Jess Awad
LightNews LightNews
banner
parasitoidrex.bsky.social
Jess Awad
@parasitoidrex.bsky.social
1.4K followers 580 following 210 posts
Entomologist specializing in parasitoid wasps and dark taxa. Leiden, Netherlands.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
parasitoidrex.bsky.social
Jess Awad @parasitoidrex.bsky.social · Feb 12
Gall midges and their parasitoids are abundant, megadiverse, and very hard to identify! Such "double dark taxa" systems present special challenges for ecology and agriculture. 🧵🧪🐙 @smnstuttgart.bsky.social @marinamoser.bsky.social @krogmann.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/aesa...
Untangling host specialization in a “double dark taxa” system
Abstract. Platygastrine wasps (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) are parasitoids of gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). They and their hosts are exceptionally
doi.org
Reposted by Jess Awad
mrillig.bsky.social
What a great article:

Why would anyone want to be a scientist? | Journal of Cell Science | The Company of Biologists

I love how it describes the moment of having an idea, and how that feeling is second to none.

journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
Why would anyone want to be a scientist?
It is difficult to fathom why anyone intelligent enough to be a scientist would actually choose to be one. Doing good science requires the utmost exertion of body, mind and spirit, yet is consistently...
journals.biologists.com
December 31, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
wikipedia.org
🗣️ LET’S MAKE CURIOSITY COOL IN 2026
In/Out List for 2026 In Learning for fun, not just for school or work "Wait, let me look that up" Scrolling straight to the Personal life section Curiosity Learning how to edit Wikipedia Knowing random facts and where they came from Telling the group chat about your research Longer attention spans Out Doomscrolling Making fun of people who like to learn Misinformation Not citing your sources
December 30, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
schilthuizen.bsky.social
When the covid pandemic hit, journalists often asked me if I thought this would affect the evolution of urban species. I usually answered that I thought it wouldn’t.

Turns out I was wrong.

Amazing new junco work by Eleanor Diamant and Pamela Yeh.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
December 29, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
sarahmackattack.bsky.social
Tonight on the Sarah-works-on-her-book twitch stream, I started with the intention of doodling lightning bugs as showgirls with big burlesque feather fans, but it looked more like a cheerleader so we ran with it.

These lightning bugs are cheering you on to leave your leaves this winter.
a squadron of 5 lightning bugs are cheerleaders i daresay, but their pmpoms are leaves. one has one up and one down one has 4 all side to side while jumping, one has them facing down while standing stragiht, the next jumps with two up and two side to side, and the last only holds 2, one up one down.
December 28, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
aglaia.bsky.social
Voor wie van plan is zich de komende dagen vol te vreten, hier een hongerwesp, Gasteruption caucasicum. #ElkeDagEenInsect
Gasteruption caucasicum
December 24, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
kmagnacca.bsky.social
Always repost Zagrammosoma, the stripiest wasp
cosmopterix.bsky.social Michael Palmer @cosmopterix.bsky.social · 7d
My daughter made these for me from
some of my #iNaturalist observations! #bugsky #insects
December 24, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
mongabay.com
Environmental journalism is under pressure — exactly where it’s needed most.

The Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship by Mongabay will support at least 16 early-career journalists from tropical countries. Paid, remote, editor-led.

Apply Dec 15–Feb 1. Learn more: buff.ly/UI8X5ur.
December 24, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
insectvanhetjaar.bsky.social
Net voor de feestdagen hebben we fantastisch nieuws: onze nieuwe website staat officieel ONLINE! ✨🪲🪳 Ga snel naar insectvanhetjaar.com en ontdek het zelf. 🔎✨

Wat vind je ervan? We horen heel graag jouw mening! ⬇️

#NieuweWebsite #InsectVanHetJaar #Trots #WebsiteLaunch @aglaia.bsky.social
December 23, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
quilbug.bsky.social
I was SO SO SO excited when this gorgeous wasp sat still long enough for me to get a nice photo!!!!

🪲ID Guess: Ichneumonid Wasps (Subfamily Anomaloninae)
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts
A sideview photo of a red, yellow and black ichneumon wasp sitting on a green leaf. The wasp has a very long, spindly body. It has a small head yellow head with black eyes and long antennae, a round black and red thorax, and pin-like red abdomen connected with a thread-thin waist. It has spindly long legs, the front two yellow and the back legs much longer with each segment a different colour, starting with red, then black, then yellow.
December 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
dinalab.bsky.social
The electronics of the new Mothbox are so wonderfully easy to put together!
Pcb pi camera and cam guard and sd card Connect camera to board Connect camera to pi Connect pi to pcb
December 23, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
bmwildermuth.bsky.social
Prof Michael Staab @leuphana.bsky.social is currently offering two 3-year positions in arthropod 🪲🕷️🦗 ecology in the @bexplo.bsky.social framework (apply until January 14th):

PhD (65%):

www.leuphana.de/en/universit...

Research associate (50% ):

www.leuphana.de/en/universit...
Research Associate (m/f/d) Arthropods
www.leuphana.de
December 17, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
nev.nl
The journal @ento-ea.bsky.social has a Call for Papers on the topic of Dipterans for Biological Control and Pollination.

