Tootfinder

To amuse myself I'm evaluating baits for mosquito-killing buckets: oak leaves, straw, log, and beetroot skins. Leaves and straw are standards but I'm curious whether I can attract tree-hole species (e.g., Aedes triseriatus) with the partially submerged wood. And beets are packed with geosmin (a sesquiterpenoid), a known oviposition attractant. Stay tuned. #mosquitoes #science #biology #entomology

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was rescued from insolvency by Drexel University in 2011 but the relationship is apparently too draining. This is unlikely to end well. #science #entomology #biology #philadelphia #drexel #paleontology #museums #NaturalHistory https://share.inquirer.com/FLhfyz

FINALLY, something new has popped out of the eastern redbud seeds that I've been monitoring for months. It's metallic green and small enough to be a hyperparasitoid, I think. Will share better pic after I can get some sort of rough ID from BugGuide. #wasps #hymenoptera #parasitoid #redbud #entomology #nature #insects

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

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

We need more articles in nature and conservation magazines about the evils of bug zappers. Americans still think they work and seem to be OK with the billions of innocent insects that are killed each year. Moth people, I'm looking at you. #BugZappers #moths #lepidoptera #insects #mothing #entomology

Some Dinarmus (Pteromalidae) and Eurytoma (Eurytomidae) that emerged from my collection of eastern redbud seeds. Both are known parasitoids of the redbud seed weevil (Gibbobruchus mimus) but I'm hopeful that something unexpected will pop out one of these days. E.g., a hyperparasitoid. #redbud #wasps #chalcidoidea #insects #nature #biology #hymenoptera #entomology

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

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

Newly-ecolosed male chalcid wasp (Eurytoma sp.) using its forelegs to remove the pupal sheath from one of its antennae. The long setae on each flagellomere will fluff up to give the antennae a bottle-brush look. From eastern redbud seeds. #wasp #chalcidoidea #hymenoptera #eurytoma #insects #nature #entomology #macro

Tiny pteromalid, possibly Dinarmus basilis, that emerged from my collection of eastern redbud seeds. The species is a known parasitoid of the bruchid that eats these seeds. #wasps #dinarmus #insects #chalcidoidea #redbud #bruchidae #beetles #entomology #nature #biology