Dr Manu Saunders
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manusaunders.bsky.social
Dr Manu Saunders
@manusaunders.bsky.social
4.9K followers 1.4K following 480 posts
Ecologist. Mum. Writer.
Senior Lecturer Uni New England (Australia).
Editor in Chief: Insect Conservation and Diversity.
Anaiwan Country. My words. She/her.
https://ecologyisnotadirtyword.com
https://saundersecologylab.com/
Posts Replies Media Videos
manusaunders.bsky.social
Social spiders! Found this huge communal web, shared by five visible adult female orb weavers, strung across a popular walking path at Mooloolaba Beach #ozinverts #wildoz
Huge communal spider web, with five large orb weavers sharing the space, visible against the blue sky background
November 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Glorious spring day in the New England gorge country near Armidale. Local endemic Ingram's wattle having a glow up #wildoz #ozplants
Clear blue sky, underlined by a rugged cliff face covered in trees. Flowering wattles glow gold among the green and brown
September 7, 2025 at 12:06 PM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Biggest snow fall in decades here in Armidale NSW. We usually get an occasional flurry that doesn't settle. Heavy snow fell all day, around 40cm+ in drifts around our yard. Lots of fun, but also lots of trees cracking and falling, not used to the weight. Some birds struggling to fly!
Snow covered street curving away from the camera. Everything is white.
August 2, 2025 at 10:32 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Congratulations Ashley Darst, winner of the #RESInsectConsDiv early career research paper award 2024! Ashley's research impressed us as a great example of direct conservation benefits from on-ground collaboration between researchers and land managers 🌏🧪
www.royensoc.co.uk/res-journal-...
A researcher in hi-vis yellow vest and hat is standing in a patch of flowering plants next to a major road. She has a notebook in hand and is recording observations from the plants she is looking at.
June 20, 2025 at 10:50 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
*New paper* Denialism campaigns are growing in attempts to discredit science, scientists, and the scientific process generally. Biodiversity loss denial is a new phenomenon that needs our attention.
-With @alexanderlees.bsky.social + Eliza Grames!
#CommSky 🧪🌏 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Figure 2. Measuring changes in insect biodiversity (centre column 'Metrics' and 'Trends') can be achieved by focusing on drivers that directly or indirectly impact insect biodiversity metrics and trends (left column 'Drivers of Change'). Where data on insect populations specifically are unavailable, data from other species and ecological processes can provide inferential support for changes in insect biodiversity (right column 'Indicators of Change').
February 16, 2025 at 10:10 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Great to be back in the lab, working with Carmen looking at insect samples from threatened #DynamicLagoons for her PhD.

