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dkbio.bsky.social
Robert Kennedy
@dkbio.bsky.social
100 followers 64 following 31 posts
Scientist-educator, biology, environmental science, entomology, botany, protein structure and function. Amateur musician, soccer fan. Posts are my own.
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dkbio.bsky.social
The tiger clear wing is a tropical butterfly. The larvae feed on tomatos (among other Solanaceae). Several Solanum sp were domesticated in Mexico and the Andes.
entsocamerica.bsky.social Entomological Society of America @entsocamerica.bsky.social · 3d
Arthropod Photo of the Week: December 31, 2025
Orange-spotted tiger clearwings
Mechanitis polymnia
Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae
By Francisco López-Machado (@frank-68.bsky.social), Valle del Cauca, Colombia
#arthropodPOTW
Two butterflies with black, yellow, and orange patterned wings are mating on a green leaf. The background is blurred greenery.
January 1, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
learndirt.bsky.social
🌱 "A forest is much more than what you see." —Suzanne Simard
December 31, 2025 at 3:00 PM
dkbio.bsky.social
I though you left out the best part where the fly gets released from its kidnapper but only because I didn't read further in the post lol. Happy New Year.
scottzona.bsky.social 🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴 @scottzona.bsky.social · 4d
Have you heard the one about the fly that walked into a flower?
When a pollen-bearing fly enters the flower of an Aristilochia (like this A. samarensis), the journey is 1-way: Downward-pointing hairs prevent escape. The flower is in the female phase, so the stigma picks up the pollen from the fly.
Photo of a leafy shoot with axillary flowers. The leaves are elliptical. The flowers are pipe-shaped, with an inflated base and a long, dark lobe on the upper side of the perianth limb. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
easterncoyote.bsky.social
Reminder.
Graffiti: The planet doesn’t need more “successful” people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, & lovers of all kinds.
December 31, 2025 at 4:12 PM
dkbio.bsky.social
Important as decomposers and useful in household composting.
December 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
dkbio.bsky.social
Hemiptera means true bug; a true bug has sucking mouthparts. The Coreids are called leaf-footed because some species have large, obvious leaf-like modifications on the legs. The family is distributed globally and in North America some species are pests on cucurbits (squash, cucumbers, melons).
entsocamerica.bsky.social Entomological Society of America @entsocamerica.bsky.social · 10d
Arthropod Photo of the Week: December 24, 2025
Leaffooted bug and ant
Chariesterus moestus
Hemiptera: Coreidae
By Alberto Sánchez Herrera, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
#arthropodPOTW
A spotted insect with long legs and antennae is perched on a green plant, while a small ant walks on one of its appendages. The background is black.
December 25, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
learndirt.bsky.social
🌱 "Mycelium is the glue that holds the forest together." —Paul Stamets
December 24, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
evolutionistrue.bsky.social
Photos of arthropods taken by Mark Sturtevant.

whyevolutionistrue.com/2025/12/21/r...
December 21, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
simonwhale.bsky.social
December 18, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
brymo.bsky.social
Yellow Faced Bumblebee on a Pride of Madeira
#photograph
#flowers
#bees
A yellow faced bumblebee with a ball of pollen on its back legs hovering over a Pride of Madeira flower
December 7, 2025 at 3:38 PM
dkbio.bsky.social
Huntsman spiders do not build webs instead, they hunt their prey. They are tropical, found in Indonesia, and terrific at camouflage. They come in different color forms but cannot change thier colors to match the background like squids can.
entsocamerica.bsky.social Entomological Society of America @entsocamerica.bsky.social · Nov 26
Arthropod Photo of the Week: November 26, 2025
Lichen huntsman spider
Pandercetes sp.
Araneae: Sparassidae
By Valentina Lyau, California, USA
#arthropodPOTW
A close-up image of a spider with spiny legs and a patterned body, resting on a textured brown surface.
November 26, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
meadekrosby.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
jacobphd.bsky.social
Only one predator species chooses its prey based on what it senses the prey has eaten. Specifically, it wants prey full of human (or other vertebrate) blood! Meet Evarcha culicivora, the spider that prefers blood-fed mosquitoes. Called the vampire spider, but this is misleading: it EATS vampires.
Evarcha culicivora photo by Robert R. Jackson
November 6, 2025 at 5:05 AM
dkbio.bsky.social
The hosts, wood-boring beetle larvae, are typically found within trees. The female Rhyssella uses her long ovipositor to bore into the wood and deposit her eggs. When the wasp larvae hatch, they feed on and kill the host larvae. The black "tube" in front of the middle leg is the ovipositor.
entsocamerica.bsky.social Entomological Society of America @entsocamerica.bsky.social · Nov 5
Arthropod Photo of the Week: November 5, 2025
Parasitoid wasp
Rhyssella sp.
Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae
By Christian Brockes (wildmacro.de), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
#arthropodPOTW
A close-up image of a black ichneumon wasp with long antennae and orange legs standing on a piece of wood, with a blurred green background.
November 6, 2025 at 1:16 AM
dkbio.bsky.social
If it bleeds, it leads they say.
wokestudies.bsky.social Dr Ian McCormick @wokestudies.bsky.social · Nov 2
Actual causes of death in the USA compared to populist media coverage ...
November 2, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
botsocamerica.bsky.social
Improving plant DNA #metabarcoding accuracy with ecological filters and #Angiosperms353: Field and pollen microscopy validation

