apantesis
LightNews LightNews
banner
apantesis.bsky.social
apantesis
@apantesis.bsky.social
610 followers 2.6K following 1.5K posts

science witch
she/they genderfluid

minimalist in the streets, maximalist in the sheets.

current emotion: le tired

https://bsky.app/profile/tigermotharts.bsky.social
https://cara.app/apantesis
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/cindydarnell
Posts Replies Media Videos
apantesis.bsky.social
bird art! share your bird art!
posca marker portrait of an ayam cemani chicken in black and white against a flat line green background. the chicken is a "teenager" just getting a hint of a comb.
November 11, 2025 at 3:13 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
jealous of this eastern tiger swallowtail who gets to just chill on this tree all winter and doesn't have to pay attention to politics AT ALL.

#BugSky #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography
photo of a fat swallowtail caterpillar attached to the side of a tree by a little piece of silk as it curls up to metamorphify. the side view of the caterpillar shows the green color fading to black, especially on the head, with gray texture on the central side that looks kind of like bark or lichen. the legs are curled up towards the head so altogether the caterpillar makes a question mark shape.
November 10, 2025 at 4:55 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
bonus Colonus jumping spider photo bc that sunlight was just perfect that day for photographing tiny, translucent beings
photo of a jumping spider on the stalk of a very leaft plant. it is backlit in a way that makes it glow as the spider is a very light tan all over with some darker markings on the abdomen. this makes its two largest eyes stand out as they are black and also looking directly at the camera.
November 9, 2025 at 2:56 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
snailposting! post your snails!
photo of a snail on a green leaf. the photo is backlit by the sun, which is lighting up part of the leaf and the squishy part of the snail, making it glow with a golden light. the snail has its eyestalks extended. it's fine kind of helicoid snail, lightly colored with a few dark spots randomly around the shell.
November 9, 2025 at 2:50 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
look at this cute little wedgling moth caterpillar i saw truckin' along! it was so tiny and precious! i hope you find a cozy spot for the winter.

#BugSky #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography
a photo of s brown caterpillar crawling over some dead pine needles on rough concrete pavement. the caterpillar is soft (no visible setae) and has a big bump a third of the way down the body- it is darker brown with white in the middle. the sun is very bright so the photo has a lot of shadows and some of the details are hard to make out.
November 6, 2025 at 6:43 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
at that point where, despite one million ideas in my head, i have no motivation to actually art. imposter syndrome, october slide, the ADHD urge to start projects and never finish them... a perfect storm of ugh.

anyway here's the last sketch i did - turkey vulture (ref: @rynevank.bsky.social)
a sketch of a turkey vulture head in pencil. the back of the head is unfinished and the feathers are just a hint of scribble. the beak and face are decently rendered.
November 6, 2025 at 4:18 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
yesterday's hike: a plethora of polypores, a Southern two-lined salamander, a Carolina mantis, and an Ophiocordyceps-infected zombie ant carcass!

#FungiFriends #Herps #Inverts
photo of some stacked shelf fungi on the edge of a log. the fungi are yellowy brown and with a thick white outer edge. a bunch of dead leaves from different trees decorate the log and the forest floor below. photo of a golden brown salamander under a dead beech leaf amidst damp soil and rotting wood. the sally is shiny with moisture and gas dark brown speckles along its back. some of the speckles crowd to form a dark brown lateral line from the eye to the tail. photo of a mantis on the side of a tree trunk. the photo is taken approaching her from the front and her back pairs of legs are splayed out. she is pretty shades of brown. photo of the silhouette of an ant body clamped onto a thin tree branch (more of a twig, really) with a long protrusion that has grown from between the head and thorax. a yellow sweetgum leaf takes up the top half of the photo.
November 5, 2025 at 11:04 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
votey mcvoteface
selfie photo of a person in a car holding up a sticker. the person is wearing glasses and a hat with jumping spiders printed on it. the sticker says "NO BULL I VOTED" and has a bull depicted on it
November 4, 2025 at 4:10 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
I asked @rynevank.bsky.social if he had seen any moths outside and he had the audacity to say "just a boring brown one." This gorgeous Pale-Banded Dart is anything but boring!

