Ainsley S
@americanbeetles.bsky.social
I hope you like pictures of bugs.
Curating at CMNH, teaching at CMU, beetling everywhere
Curating at CMNH, teaching at CMU, beetling everywhere
Pinned
The Pest Is Still To Come
YouTube video by Dan Warren
www.youtube.com
I'm proud of our li'l Schoolhouse Rock for Insect Taxonomists cartoon, but if you're not in Bug World here are some annotations for you... www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYSI... cc @danlwarren.bsky.social
Reposted by Ainsley S
Post a photo of an animal that looks Gen-AI but is 100% real.
Hegemona lineata, Belize.
Hegemona lineata, Belize.
December 6, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Post a photo of an animal that looks Gen-AI but is 100% real.
Hegemona lineata, Belize.
Hegemona lineata, Belize.
The gentle journey jars to stop
The drifting dream is done.
The long-gone goblins loom ahead,
The deadly, that we thought were dead,
Stand waiting, every one.
(Walt Kelly)
The drifting dream is done.
The long-gone goblins loom ahead,
The deadly, that we thought were dead,
Stand waiting, every one.
(Walt Kelly)
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 6, 2025 at 11:24 PM
The gentle journey jars to stop
The drifting dream is done.
The long-gone goblins loom ahead,
The deadly, that we thought were dead,
Stand waiting, every one.
(Walt Kelly)
The drifting dream is done.
The long-gone goblins loom ahead,
The deadly, that we thought were dead,
Stand waiting, every one.
(Walt Kelly)
omg what a perfect little man
A male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in winter plumage.
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
December 6, 2025 at 7:12 PM
omg what a perfect little man
thanks to @hellabarnes.bsky.social for alerting me to the existence of Thismia, another entry for my growing database of Deeply Weird Plants Visited By Tiny Beetles
December 5, 2025 at 9:48 PM
thanks to @hellabarnes.bsky.social for alerting me to the existence of Thismia, another entry for my growing database of Deeply Weird Plants Visited By Tiny Beetles
Reposted by Ainsley S
New paper out today w @dalmaijer.bsky.social @barbaraklump.bsky.social and @lucymaplin.bsky.social as part of the Phil Trans special issue doi.org/10.1098/rstb.... Over 2 years, we studied a population of cockatoos thought to be the source of the innovation of bin-opening.
December 4, 2025 at 1:31 PM
New paper out today w @dalmaijer.bsky.social @barbaraklump.bsky.social and @lucymaplin.bsky.social as part of the Phil Trans special issue doi.org/10.1098/rstb.... Over 2 years, we studied a population of cockatoos thought to be the source of the innovation of bin-opening.
Reposted by Ainsley S
YO.
Remember what I said about how the internet needs "Etsy, but not flooded with drop-shipper and AI trash?"
Good news! ✨It already exists✨! AND it's a CO-OP. 🎉
Check out @3psboyd.bsky.social's dice shop on there!
artisans.coop/pages/seller...
Remember what I said about how the internet needs "Etsy, but not flooded with drop-shipper and AI trash?"
Good news! ✨It already exists✨! AND it's a CO-OP. 🎉
Check out @3psboyd.bsky.social's dice shop on there!
artisans.coop/pages/seller...
Seller Profile
We are building a better handmade marketplace. We are a member-owned, member-run and member-benefiting co-op. We promote creativity, support artist livelihoods, and connect people through an equitable...
artisans.coop
December 5, 2025 at 6:06 AM
YO.
Remember what I said about how the internet needs "Etsy, but not flooded with drop-shipper and AI trash?"
Good news! ✨It already exists✨! AND it's a CO-OP. 🎉
Check out @3psboyd.bsky.social's dice shop on there!
artisans.coop/pages/seller...
Remember what I said about how the internet needs "Etsy, but not flooded with drop-shipper and AI trash?"
Good news! ✨It already exists✨! AND it's a CO-OP. 🎉
Check out @3psboyd.bsky.social's dice shop on there!
artisans.coop/pages/seller...