New in #AppsPlantSci by Benkendorf, @sophietaddeo.bsky.social, Fant et al

bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #botany #PlantScience #herbaria #ecology
A queen bumble bee (Bombus bifarius) foraging on a pale green and white Frasera speciosa flower, with her proboscis extended into a nectary. Her orange pollen basket is prominently visible on her hind leg. Photo credit: Jane Ogilvie.
October 31, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
entsocamerica.bsky.social
Arthropod Photo of the Week: October 1, 2025
Tailed cellar spider
Crossopriza lyoni
Araneae: Pholcidae
By Rodolfo Vega Littlewood (rvlfoto.weebly.com), Sonora, Mexico
#arthropodPOTW
A close-up of a long-legged spider holding a cluster of gray eggs beneath its body. The background consists of a brown, textured surface, possibly a dried leaf.
October 1, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
entsocamerica.bsky.social
Arthropod Photo of the Week: September 17, 2025
Katydid
Species unknown
Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae
By Tomás Oliveira, Minas Gerais, Brazil
#arthropodPOTW
A green, lichen-mimicking insect is camouflaged on a mottled tree branch, blending in with the colors and textures of the bark and lichen.
September 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
donoghsweeney.bsky.social
A first for our back garden. A Migrant Hawker, posing for us this morning 💚 #Dragonfly #UrbanGarden #Limerick
August 23, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
entsocamerica.bsky.social
Weekend reading in the Journal of Insect Science: August 16 is #NationalHoneyBeeDay! 🐝

Learn more about these vital insect pollinators in this #OA special collection all about honey bee health, sociobiology, and management @oxfordacademic.bsky.social academic.oup.com/jinsectscien...
The graphic includes a photo of two Western Honey Bees in a cluster of dandelions. Photo by Jared Lincenberg via iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/277199923), CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
August 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
jamesmartinsj.bsky.social
Happy Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus! May you find God in all things!
July 31, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
jefftrnka.bsky.social
July 7, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
patrlynch1.bsky.social
Long-Legged Fly (Condylostylus comatus). She's about 4mm long. North Haven, CT, USA, June 26, 2025.
🧪🌿🌎 #sciart #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #sciphotography #sciphoto #scientificillustration #naturephoto #naturephotography #visualscicomm #sciviz #scicomm #insects #flies
A tiny metallic-green fly standing on a green leaf.
June 26, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
thebeeguy.bsky.social
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.

# 143

On leaving the nest for the first time female #bumblebee workers thoroughly survey the surrounding landscape on long looping exploratory flights; stopping often to ‘sample’ #flowers until they discover a favourite patch.
#bees
#nature
🐝🌍
June 21, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Reposted by Robert Kennedy
tillingtonchum.bsky.social
Harpalus affinis on a local common. Unusual for a ground beetle, this one stayed perfectly still for around a minute, giving me a photo opportunity.
#beetles #ento #UKwildlife
June 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM