Niklas Wahlberg

Strepsiptera systematics: past, present, and future Abstract. The twisted-wing parasites (Strepsiptera Kirby) are among the most obscure and enigmatic orders in the Insecta. Strepsipterans are endoparasites

Our big review paper on strepsipteran systematics for Insect Systematics and Diversity is out! Hoping it's a helpful resource for anyone who needs it.

How cool is it to be following the spread of a species in real time! Gotta keep our eyes open in Sweden @larspett.bsky.social 😁

A draft genome assembly of the agricultural pest Leucoptera coffeella and analysis of its dsRNA processing machinery is a key step towards RNAi-based biopesticides in Lepidoptera The Coffee Leaf Miner (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae: Leucoptera coffeella) is a specialist herbivore and major global pest of coffee plants. Current pest control strategies primarily rely on chemical pest...

I am very pleased to share this preprint from a new collaboration with some colleagues at Embrapa. We present a long-read draft genome for one of the biggest threats facing global coffee production: the coffee leafminer.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (CBG) is seeking ten taxonomic specialists in Collembola or any of the following insect orders - Blattodea, Ephemeroptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Trichoptera!

graduatestudies.uoguelph.ca/postdoctoral...

Our paper, led by Eva van der Heijden, shows the work of an international team combining phylogenomics, hybridisation tests, population and comparative genomics and pheromone analyses to resolve the taxonomy and evolution of two rapid radiations of glasswing butterflies. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

I am starting a computational lab at LIOS, Riga, Latvia, and going to recruit a few people. Please DM if you are interested in a postdoc or PhD position in my Metabolic Research Group within the TARGETWISE project. I can highly recommend Riga, it is a beautiful city with very good living conditions.

Light trapping in the hut

What an amazing week and experience! Thanks to @10klepgenomes.bsky.social and @projectpsyche.bsky.social for making this experience in the Alps possible! It has been incredible to learn from such an amazing group of professionals! 🦋🧬

Preprint alert from the lab
@jasminealqassar.bsky.social led this elegant study of gene expression in the silk glands of our favorite alternative "silk worm", the pantry moth.

Mega-polyploid cells with thousands of genome copies just to express a handful of proteins

doi.org/10.1101/2025...

From beautiful #moth trapping locations to sampling Alpine meadows filled with butterflies 🦋 and learning about sample preparation 🧬, I had the best week on the @10klepgenomes.bsky.social field trip! Huge thanks to all the entomologists, #COST10KLepGenomes, #LepEu and @projectpsyche.bsky.social!

When molecular biology🧬 meets entomology 🦋 in the land of marmots, cows and their ever-present flies 🪰🐄😄 An unforgettable one-week scientific expedition 🧬🦋🔬with the @10klepgenomes.bsky.social in the magical South Tyrolean Alps🪄⛰️🌲Ju-hu, 10k genomes here we come!🧬🧬🧬☺️👩🏼‍🔬

Help us design and choose a new logo for the SEL! Send your entry to me by Fri 18 Jul (jpg, png, pdf). Voting will be open 25 Jul–15 Aug. Details on how to vote will follow.

@10klepgenomes.bsky.social
is spending this week in beautiful Vinschgau valley in South Tyrol, collecting as many new species for @projectpsyche.bsky.social as possible!

First field trip of the #WG2 has come to an end! We will share some of the most relevant moments of this fantastic week! Stay tuned 🦋🧬

Phylogeny and reclassification of Limacodidae worldwide, with emphasis on the ontogeny of larval defenses (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea) Abstract. Limacodidae (Zygaenoidea), a mostly pantropical family of 1,800+ species, is known for sluglike caterpillars with suckers below rather than typic

I've been waiting for this, an update on the beautiful slug #caterpillars (Limacodidae)

academic.oup.com/isd/article-...

NHM London is looking for a Director of Research as part of our leadership team. Guide a world-class research community, set a strong vision for collections-based research, and ensure research excellence across NHM activities.
plusportal.perrettlaver.com/VacancyDetai...

Nice job at Aarhus University @au.dk: we need more professorship in genetic biodiversity!
tech.au.dk/en/about-the...

Our false head work is out! By analysing ~1000 #butterflies, we found many traits at posterior end of hindwings evolved correlatedly, likely forming a trait complex w/adaptive function to dupe predators into thinking these traits together are actual head!!

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

A fun paper on the evolution of false heads on the wings of lycaenid (blue) butterflies!
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Moth communities are shaped by season, weather, elevation, and landscape composition We analysed an unusually large moth community dataset from Switzerland, which was collected with light traps by a single expert and contains data on 2.8 million moth individuals (1045 species). Reco...

What determines your moth catch? More or less what you might think, with a bit of rain being a good thing on a warm night. #TeamMoth

resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

a silly #SciArt redraw of the squish that cat meme, but it is a grey stickfigure squishing a mosquito (that looks like a little cat) with the text SQUISH THAT BUG!

