Milo van Loon
@bugshevik.bsky.social
Aspiring entomologist studying Hymenoptera | Volunteer at Naturalis Biodiversity Center | Autistic and ADHD | ☭ | He/Him | 🇳🇱🇮🇩
Honestly shocked at the lack of outrage from the scientific community at the murder of Iranian nuclear scientists. Aside from the fact that these killings are absolutely atrocious and unjustifiable, we also live in a time where we desperately need MORE nuclear scientists, not less!
June 22, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Honestly shocked at the lack of outrage from the scientific community at the murder of Iranian nuclear scientists. Aside from the fact that these killings are absolutely atrocious and unjustifiable, we also live in a time where we desperately need MORE nuclear scientists, not less!
Reposted by Milo van Loon
A new ceraphronid wasp species is described in a review of the subgenus Larsoceraphron. Find out more about it here: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
#taxonomy #wasps #Hymenoptera @leibnizlib.bsky.social
#taxonomy #wasps #Hymenoptera @leibnizlib.bsky.social
June 13, 2025 at 11:07 AM
A new ceraphronid wasp species is described in a review of the subgenus Larsoceraphron. Find out more about it here: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
#taxonomy #wasps #Hymenoptera @leibnizlib.bsky.social
#taxonomy #wasps #Hymenoptera @leibnizlib.bsky.social
The humanitarian ship Freedom Flotilla is braving danger to deliver urgent aid to Gaza. Those aboard the ship are braver than any one of us here in the west.
🔴 I demand safe passage for the ship
🔴 I demand an end to the blockade and justice for Gaza
#FreedomFlotilla #SafePassageNow #BreakTheSiege
🔴 I demand safe passage for the ship
🔴 I demand an end to the blockade and justice for Gaza
#FreedomFlotilla #SafePassageNow #BreakTheSiege
June 5, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The humanitarian ship Freedom Flotilla is braving danger to deliver urgent aid to Gaza. Those aboard the ship are braver than any one of us here in the west.
🔴 I demand safe passage for the ship
🔴 I demand an end to the blockade and justice for Gaza
#FreedomFlotilla #SafePassageNow #BreakTheSiege
🔴 I demand safe passage for the ship
🔴 I demand an end to the blockade and justice for Gaza
#FreedomFlotilla #SafePassageNow #BreakTheSiege
New article on Sapygidae finally splits the common and widely distributed species Sapyga quinquepunctata into three (possibly four) distinct species, based on morphological and molecular data.
doi.org/10.1080/0939...
doi.org/10.1080/0939...
First record of the family Sapygidae (Hymenoptera: Pompiloidea) from Iraq, with taxonomic notes on the West Palaearctic species of Sapyginae
Sapygid wasps of the family Sapygidae are recorded from Iraq for the first time with five species collected in Duhok Governorate (Kurdistan Region of Iraq), including one new species of Sapyga Latr...
doi.org
May 22, 2025 at 11:21 AM
New article on Sapygidae finally splits the common and widely distributed species Sapyga quinquepunctata into three (possibly four) distinct species, based on morphological and molecular data.
doi.org/10.1080/0939...
doi.org/10.1080/0939...
What happens when you put a dryinid wasp and a leafhopper together in a collecting tube? Well, let's just say it doesn't end very well for the leafhopper
May 20, 2025 at 12:42 PM
What happens when you put a dryinid wasp and a leafhopper together in a collecting tube? Well, let's just say it doesn't end very well for the leafhopper
We had an assignment at our practical today and it was honestly pretty depressing to see how many students would blindly rely on ChatGPT to answer the questions, despite the fact that it was (very obviously!) feeding them wrong information.
May 19, 2025 at 4:53 PM
We had an assignment at our practical today and it was honestly pretty depressing to see how many students would blindly rely on ChatGPT to answer the questions, despite the fact that it was (very obviously!) feeding them wrong information.
Reposted by Milo van Loon
#NewSpecies!
New wasp from #thailand just stung us:
Chelonastichus hanssoni
Treatment: treatment.plazi.org/id/06098C96-...
Publication: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
#JournalOfHymenopteraResearch #ChelonastichusHanssoni
#FAIRdata
#biology #ecology #biodiversity #nature #conservation #entomology #wasps
New wasp from #thailand just stung us:
Chelonastichus hanssoni
Treatment: treatment.plazi.org/id/06098C96-...
Publication: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
#JournalOfHymenopteraResearch #ChelonastichusHanssoni
#FAIRdata
#biology #ecology #biodiversity #nature #conservation #entomology #wasps
April 25, 2025 at 6:41 AM
#NewSpecies!
