Daniel D. Brown, Ph.D.
@drlaughingmantis.bsky.social
Laughing Mantis Studio
Pittsburgh, PA. breast cancer scientist, artist, woodworker, naturalist, native plant enthusiast, gardener, gamer, husband, dog dad.
Full portfolio on IG @laughingmantisstudio
Pittsburgh, PA. breast cancer scientist, artist, woodworker, naturalist, native plant enthusiast, gardener, gamer, husband, dog dad.
Full portfolio on IG @laughingmantisstudio
Pinned
Plant Milkweed!
#Monarch #Butterfly wood #intarsia is complete! Started this thing in Dec24! Made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw. Ebonized black walnut, orange-dyed ash, American holly (all scavenged). + A bit of wenge, and painted metal cord antennae. #woodworking #nativeplants
#Monarch #Butterfly wood #intarsia is complete! Started this thing in Dec24! Made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw. Ebonized black walnut, orange-dyed ash, American holly (all scavenged). + A bit of wenge, and painted metal cord antennae. #woodworking #nativeplants
I may have a problem.
Nature photos for #iNaturalist
Nature photos for #iNaturalist
July 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I may have a problem.
Nature photos for #iNaturalist
Nature photos for #iNaturalist
This piece is called “Deer Resistant My Ass!”
We have a few painted rocks around our garden. After deer browsed my evening primrose literally the day I planted it, I thought about a rock with this quote. Then was like “wait. I have a bandsaw.” #nativeplants #starwars #failure Oenothera biennis
We have a few painted rocks around our garden. After deer browsed my evening primrose literally the day I planted it, I thought about a rock with this quote. Then was like “wait. I have a bandsaw.” #nativeplants #starwars #failure Oenothera biennis
June 1, 2025 at 5:46 PM
This piece is called “Deer Resistant My Ass!”
We have a few painted rocks around our garden. After deer browsed my evening primrose literally the day I planted it, I thought about a rock with this quote. Then was like “wait. I have a bandsaw.” #nativeplants #starwars #failure Oenothera biennis
We have a few painted rocks around our garden. After deer browsed my evening primrose literally the day I planted it, I thought about a rock with this quote. Then was like “wait. I have a bandsaw.” #nativeplants #starwars #failure Oenothera biennis
I found a dead fly in my yard. Turns out it’s zombie fly infected with a fungus that makes it find a high perch, spread its legs/wings, die, and release fungal spores below. I’ve found 3 now, with 1 shipped to @zombiflied.bsky.social at Harvard for science! Just in time for Last of Us finale! 😂
May 26, 2025 at 1:47 AM
I found a dead fly in my yard. Turns out it’s zombie fly infected with a fungus that makes it find a high perch, spread its legs/wings, die, and release fungal spores below. I’ve found 3 now, with 1 shipped to @zombiflied.bsky.social at Harvard for science! Just in time for Last of Us finale! 😂
Zebra swallowtail wing looks like pixel art. #butterfly #naturalist
April 25, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Zebra swallowtail wing looks like pixel art. #butterfly #naturalist
It happened! At least 4 of the 32 zebra swallowtail #butterfly chrysalises that overwintered survived (maybe all). The 1st eclosed today! This shot was NOT planned. 3 more coming in the next 1-2 days. All offspring of this single mom: www.publicsource.org/zebra-swallo...
#pawpaw #nativeplants
#pawpaw #nativeplants
April 24, 2025 at 12:42 AM
It happened! At least 4 of the 32 zebra swallowtail #butterfly chrysalises that overwintered survived (maybe all). The 1st eclosed today! This shot was NOT planned. 3 more coming in the next 1-2 days. All offspring of this single mom: www.publicsource.org/zebra-swallo...
#pawpaw #nativeplants
#pawpaw #nativeplants
Another tiny strip of lawn I’ll never mow again! The other side is neighbor‘s lawn. Shrubby St. John’s wort + foxglove beardtongue from seed. I’ve solarized w/cardboard/mulch around plantings before. Works well enough. If the deer strike and I need to replace, well the hard part’s done.
April 18, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Another tiny strip of lawn I’ll never mow again! The other side is neighbor‘s lawn. Shrubby St. John’s wort + foxglove beardtongue from seed. I’ve solarized w/cardboard/mulch around plantings before. Works well enough. If the deer strike and I need to replace, well the hard part’s done.
