Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
@derekhennen.bsky.social
Entomologist & Myriapodologist: leaf litter critter enthusiast.
Author of Ohio Millipede Field Guide.
"Scientist & avowed Swiftie" -Rolling Stone
Richmond, VA
www.derekhennen.com
Author of Ohio Millipede Field Guide.
"Scientist & avowed Swiftie" -Rolling Stone
Richmond, VA
www.derekhennen.com
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
When people say "There weren't many women in palaeontology/palaeoart in the 19 & 20th century" they pretend that women in the Central & East Europe did not exist, despite ladies ruling the show in that corner of the world for a century.
November 11, 2025 at 5:14 AM
When people say "There weren't many women in palaeontology/palaeoart in the 19 & 20th century" they pretend that women in the Central & East Europe did not exist, despite ladies ruling the show in that corner of the world for a century.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
A biologist at the American Museum of Natural History, Jonathan Coddington, cataloged a new genus of South American spiders in 1986.
Two things about the spider were unique:
they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs.
So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
Two things about the spider were unique:
they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs.
So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
November 11, 2025 at 12:10 PM
A biologist at the American Museum of Natural History, Jonathan Coddington, cataloged a new genus of South American spiders in 1986.
Two things about the spider were unique:
they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs.
So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
Two things about the spider were unique:
they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs.
So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
“New York Times conducts hostile interview with children’s education influencer questioning her recognition of comprehensively documented war crimes” is not a sentence I could have imagined a few years ago
November 10, 2025 at 2:41 PM
“New York Times conducts hostile interview with children’s education influencer questioning her recognition of comprehensively documented war crimes” is not a sentence I could have imagined a few years ago
A common Evan Waite W!!!!
GREAT NEWS Evan Waite is going to save us all by creating region-specific multi-entry keys to the carabids of the US (based on NEON specimens and data)
November 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM
A common Evan Waite W!!!!
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Spread the word: we are providing multiple $5k awards for grad & undergrad research on invertebrate conservation !! In addition to our continuing DeWind Award (for Lepidoptera research), we now have the 1st annual BanDrosky Award (for any invert in decline). Details in thread🧵 ⤵️
November 10, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Spread the word: we are providing multiple $5k awards for grad & undergrad research on invertebrate conservation !! In addition to our continuing DeWind Award (for Lepidoptera research), we now have the 1st annual BanDrosky Award (for any invert in decline). Details in thread🧵 ⤵️
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
Hey it's a good sign when the taxonomic paper you're reading starts with the phrase "where angels fear to tread," right?
November 10, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Hey it's a good sign when the taxonomic paper you're reading starts with the phrase "where angels fear to tread," right?
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Hi, I'm setting up a peer support platform for ECRs in ecology & evolution in China, aiming to address a huge problem --- academic burnout driven by hyper-competition and a system that often prioritizes elite background/title over actual research.
#ECR #AcademicSupport #科研互助 #ecology #evolution
#ECR #AcademicSupport #科研互助 #ecology #evolution
November 9, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Hi, I'm setting up a peer support platform for ECRs in ecology & evolution in China, aiming to address a huge problem --- academic burnout driven by hyper-competition and a system that often prioritizes elite background/title over actual research.
#ECR #AcademicSupport #科研互助 #ecology #evolution
#ECR #AcademicSupport #科研互助 #ecology #evolution
oh captain my captain!
And finally, Lubo’s message to the young: LESS COMPUTER, MORE COLLECTING
November 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM
oh captain my captain!
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Steven Hammer, one of our regular collection users, co-developed a new #insect pinning block, with staff and volunteers from the museum.
It’s 3D-printed and open source, so you can try it for yourself:
cults3d.com/en/3d-model/...
#ECN2025
It’s 3D-printed and open source, so you can try it for yourself:
cults3d.com/en/3d-model/...
#ECN2025
Entoblock step
An improved pinning block for entomological collections.
It has five steps at different heights for quick and accurate label setting. The steps are visible from both sides, making it suitable for lef...
cults3d.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Steven Hammer, one of our regular collection users, co-developed a new #insect pinning block, with staff and volunteers from the museum.
It’s 3D-printed and open source, so you can try it for yourself:
cults3d.com/en/3d-model/...
#ECN2025
It’s 3D-printed and open source, so you can try it for yourself:
cults3d.com/en/3d-model/...
#ECN2025
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
As antidote to current US government's reprehensible erasure of Black soldiers' WWII contributions, here's Jacob Lawrence's "Beachhead," 1947, a work in his larger War series. Lawrence himself served in WWII as an artist on the US military's first racially integrated ship whitney.org/collection/w...
November 9, 2025 at 2:35 PM
As antidote to current US government's reprehensible erasure of Black soldiers' WWII contributions, here's Jacob Lawrence's "Beachhead," 1947, a work in his larger War series. Lawrence himself served in WWII as an artist on the US military's first racially integrated ship whitney.org/collection/w...
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
🧡 @americanbeetles.bsky.social has really delivered again, with stickers for our meeting.