It is also my 590th moth species on @inaturalist.bsky.social, assuming IDs are correct!

#TeamMoth #BugSky #Invertebrates
Photo of a pretty brown and shiny moth with wings folded on a brick wall. The light brown moth has a darker brown band near the fringe that fades to a pale color. There are also two darker brown spots along the leading edge with accompanying subtle lines. The thorax has light brown furry scales.
November 3, 2025 at 10:19 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
took a selfie with my dog today
selfie photo except the entirety of me, minus my arm and a bit of my trucker hat, are covered by dog face. pepper looks stunning as she attempts to eat the camera from the out of focus vacant eyes to the part of her snoot that's usually left unbooped. she's a black pitbull mix and her ears are pulled back so she looks bald. the whole thing is a disaster of a photo.
October 31, 2025 at 12:03 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
look, all in saying is what the pickleworm moth deserves a better name. i bet they don't even know about pickles.

#BugSky #TeamMoth #Inverts
a photo of a crambid moth against a brick wall. the moth is an iridescent dark purple with transparent panels in both sets of wings and yellow accents in wing and butt. the butt! the butt is so fluffy with long "hairs" extending from both sides like a little mustache. a buttstache, if you will.
October 26, 2025 at 8:40 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
a few more favorites. can't leave out the cats!

#FungiFriends #Lichen #Inverts #BugSky #NaturePhotography
photo of the blue, blue sky looking up. the sky is bordered on all sides by trees, including longleaf pines and deciduous trees with yellow and/or green leaves. did i mention the sky is really blue? photo of a trio of Cladonia lichen forms: red fruitbody "flowers" near the front, a puff of mostly light green vegetative lichen in the middle, and out of focus stalked cups in the back. all growing on a piece of fallen pine on the cracked brown bark. photo of a small caterpillar, the grapeleaf skeletonizer moth caterpillar, on a heavily mined grape leaf. the caterpillar is flat and has black, yellow, and white stripes, reminiscent of monarch caterpillars photo of a chonk of a caterpillar, the skiff moth caterpillar, eating the heck out of an oak leaf. the caterpillar is wedge shaped with no visible feet. the sides are like green and the top is brown. it has eaten most of the leaf, leaving the veins, at it works its way back to the branch.
October 20, 2025 at 7:24 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
some treasures in the sandhills. hiking as medicine.

#BloomScroll #FungiFriends #NaturePhotography
photo of two ghost pipes flowers poking through a layer of fallen pine needles. the stems are white and pink. the flowers are drooping to save down and the edges of the petals are starting to turn brownish black. a photo of a pine barrens gentian flower growing up over a layer of fallen pine needles. the flower is bright blue and delicate looking with few thin leaves. a photo of some brown mushrooms growing in the side of a damp, moss-covered log. the umbrella shaped mushrooms have thin beige stalks and the caps range from beige to medium brown with a hint of violet around the edges. close up photo of some young puffball mushrooms growing on a well-decayed log. the puffballs range from medium brown to light beige and they all have tiny speckling over the surfaces, making them look like they have stubble.
October 20, 2025 at 7:14 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
HUMAN ARTISTS!

Use one piece to convince people to follow you! (and don't forget alt text!)
photo of a framed drawing of a reddish-brown stag beetle. the legs are spread out in so directions and the beetle is over a background similar to the grooves left in bark by beetle grubs. the homemade frame has a window at the top with dried grasses poking out of the top.
October 20, 2025 at 5:26 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
happy 19th day of Halloween, i paint a pumpkin