Before and after. Evening primrose grown from seed in my basement. 😂 #nativeplants #gardening #eveningprimrose #deer
April 15, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Before and after. Evening primrose grown from seed in my basement. 😂 #nativeplants #gardening #eveningprimrose #deer
Made a new #hobbit hole for our front garden. Partly to make kids/parents smile when they walk by. But mainly to make myself smile. Scrap fence cedar and acrylic paint. It’ll look better with real plants around it I think. Pieces cut on #scrollsaw. #woodworking #geekart
April 8, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Made a new #hobbit hole for our front garden. Partly to make kids/parents smile when they walk by. But mainly to make myself smile. Scrap fence cedar and acrylic paint. It’ll look better with real plants around it I think. Pieces cut on #scrollsaw. #woodworking #geekart
Current vibe post Chewie’s “cryptorchid” surgery. Fun tangent: this lead to me learning that “orchid” means “testicle.” Hat tip to @metalmarks.bsky.social for sharing this illustration of why the plant is called an #orchid in our Pittsburgh #Naturalists signal chat. #DogsofBluesky
April 4, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Current vibe post Chewie’s “cryptorchid” surgery. Fun tangent: this lead to me learning that “orchid” means “testicle.” Hat tip to @metalmarks.bsky.social for sharing this illustration of why the plant is called an #orchid in our Pittsburgh #Naturalists signal chat. #DogsofBluesky
Happy to have this recent wooden monarch #butterfly piece shown at the University of #Pittsburgh #EcoArtisans Sustainable Art Expo today! Bonus materials showcasing #milkweed, #nativeplants, #pawpaw, and zebra swallowtails.
April 2, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Happy to have this recent wooden monarch #butterfly piece shown at the University of #Pittsburgh #EcoArtisans Sustainable Art Expo today! Bonus materials showcasing #milkweed, #nativeplants, #pawpaw, and zebra swallowtails.
Plant Milkweed!
#Monarch #Butterfly wood #intarsia is complete! Started this thing in Dec24! Made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw. Ebonized black walnut, orange-dyed ash, American holly (all scavenged). + A bit of wenge, and painted metal cord antennae. #woodworking #nativeplants
#Monarch #Butterfly wood #intarsia is complete! Started this thing in Dec24! Made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw. Ebonized black walnut, orange-dyed ash, American holly (all scavenged). + A bit of wenge, and painted metal cord antennae. #woodworking #nativeplants
March 26, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Plant Milkweed!
#Monarch #Butterfly wood #intarsia is complete! Started this thing in Dec24! Made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw. Ebonized black walnut, orange-dyed ash, American holly (all scavenged). + A bit of wenge, and painted metal cord antennae. #woodworking #nativeplants
#Monarch #Butterfly wood #intarsia is complete! Started this thing in Dec24! Made from 310 pieces of wood handcut on a scrollsaw. Ebonized black walnut, orange-dyed ash, American holly (all scavenged). + A bit of wenge, and painted metal cord antennae. #woodworking #nativeplants
Cold & rain makes for a great day to do my annual refinish of this inlayed patio sunflower table I made. Downside of oil-finish: yearly maintenance. Upside: it’s easy and much prettier than something like spar urethane. It stays on our porch so at least somewhat limited exposure to elements.
March 22, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Cold & rain makes for a great day to do my annual refinish of this inlayed patio sunflower table I made. Downside of oil-finish: yearly maintenance. Upside: it’s easy and much prettier than something like spar urethane. It stays on our porch so at least somewhat limited exposure to elements.
If any of you happen to be #pittsburgh local, the monarch I’m working on will be displayed at the “EcoArtisans Sustainable Art Expo” on April 2nd (10-2pm, WPU, Pitt Campus).
March 19, 2025 at 3:29 PM
If any of you happen to be #pittsburgh local, the monarch I’m working on will be displayed at the “EcoArtisans Sustainable Art Expo” on April 2nd (10-2pm, WPU, Pitt Campus).
1 way I make my #woodworking more sustainable is by ebonizing common woods like this black walnut instead of using e.g. ebony. Vinegar + steel wool in an old mason jar = iron acetate (& hydrogen, so don’t seal it💥!). The solution reacts with tannin to create various shades (depending on species)
March 16, 2025 at 6:58 PM
1 way I make my #woodworking more sustainable is by ebonizing common woods like this black walnut instead of using e.g. ebony. Vinegar + steel wool in an old mason jar = iron acetate (& hydrogen, so don’t seal it💥!). The solution reacts with tannin to create various shades (depending on species)
Back at this #monarch #intarsia again. I started it in December! It’s a slow metamorphosis. All handcut on #scrollsaw. Will dye some of it orange.
#woodworking #art
#woodworking #art
March 12, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Back at this #monarch #intarsia again. I started it in December! It’s a slow metamorphosis. All handcut on #scrollsaw. Will dye some of it orange.
