Katherine Oestmann
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koestmann.bsky.social
Katherine Oestmann
@koestmann.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.7K following 75 posts
Evolutionary biology HDR student. Loves the unloved critters. She/her 🏳‍🌈
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koestmann.bsky.social
1/2 Ever wondered what 1,000 slaters in a jar looks like?
These tiny isopods were once abundant near Marree, south of Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre in South Australia.
#southaustralianmuseum #conservation #katithanda #lakeeyre
A large glass jar with a white label and filled with yellowish ethanol containing 1,000 preserved isopods Close-up of the ethanol-preserved isopods, which are grey-pinkish in colour and curled up
May 6, 2025 at 7:10 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
I kept forgetting isopod (slater) leg anatomy so I made a handy image to help me remember all of the segments in order. Credit to chatGPT for creating the mnemonic itself 😆 #isopods
The mnemonic on top reads "chewing bits in muck, crustaceans process debris." The text underneath lists leg segment names "coxa basis ischium merus carpus propodus dactylus" and in the centre is a line drawing of an isopod leg. The background is a murky green pond.
April 15, 2025 at 8:54 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
Vestige (Golden Arches) by Michael Kerbow
Oil painting of a scene with a prehistoric feel featuring dinosaurs and jungle plants surrounding a McDonald's, under a hazy sky
April 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
Oh my goodness there are too many. Fomantis, Lurantis, and Snom are the ones that immediately come to mind.
Fomantis, a green and pink baby bug Pokemon with big eyes Lurantis, an anthropomorphised orchid mantis that looks to be wearing pink striped pants Snom, a very round white grub Pokemon, also a big baby
April 7, 2025 at 1:09 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
Really excited to share that the first paper I’ve contributed to has been published! With the help of citizen science, we described 34 new Australian parasitoid wasp species, including Apanteles darthvaderi. doi.org/10.3897/zook...
#Conservation #CitizenScience #DNAbarcoding #Entomology #Hymenoptera
Microscopic image of a dark brown parasitoid wasp with orange legs. The whole wasp is only a few millimetres long.
February 11, 2025 at 10:53 PM
koestmann.bsky.social
Merry Christmas everyone 🎄
Image: The Latest Kate
Image text reads: you DO belong, you ARE worthy, and you deserve lovely days. Beneath the text are cute forest animals are gathered around seeds and fruits on a table. Credit: The Latest Kate.
December 24, 2024 at 10:44 PM
koestmann.bsky.social
Picked up this gorgeous book to introduce some positive and informative conservation stories into little ones’ lives. I often feel that we are overwhelmed by the abundance of negative events and it is important to remember the good progress too. 📚💙 #BookSky #Science
The colourfully illustrated front cover of Return of the Wild by Helen Scales.
December 24, 2024 at 2:25 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
Here is a very fantastical isopod I drew in the excitement of multiple slaters turning up to visit our home, which I take as a good omen for my upcoming program #SciArt #Art #Crustmas
digital artwork of a bright purple, especially round isopod with blue and yellow markings
December 18, 2024 at 11:32 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
Have you ever seen a pufferfish skeleton? The spines are modified scales. (Image source unknown)
Pufferfish skeleton with modified scales in its normal state, and underneath, expanded state
December 11, 2024 at 11:07 PM
koestmann.bsky.social
A warm and humid walk through the Adelaide Botanic Gardens yesterday 😊
A large jumping spider perched on the underside of a thin leafy branch. The spider looks to be planning where to jump next. A wide angle view of a large leafy tree and its above ground roots Close up of a purple and yellow violet and more violets in the background Wide angle view of a bottle tree, emphasising its especially rotund trunk
December 7, 2024 at 5:16 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
Have you noticed fewer Christmas beetles in recent years? If you spot one, you can contribute your observation to this project to help their research! 🪲 #science
invertebratesaustralia.org/christmas-be...
Title reading "the 2024 Christmas beetle count has begun!" above a close-up of the beetle on a leaf. The beetle is a shiny gold colour. Text reading "upload your Christmas beetle sightings to iNaturalist to help us understand these beautiful bugs! Find out how (at the the link in the post)" and a Christmas beetle climbing up the bark of a tree trunk
December 1, 2024 at 10:51 PM
koestmann.bsky.social
If you could witness the evolution of any species or trait in real time, which would you choose and why?

