Daniel Whitmore
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dwhitmore79.bsky.social
Daniel Whitmore
@dwhitmore79.bsky.social
Diptera Curator at Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart | Editor-in-Chief of @integsyst.bsky.social
Reposted by Daniel Whitmore
A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species

go.nature.com/4mOb5T9
‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother
Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.
go.nature.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Daniel Whitmore
A Peacock Fly (Callopistromyia sp.) showing off the beautiful display on those wings! They strut around waving their wings and doing a little wiggle, an amazing behavior right in your own backyard.

#Invert #Diptera #bugsky 🌿 #entomology
July 20, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Daniel Whitmore
This is an interesting interaction for entomology folks. Found some ants that looked like they were aphid farming, but they were walking around with abdomens up, which seemed weird. Well, there was a phorid fly lurking around.
Mammoth, AZ
July 9, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Reposted by Daniel Whitmore
Volume 8 (1) of @integsyst.bsky.social was published on 30 June 2025. It includes the descriptions of 7 new genera and 31 new species of insects. The articles are Open Access and available for download at @bioone.bsky.social:

tinyurl.com/yeytj2bh
July 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Daniel Whitmore
0.8mm tiny Aphelinidae wasp (Centrodora sp.?) I found in some hay last autumn

Single shot using Mitutoyo MPlan APO10X on a tube lens with variable aperture on a mirrorless aps-c camera.
#hymenoptera #Aphelinidae #insects #insect #macrophotography #macrophoto #ultramacro #parasitoid #parasitoidwasp
February 24, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Reposted by Daniel Whitmore
Old friend just laid off by USDA, 1 mos short of his probationary period as senior researcher. Brilliant person who left a tenured faculty position several yrs ago to join USDA. Bright early-career researchers also being laid off. USDA is terminating a generation of highly-qualified scientists.
February 17, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Reposted by Daniel Whitmore
Whip spider (Paraphrynus laevifrons) covered with chloropid fly puparia. The parasitoid fly attacks the eggs carried by the female. When done, the maggots climb on the "childless" mom's back and pupate. She protects them during this period thanks to her motherly instincts.
February 6, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Daniel Whitmore
We're new on @bsky.app!

You can explore our latest issue in this thread. It includes a new genus of tarantulas, a new genus of tachinid ("bristle") flies and several new invertebrate species. The articles are Open Access and available for download at @bioone.bsky.social:

tinyurl.com/yh22fb6s
February 5, 2025 at 3:56 PM