ref: Hunterian Museum, London; photo by www.stefanschafer.com/
#SciArt #TradArt #pittie
a photo of a painted pumpkin being sniffed by the most adorable black pitbull dog. the front half of the pumpkin is painted black with a large white skull painted on it. part of the skull has been removed to expose the both the adult and baby teeth in a horrifying grin.
October 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
am i behind on #Invertober? yup!
Scaly Foot Gastropod (+ bacterial symbionts!)
ref: doi.org/10.1128/AEM.70.5.3082-3090.2004
photo of a sketchbook featuring and ink and watercolor drawing of a scaly foot snail and the phrase "We are stronger together". the snail is dark brownish-black, both the shell and the scaled foot, with a little pink appendage poking out of the front. the phrase is over a background of florescent orange and pink watercolor. the drawing is over pencil notes about the bacterial symbionts and their role in snail physiology as discussed in the reference (see skeet for link).
October 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
#Invertober day 6
Buff Tip Moth
refs: iNat users tommy_andriollo, ellegaardsnatur, evak_pa, and teresafarino
ink and watercolor sketches of the buff tip moth at the egg, larva, pupa, and imago stages accompanies by the phrase "stonewall was a riot". the eggs look like a bunch of little brown cupcakes on a leaf with white frosting and a little brown cherry in the middle. the caterpillar is stretched along a stem and is black and white striped with vibrant oranges and yellows between segments. it also sticks its little butt up in the air. the pupa is a green-maroon progression and shiny. the adult looks like a gray stick with brown patches mimicking injured wood.
October 7, 2025 at 2:07 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
#Invertober day 5
Painted Spiny Lobster
ref: iNat user paulinefey
posca marker drawing of the front view of a painted spiny lobster featuring so many legs. the mostly blue and white striped lobster is against a yellow background that has the acronym "acab" written in pink.
October 6, 2025 at 2:50 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
#Invertober day 4
Palmetto Weevil
ref: iNat user josholive
cartoony drawing of two palmetto weevils, over from underneath like he's waving at you and once from the side to show that snoot. they are minimally cookies in red and black with some yellow accents and the wavy guy is holding a little Palestinian flag. the words "FREE PALESTINE" are between the bugs against a shiny silver background.
October 6, 2025 at 2:46 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
#Invertober day 3
Giant Green Anenome
reference: iNat user hbf
watercolor and ink drawing of a giant green anemone partially inside its algae-covered column. the minty green tentacles cluster about and the algae spells out "seize the means of production"
October 4, 2025 at 2:01 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
#Invertober day 2!
Red-banded Leafhopper
reference: iNat user richardbaxter

with and without water droplets
acrylic marker drawing of a red-banded leafhopper against a green background. the leafhopper is covered in dewdrops and next to it are the words "fuck" and "ice". the same drawing but without the waterdroplets. colors are flat red, blue, and yellow with black outline. negative space resembling "fuck ice" is carved out on the green background.
October 3, 2025 at 2:36 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
used my phone's selfie cam to photograph this beauty.
Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia).

(bonus double selfie!)
photo of a yellow garden spider female wrapping up sone lunch. behind her is a blue sky and treeline with green leaves starting to turn brown. have photo as previous but with my grinning face in the top left corner. the spider is slightly out of focus now but my face is pretty sharp, a clear species bias by the camera software.
October 3, 2025 at 1:50 AM
apantesis.bsky.social
first day of #Invertober!
Japanese Sea Nettle
reference: @inaturalist.bsky.social user harumkoh
a sketchy watercolor painting of a Japanese Sea Nettle jellyfish against a blue water background. the body of the jellyfish is striped red and pinkish white with long twisty tentacles. there is also a secret message appearing in the water (maybe it will happen today).
October 2, 2025 at 7:20 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
some fresh green life in case you need a timeline cleanse 💚
photo of a few green leaves on some kind of ornamental bush. bright beads of water have accumulated on the tops, reflecting the light great sky.
September 29, 2025 at 6:38 PM
apantesis.bsky.social
never have i seen such a perfect ball of honeydew. good work, beech blight aphids.

#insects #BugSky #Invertebrates #peepeepoopoo
photo of beech tree branches, the upper covered in small, fluffy white aphids and the lower with a perfectly round ball of gold honeydew. the lower branch also has black sooty mold growing along the length.
September 22, 2025 at 6:00 PM