I, too, visited this exhibition and took pictures of my favorite guys
December 5, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I, too, visited this exhibition and took pictures of my favorite guys
it's scientifically true
The chuckwalla body shape is the pinnacle of evolution 🦎
📍 Joshua Tree, CA
📍 Joshua Tree, CA
December 5, 2025 at 3:27 PM
it's scientifically true
Reposted by Ainsley S
University of Birmingham, UK, are advertising a permanant position (Assistant or Associate Professor) in *Forests under Global Change*. A wide net has been cast - ecology, physiology, modelling, remote sensing, functioning, biodiversity, management... 🌲🌱🌳🌳🦌🌳🛰️🐿️🌲🔬🌳
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPS459/a...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPS459/a...
December 5, 2025 at 8:07 AM
University of Birmingham, UK, are advertising a permanant position (Assistant or Associate Professor) in *Forests under Global Change*. A wide net has been cast - ecology, physiology, modelling, remote sensing, functioning, biodiversity, management... 🌲🌱🌳🌳🦌🌳🛰️🐿️🌲🔬🌳
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPS459/a...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPS459/a...
Reposted by Ainsley S
My department at California State University Northridge is hiring! We're looking for a new colleague studying microbiology or molecular/cellular biology. I'm not on the search committee, but happy to answer questions about the department and campus, and life in LA
buff.ly/Pc1KOaC
buff.ly/Pc1KOaC
Career Opportunities
Applicant Log-In
careers.pageuppeople.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:19 PM
My department at California State University Northridge is hiring! We're looking for a new colleague studying microbiology or molecular/cellular biology. I'm not on the search committee, but happy to answer questions about the department and campus, and life in LA
buff.ly/Pc1KOaC
buff.ly/Pc1KOaC
Reposted by Ainsley S
Many of us need to keep writing federal grants (both for political reasons and as a Hail Mary to keep people employed) despite the feeling it's a waste of time, so... if you got an NSF or NIH grant funded this year, would you mind bragging about it in the replies, so it feels like the odds are >0%?
December 4, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Many of us need to keep writing federal grants (both for political reasons and as a Hail Mary to keep people employed) despite the feeling it's a waste of time, so... if you got an NSF or NIH grant funded this year, would you mind bragging about it in the replies, so it feels like the odds are >0%?
Reposted by Ainsley S
🚨New #behavioural #mimicry paper out in Proc B!🚨
In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives.
Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea...
Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives.
Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea...
Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Nature’s greatest method actors: the insects that cosplay bumblebees
When you’re an animal undercover, sometimes it’s not enough just to look like someone else
theconversation.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:36 PM
🚨New #behavioural #mimicry paper out in Proc B!🚨
In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives.
Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea...
Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives.
Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea...
Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Reposted by Ainsley S
Voor #ElkeDagEenInsect nog een bladna-apende sprinkhaan met zogenaamde vraatsporen van Borneo: Ancyclecha fenestrata.
December 3, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Voor #ElkeDagEenInsect nog een bladna-apende sprinkhaan met zogenaamde vraatsporen van Borneo: Ancyclecha fenestrata.
Reposted by Ainsley S
1965 brochure for the Wild M5, “stereomicroscope most likely to be mistaken for an artillery shell”
December 3, 2025 at 10:18 PM
1965 brochure for the Wild M5, “stereomicroscope most likely to be mistaken for an artillery shell”
Reposted by Ainsley S
I wanted to see if I could design and 3D print an insert for Le Parfait bail jars that makes it easier to see the contents and labels in the smaller vials. What do you think?
#CuratorsCorner
#NaturalHistoryCollections
#3DPrinting
#SpiritCollections
#WetCollections
#CuratorsCorner
#NaturalHistoryCollections
#3DPrinting
#SpiritCollections
#WetCollections
December 1, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I wanted to see if I could design and 3D print an insert for Le Parfait bail jars that makes it easier to see the contents and labels in the smaller vials. What do you think?
