Tootfinder

🐛 Hidden insect diversity in grass shoots threatened by mowing
#insects

Hidden insect diversity in grass shoots threatened by mowing
When it comes to biodiversity, researchers and the public tend to focus on large-scale patterns. This overlooks a hidden but precious diversity: small, inconspicuous wasps, midges, flies, beetles and other insects that live in plants. These tiny creatures are actually very common, as shown by a team of researchers at the University of Göttingen and the Hungarian HUN-REN Center for Ecological Research.

In yard-work mode today but getting distracted by insects that are just begging to be photographed. E.g., gorgeous rafts of mosquito eggs floating around in the mini pond. #insects #mosquitoes #photography #ponds

Some #insects encountered April 21st at the Autobahn-Parkplatz #Gartherfeld on the A 1 near Cloppenburg - so full of #dandelion pollen that I didn't even try to ID them. ;-)

"In Mexican Forests, Monarch Butterflies Halt Their Decline"
#Mexico #Butterflies #Insects

In Mexican Forests, Monarch Butterflies Halt Their Decline

If you write about entomology, Haberski and Silva 2026 have compiled a downloadable dictionary that you can import into your spellchecker. I successfully loaded it into my Mac's dictionary (active upon restart). This link has instructions for using in Microsoft Word. #entomology #insects #spelling #science #bugs https://github.com/ahaberski/SpellingBee/tree/main

"Researchers find ‘remarkable’ hot-pink insect in Panama rainforest"
#Panama #Insects

Researchers find ‘remarkable’ hot-pink insect in Panama rainforest
In March 2025, biologist Benito Wainwright and his colleagues were searching for katydids — leaf-mimicking insects related to crickets and grasshoppers — in the rainforest of Barro Colorado Island in Panama, when they came across an unexpected sight: a hot-pink katydid individual of the species Arota festae. The researchers captured the katydid and raised her […]

Yesterday I decided to check my mini-pond for mosquito egg rafts and found 8. Two were easy to find (arrows) but the remainder were situated in little nooks obscured by plants. All Culex, I think. Each egg has a glossy apical cap filled with aggregation pheromones that induce other mosquitoes to oviposit. Pond is dosed regularly with Bti so I'm not worried about the eggs I've missed. #mosquitoes #culex #insects #diptera #pond #macrophotography

🪰 New technology solves production bottleneck for black soldier fly larvae
#insects

New technology solves production bottleneck for black soldier fly larvae
Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists have developed a patented breakthrough system that marks a major step forward in insect biomanufacturing, waste reduction and sustainable protein production.

"Say no to pesticides, mix up your lawn – and six more ways to help bees to thrive"
#Environment #Bees #Insects

Nature fans: the spring Gall Week starts May 2nd! URL has details on how to participate on iNaturalist, plus links to an excellent podcast featuring Adam Kranz. #nature #biology #inaturalist #cynipidae #galls #insects #mites #wasps https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/257180/journal/129848

"More than half of Britain’s butterfly species in decline, monitoring scheme shows"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Insects #Butterflies

"Numbers of Rare Butterfly Eggs are Best on Record After Hedges are Allowed to Grow Wild"
#Butterflies #Insects #Animals

Numbers of Rare Butterfly Eggs are Best on Record After Hedges are Allowed to Grow Wild
Numbers of rare butterfly eggs have skyrocketed in Wales after landowners let their hedgerows grow wild to help the Brown Hairstreak survive.

🐞 New species of ladybird beetle discovered on university campus in Japan
#insects

New species of ladybird beetle discovered on university campus in Japan
University campuses are often places of learning and discovery, but rarely do researchers find a new species living right on their doorstep. However, that is exactly what happened when a research team from Kyushu University discovered a new species of ladybird beetle, Parastethorus pinicola, on a pine tree at Kyushu University's Hakozaki Satellite.

"Stop mowing the lawn – and five more ways to save Britain’s ‘charming’ and ‘polite’ gatekeeper butterflies"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Environment

April 30th is apparently World Robber Fly Day. These are Promachus princeps and the nuptial gift is a longhorned beetle. Madras, Oregon, USA. #asilidae #robberfly #fly #diptera #entomology #nature #beetle #insects

“Explaining Belgium’s ‘wedding flight’ of 1,000 queen bees and how it is reviving Europe’s endangered dark bee”
#Belgium #Bees #Insects

Explaining Belgium’s ‘wedding flight’ of 1,000 queen bees and how it is reviving Europe’s endangered dark bee | The Optimist Daily
Each summer in Belgium, 1,000 virgin queen bees take flight to help restore Europe’s native dark bee and protect sustainable beekeeping.

