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zachportman.bsky.social
Zach likes bees
@zachportman.bsky.social
660 followers 300 following 250 posts
Bee enthusiast and taxonomist
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Reposted by Zach likes bees
hormiga.bsky.social
I'm heading off to EntSoc and here's my take on navigating your first scientific conference. Hope to see lots of you there!

scienceforeveryone.science/getting-the-... #EntSoc25 🧪
November 7, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
ryanjreilly.com
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Jury acquits D.C. 'sandwich guy' charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent
Sean Dunn faced single misdemeanor offense after federal grand jurors refused to indict him on the felony charge sought by prosecutors.
www.nbcnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
sfbaybees.bsky.social
Ma’am, you can’t just wander the sidewalk like that. Most people pay no attention to where they’re stepping. [Foothill carpenter bee, Alameda, CA 11-4-25] #bees #nativebees
A black carpenter bee in my hand, doing a bit of grooming. A black carpenter bee in my hand. A black carpenter bee in my hand. A black carpenter bee in my hand, starting to take off.
November 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
gidmk.bsky.social
Can apple cider vinegar make you lose weight?

Probably not. My piece this week takes a look at a fascinating example of unreliable science, forensic metascience, and seriously problematic data.

gidmk.substack.com/p/apple-cide...
Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss - A Study That May Never Have Happened At All
Some fascinating insights into the world of scientific integrity.
gidmk.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:45 AM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
sfbaybees.bsky.social
Ever see a complete bee grooming routine up close? I’m not saying this Agapostemon subtilior female and I are heroes, but we are here to help. Enjoy this quality motion picture, complete with PG&E construction noises for that true California flavor. [Alameda, CA 10-27-25] #bees #nativebees
October 27, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
sfbaybees.bsky.social
🎼 Tongue shadow, tongue shadow- 🎶 Watch this little male Zadontomerus carpenter bee perform an elaborate nectar-probing routine in a rock purslane flower. [Alameda, CA 10-21-25] #bees #nativebees
October 21, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
qjurecic.bsky.social
After 2024, pundits brushed off the Resistance as cringe. I submit: Yes, it was. And cringe is good. Cringe, in fact, will save democracy.
Resistance Is Cringe
But it’s also effective.
www.theatlantic.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
elisabethbik.bsky.social
Very bizarre.
An investigation by @cuny.edu's expert panel found "evidence highly suggestive of deliberate scientific misconduct" - but the university concluded that Dr. Wang did not do misconduct.
#ScienceIntegrity
@charlespiller.bsky.social reports at Science.
October 16, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
jencross.bsky.social
Xylethrus superbus is a fabulous species of orb weaving spider from the Amazon rainforest. While she looks a bit like a strawberry, eating her is not recommended. #Arachtober
Cuyabeno Reserve, Ecuador 2022
A spider with a large shield shaped abdomen that is edged in blue with red splotches across the top. He legs are red and she is standing on a leaf. A spider with a red cephalothorax, legs, and a large abdomen edged in blue with red blotches. She is standing on a leaf facing the camera. A spider with a red cephalothorax, legs, and a large abdomen edged in blue with red blotches. She is standing on a leaf facing the camera.
October 16, 2025 at 11:21 PM
zachportman.bsky.social
Playing around with some GBIF bee data. Some records pop up with:

Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Crustacea

Thought my code was bugging out, but no, just very bad data quality.
October 15, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
sfbaybees.bsky.social
Agapostemon are terrible at mating (they still get it done - must be sheer numbers), but they are very, very thorough foragers. [Alameda, CA 10-3-25] #bees #nativebees
October 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
qjurecic.bsky.social
(Battle Hymn of the Republic plays in the background)
sellars.bsky.social Andy Sellars @sellars.bsky.social · Sep 30
AAUP v. Rubio is out, and look at how it starts. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Ahead of the case caption, a handwritten note: "Trump has pardons and tanks . . . . what do you have?" Judge Young's reply: "Dear Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, Alone, I have nothing but my sense of duty. Together, We the People of the United States –- you and me -- have our magnificent Constitution. Here’s how that works out in a specific case –- "
September 30, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
tjalamont.bsky.social
This is my friend Krystle Hickman’s gorgeous new book, which arrived today. Krystle is one the best, most dedicated photographers I know and a real inspiration to me. She is self taught and passionate, and has documented several previously undocumented behaviors. Buy this book! 🐝🐙🌿📷#invertebrates
A book cover titled, “The ABCs of California Native Bees” by Krystle Hickman. The cover has three horizontal rectangles, each with a photo of a different native bee species.
September 30, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
dangaristo.bsky.social
New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
September 26, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
melissamactn.bsky.social
What a treat to watch this leafcutter bee bring the petals of a blanketflower back to line her nest, transforming a drainage hole into its own kind of bloom.
#bees #Inverts
A bee with a black-and-white striped abdomen, with yellow pollen stuck to the underside, carries a bright red flower petal into a small hole in a concrete wall that she has already lined with many other petals. The bee emerges from the nest, which looks like the top of a flower that has been stuck into the small drainage hole.
September 21, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
carlbergstrom.com
I cannot overstate how remarkable it is that under GOP rule, US federal health regulations have been captured by fringe crackpots who espouse views that the vast majority of the US public—and nearly 100% of health professionals—reject.

