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Brandon Claridge

@ichsofna.bsky.social

200 followers 140 following 81 posts

Ph.D. entomologist/ ichneumonid taxonomist/ founder of Claridge Traps. See ichsofna.org for AI/web tools to help with ichneumonid identifications in North America. Need Malaise traps or light sheets for insect collecting? Visit claridgetraps.com

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jan 20

Artificial intelligence has been almost criminally underused by insect taxonomists. See my ichneumon subfamily classifier for an example of how it can be done easily with museum specimens.

#entomology #ichneumonidae #artificialintelligence #taxonomy

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 3d

Maine*

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 3d

A few of the 31 species I've sorted are probably described, but only known from Colorado or British Columbia, for instance. I bet the majority are undescribed, however.

You can see more at ichsofna.org.

Ichneumonids of North AmericaInformation Website for the Ichneumonidae of North America | Ichsofna.org

Discover the fascinating world of North American ichneumonid wasps. Explore species galleries, taxonomic information, and advanced insect identification tools for researchers and enthusiasts.

ichsofna.org

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 3d

Due to the massive diversity of Ichneumon (and other Ichneumonini), it's practically impossible to tell most species apart, like all of these brownish-red females.

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 3d

Added a few newly collected Ichneumon species to Ichneumonids of North America. Amazingly, I've found 31 different species based on females when records only show 4 for the state! Compare that with 57 species in Main, which is probably a fairly complete inventory.

#entomology #newspecies #taxonomy

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 4d

I can't believe no one called me out on this one! It's really just an incredibly obscure species called Pseudoamblyteles homocerus. I had overlooked the small propodeal apophyses. Well, still a new Utah state record!

Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Soh Kam Yung @sohkamyung.bsky.social · 12d

My first pseudoscorpion observation was pure luck. Happen to see this wasp and took a shot. It was only later did I see what was hanging on the antenna.

On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ]

A brown pseudoscopion hanging on to the antenna of a wasp. The wasp is yellow with black stripes and transparent wings.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 14d

The crucial character is the pectinate tarsal claws which is very unusual among #Nearctic #ichneumonines.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 14d

Very preliminary but below should be a #newspecies and the first record of the #ichneumonid genus Patroclus in the US! This newly collected singleton specimen is from central Utah but Patroclus is neotropical, getting as far north as Mexico.

#taxonomy #insects #wasps #Hymenoptera #parasitoid

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 29d

from the 6-meter Malaise**

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 29d

I've only sorted and pinned a very small fraction of the ichneumonds collected by the 6-meter Malaise I have in central Utah. Among other discoveries is a new species of Tricholabus!
#Ichneumonidae #newpsecies #entomology #insects #Utah #taxonomy #wasps

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Torsten Dikow @tdikow.bsky.social · Sep 19

#FlyFriday

one of my favorite assassin flies - Sisyrnodytes subater Oldroyd, 1957 (Asilidae: Willistonininae, USNMENT00870084) - collected in north-western South Africa near Pella - more info here n2t.net/ark:/65665/3...

#asiloidflies

fly specimen double-mounted on insect pin, frontal

fly specimen double-mounted on insect pin, dorsal

fly specimen double-mounted on insect pin, lateral

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Lee Dyer @gusanero.bsky.social · Aug 15

So many undescribed species, too many unknown interactions, no time. www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17...

New species of wasp. Images of head and wings.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Aug 15

I don't currently but could try out some pans at the bottom. Even better, I have a friend who runs a lot of VFITs in Utah who would probably be happy to trade. I'll dm you his email.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Aug 15

My friend Cameron Ramsey (chrysomelid taxonomist) and I have a 6-meter Malaise trap set up in a wash in central Utah right now. Between the large trap size and the location, it's collecting an insane amount. There's going to be a lot of bycatch for anyone looking to trade!

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Jakob Jilg @weevil-see.bsky.social · Aug 8

I started a blog and my first post is online!
The posts will try to explore topics which are not typically covered by introductory literature and textbooks, e.g. because they are considered to be "too basic". Let me know what you think!

weevil-see.github.io/taxonomy/Ide...

Species Identifications: Common Pitfalls

Some thoughts about Identifications. How do we identify properly? How do we avoid mistakes?

weevil-see.github.io

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jul 21

claridgetraps.com

Claridge Traps | Advancing Entomological Supplies

Claridge Traps

claridgetraps.com

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jul 21

For all the lep enthusiasts out there celebrating #NationalMothWeek, please check out #ClaridgeTraps for a great light sheet setup! Let me know if you have any questions!

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Torsten Dikow @tdikow.bsky.social · Jul 2

studying #asiloidflies at @amnh.org today - one of the best collections of apiocerid flies (Apioceridae) with almost every of the 65 North American species present - often with primary + secondary type material

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Andrew Johnston @andrewjohnston.bsky.social · Jun 18

Want to set up your own photo-stacking imaging system for under $3000? This post which outlines all the off-the-shelf items I used this year along with some recommendations for how to use it. Planning to talk about this at @entcollnet.bsky.social this November, too! www.insectid.org/post/focus-s...

Focus-stacking photography: Building your own system

Ten years ago, Alex Wild published a guide on Scientific American on how to make your own focus-stacking system for under $6000. I can't seem to find that post any more, just some secondary posts with...

www.insectid.org

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Karl Magnacca @kmagnacca.bsky.social · Jun 17

The corollary to this is, with some basic knowledge of insect taxonomy, you too can become the world expert on a group! Just spend a few years obsessively reading about and looking at them and you'll know more than anyone else.

The downside is you'll then be asked to review every paper on them...

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · Jun 17

What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

A majority of the world’s insect species have no living expert who can identify them.

Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · Jun 17

What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

The ocean produces a huge chunk of the world's oxygen a lot from a class of cyanobacteria called prochlorococcus

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jun 4

Big thanks to my undergrad coauthor Kyri Forman and her lepidopterist mentor for rearing the A. coloradensis specimens from their lycaenid butterfly hosts. Goes to show how easy it is to figure out new ichneumonid hosts in NA with some fun rearing work.

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jun 4

Happy to announce that my paper describing Anisobas irwini and recording two host records for Anisobas coloradensis is finally out! The species name honors the prodigious collector Mike Irwin who collected the holotype.
centerforsystematicentomology.org/insecta_mund...

#Ichneumonidae #parasioid

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · May 22

I agree entirely. Add on the low likelihood of collecting more specimens in a reasonable timeframe due to natural rarity and increasing difficulty of collecting due to regulations and a lack of funding. The choice is often between describing a species now or it going unknown for decades.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · May 22

It's only known from a singleton male. Any strong opinions on describing species based on singletons?

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · May 22

New Plagiotrypes species from Arizona I'm working on describing. The genus is otherwise known from eastern NA and the wet neotropics, so it was surprising to discover this one from an arid mountain in southern Arizona.

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