I’m thrilled that our work on the evolution of Hymenoptera is now out in Nature Communications! We inferred a new phylogeny and investigated the influence of key innovations on the diversification of the order. nature.com/articles/s4146…

A day after collecting the #galls of a potentially undescribed species of #cynipid #wasp, I have TONS emerging. Listen to them buzzing about inside the bags!

The USDA and @Smithsonian produced a comprehensive family tree of ants, bees & wasps. Research revealed that evolution was driven by a return to plant feeding & other features like stingers played less of a role. Specimens used from Smithsonian NMNH insect collection, some over 100 yrs old!

This is gonna be a year people talk about for a long time

Absolutely insane 72 hour totals

For the gall lovers: saw my first catkin gall! Andricus cooki on Quercus myrtifolia catkin.

A fine sand wasp (Stictia signata) from Osa Conservation. Many of these wasps are predators of blood-feeding flies, so a big👍from me. P.S. Bembix rostrata - hurry up and colonise our shores. PPS. Another genus of sand wasps is Zyzzyx. Probably the best name ever for a genus.

National Moth Week is a time to appreciate and celebrate our native moths! Moths are important pollinators that often take the night shift, which includes pollinating flowers that only open at night. Just like butterflies, moths transform from caterpillars to winged adults. 🧵

#NationalMothWeek day 6! Today's moth is a wasp mimic, a video I took in Ecuador earlier this year. Hard to believe it's a moth! Protects itself from predators by looking like a wasp. #MothWeek

Next up for #NationalHairDay is the terrible hairy fly! Mormotomyia hirsuta, the terrible hairy fly, is a species known from only a single location in Kenya. The adults have small, non-functional wings and eyes and possibly feed on the bodily secretions of bats.

Gonna go through withdrawal next week. #entsoc23

Peruvian Darwin wasps of the genus Dolichomitus Smith, 1877 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), with a key to Neotropical species   doi.org/10.1007/s13744…   #neotropicalentomology #seb #systematics #morphology #physiology #hymenoptera #ichneumonidae #darwinwasps #neotropical

‘Tis the season for acorns.🌰🌰🌰 They’re the go-to-snack of many animals, including the amazing acorn weevil. 👀Watch how it ingeniously cracks into tough acorns in #DeepLook’s latest video: bit.ly/AcornWeevilYT

Marsh marigold moth, micropterix calthella. A real punkhead😎I discovered up to six of these moths in a single Ranunculus acris flower. These moths do not have a proboscis but actually have mandibles. Have you ever been bitten by a butterfly? #micropterixcalthella #urmotte

Coleopterists: is this Lytta aenea. Flying yesterday near Great Falls, VA

Very happy to introduce a new fungus to the world, Endoantria benetecta, which represents not only a new species but a new genus of ascomycetes. It is special as it has only been found in temperate rainforests in Scotland and Wales. It's a super interesting fungus: here's why 1/

6z GFS: Complete flooding disaster would occur if this track verified! Gets blocked and bounces around in the SE/Gulf Coast for over a week!

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78-Year-Old Man Running for President Won’t Release Medical Records trib.al/oiJ1WIl

Let’s get 500 retweets on this as soon as possible to humiliate Donald Trump. The greatest political ad ever made.