A trip to the tropics is not complete without a sting or bite from an interesting arthropod. Here, I get stung by a mammoth wasp, so you don't have to. Sorry for the swear. BTW, this is Campsomeris. Parasitoids, they seek out large, subterranean beetle larvae.

“Winged Wonders. Why are #insects important and what can we do for them?” For all Green Party members and supporters, please come along to join Ross Piper for a special talk from 7pm on Wed 17 July - The Ark, 11-13 King William St, #NeedhamMarket IP6 8DG. #Suffolk #Ecology

Out today in Royal Society Publishing! We show that butterflies and moths accumulate so much static electricity that pollen is attracted onto them across air gaps, meaning they don't even need to make contact with the flower to pollinate it! 🦋🌻 royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rs… 🧵👇

The early evolution of mollusks has been hard to pin down, but now a newly discovered fossil—of a shell-less, soft-bodied, spiny mollusk from the early Cambrian—provides crucial insights, researchers report in Science. Learn more: scim.ag/7Tp #FossilFriday

These little solitary, hunting wasps are superb at dispatching aphids. This female has a paralysed aphid clamped between her jaws and she will stock her nest with hundreds of them. Stigmus solskyi

A new one for me, Didineis lunicornis, a rare crabronid wasp that nests in the fissures in clayey soils, stocking them with plant-hoppers and leaf-hoppers. Enlarged pulvilli probably for grabbing the prey. Looks very much like an ichneumon or a pompilid.

Time to cut the meadow. The abundance of black and yellow meadow ant hills makes cutting slow going.

Whoever said that a wildflower meadow is less work than a lawn was talking out of their arse. Enormously better for wildlife though, so the slog at this time of year is worth it.

I'm planning to run an entomology expedition in the Peruvian Amazon next year. Let me know if you're interested.

Vapourer Moth Orgyia antiqua caterpillars look amazing under UV at night, Buckfastleigh, Devon Max Anderson

Spider-fly, spider-fly, does whatever...not to die 😅 Members of the picture-winged #fly genus #Xanthacrona (#Ulidiidae) have a scutellum w/fake "eyes" & patterned wings. A convincing 🕷️ mimic to fool predators trying to sneak up on them! #FlySchool24 Soltis Center, Costa Rica

ARTISTS, you can only use ONE art picture to convince people to follow you. Which art piece are you using? (I'm cheating and using 2 so you can enjoy the detail)

This is the intricate silken retreat of the small jumping spider, Fritzia muelleri. Courtship in this species is quality. The male sprints around the web, stopping at each of the 3 entrances to be scrutinised by the female. If she likes the cut of his jib, in he goes...

Woah! New research shows how vital biodiversity is to thriving humanity: In US counties where bats declined from white-nose syndrome, insect numbers surged, leading to a 31% rise in pesticide use and subsequently *an 8% increase in infant mortality*! #Biodiversity #Conservation

Every bit of this big longhorn beetle from Peru is a feast for the eyes. Mallaspis scutellaris

Some good numbers here for beetle divetsity in Brasil. 35,699 species in 4,958 genera and 116 families. The tip of the iceberg though - 144 new species described every year, expected to rise to 180 per year in coming years

Nature research paper: Drosophila are hosts to the first described parasitoid wasp of adult flies go.nature.com/3MFgETh

The life strategies of #parasitoids are stunningly diverse, but no wasps that attack and develop inside adult flies have ever been described. Our article describes the first one. Its hosts: Drosophila melanogaster and other species of #Drosophila #Entomology #Braconidae

Wow! A blind snake (Indotyphlops braminus I think) feeding on ant brood. These snakes are completely subterranean, so you can’t really observe them in the wild. They’re specialized predators of ants and termites and, evidently, they look really weird when they eat. Ant 🐜 🐍 🐜

Last few surveys for this year and in a corner of one site the air and ground were thick with ivy bees, including mating scrums like this...