Mattia Menchetti
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mattiamenchetti.bsky.social
Mattia Menchetti
@mattiamenchetti.bsky.social
Loves beer, maps, and flipping stones. PhD, working on ant phylogeography 🐜 MSCA fellow at Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. He/him. www.mattiamenchetti.com
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?

Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.

🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Thrilled to have received these two prizes for my PhD thesis! 🤩 More info at news covered by IBE.
📣 Mattia Menchetti’s PhD thesis at #IBE_Barcelona — “Exploring the genetic diversity of European ants and butterflies” 🐜🦋 — has received both the Extraordinary Doctoral Award from #UPFBarcelona and the III Premio Tesis Doctoral Relevante from @csic.es . 🏆

👉https://shorturl.at/hbOjE
October 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
(1/6) 🦋 We are thrilled to announce the release of the 1,000th reference genome of Lepidoptera species found in Europe!
This goal was reached with the release of Stenoptilia islandicus, also known as the mountain plume moth.
Read the story below!👇🏽
September 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
Our study on the recent invasion of the Little Fire #Ant in Southern Europe (including France!) was published today in Diversity & Distribution @consbiog.bsky.social #OA

great collaborative work led by @cbgpmontpellier.bsky.social
@inrae-dpt-spe.bsky.social

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
July 23, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
First field trip of the #WG2 has come to an end! We will share some of the most relevant moments of this fantastic week! Stay tuned 🦋🧬
July 18, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
👩🏾‍💻 It’s finally here! 👩🏾‍💻

We’re excited to announce the launch of our official website for Cost Action 10kLepGenomes: www.10klepgenomes.eu 🦋

We invite you to explore and stay updated with our progress in Lepidoptera genomics! 🧬

#10kLepGenomes #Lepidoptera #Genomics
w10klepgenomes.eu
June 4, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
#Moths and #butterflies hold a special place in the hearts of #ProjectPsyche members, and some have chosen to carry them on their skin forever! 🦋
Check out this collage of Lepidoptera-inspired tattoos from our community, featuring real species and artistic interpretations alike 🎨
April 8, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
(1/4)🦋 Introducing Project Psyche! A groundbreaking initiative to sequence the genomes of all 11,000 species of butterflies and moths in Europe. The goal is to analyse this data to understand global climate insecurity and threats to biodiversity on a genomic level🧬 #ProjectPsyche #Genomics
March 5, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Thanks to the Project Psyche and the Sanger Institute for such a fantastic course!
Over two weeks, 12 early-career researchers learnt how to curate genomes as part of Project Psyche! This workshop was funded through the Lep10K COST Action (CA23122) & organised by Working Group 3 which focuses on the generation & utilisation of Psyche genomes. (1/8)

@costprogramme.bsky.social
March 1, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
🚨 New Paper Alert! 🚨

🐜 How did ants evolve their highly specialized queens and workers?

With @adriatica.bsky.social, we reveal a key evolutionary innovation: adult control over larval feeding unlocked extreme caste dimorphism and complex societies. 🧵👇

🔗 Read in @pnas.org: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
February 26, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
📢Exciting Opportunity!! 🙌
We are hiring a reseach assistant!
Do you have experience in computerized tomography of insects and 3D segmentation? Come to work with us!
@ibb-botanic.bsky.social
#LabPaleoecology
February 21, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
It’s not the head, it’s the butt!
Meet a completely unknown organism: a blow fly (Calliphoridae) that evolved social integration in termite nests using a false termite head in the posterior part of the body.
@CurrentBiology www.cell.com/current-biol...
February 10, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
Awful and they won't be satisfied with even this. If not stopped, DOGE will dismantle American leadership in science & damage communities and economies throughout the US.

joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/cutting-th...
February 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Mattia Menchetti
Robin Waples' reference manual for the elegant, yet hideously complex concept of effective population size (Ne) #biodiversity #genomics #conservation #evolution onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The Idiot's Guide to Effective Population Size
This is a reference manual for the elegant, yet hideously complex concept of effective population size (Ne), inspired by a classic, self-published manual of automotive repair ‘for the compleat idiot’...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 17, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Thrilled to receive the #MSCA grant with the AntTRAILS project! 🎉 I will explore the genomic legacy of human transitions in Mediterranean ants across history at Bonnie Blaimer’s lab (@mfnberlin.bsky.social) and with Pablo Librado (@ibe-barcelona.bsky.social). Lots of ants and fun ahead! 🐜
February 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM