Today I learned more about Wasp Parasitizer Moths, in the genus Chalcoela.

Why do something dangerous like be out in the open for days eating cabbage leaves when you instead can be inside a *wasp nest* eating *wasp larvae*.

Respect.

(The moths are among candidates being considered for paper wasp biocontrol in the Pacific including NZ.)

https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/29597
https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19811.02086
https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Events/biosecurity-bonanza/2024/29-July-24-Brown-Biosecurity-bananas-paper-wasp-biocontrol.pdf

#Chalcoela #moths #NaturalHistory #mothodon #Lepidoptera #entomology #TIL

Today I learned more about Wasp Parasitizer Moths, in the genus Chalcoela.

Why do something dangerous like be out in the open for days eating cabbage leaves when you instead can be inside a *wasp nest* eating *wasp larvae*.

Respect.

(The moths are among candidates being considered for paper wasp biocontrol in the Pacific including NZ.)

https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/29597
https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19811.02086
https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Events/biosecurity-bonanza/2024/29-July-24-Brown-Biosecurity-bananas-paper-wasp-biocontrol.pdf

#Chalcoela #moths #NaturalHistory #mothodon #Lepidoptera #entomology #TIL

An oak gall I found in a Banj oak tree near home. Once it "hatched", I sent some specimens to ICAR-NBAIR (National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources), who told me that the specimens were Torymus sp. and Cynipoidea.

I didn't even know you could get two kinds of wasps out of a single gall.

#insects #entomology #himalayas

An oak gall I found in a Banj oak tree near home. Once it "hatched", I sent some specimens to ICAR-NBAIR (National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources), who told me that the specimens were Torymus sp. and Cynipoidea.

I didn't even know you could get two kinds of wasps out of a single gall.

#insects #entomology #himalayas

Check out this big gum emperor moth that visited my moth light at home last night, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ.

I first thought there was a bird flapping in the bushes, before it appeared. This one was pinker than most I've seen, and it happily clambered about on its big fluffy feet.

They're more like Pokémon than real moths.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/336921630

#moths #mothodon #Christchurch #NZ #Ōtautahi #insects #entomology

Check out this big gum emperor moth that visited my moth light at home last night, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ.

I first thought there was a bird flapping in the bushes, before it appeared. This one was pinker than most I've seen, and it happily clambered about on its big fluffy feet.

They're more like Pokémon than real moths.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/336921630

#moths #mothodon #Christchurch #NZ #Ōtautahi #insects #entomology

@arstechnica “According to the authors, grasshoppers have two sets of wings: forewings and hindwings.”

Also, according to grasshoppers, grasshoppers have two sets of wings.

😀

#entomology

A leaf katydid or bush cricket from Sabah. This extraordinary fellow was sitting on the chair next to me at lunch. When it tired of me moving the chair to take photographs, it crawled over the edge and hung from the underside with its legs folded, looking like just a pair of leaves. 10/10 camouflage, 0/10 location.

#insects #entomology #nature

A leaf katydid or bush cricket from Sabah. This extraordinary fellow was sitting on the chair next to me at lunch. When it tired of me moving the chair to take photographs, it crawled over the edge and hung from the underside with its legs folded, looking like just a pair of leaves. 10/10 camouflage, 0/10 location.

#insects #entomology #nature

Has world news got you thinking an eternity with Pinhead and the Cenobites actually sounds quite pleasant?

Well then why not go support the Hellraiser mite in this year's New Zealand Bug of The Year competition! You get three votes, and there's also a GIANT earthworm... nudge nudge, wink wink.

https://www.bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-2026/

#Entomology #Nature #Acarology #Arachnology #MacroPhotography

Has world news got you thinking an eternity with Pinhead and the Cenobites actually sounds quite pleasant?

Well then why not go support the Hellraiser mite in this year's New Zealand Bug of The Year competition! You get three votes, and there's also a GIANT earthworm... nudge nudge, wink wink.

https://www.bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-2026/

#Entomology #Nature #Acarology #Arachnology #MacroPhotography

Which insect can grow larger than a mouse & has mandibles strong enough to snap a pencil in half?

That would be the titan beetle. At up to 6.5 in (16.5 cm) long, scientists think this enormous insect is about as big as a beetle can get. It can be found in parts of South America.

American Museum of Natural History
@AMNH #globalmuseum #insects #Entomology

Day 22 #artAdventCalendar my bee (and other pollinator) propaganda I made for Manufactured Ecosystems. Thinking about the future of pollination and seeking solutions from technological and nature-based knowledge. This is essentially my conclusion: we can aid our beleaguered pollinators with technology but their continued success is vital. 🧵

#linocut #printmaking #sciart #typography #insects #entomology #ecology #pollinators #nativeBees #butterflies #moths #manufacturedEcosystems #mastoArt

Day 22 #artAdventCalendar my bee (and other pollinator) propaganda I made for Manufactured Ecosystems. Thinking about the future of pollination and seeking solutions from technological and nature-based knowledge. This is essentially my conclusion: we can aid our beleaguered pollinators with technology but their continued success is vital. 🧵

#linocut #printmaking #sciart #typography #insects #entomology #ecology #pollinators #nativeBees #butterflies #moths #manufacturedEcosystems #mastoArt

I spent yesterday at Travis Wetland, Ōruapaeroa, which is a large wetland restoration site in eastern Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. One of my MSc students, Tommy, is embarking on an invertebrate survey of the wetland, and we spent the day setting up Malaise traps (to catching flying insects) and pitfall traps (to catch invertebrates on the ground).

Tommy is repeating a survey done back in 1995–1996, when the wetland (then mostly wet farmland) was being purchased from a housing developer by the City Council.

We expect a lot to have changed (hopefully mostly for the better) as the vegetation of the wetland is much more diverse and native than it was.

Stay tuned over the summer for insect discoveries.

#entomology #wetland #restoration #InsectSurvey #insects #nz #LincolnUniversityNZ #research

I spent yesterday at Travis Wetland, Ōruapaeroa, which is a large wetland restoration site in eastern Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. One of my MSc students, Tommy, is embarking on an invertebrate survey of the wetland, and we spent the day setting up Malaise traps (to catching flying insects) and pitfall traps (to catch invertebrates on the ground).

Tommy is repeating a survey done back in 1995–1996, when the wetland (then mostly wet farmland) was being purchased from a housing developer by the City Council.

We expect a lot to have changed (hopefully mostly for the better) as the vegetation of the wetland is much more diverse and native than it was.

Stay tuned over the summer for insect discoveries.

#entomology #wetland #restoration #InsectSurvey #insects #nz #LincolnUniversityNZ #research

The cover art is finished for my new book and I LOVE IT!

This safari tour of the life in soil and what it means to us, is now available for pre-order as ebook, soft and hardcover in the UK and Commonwealth. Published in August next year (US date soon), I hope it'll entice everyone to fall in love with soil!

So far there will also be German, Polish and Japanese language versions too!

#Science #SciComm #Literature #Book #Soil #NatureBooks #SoiBiodiversity #Entomology