#CuratorsCorner
#NaturalHistoryCollections
#3DPrinting
#SpiritCollections
#WetCollections
#CuratorsCorner
#NaturalHistoryCollections
#3DPrinting
#SpiritCollections
#WetCollections
Reposted by Ainsley S
„CSU—US’s largest public uni system—went all-in with a $17mill partnership with OpenAI. . .CSU unveiled its grand technological gesture just as it proposed slashing $375mill from its budget. While admin cut ribbons on AI, they were cutting faculty positions, academic programs, student services.“
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 3, 2025 at 5:43 AM
„CSU—US’s largest public uni system—went all-in with a $17mill partnership with OpenAI. . .CSU unveiled its grand technological gesture just as it proposed slashing $375mill from its budget. While admin cut ribbons on AI, they were cutting faculty positions, academic programs, student services.“
Going thru an old photo stash at the museum, anyone recognize this be-fannypacked goofball?
December 3, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Going thru an old photo stash at the museum, anyone recognize this be-fannypacked goofball?
This reminded me to go look up a beloved classic short film… m.youtube.com/watch?v=9xVw...
December 3, 2025 at 2:10 PM
This reminded me to go look up a beloved classic short film… m.youtube.com/watch?v=9xVw...
Reposted by Ainsley S
I got to look through Claude’s mail a couple of years ago, after @heatherknightsf.bsky.social & I watched his feeding.
He received hundreds of letters a month from around the world.
“Don’t worry about (your) diffrint kind of skin. It’s okey.”
😭😭😭
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
He received hundreds of letters a month from around the world.
“Don’t worry about (your) diffrint kind of skin. It’s okey.”
😭😭😭
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
December 2, 2025 at 11:52 PM
I got to look through Claude’s mail a couple of years ago, after @heatherknightsf.bsky.social & I watched his feeding.
He received hundreds of letters a month from around the world.
“Don’t worry about (your) diffrint kind of skin. It’s okey.”
😭😭😭
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
He received hundreds of letters a month from around the world.
“Don’t worry about (your) diffrint kind of skin. It’s okey.”
😭😭😭
www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...
Fantastic news!! I’ll be contributing, because we loved Ralph’s visits to our flea collection. He taught me a lot about the little guys.
I know there are many worthy places to give, but if you're looking for a place to donate, @mammalogists.bsky.social is fundraising for a new award that honors Dr. Ralph Eckerlin to support students studying mammal parasites.
You can donate to that fund (and others) here:
asm.wildapricot.org/Donate
You can donate to that fund (and others) here:
asm.wildapricot.org/Donate
American Society of Mammalogists - Donations
asm.wildapricot.org
December 2, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Fantastic news!! I’ll be contributing, because we loved Ralph’s visits to our flea collection. He taught me a lot about the little guys.
Finally time to say goodbye to Thanksgiving chow and hello to regular grub
December 2, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Finally time to say goodbye to Thanksgiving chow and hello to regular grub
:C
RIP Claude, forever loafing in our hearts
RIP Claude, forever loafing in our hearts
It's with heavy hearts that we share that Claude, our beloved albino alligator, has passed away at the age of 30. Claude brought joy to millions of people at the Academy and across the world during his 17 year tenure. We will miss him dearly. 🤍
December 2, 2025 at 10:41 PM
:C
RIP Claude, forever loafing in our hearts
RIP Claude, forever loafing in our hearts
Reposted by Ainsley S
"the issue isn’t that we need more 'boy-friendly' reforms. It’s that boys are socialized to compete only with boys and to read girls’ success as illegitimate or emasculating. The result is dissonance, resentment, and disengagement for boys—and hostile climates for girls."
time.com/7335723/auto...
time.com/7335723/auto...
The Real Way Schools are Failing Boys
“If we really want boys to succeed, we need to ensure that they know how to both beat—and lose— to girls."
time.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:21 AM
"the issue isn’t that we need more 'boy-friendly' reforms. It’s that boys are socialized to compete only with boys and to read girls’ success as illegitimate or emasculating. The result is dissonance, resentment, and disengagement for boys—and hostile climates for girls."
time.com/7335723/auto...
time.com/7335723/auto...
Reposted by Ainsley S
I have come to the idea that we have to collectively, brutally, ritualistically kill Target just to show capital that we truly aren’t fucking around.
December 1, 2025 at 7:39 PM
I have come to the idea that we have to collectively, brutally, ritualistically kill Target just to show capital that we truly aren’t fucking around.