Houdini fly (Cacoxenus indagator), a kleptoparasite of mason bees from Europe that showed up in North America circa 2011. Whenever I walk past my insect hotel I take a moment to squish them. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #insects #diptera

On my list of things to make: a bugamac. #photography #filter #insects #spiders #nature #macro #macrophotography https://biokirr.com/Articles/Bugamak/

"How Rare Butterfly Conservation Success in the UK Shows Recovery is Achievable"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Butterflies #Insects

I've been documenting the insects that emerge from eastern redbud seeds, and these two chalcids popped out today. On the left is Eurytoma sp. and on the right is Eupelmus pulchriceps. Both wasps hovered around me for a good 10 seconds or so after I blew them off. One came back and landed in the same spot. Goodbyes are hard. #wasps #insects #hymenoptera #biology #cercis #redbud #nature #chalcidoidea

"Stingless bees win historic legal rights in Peru’s Amazon rainforest"
#Peru #Bees #Insects #Animals

Stingless bees win historic legal rights in Peru’s Amazon rainforest | The Optimist Daily

"Citizen science rediscovers rare South African moth"
#SouthAfrica #Animals #Insects #Moth

Citizen science rediscovers rare South African moth
A strikingly handsome emerald-green moth, lost to science for nearly one-and-a-half centuries, has been rediscovered in South Africa by citizen scientists who posted photographs of it online. The moth, Drepanogynis insciata, whose body and wing margins look as though they’ve been stained with red wine, was thought to be extinct. The species hadn’t been recorded […]

Walked around Valley Forge National Historical Park last week and was surprised to find hundreds of mason bees nesting *inside* the soldier huts. I'd always assumed they required exterior wood, ideally with direct sun for most of the day. There were also hundreds of Houdini flies lurking around. #ValleyForge #pennsylvania #osmia #bees #insects #history #biology

Hornfaced bee (Osmia cornifrons) using mud to cap a nest at one of my insect hotels. Called the bean-flower bee (mame-ko bachi) in Japan because the balls of pollen and nectar they pack inside stems for their larvae to eat are as tasty as a dessert made from honey and soybean flour. The species was introduced to North America in the 1970s as a way to increase productivity of apple orchards. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #pollination #bees #osmia #insects #orchard #gardening

Male Georgia mason bee (Osmia georgica) backed into a nesting tunnel in the observation wing of my backyard insect hotel. For some reason the males love these tunnels but the females, who do all the nest provisioning, never move in. He's just loitering, waiting for the temperature to warm up and for the females to arrive in the area. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #MasonBees #bees #insects #nature

"How Mexico’s conservation work brought monarchs back from the brink"
#Mexico #Butterflies #Insects #Consevation

How Mexico’s conservation work brought monarchs back from the brink | The Optimist Daily
Mexico's monarch butterfly population grew 64 percent this winter, its largest coverage since 2018. Here's what's working and what still needs to change.

Female Georgia mason bee (Osmia georgica) with remnants of processed pollen on her mandibles. There are varying estimates of how many foraging trips they make to complete a pollen ball, but maybe 20-40. This species tends to focus on flowers in the Asteraceae and Rosaceae. #bees #insects #hymenoptera #entomology #nature #pollinator #pollen

"Large tortoiseshell butterfly confirmed no longer extinct in UK"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Butterflies #Insects

Great footage of ground-nesting bees by Adrian Smith et al. at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. #bees #hymenoptera #nature #insects #colletes #nomada #andrena #entomology #biology #northcarolina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jje1LPrsHbc

Morning light on the insect hotel and ADUs. No visitors yet, but I've seen male Osmia nearby so won't be long. New to the hotel this year are offerings of pithy stems (hydrangea, rose) to hopefully attract small carpenter bees (Ceratina) and digger wasps (Pemphredon). #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #wasps #insects #hymenoptera #pollinators #biology