First time doing insect ID since parent life...I'd forgotten where most things were, and discovered I need to replenish my lab consumables!
Three bees lying in a Petri dish on a microscope deck Scientist Carmen working with a sample of insects and a microscope. She is holding a Petri dish of samples on the microscope deck with her right hand and transferring a damselflies to another jar with her left hand Scientist hands holding a Petri dish of damselflies on the microscope deck An unnamed insect lies on a Petri dish in the microscope light, waiting for identification
January 24, 2025 at 9:32 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Seeing lots of Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus spp.) around the Northern Tablelands NSW this summer. Plenty of defoliated trees too! #wildoz #ozinverts
A collection of brown shiny Christmas beetles lying in leaf litter, surrounded by dead eucalyptus leaves of mixed sizes and colours and a few tufts of green grass A skyward view of a stand of Eucalyptus trees, with their defoliated canopies contrasting against the blue sky and white clouds
January 20, 2025 at 9:51 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Lots to learn about insect detectability & biodiversity records can help. Found this hawkmoth (Theretra inornata) on a morning walk after very windy night. First record for NSW according to iNaturalist (seen one before but didn't get pic). Was it a blow-in? Are they around but not seen? #ozinverts
Large beige coloured hawkmoth lying in short grass. To the left, a thumb and forefinger is gently pulling the topwing open to make the underwing visible, which has dark brown shading.
December 23, 2024 at 9:41 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
It's not often you are lucky enough to see both host and parasitoid in action! A couple of weeks ago we saw a potter wasp (Delta latreilli)make a nest on our front stairs. This week a cuckoo wasp (Chrysididae) parasitised it #ozinverts #wildoz #urbanecology
Large orange and black wasp pushing a paralysed caterpillar into her freshly built mud nest. The nest sits on a cement stair with a brick wall behind it. Iridescent green wasp laying eggs in a hole she just drilled in the same nest as previous picture
December 1, 2024 at 7:13 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
This species (Cyclochila australasiae) comes in multiple colour morphs. Here's a Masked Devil morph we found just emerged on our neighbourhood walk this morning #wildoz #ozinverts
A large orange cicada with black markings rests on the ground among grass and clover leaves
November 21, 2024 at 6:31 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Our first firetail (Yoyetta ignita) for the season! Currently chirping on our window screen. This species was only named recently, here's a little story about the value of recording biodiversity observations 👇 #wildoz #ozinverts 🌏🧪
A small cicada sitting in the palm of a person's hand, facing away from the camera. It's body is mostly black with a fiery orange abdomen.
November 17, 2024 at 10:57 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Green grocer cicadas are out for the summer! We haven't had these in our yard for a few years #ozinverts #wildoz
Large lime green cicada resting on an open hand, with palm facing up. The cicada reaches almost the full width of the hand.
November 16, 2024 at 7:39 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Excellent weed trap in this national park #wildoz
November 16, 2024 at 1:52 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Local pest controllers on patrol #wildoz #ozinverts
Sphecid wasp pushing a prey caterpillar into her newly constructed mud nest. She will lay her eggs inside with the food before sealing the nest
November 14, 2024 at 8:06 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Some of the diversity in our poppy patch ❤️

Today it feels even more important to remember what they sacrificed for #RemembranceDay
November 11, 2024 at 1:20 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Some cool genes in our Flanders poppy patch 🌏🧪
November 6, 2024 at 10:11 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
AI can't keep up with insects lol...
November 1, 2024 at 10:52 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Got my copy! Thanks @hpwaudby.bsky.social for inviting me to be part of this awesome collection of stories highlighting the diversity of experiences working with nature. Hope this book inspires more readers to explore ecology and conservation opportunities! 🌏 publish.csiro.au/book/8128/
September 18, 2024 at 10:42 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
🎉
992,335 first 10%
September 17, 2024 at 11:37 PM
manusaunders.bsky.social
We experienced a huge emergence of moths recently with the unseasonally warm winter weather. They were mostly noctuids, plus others, many nectaring on flowering trees during the day #ozinverts #pollinators 🌏
September 14, 2024 at 9:38 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
The blogosphere is valuable to science communities (or any discipline), but we need more recognition of how readers and writers benefit. Thanks @robinheinennl.bsky.social for invitation to contribute to this piece! #scicomm #commsky #academicsky onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
August 30, 2024 at 11:20 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Spectacular new fungi-mimicking beetle genus discovered by James Tweed on a camping trip in southeast Queensland rainforest. Despite an extensive history of entomological collecting & research at this location, it is completely new to science #ozinverts www.taxonomyaustralia.org.au/_files/ugd/1...
May 7, 2024 at 4:00 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
The Ecology & Conservation of Urban Insects SI, now published! A great set of papers covering a range of taxa and urban locations around the world! #urbanecology #insectconservation 🌏🧪 resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17524598...
Journal issue cover for the Special Issue featuring a large insect hotel wall in front of a high-intensity urban apartment block.
March 14, 2024 at 1:29 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
"Implementing global risk reduction measures is
equivalent to providing a global public good."

World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2024:
- Manipulated information most severe short term risk
- Environmental collapse most severe long term risk
🌏🧪

www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The...
January 14, 2024 at 9:53 AM
manusaunders.bsky.social
Christmas beetle iridescence #ozinverts
January 3, 2024 at 12:26 PM