Author | Lightnews

Kristi Ellingsen

@kristiellingsen.bsky.social

770 followers 970 following 990 posts

She/her Nature focused, newly-ex science teacher. Run https://tasmanianinsectfieldguide.com/ Love being out with a very silly big black dog and a camera. Interested in politics, books, gardening, nature, and pretty much anything that requires an opinion.

tasmanianinsectfieldguide.com

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Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 53m

I used to show this to my students to talk about making educated decisions ;-) Trouble is is completely cracks me up each time I see it.

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1h

youtu.be/V6CLumsir34?...

The Exploding Whale: An infamous moment in Oregon history creates a strangely beloved icon

YouTube video by KATU News

youtu.be

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Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1h

Pleeeeeaaaassse let them do this (after Sunday). The video from 55 years ago is one of my absolute favourites. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Shire suggests blowing up dead whale as alternative to expensive disposal

A coastal shire in WA suggests towing a rotting whale carcass out to sea and blowing it up, saying it cannot afford to dispose of the whale itself.

www.abc.net.au

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 8h

Aw thanks!

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 9h

Haha. Sure is. They do have a beautifully alert expression. It would be great to see this one with her babies on her back.

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 19h

*stuck

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 19h

Stick in spittlebug spittle?

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1d

I usually see the Tasmanian version of this genus and it is also a stunner, but it doesn't hold a candle to this. This injures my interstate rivalry, but I'll get over it ;-)
www.flickr.com/photos/zoste...

Beach wolf spider on dead Fairy Prion

We were looking at a dead Fairy Prion, and flipped it to find this spider hiding underneath. I really like the variation in these spiders.

www.flickr.com

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1d

Good point. It is really similar.

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1d

Ha ha. Glad you stuck it out ;-)

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you. No sadly, it was a quick visit, a fairly long way away from where I'm staying. I suspect it wanders but it may use a burrow.

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks. It's the most beautiful wolf spider I've ever (personally) seen.

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1d

Sorry spider haters, but this was just the most beautiful beast & I knew (nearly everyone) would need to see it 😉. It sat frozen, up on its toes, on the edge of Leeman (WA) salt lake while I took pics. Unfortunately it was too big (body length 1.4cm) for my lens. #spider #Lycosidae #Tetralycosa

Most of a wolf spider, taken from directly above. The last segments of a few legs have been cut off by the frame. It is standing on holy salty sand, so the background looks like a solid slab of black specked beige. The spider is a mainly soft grey body with four black eyes showing. The abdomen is marked with a grey line and black rimmed blobs all over it. This made it incredibly hard to see if you weren't paying close attention. The legs are a more pinky white with diffuse black barring. If it was big enough people would be wearing the "pelt" as luxury coats. It's gorgeous.

The same spider taken from a low angle, looking at the face slightly angled. This shows the female palps and the entire set of 8 black eyes. It also showed how the spider was right up on its "toes" ready for a fast get-away (or maybe the blinding white salt was hot to stand on). There is a bit of a shadow from the intense sunlight. Spider description is on the other photo.

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Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 1d

At a pinch the visit may have been educational, but when they added the tag it became horrendously politicised. Surely the Dept of Ed has policies about supporting companies on official social media?

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 2d

Everyone loves a jewel #beetle. This is Castiarina picta, which seems locally abundant but I think may be only found in Western Australia. #insect #buprestidae #invertebrate

A metallic sheen purple, bullet shaped beetle sitting on green unopened flowers of a Melaleuca. White flowers made up of very long stamens are in the background. The beetle has lemon/beige markings on its wings. It looks like an exclamation mark in the top half , a tilde (wavey dash) below and to finish with (appropriately a full stop). eg from top to bottom ! ~ . The thorax is all purple with a side line of yellow/beige.

This photo is taken slightly to the side of overhead on the beetle which is sitting at 45° on the photo.

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Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 2d

Yay! I get home (from WA) in a few days so I hope they hold on for me to get at least 1 bunch.

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Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 2d

I’ve been waiting for you to alert me to Peony Season!

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Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 3d

Omg…..

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 8d

This is slow TV but I’m missing my dogs. After breakfast & romping, Musty & Nessa like to play “share the bone shard”. This involves having a chew, then passing it back & forward. Usually many passes happen, but Musty got distracted. It’s a lovely down-time ritual to watch.

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Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 8d

So good, although my website now needs a major (good) update as a result. Thanks for posting it.

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 9d

Anthropomorphise away. I’m sure they feel exactly the same. Animal emotion is completely underrated & under-researched. Very sad.

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 9d

Sounds like they were crowded around the microphone :-)

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 9d

Disagreeable cult members themselves…

Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 10d

I'm back in WA at the moment. Unlike their Tasmanian counterparts, these beautiful native cockroaches come out and sunbake on leaves during the day. Invasive cockroaches give them all such a bad name. The native Australian varieties are like little works of art. Ellipsidion australe

A cockroach, lateral view, looking out between two green palm fronds. The head and thoracic plates are mainly beige and the abdominal plates are black, lined with pinprick white spots.

A cockroach, top view, sitting on a palm frond. The head and thoracic plates are mainly a yellowish beige and the abdominal plates are black, lined with pinprick white spots.

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Kristi Ellingsen @kristiellingsen.bsky.social · 10d

Stella has forgotten her Muscle power ;-)