Its Future! In these challenging times, places like the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) stand as beacons of hope, fostering understanding of the natural world and inspiring action for a sustainable fut...

If you would like to get a tattoo of my art, that's totally fine with me! I'm honored! In lieu of payment, please instead donate some money to Museum of the Earth. They've almost hit their goal! priweb.donorsupport.co/page/FUNWALK...

To introrse or to [latrorse]? The timeless question.

More tiny treasures beneath the substrates

Last thing: A reminder that Trump's FTC almost immediately shut down the public inquiry Lina Khan had opened into surveillance pricing.

Same Cart, Different Price: Instacart’s Price Experiments Cost Families at Checkout - Groundwork Collaborative

In May, Human Rights Watch released a report showing how gig platforms use opaque algorithms to erode workers' wages.

Now a new investigation finds Instacart is running AI price experiments: charging different people different prices for the *same* groceries, sometimes by more than 23%.

Read this:

To recap:
•Rittenhouse killed 2 people at a BLM rally & raised $2M
•Shiloh Hendrix called a Black child the n-word & raised $800K
•Now Crystal Wilsey called a Black customer the n-word & has already raised $100K in 1 day

On thing remains clear—White supremacy remains extremely profitable in America

A 5-month-old baby died, & 3 surviving children, ages 2, 4, & 5, had to be hospitalized with rickets, osteopenia, vitamin D deficiency, & significant developmental delays bc their parents put them on “alkaline diets.”

Anyone saying alkalization has health benefits is a murderous liar & a charlatan.

This whole so-called “parents rights” movement the right has taken up and the left is supposed to kowtow to for votes is so obviously anti-child it really bothers me to see it presented as anything other than justification for abusive “parenting” and disregard for actual science on child development

Horsehair worms aren't segmented like this and no parasitic millipedes out there. But would love to know what it is.

I see them in leaf litter uncommonly, but had great luck finding them in pine cones near my old apartment!

Genus Polyxenus Polyxenus from Halifax County, VA, USA on November 20, 2025 at 07:52 PM by Derek Hennen. Leaf litter sample

Also picked up a photogenic pincushion millipede in that sample. www.inaturalist.org/observations...

Hooded Antlike Flower Beetles (Genus Notoxus) Hooded Antlike Flower Beetles from Halifax County, VA, USA on November 20, 2025 at 07:56 PM by Derek Hennen. From leaf litter sample

This is the first Anthicid beetle I can remember from my leaf litter samples, check out that pronotal horn! www.inaturalist.org/observations...