I would love to see the ancestors of whales transition back into the ocean. #science #evolution 🧪
A vertical timeline illustrating extinct relatives of whales, representing their transition back to an ocean-dwelling life.
November 25, 2024 at 5:13 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
Currently reading The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Dr Steven Novella. If you want to know about every kind of logical fallacy out there, this book is for you! 💙📚 #booksky
A hand holding a Kobo e-reader displaying a book cover, which reads 'The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe'
November 18, 2024 at 5:42 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
11/ Nest of Silk by Oliver Lacey
Photographer's description: I found this female green jumping spider in my backyard and struggled to get her in focus as she scurried back and forth, carefully weaving her silk into a nest. Once complete, this nest will be used as a shelter to rest in, and potentially lay her egg-sacs.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
10/ Inspection by Charles Davis
Photographer's description: The Bremer Canyon is a meeting place for most of the ocean’s most terrifying creatures. These orcas gather in great numbers to hunt tuna, great white sharks, giant squid and even other larger whales. Hanging over the edge of the boat in five metre swell, I dunked my camera into the water as these young orcas swam beneath the boat.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
9/ Fish Out of Water by Richard Robinson
Photographer's description: New Zealanders love their native galaxiids—sandwiched between two pieces of white bread for the most part. What most people don’t realise is that whitebait are actually the juvenile of a spectacular family of native fish. At Manāki Whitebait, scientists have cracked the secrets to commercially tank-rear the endangered Giant Kōkopu.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
8/ Sundew Light Show by Elizabeth Oxnam
Photographer's description: Across this open forest landscape, rambling sundews sparkle in the morning light. Each sundew has numerous tiny structures that ensnare their small prey. I have used a macro lens focussed on just one of these ingenious traps. Angling the camera for backlighting, a miniature light show was revealed.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
7/ Symmetry of Lurking by Adam Javorčík
Photographer's description: Spiders of the genus Deinopis have the largest simple eyes of any arthropod. Their photoreceptors are 2,000 times more sensitive to light than those of humans. Relying on their well-developed eyesight, they have developed an unusual hunting strategy. They cast their webs at prey that passes or flies underneath them.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
6/ Aurum by Benjamin Alldridge
Photographer's description: Tanglefoot, deciduous beech, fagus (Nothofagus gunnii), whatever name you give it, it’s Australia’s only cold-weather deciduous species. Every year, they go from waxy green to fiery reds. Sometimes, if you’re exceptionally lucky, you get to catch them in their fiery turn, under a blanket of snow.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
5/ There is always one by Tim Nallipogu
Photographer's description: These three [numbat] siblings are only a few days outside their burrow, taking in the smells and calls of the woodland. Over their first few months, they are very vulnerable to predation and stay under mum’s care. Poignantly, the one in the middle didn’t make it to dispersal stage.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
4/ Ningaloo Whale Shark by Oliver Clarke
Photographer's description: Whale sharks are deep water fish, spending the majority of their lives in deep water far from shore. Being able to swim with them in the clear shallows of the Ningaloo Reef is really quite special.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
3/ Aura by Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia
Photographer's description: On my recent trip to New Zealand, I was lucky enough to witness a spectacular sight: a moon halo caused by moonlight passing through ice crystals in the atmosphere. This amazing display was made even more beautiful by the unique geological formations of limestone boulders. These formations were shaped over time by weathering and erosion and provided the perfect frame for the moon halo. As if that wasn't enough, I also got to hear the majestic sound of deer stag calls, adding a touch of wildness to the night, and creating an enchanting soundtrack.
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
2/ Glow Worms in Abandoned Train Tunnel by David Muggleton
Photographer's description: In the dusk of a rainy summer's day, the stunning glow worms of Helensburgh are glimmering brightly. Present in the rockfaces all around the abandoned train station, a few specks of blue can be found all around this picture. The tunnel itself provides a perfect home for these magnificent creatures!
November 16, 2024 at 7:49 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
One of my all-time fave science memes for my second post 👋
November 14, 2024 at 12:55 AM
koestmann.bsky.social
I just finished this great book by Jason Roberts on the history of the practice of #taxonomy focusing on Linnaeus and Buffon. The book reminded me not to simply accept what is traditional when it comes to scientific perspectives, but remember that there is more than one way to see everything.
November 13, 2024 at 7:59 AM