Submission deadline: Saturday, 28 February 2026
#Entomology
Call for Papers Dipterans for Biological Control and Pollination Submission deadline: Saturday, 28 February 2026 Many flies (order Diptera) are beneficial to humans and provide valuable ecosystem services. In particular, various dipterans act as biological control agents of pest insects and/or as pollinators of crops, and their role in ecosystems is increasingly recognized. Traditionally, the focus of biological control and pollination has been on a restricted number of species, mainly hymenopterans, such as parasitic wasps and bumblebees. However, there exists an enormous natural diversity of insect species, in particular dipterans, that may be used for such services as well. The main entomophagous flies that prey on or parasitize agricultural pests are hoverflies (Syrphidae) and tachinid flies (Tachinidae). Other examples of predatory or parasitoid groups are robber flies (Asilidae), phorid flies (Phoridae), bee flies (Bombyliidae), flesh flies (Sarcophagidae) and elephant mosquitoes (Culicidae). In addition to hoverflies, the main dipterans that pollinate plants are bee flies, flesh flies and blow flies (Sarcophagidae and Calliphoridae), midges (Ceratopogonidae), tangle-veined flies (Nemestrinidae) and tachinid flies. Few efforts are being directed towards developing these alternative species for exploitation and application in pest control and crop pollination. With this Special Issue, we aim to contribute to filling the knowledge gaps about the biology, production, exploitation and application of dipterans that are useful for biological control and pollination, often playing both ecosystem services. We aim to cover both fundamental studies on the biology and ecosystem role of these flies as well as applied research into their rearing and application. We welcome mini-reviews and original research articles that advance our understanding of dipterans in biological control and pollination.
December 23, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
kmagnacca.bsky.social
This is such great footage. Dryinids are amazing!
dradriansmith.bsky.social Adrian Smith @dradriansmith.bsky.social · 9d
New Ant Lab video today about pincer wasps and a new research project. This one has some really cool, newly-filmed insect behavior in it! youtu.be/9osTBzQ0zbk
Spring-Loaded Claws on a Wasp – Parasitoid Pincer Wasps
YouTube video by Ant Lab
youtu.be
December 23, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
ibartomeus.bsky.social
This gallery of almost all EU bee species high quality photos is quite impressive: pollinatoracademy.eu/images
Pollinator Academy
The Pollinator Academy is a learning platform with integrated taxonomic tools and information on European pollinators.
pollinatoracademy.eu
December 22, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
floridamuseum.bsky.social
Last call! We're hiring 👉 Invertebrate Paleontology Collection Manager
📌 Apply by Jan 5, 2026

This position will manage the extensive collections, conduct fieldwork, participate in public outreach & pursue external funding.

🔸 Full info + application: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/inver...
a group of people in matching t-shirts are standing at a table while a man holds up one of several trays of shallow boxes with different types of shells sorted neatly into them close up of a large spiral shell fossil with ridged bands that grow more pronounced as the spiral gets larger there is a person in outdoors clothing kneeling at the top of a long sandy slope covered in many small dark shells with a cloudy sky overhead
December 22, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
bug-gwen.bsky.social
Love this new paper from @leafhopper.bsky.social and Tierney Brosius! Stitching Science: How Knitting Insects Sparks Curiosity and Conversation. American Entomologist Winter 2025. (1/2)
academic.oup.com/ae/article/7...
Two amazing sweaters knitted by the authors of the paper. One is a vest with endangered salt creek tiger beetles fading into darker colors. The other is a white cardigan (cicadagan) with giant cicadas in black.
December 15, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
michiwagner4.bsky.social
🚨 Postdoctoral Opportunity for Female Scientists🚨

The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists

Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...

#MicroSky 🧪

#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
December 19, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
erinbartram.bsky.social
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
December 22, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
forthespiders.bsky.social
This lil spikey swampy guy has spines even on his eyes! Yikes!
Lateral view of a hemipteran collected from Okefenokee Swamp NWR in southeastern Georgia.
December 21, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
So reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can't fly, but they are VERY MAGICAL.

For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.

Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
Paddy Kalish OD shared this photo of reindeer eyes, showing a dramatic difference in eye color, probably dramatized, because the real effect is a eye-shine color, which is hard to represent.
December 20, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
sarahmackattack.bsky.social
We have 526 scientists signed up for spring semester. We try to get that to about 1000 scientists before unleashing the teachers on the database. Wanna connect a class of kids with science this spring? Sign up!
skypeascientist.bsky.social Skype a Scientist @skypeascientist.bsky.social · 21d
Alright scientists! It's that time again!

Time to sign up for Skype a Scientist's spring semester.

Want to get matched with a classroom in 2026?

Sign up now 🥰

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
December 20, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
bdj.pensoft.net
A new #faunistic study presents an updated list of Darwin #wasps from the family Ichneumonidae, describing 42 new species records for Sicily and 9 for Italy.

🔗Check it out here: doi.org/10.3897/BDJ....

#newspecies #biodiversity
Several of the described Darwin wasp species.
December 19, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Jess Awad
jessicalwarelab.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/isd/article-...
Systematics of Sphecidae sensu lato: Past, Present, and Future—Quantifying Diversity, Taxonomy, and Phylogeny
Abstract. Sphecidae sensu lato (s.l.) currently comprises 13 families and over 10,000 described species. Together with bees, they form the monophyletic sup
academic.oup.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
science.org
Science has named the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy worldwide as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.

Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
Qianjiadong Reservoir in southern Hunan, China, produces a double harvest: solar energy and yellow carp. The solar farm produces up to 80 megawatts of power while the fish forage beneath the panels. With a massive scale-up of solar and wind at home and cheap exports of the technology, China is driving a worldwide surge of renewable energy—Science’s 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.
December 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Jess Awad
abeba.bsky.social
are you disgruntled by the current safety evaluation landscape? curious about what conceptual clarity, methodological soundness and rigour in AI evaluation might look like? if so, consider coming to dublin and doing a phd with me

apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...
About the PhD Audits and evaluation of AI systems — and the broader context that AI systems operate in — have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity. This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as: What does it mean to represent “ground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation? How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena? What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail? How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies? Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation. The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.
December 17, 2025 at 7:33 PM