Behold… the most adorable Rain beetle you have ever seen! 😍
#ECN2025
Behold… the most adorable Rain beetle you have ever seen! 😍
#ECN2025
November 8, 2025 at 10:44 PM
🧡 @americanbeetles.bsky.social has really delivered again, with stickers for our meeting.
Behold… the most adorable Rain beetle you have ever seen! 😍
#ECN2025
Behold… the most adorable Rain beetle you have ever seen! 😍
#ECN2025
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
Rosalind Franklin and the damage of gender harassment
Spurred by a recent report on sexual harassment in academia, our columnist revisits a historical case and reflects on what has changed—and what hasn’t
www.science.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Just about everyone, regardless of political party, can agree: food poisoning is the worst. But Trump’s FDA staffing cuts mean fewer safety inspections of food facilities, putting us all at greater risk of getting very sick, or in the most severe cases, dying.
www.propublica.org/article/fore...
www.propublica.org/article/fore...
Foreign Food Safety Inspections Hit Historic Low After Trump Cuts
The dramatic shift in oversight comes at a time when the U.S. has never been more reliant on foreign food, which accounts for the vast majority of the nation’s seafood and more than half its fresh fru...
www.propublica.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Just about everyone, regardless of political party, can agree: food poisoning is the worst. But Trump’s FDA staffing cuts mean fewer safety inspections of food facilities, putting us all at greater risk of getting very sick, or in the most severe cases, dying.
www.propublica.org/article/fore...
www.propublica.org/article/fore...
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Among items included in this agreement are an extortion payment of $30M & the requirement of admissions data restricted to race, GPAs, test scores, & school/college of students for what will likely be misconstrued analyses of admissions processes & student academic capabilities & achievement.
Cornell has reached an agreement with the federal government to restore our funding:
statements.cornell.edu/2025/2025110...
statements.cornell.edu/2025/2025110...
An agreement to restore Cornell’s federal research funding | University Statements | Cornell University
statements.cornell.edu
November 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Among items included in this agreement are an extortion payment of $30M & the requirement of admissions data restricted to race, GPAs, test scores, & school/college of students for what will likely be misconstrued analyses of admissions processes & student academic capabilities & achievement.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
"World's first potential trillionaire has killed 600,000 people, including 400,000 children" is the only headline that anyone should ever read about Elon Musk
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 1:33 AM
"World's first potential trillionaire has killed 600,000 people, including 400,000 children" is the only headline that anyone should ever read about Elon Musk
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
This is so hard to grapple with. I know with everything else there is always so much to devote our attention to, but this is so ... big? Irredeemable?
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 12:52 AM
This is so hard to grapple with. I know with everything else there is always so much to devote our attention to, but this is so ... big? Irredeemable?
You won the election! Stop acting like you lost! WHAT ARE WE DOING
Virginia Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, told reporters that with their newfound strength House Democrats "can't overreach."
Speaker Scott celebrates sweep, says Dems must govern with restraint
Virginia Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, told reporters that with their newfound strength House Democrats "can't overreach."
richmond.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:56 PM
You won the election! Stop acting like you lost! WHAT ARE WE DOING
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Trump just continually shooting our country in the face. This unwarranted (and likely illegal) destruction of Goddard is madness. It jeopardizes the next several decades of space exploration.
Reposting to correct an error: trump admin is quietly gutting 13 buildings and about 100 laboratories at Goddard campus that has been instrumental to Hubble and James Webb telescope missions. Staff say they’ve be locked and told to move equipment. Anything left behind will be thrown away.
NASA may be quietly gutting an iconic campus with what it calls strategic closures, workers fear
(CNN) — Alarm is growing among federal workers at NASA’s iconic Goddard Space Flight Center’s main campus in Greenbelt, Maryland — the nerve center for groundbreaking missions like the Hubble
www.wkow.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Trump just continually shooting our country in the face. This unwarranted (and likely illegal) destruction of Goddard is madness. It jeopardizes the next several decades of space exploration.
No pop ups. All the links are there. Beautiful, pro-worker design.
November 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM
No pop ups. All the links are there. Beautiful, pro-worker design.
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
Are you a POC student, early career researcher, or professional entomologist from a country in the Global South?
We are now funding memberships!
Apply from October 1st to December 15th.
More info:
www.entopoc.org/apply.html
Apply:
docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLS...
We are now funding memberships!
Apply from October 1st to December 15th.
More info:
www.entopoc.org/apply.html
Apply:
docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLS...
October 1, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Are you a POC student, early career researcher, or professional entomologist from a country in the Global South?
We are now funding memberships!
Apply from October 1st to December 15th.
More info:
www.entopoc.org/apply.html
Apply:
docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLS...
We are now funding memberships!
Apply from October 1st to December 15th.
More info:
www.entopoc.org/apply.html
Apply:
docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLS...
Reposted by Derek Hennen, Ph.D.
whos in the social media bubble now you gooncel freaks
November 5, 2025 at 1:07 PM
whos in the social media bubble now you gooncel freaks