Rainforests are important sources of timber, food, and medicinal plants, but they are constantly under threat from rampant deforestation and overexploitation. Sustainable bioeconomies may be the solution. But, what are bioeconomies? Read the thread to learn more. ⬇️

With the collaboration of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, putting bioeconomies into action will help shift the economy to the sustainable production of forest products. Learn how #XPRIZERainforest is supporting sustainable bioeconomies: xprize.org/rainforest

This is the first ever photograph or illustration of the female of this species, Erigone hydrophytae. The thing is, this isn't that unusual. There are likely thousands of animal species out there that are not documented, and we're losing them faster than we can describe them.

Check this out! nature.com/articles/s4146…

The wings of Macrocilix maia contain patterns resembling a fly feeding on bird-dropping. I don't think there's any practical purpose to this, but it looks awesome!

Cuteness OVERLOAD! Even the youngest of us want to work towards biodiversity conservation. Pledge today and help us create our insect database - kickstarter.com/projects/59939…

Hopper side on profile shot think it may be Centrotus cornutus Single shot IG Weemadbeasties #wednesdaythought #hopper #entomology #insect #nature

DNA sampling by drone? Team Limelight Rainforest are using aerial robots Outreach Robotics (and a Bento Lab!) to sample and DNA barcode insects in the Amazon basin in Ecuador. They're on Kickstarter NOW aiming to catalog 5000 insect taxa. Support them here: kickstarter.com/projects/59939…

Lepidocolaptes lacrymiger lacrymiger adult foraging (raeamastus minerva) From Yanayacu Biological Station, photographed by Dr. Harold Greeney

We see more than just bugs :p Basiliscus plumifrons in La Selva, Costa Rica (photograph by Dr Harold Greeney)

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Fund our Kickstarter!!

teamwaponi.org/kickstarter

ONE DAYYYYYY limelightrainforest.org

Our Limelight Rainforest 5K Kickstarter concluded last night, with a whopping $14,828 of pledges - 118% of our goal. We are so excited to use these funds to build our insect database. thank you so much for your support - we could not have done it without you!!

🌍 TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT 🌿 During the XPRIZE Rainforest Finals with the Limelight Rainforest team, one of our strategies was to collect surface eDNA samples by swabbing through the rainforest. Here's how we deployed our fully enclosed probe concept to gather crucial biodiversity data!

So happy to announce that our team Limelight Rainforest won the #XPRIZERainforest competition! We delivered a canopy tree mapping solution using drones and AI that can transform tropical forest biodiversity monitoring. Thanks IVADO for the support.

👋 Meet Taylor, a senior studying Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology at CMU. As part of her undergraduate studies, Taylor worked with Team Limelight Rainforest, winners of the prestigious XPRIZE Rainforest for biodiversity innovation. Working with the genetics team, she

👋 Meet Denita Weeks, CMU Associate Professor of Biology and DNA sequencing lead for Team Limelight Rainforest, the winning team in the prestigious XPRIZE Rainforest competition for biodiversity innovation. As part of the competition, Dr. Weeks pioneered novel field techniques,

👋 Meet Matthew, a senior studying Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Biology, at CMU, with plans to pursue a career in medicine. Matthew joined Team Limelight Rainforest over two years ago, bringing expertise in specimen processing, linguistics and machine learning. His journey