You want to collect insects (and maybe other arthropods) for reference genome sequencing, but don't want to spend a fortune on dry ice shipping!

All you gotta do is SQUISH. THAT. BUG!

More details in our recent preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The Museums in Miniature project provides a drawer of curated local insect specimens for display in schools, libraries, and other educational institutions using specimens of abundant taxa, or those missing data or otherwise unsuitable for research.

doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...

Trichoptera systematics: past, present, and future—making the case for continued caddisfly taxonomic research Abstract. We review the developments in caddisfly (Insecta: Trichoptera) systematics starting with Linnaeus through to the present time. We give a brief in

If you’re interested in the past, present, and future of caddisfly systematics, we’ve got your back. Here’s our contribution to the Insect Systematics and Diversity special issue doi.org/10.1093/isd/...

Gene loss associated with plasticity-first evolution in Heliconius butterflies Phenotypic plasticity occurs when a genotype can produce more than one phenotype under different environmental conditions. Genetic accommodation allows plastic phenotypes to be tuned to new environmen...

Very excited about this paper led by Erika Castro. She has shown that Heliconius were ancestrally plastic in how they acquired their cyanogens, but some species have lost the ability to biosynthesise toxins, and have lost genes involved www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The two Mesquite logos. At left, a mesquite tree leaf is against a black background. At right, a leaf is against a blue sky and sun.

Mesquite 4.0 released! A major update — many new features, small and large (phylogenomics, visualizations, workflow management, &c). Check out the trailer video: www.mesquiteproject.org.

Come discuss in our new Google Group (groups.google.com/g/mesquite-project). @bembidion.bsky.social ‬🧪 #evolbio

And here it is:

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Such a @basantakhakurel.bsky.social thing to promise something “in the coming weeks” and then turn around and have it done like the next day #evol2025

Genetic parallelism underpins convergent mimicry coloration across Lepidoptera https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.26.661542v1

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Biodiversity Research Using Genetics - Ledig stilling på Aarhus Universitet Ledig stilling ved Center for Kvantitativ Genetik og Genomforskning, Aarhus, Aarhus Universitet

Aarhus University seeks a tenure-track assistant professor in population genetics, comparative genomics, or bioinformatics for biodiversity research. More info: https://www.au.dk/om/stillinger/job/tenure-track-assistant-professor-in-biodiversity-research-using-genetics #job

Society for European Lepidopterology! @soceurlep.bsky.social‬

Lund University is offering 2-year visiting professorships (20% time) for full professors, with a deadline of August 17. Women are encouraged to apply. More info: https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:835541/ #job

The aim of this proposal is to place population genomic insights into a comparative framework to gain fundamental insights into the determinants of evolutionary outcomes. The project will work within LepEU, the European Lepidopteran Population Genomics Consortium (https://lepeu.github.io/). LepEU provides access to field samples from European populations of diverse species. Chromosome-scale reference genomes are provided by Project Psyche (https://www.projectpsyche.org/). Networking during the postdoc will be facilitated by participation in the 10kLepGenomes COST Action (https://10klepgenomes.eu/). Existing datasets await analysis, while additional samples need DNA extraction and submission for sequencing. Functional validation capability (CRISPR/Cas9 gene manipulations) is also available to test emergent hypotheses of allele-to-phenotype impacts. Personal research interests of the postdoc will be important to determine the exact project, as the project has a generous sequencing budget.

The successful applicant should have a PhD (obtained within 6 years of the application deadline) in a suitable subject area, such as evolutionary biology or population genomics. A strong interest in population genomics, local adaptation, comparative analyses, and experience working with genomic-scale data is essential. The candidate must have a documented publication record demonstrating relevant skills. Experience working with bioinformatic pipelines (e.g., Snakemake), or working with butterflies is welcome but not essential. The net salary is 28,000 SEK/month (~2,430 Euro, not subject to Swedish income tax) and comes directly from the Carl-Trygger Foundation stipend, which is paid out directly to the postdoc. Only PhD candidates acquired outside of the host department can apply. Currently, the lab of Prof. Wheat consists of 3 postdoctoral researchers, while the Dept. of Zoology provides a vibrant and excellent research environment of active, dynamic researchers. Applications should include: i) a succinct description of research interests and experience, detailing your contribution to any relevant publications (max 1 page), ii) why you are the ideal candidate for this position in the lab (max 1 page); iii) a CV including a list of publications, and iv) the name and contact information of two personal references. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with a deadline of 23 August 2025. The project is planned to start on 1 October, but flexibility in the starting date can be provided for a suitable candidate. Please contact Prof. Wheat for additional information.

🚨Postdoc opportunity🚨: LepEU postdoc: comparative population genomics of European scale adaptation in butterflies

2 year, full-time PD in my group, Stockholm Univ.

Applications assed on rolling basis, deadline: 23 August 2025. Planned start 1 Oct.

Details:
christopherwheatlab.wordpress.com