Milo van Loon
@bugshevik.bsky.social
Aspiring entomologist studying Hymenoptera | Volunteer at Naturalis Biodiversity Center | Autistic and ADHD | ☭ | He/Him | 🇳🇱🇮🇩
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
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
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.
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.
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!
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 :(.
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 🥳
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...
⚠️The ship has sunk⚠️
November 28, 2024 at 12:15 AM
⚠️The ship has sunk⚠️
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 🥰
One thing I noticed is that, sometimes, the wasp amputates the mid- and hindlegs of the beetle larva (right), while other times the legs are retained (left). Interestingly, ovipositing never took place on a larva with amputated legs, which to me indicates that some larvae are used solely for the 1/3
November 8, 2024 at 4:40 PM
One thing I noticed is that, sometimes, the wasp amputates the mid- and hindlegs of the beetle larva (right), while other times the legs are retained (left). Interestingly, ovipositing never took place on a larva with amputated legs, which to me indicates that some larvae are used solely for the 1/3
As you can see, the host is many times bigger than the wasp. However, she possesses a strong venom that can knock out the beetle larva in seconds if she manages to sting it in the ventral ganglia between the legs.
November 5, 2024 at 3:37 PM
As you can see, the host is many times bigger than the wasp. However, she possesses a strong venom that can knock out the beetle larva in seconds if she manages to sting it in the ventral ganglia between the legs.
Last spring, I managed to rear two bethylid wasps (Epyris brevipennis) from beetle larvae. The cocoon has an interesting shape, as the wasp larva seems to create a funnel near the very top of the cocoon, from where the adult wasp will emerge.
#wasps #insects #cocoon #entomology #photography
#wasps #insects #cocoon #entomology #photography
November 5, 2024 at 3:30 PM
Last spring, I managed to rear two bethylid wasps (Epyris brevipennis) from beetle larvae. The cocoon has an interesting shape, as the wasp larva seems to create a funnel near the very top of the cocoon, from where the adult wasp will emerge.
#wasps #insects #cocoon #entomology #photography
#wasps #insects #cocoon #entomology #photography
As expected, I didn't find many hymenopterans. I did find this very tiny ichneumonid wasp in the genus Gelis though, characteristic because of their lack of wings.
November 4, 2024 at 3:13 PM
As expected, I didn't find many hymenopterans. I did find this very tiny ichneumonid wasp in the genus Gelis though, characteristic because of their lack of wings.
A rove beetle in the genus Stenus. These are predators of springtails, so they have to react very fast lest their prey escapes. That's why they have a very neat protrusible labium which can strike at lightning speed!
November 4, 2024 at 3:11 PM
A rove beetle in the genus Stenus. These are predators of springtails, so they have to react very fast lest their prey escapes. That's why they have a very neat protrusible labium which can strike at lightning speed!
A really cool polydesmid millipede.
November 4, 2024 at 3:09 PM
A really cool polydesmid millipede.
Neobisium carcinoides, a common species that I found in many of my samples, though this was only the second time I had seen the species!
November 4, 2024 at 3:06 PM
Neobisium carcinoides, a common species that I found in many of my samples, though this was only the second time I had seen the species!
Two species of harvestmen in the genus Nemastoma, N. lugubre in the first picture (recognizable by the paired white spots) and the all black N. dentigerum in the second picture. The latter species is relatively new to the Netherlands but has quickly spread.
November 4, 2024 at 3:03 PM
Two species of harvestmen in the genus Nemastoma, N. lugubre in the first picture (recognizable by the paired white spots) and the all black N. dentigerum in the second picture. The latter species is relatively new to the Netherlands but has quickly spread.
Sifting through leaf litter is a great way of finding all sorts of cryptic critters that you'd otherwise not see. Below are some of the highlights of the day ⬇️
#bugs #insects #arthropods #entomology
#bugs #insects #arthropods #entomology
November 4, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Sifting through leaf litter is a great way of finding all sorts of cryptic critters that you'd otherwise not see. Below are some of the highlights of the day ⬇️
#bugs #insects #arthropods #entomology
#bugs #insects #arthropods #entomology
A female of Hybrizon buccatus, which I collected while it was searching for its host, larval ants. She will wait patiently along an ant trail and stikes when she encounters a worker ant carrying a larva. A daring strategy, but absolutely worth the risk if she succeeds!
#wasps #insects #photography
#wasps #insects #photography
October 27, 2024 at 6:52 PM
A female of Hybrizon buccatus, which I collected while it was searching for its host, larval ants. She will wait patiently along an ant trail and stikes when she encounters a worker ant carrying a larva. A daring strategy, but absolutely worth the risk if she succeeds!
#wasps #insects #photography
#wasps #insects #photography
For reference, this is how large it is compared to my finger.
October 26, 2024 at 3:47 PM
For reference, this is how large it is compared to my finger.
For small wasps, it might be difficult to reach a host that resides deep in a subtrate. This little platygastrid wasp (Inostemma sp.) has an ace up its sleeve however: it has a very long ovipositor that can be retracted all the way in the horn like structure of T1.
#wasps #insects #bugs #photography
#wasps #insects #bugs #photography
October 26, 2024 at 3:06 PM
For small wasps, it might be difficult to reach a host that resides deep in a subtrate. This little platygastrid wasp (Inostemma sp.) has an ace up its sleeve however: it has a very long ovipositor that can be retracted all the way in the horn like structure of T1.
#wasps #insects #bugs #photography
#wasps #insects #bugs #photography
Another awesome wasp in my collection is this wingless dryinid wasp (Gonatopus striatus). Look at those bizarre articulate pincers on the foretarsus! They are used to immobilize their hosts, leafhopper nymphs. The larvae are ectobiont parasitoids.
#wasps #insects #entomology #photography
#wasps #insects #entomology #photography
October 25, 2024 at 4:13 PM
Another awesome wasp in my collection is this wingless dryinid wasp (Gonatopus striatus). Look at those bizarre articulate pincers on the foretarsus! They are used to immobilize their hosts, leafhopper nymphs. The larvae are ectobiont parasitoids.
#wasps #insects #entomology #photography
#wasps #insects #entomology #photography