New wasp from #thailand just stung us:
Chelonastichus hanssoni
Treatment: treatment.plazi.org/id/06098C96-...
Publication: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
#JournalOfHymenopteraResearch #ChelonastichusHanssoni
#FAIRdata
#biology #ecology #biodiversity #nature #conservation #entomology #wasps
New wasp from #thailand just stung us:
Chelonastichus hanssoni
Treatment: treatment.plazi.org/id/06098C96-...
Publication: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
#JournalOfHymenopteraResearch #ChelonastichusHanssoni
#FAIRdata
#biology #ecology #biodiversity #nature #conservation #entomology #wasps
"Но ни одна планета не ждет нас так, как эта, планета дорогая по имени Земля."
"But not one of the planets is waiting for us, as this precious planet named the Earth."
From the Soviet space song "14 Minutes Until Start".
"But not one of the planets is waiting for us, as this precious planet named the Earth."
From the Soviet space song "14 Minutes Until Start".
"Toen ik in een ruimteschip om de aarde cirkelde, zag ik hoe mooi onze planeet is. Mensen, laten we deze schoonheid behouden en vergroten, en niet vernietigen!"
- Yuri Gagarin
- Yuri Gagarin
April 14, 2025 at 1:44 PM
"Но ни одна планета не ждет нас так, как эта, планета дорогая по имени Земля."
"But not one of the planets is waiting for us, as this precious planet named the Earth."
From the Soviet space song "14 Minutes Until Start".
"But not one of the planets is waiting for us, as this precious planet named the Earth."
From the Soviet space song "14 Minutes Until Start".
Unexpected passenger in the train today. Fortunately I never leave home without my collecting tubes!
April 14, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Unexpected passenger in the train today. Fortunately I never leave home without my collecting tubes!
Chrysis germari, a widely distributed European species but very rare in the Netherlands, restricted only to South Limburg. The host is probably Miscophus bicolor, though the very large vespid wasp Euodynerus dantici has also been reported as a possible host.
April 14, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Chrysis germari, a widely distributed European species but very rare in the Netherlands, restricted only to South Limburg. The host is probably Miscophus bicolor, though the very large vespid wasp Euodynerus dantici has also been reported as a possible host.
Reposted by Milo van Loon
Jumping bristletails (order Archaeognatha) are small, wingless insects, covered in fine scales, like butterfly wings. They often live in damp places, but also in the desert, usually under rocks. Most are tan or grey, often with subtle metallic colors - but this is the most beautiful one I've seen.
December 11, 2023 at 10:40 PM
Jumping bristletails (order Archaeognatha) are small, wingless insects, covered in fine scales, like butterfly wings. They often live in damp places, but also in the desert, usually under rocks. Most are tan or grey, often with subtle metallic colors - but this is the most beautiful one I've seen.
Anachrysis arabica, a cuckoo wasp from the Arabian Peninsula. I described this beautiful wasp in 2023, together with Prof. Ahmed Soliman.
Specimen deposited in the collection of Naturalis.
Specimen deposited in the collection of Naturalis.
March 21, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Anachrysis arabica, a cuckoo wasp from the Arabian Peninsula. I described this beautiful wasp in 2023, together with Prof. Ahmed Soliman.
Specimen deposited in the collection of Naturalis.
Specimen deposited in the collection of Naturalis.
Pleasantly surprised to have found Microterys nederlandicus, a species described from the Netherlands in 2022, in a park close to where I live! So far, this species is known only from three collecting localities, all within the Netherlands.
March 4, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Pleasantly surprised to have found Microterys nederlandicus, a species described from the Netherlands in 2022, in a park close to where I live! So far, this species is known only from three collecting localities, all within the Netherlands.
Reposted by Milo van Loon
I've been on Bluesky for a while now, but this is my first post! Here's an image of an uncommon family of wasps from South America, Plumariidae. This is a Plumaris malaris male. Science knows NOTHING about the biology of this group and only a few females have ever been found!
February 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
I've been on Bluesky for a while now, but this is my first post! Here's an image of an uncommon family of wasps from South America, Plumariidae. This is a Plumaris malaris male. Science knows NOTHING about the biology of this group and only a few females have ever been found!
I was featured in the documentary "Natuurlijk Kapitaal - Drinkwater", a film which discusses the duality of the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen as part of the water purification process and as a nature reserve. I had the opportunity to show some of the cool wasps in the area!
