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.

Hoy floreó la verdolaga y esta avispa la estš gozando en grande.
#Bloomscrolling #Florespondence #Flores #insect

"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 […]

Gulf Fritillary butterfly. LA Arboretum, Arcadia, California, USA. October, 2025. OM System OM-1 M.Zuiko 300mm F4. #laarboretum #butterfly #insect

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

Flickr is always nice
#insect #photography
https://flic.kr/p/2s2rqkj

#TheEND #Insect

Flame Skimmer dragonfly hanging out on a branch. LA Arboretum, Arcadia, California, USA. October, 2025. OM System OM-1 M.Zuiko 300mm F4. #laarboretum #dragonfly #insect

The not so humble bulldog #ant (genus Myrmecia), #Australia’s most venomous #insect, with its big eyes, enormous mandibles, and neurotoxins that outclass even the feared funnel-web spider:

🪰 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.

The rumors are true — Houdini flies are extremely fond of cheap malbec. Blog post forthcoming with tips on trap design, but if you have an insect hotel and want to kill these kleptoparasites, go get yourself a bottle ASAP. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #flies #osmia #wine #insects #malbec #pollination

Mexican cactus fly resting on a sunflower. LA Arboretum, Arcadia, California, USA. October, 2025. OM system OM-1 M.Zuiko 300mm F4. #laarboretum #sunflower #insect

Here are the Houdini fly traps attached to my insect hotel. The malbec, grape vinegar, and water cups are all attached in a slightly haphazard way, but hopefully will be useful in assessing whether Nicole Kenney's idea (use malbec to attract them) works on the east coast, too. My big concern is that I only saw one Houdini fly today so I might be setting it up too late. #BeeHotel #InsectHole #osmia #flies #science #biology #diptera

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

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

Houdini fly (Cacoxenus indagator) that I found near one of my insect hotels. Kleptoparasitic on mason bees *and* not native to the USA, so unwelcome. I've been experimenting with different types of tape to see whether I can remove them by trapping, but so far no joy. Still looking for the Goldilocks product that is tacky enough to snag small flies but doesn't affect the bees. If anyone has suggestions of brands to try, I'd be grateful. #HoudiniFly #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #insect #cacoxenus #diptera #fly #bees #nature #macrophotography

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