Gift link:
Kennedy’s Vaccine Panel Votes to Limit Access to Covid Shots
www.nytimes.com
September 20, 2025 at 4:18 AM
zachportman.bsky.social
Interesting new study documenting the only rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) overwintering observation:

scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol58/i...
A bumble bee in a haystack: chance observation of an overwintering rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis (Hymenoptera:Apidae) gyne
Bombus affinis (rusty-patched bumble bee) Cresson is listed as a federally endangered species in the United States and Canada. It is globally “imperiled” (G2) and listed as “critically endangered” on ...
scholar.valpo.edu
September 19, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
xercessociety.bsky.social
Researchers at Xerces & @unevadareno.bsky.social tested the plants butterflies use in two major cities—nearly all had pesticides, many at lethal levels. Every step to reduce pesticide use is a win.
Learn more ➡️ xerces.org/news/organiz...
Find safer alternatives to pesticides ➡️ xerces.org/pesticides
“Researchers Find Widespread Pesticides on Urban Butterfly Plants” A monarch butterfly feeding from a pink milkweed flower in an urban garden.
September 18, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
sfbaybees.bsky.social
Speaking of the end of Longhorn bee season, here is the most impressively elderly male I've yet seen. An amazing amount of hair loss considering they never go into nests, which is how females lose their hairs (hole/tunnel friction). [Alameda, CA 8-16-25] #bees #nativebees
An elderly male Longhorn bee on a yellow sunflower. You can tell his age from the impressive amount of hair loss and ragged wing edges. An elderly male Longhorn bee on a yellow sunflower. You can tell his age from the impressive amount of hair loss and ragged wing edges. An elderly male Longhorn bee on a yellow sunflower. You can tell his age from the impressive amount of hair loss and ragged wing edges. An elderly male Longhorn bee on a yellow sunflower. You can tell his age from the impressive amount of hair loss and ragged wing edges.
September 16, 2025 at 4:44 PM
zachportman.bsky.social
A perfect fuzzy boy from today (leafcutter bee, Megachile latimanus)
a fuzzy golden bee on a purple flower
September 13, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
jpollecol.bsky.social
Extremely interesting opinion piece by MacIvor & Irwin on "Mail-order solitary bee cocoons as a gateway for biological invasion": doi.org/10.26786/192...
September 10, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
hawaiianimages.bsky.social
Another hidden treasure from Waikamoi: Hyleaus volitalis, a species of Hawaii-endemic yellow-faced bee. (No yellow face on this one, she's female). These bees usually hold their wings close against the body, glad this one decided to show off her colors... #invertebrates #Hawaii 📷🌿🐙
An endemic yellow-faced bee, a VERY small bee (about 7mm) with silvery wings flared crawling across dark rubble. Her body is sparkling black with a bright red abdomen. There are two large compound eyes and three simple eyes, and knobby antennae
September 9, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
apsciencebylyn.bsky.social
So many resin bees today! This nugget was very excited about some St John's Wort.
Black and orange stubby chonky of a bee hovering over a bright yellow 4-petaled flower The chonky creature sampling the nectar of the yellow flower
September 8, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Reposted by Zach likes bees
tjalamont.bsky.social
It's always worth looking closer.🐙🌿🧵 Late this afternoon I saw a small male green sweat bee in the grass. He was near a flower, but seemed to be trying - not totally successfully - to cling to a thread-thin piece of grass, maybe to roost for the night. I took photos as he clambered around, but--
A macro photo of a green sweat bee, looking at his underside as he clings to a thin dry grass stem. The bee has an orange abdomen, yellow legs and antennae, and a metallic green head and thorax.
September 6, 2025 at 1:56 AM