#woodworking #art
#woodworking #art
I don’t show my face here all that often - just because there’s usually much more interesting things to show. But Chewie was being too cute not to share. I swear there will be both woodworking and nature content here soon!
March 9, 2025 at 11:40 PM
I don’t show my face here all that often - just because there’s usually much more interesting things to show. But Chewie was being too cute not to share. I swear there will be both woodworking and nature content here soon!
The fastest creature on Earth - a peregrine falcon - flying around the Cathedral of Learning while supporting #standupforscience2025 in #pittsburgh (a pair nests up there). The survival of the peregrine is 1 of the great conservation stories. #science #nature
@standupforscience.bsky.social
@standupforscience.bsky.social
March 7, 2025 at 6:45 PM
The fastest creature on Earth - a peregrine falcon - flying around the Cathedral of Learning while supporting #standupforscience2025 in #pittsburgh (a pair nests up there). The survival of the peregrine is 1 of the great conservation stories. #science #nature
@standupforscience.bsky.social
@standupforscience.bsky.social
Hey if y’all want to see some absolutely gorgeous woodworking - often inspired by nature, wildlife, and pets. Give my friend Chelsea @evergreendaydreams.bsky.social a follow! She’s a truly amazing pro and just joined here. (Chelsea you should post one of your cardinals!).
Hi everyone! I’m Chelsea - a #scrollsaw artist who primarily creates hardwood intarsia pieces without the use of paints, stains, or dyes. Here’s one of Tunnel View at Yosemite that I’m particularly proud of! #yosemitenationalpark #woodworking #intarsia
March 4, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Hey if y’all want to see some absolutely gorgeous woodworking - often inspired by nature, wildlife, and pets. Give my friend Chelsea @evergreendaydreams.bsky.social a follow! She’s a truly amazing pro and just joined here. (Chelsea you should post one of your cardinals!).
I started many of my #nativeplants seeds suuuper early (like December), mostly as a mental health exercise, and expecting failure. But so far like 95% of it still looks happy and healthy-ish. For a cool dry basement under cheap lights anyway. The main challenge has been fighting the fungus gnats.
March 3, 2025 at 10:58 PM
I started many of my #nativeplants seeds suuuper early (like December), mostly as a mental health exercise, and expecting failure. But so far like 95% of it still looks happy and healthy-ish. For a cool dry basement under cheap lights anyway. The main challenge has been fighting the fungus gnats.
How I maintain my winter sanity: garden planning. Our small pizza slice of Pittsburgh started as monoculture lawn and a few invasives and non-natives (but beautiful rhododendrons). I’m slowly converting it to mostly #nativeplants (minus dog runs). 100 native seedlings in our basement now!
February 14, 2025 at 1:32 AM
How I maintain my winter sanity: garden planning. Our small pizza slice of Pittsburgh started as monoculture lawn and a few invasives and non-natives (but beautiful rhododendrons). I’m slowly converting it to mostly #nativeplants (minus dog runs). 100 native seedlings in our basement now!
This was certainly a transformative moment experience for both me and for our backyard :)
Some zebra swallowtails that I raised last year. This would have been impossible without @drlaughingmantis.bsky.social who saw what I thought was impossible in his backyard #PittsburghPawpawPathways #ZebraSwallowtailTrails #zebraswallowtail #pawpaw #asimina #pittsburgh #activerestoration
January 29, 2025 at 4:41 PM
This was certainly a transformative moment experience for both me and for our backyard :)
I have to shoutout @belz-ebub.bsky.social as an account to follow if you’re into cool intricate scrollsaw wood art. He and I go way back on IG.
January 28, 2025 at 7:27 PM
I have to shoutout @belz-ebub.bsky.social as an account to follow if you’re into cool intricate scrollsaw wood art. He and I go way back on IG.
This was one of my (many) favorite #nature videos from my backyard in the summer. A backlit European #honeybee drinking from the bird bath. I am trying to be here in my mind today. And failing. lol. #naturalist
January 21, 2025 at 12:36 AM
This was one of my (many) favorite #nature videos from my backyard in the summer. A backlit European #honeybee drinking from the bird bath. I am trying to be here in my mind today. And failing. lol. #naturalist
Too early to start #nativeplants indoors? Probably. But I need to watch green things grow right now. Indoor #gardening is a mental health exercise. I’m sure I can keep some of them alive until spring. Maybe. And bonus, maaaybe some will bloom 1st year.
January 20, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Too early to start #nativeplants indoors? Probably. But I need to watch green things grow right now. Indoor #gardening is a mental health exercise. I’m sure I can keep some of them alive until spring. Maybe. And bonus, maaaybe some will bloom 1st year.