January 22, 2025 at 6:49 PM
I was featured in the documentary "Natuurlijk Kapitaal - Drinkwater", a film which discusses the duality of the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen as part of the water purification process and as a nature reserve. I had the opportunity to show some of the cool wasps in the area!
Reposted by Milo van Loon
Not only did @jilloberski.bsky.social correctly guess mutillid, she provided a link to an image of the species!
Here's an image of my specimen. It is a male of the aptly named Psammotherma flabellata, collected in South Africa.
#NaturalHistoryCollections
#FocusStacking
#MutillidMonday
January 13, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Not only did @jilloberski.bsky.social correctly guess mutillid, she provided a link to an image of the species!
Here's an image of my specimen. It is a male of the aptly named Psammotherma flabellata, collected in South Africa.
#NaturalHistoryCollections
#FocusStacking
#MutillidMonday
Another devastating wildfire is raging, this time in the US. What will be the response from the Western governments? More subsidies for fossil fuels, of course!
January 8, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Another devastating wildfire is raging, this time in the US. What will be the response from the Western governments? More subsidies for fossil fuels, of course!
Was feeling very tired yesterday and went to bed early, at 8 PM, thinking I could get a good night's rest.
...so anyway I woke up at 2:30 AM and could not get any sleep after that.
...so anyway I woke up at 2:30 AM and could not get any sleep after that.
December 31, 2024 at 5:14 AM
Was feeling very tired yesterday and went to bed early, at 8 PM, thinking I could get a good night's rest.
...so anyway I woke up at 2:30 AM and could not get any sleep after that.
...so anyway I woke up at 2:30 AM and could not get any sleep after that.
Found a flat wasp (presumably Laelius pedatus) in the home we are staying at during Christmas. I was very eager to see if I could rear it, but unfortunately it managed to escape the cup I temporarily put it in within minutes :(.
December 27, 2024 at 10:58 PM
Found a flat wasp (presumably Laelius pedatus) in the home we are staying at during Christmas. I was very eager to see if I could rear it, but unfortunately it managed to escape the cup I temporarily put it in within minutes :(.
Reposted by Milo van Loon
Cuckoo wasp (family Chrysididae), Mojave Desert. These small (this one was 7-9 mm) wasps don't sting, and parasitize ground-nesting bees or wasps. If they're caught invading a burrow, they curl up like pillbugs; the host's sting can't pierce their armor, so they get thrown out and fly off safely. 🐙🌿
December 8, 2024 at 11:11 PM
Cuckoo wasp (family Chrysididae), Mojave Desert. These small (this one was 7-9 mm) wasps don't sting, and parasitize ground-nesting bees or wasps. If they're caught invading a burrow, they curl up like pillbugs; the host's sting can't pierce their armor, so they get thrown out and fly off safely. 🐙🌿
Reposted by Milo van Loon
Ocelli (simple eyes) of a small wasp (approx. 2-2.5mm) probably from the family Pteromalidae, a superfamily of chalcid wasps. In many flying insects, the ocelli are usually located between the two compound eyes.
December 13, 2024 at 2:28 PM
Ocelli (simple eyes) of a small wasp (approx. 2-2.5mm) probably from the family Pteromalidae, a superfamily of chalcid wasps. In many flying insects, the ocelli are usually located between the two compound eyes.
Reached 40.000 identifications on iNaturalist before the year's end 🥳
December 9, 2024 at 9:03 PM
Reached 40.000 identifications on iNaturalist before the year's end 🥳
Had a great time at the first session of this year's Hymathon! Lot's of interesting talks and fun activities, thank you very much @parasitoidrex.bsky.social for hosting! I look forward to attending some of the upcoming sessions.
December 5, 2024 at 8:48 PM
Had a great time at the first session of this year's Hymathon! Lot's of interesting talks and fun activities, thank you very much @parasitoidrex.bsky.social for hosting! I look forward to attending some of the upcoming sessions.
My latest paper has been published in Zootaxa! I describe a new genus and species of Sapygidae from Borneo and provide a key to genera of Sapyginae of the Old World. You can see the article here: doi.org/10.11646/zoo...
December 3, 2024 at 6:34 AM
My latest paper has been published in Zootaxa! I describe a new genus and species of Sapygidae from Borneo and provide a key to genera of Sapyginae of the Old World. You can see the article here: doi.org/10.11646/zoo...
He loves to lay flat on his belly when my laptop gets warm 🥰
November 27, 2024 at 11:54 PM
He loves to lay flat on his belly when my laptop gets warm 🥰