Eric LoPresti
@ericlopresti.bsky.social
Bugs, Plants, Bikes
https://loprestieric.wixsite.com/lopresti-lab
https://www.strava.com/clubs/EEBikes - nature nerds on strava...
https://loprestieric.wixsite.com/lopresti-lab
https://www.strava.com/clubs/EEBikes - nature nerds on strava...
flannel moth caterpillars (megalopygids, puss caterpillars) are amongst the strangest we have. but, even stranger is the fact that they make LITTLE BOWL-SHAPED POOP. how have i not learned this? why does this not seem to be all over the internet?
October 30, 2025 at 4:40 PM
flannel moth caterpillars (megalopygids, puss caterpillars) are amongst the strangest we have. but, even stranger is the fact that they make LITTLE BOWL-SHAPED POOP. how have i not learned this? why does this not seem to be all over the internet?
A couple years ago, I found a weird wasp moth - sent it to Bill Taft and Anthony Cognato at Michigan State and lo and behold, it is a new species. Introducing Synanthedon nielseni!
September 2, 2025 at 6:41 PM
A couple years ago, I found a weird wasp moth - sent it to Bill Taft and Anthony Cognato at Michigan State and lo and behold, it is a new species. Introducing Synanthedon nielseni!
A+ bike commuting and A+ bikes in the lab today (flat bar road bike! crosscheck with tri bars! old mtb gravel conversion! a small wheeled 80's Terry!)
June 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
A+ bike commuting and A+ bikes in the lab today (flat bar road bike! crosscheck with tri bars! old mtb gravel conversion! a small wheeled 80's Terry!)
Psuedoscorpion hitching a ride on a moth that I pinned yesterday!
May 28, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Psuedoscorpion hitching a ride on a moth that I pinned yesterday!
If anyone in Charleston wants to see me blabber about moths and natural history, come say hi!
April 9, 2025 at 2:07 PM
If anyone in Charleston wants to see me blabber about moths and natural history, come say hi!
A tropical moth ended up in my trap in South Carolina last weekend! While these are known to occasionally wander, never really thought seeing one was a possibility. (Eudocima apta - a "fruit-piercing" moth).
April 1, 2025 at 4:07 PM
A tropical moth ended up in my trap in South Carolina last weekend! While these are known to occasionally wander, never really thought seeing one was a possibility. (Eudocima apta - a "fruit-piercing" moth).
Anyway - it turns out that, unlike most Abronia, which are moth pollinated, this one is primarily butterfly pollinated! Moths can quite effectively pollinate it, but don't boost seed set above what butterflies contribute.
March 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Anyway - it turns out that, unlike most Abronia, which are moth pollinated, this one is primarily butterfly pollinated! Moths can quite effectively pollinate it, but don't boost seed set above what butterflies contribute.
It is restricted to a small sand sheet in South Texas, basically just around the town of Falfurrias, where it is known as "Heart's Delight". The town even boasts that on its sign... but has pink petunias as the photo instead 😵💫.
March 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
It is restricted to a small sand sheet in South Texas, basically just around the town of Falfurrias, where it is known as "Heart's Delight". The town even boasts that on its sign... but has pink petunias as the photo instead 😵💫.
I've been studying Abronia for over a decade and have seen all but two taxa (gracilis and macrocarpa - out of ~30) in the wild. I can't really pick a favorite, but this one is up there. Big flowers, lots of butterflies, super sticky... just plain awesome.
March 24, 2025 at 7:15 PM
I've been studying Abronia for over a decade and have seen all but two taxa (gracilis and macrocarpa - out of ~30) in the wild. I can't really pick a favorite, but this one is up there. Big flowers, lots of butterflies, super sticky... just plain awesome.
First lab paper out in a long time - this one looking at pollination/pollinators/floral volatiles of an AWESOME species of sand verbena from South Texas. All credit to my wonderful grad student Sierra and collaborators. (more photos below) www.pollinationecology.org/index.php/jp...
March 24, 2025 at 7:13 PM
First lab paper out in a long time - this one looking at pollination/pollinators/floral volatiles of an AWESOME species of sand verbena from South Texas. All credit to my wonderful grad student Sierra and collaborators. (more photos below) www.pollinationecology.org/index.php/jp...
almost all weevils remind me of snuffleupagus. that one is even the right color.
February 23, 2025 at 11:33 AM
almost all weevils remind me of snuffleupagus. that one is even the right color.
Ways I spelled this one moth's name in my database. None of them are right.
February 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Ways I spelled this one moth's name in my database. None of them are right.
The world sucks, but my Gunnar is back on the road. Little victory.
February 9, 2025 at 11:29 PM
The world sucks, but my Gunnar is back on the road. Little victory.
Plants happy, protected from herbivores inside...
February 4, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Plants happy, protected from herbivores inside...
My goal of this race was simply to keep an even pace - didn't think I'd nail it like that!
January 20, 2025 at 1:21 PM
My goal of this race was simply to keep an even pace - didn't think I'd nail it like that!
Had a nice one this morning - our most common species is only in one ear; the rest of the world has two-ear species.
December 20, 2024 at 2:49 PM
Had a nice one this morning - our most common species is only in one ear; the rest of the world has two-ear species.
I've been buying Edmund's Oast's IPA (Bound by Time) as my go to IPA since it has moths on it... and they way upped their entomological/ecological game on this one!!!
December 11, 2024 at 11:59 PM
I've been buying Edmund's Oast's IPA (Bound by Time) as my go to IPA since it has moths on it... and they way upped their entomological/ecological game on this one!!!
Caught this Chaetaglaea fergusoni over break - the first one in SC since Doug Ferguson himself discovered it in 1967 - just a couple kilometers from the site. (Described in 1997, with Ferguson's specimen the earliest known - he no doubt knew it was something new - 30 years later it got a name).
December 2, 2024 at 12:34 AM
Caught this Chaetaglaea fergusoni over break - the first one in SC since Doug Ferguson himself discovered it in 1967 - just a couple kilometers from the site. (Described in 1997, with Ferguson's specimen the earliest known - he no doubt knew it was something new - 30 years later it got a name).
I get 100's and 100's of Atteva each month in my traps. There is no Ailanthus anywhere nearby (like, none within a km, maybe farther) - are they really really really dispersive for a tiny moth? or are they eating something else, too? I'm inclined to believe the latter. #moths
November 19, 2024 at 2:42 AM
I get 100's and 100's of Atteva each month in my traps. There is no Ailanthus anywhere nearby (like, none within a km, maybe farther) - are they really really really dispersive for a tiny moth? or are they eating something else, too? I'm inclined to believe the latter. #moths
our tandem train was a little more janky...
October 31, 2024 at 7:23 PM
our tandem train was a little more janky...
Limacodid caterpillars are spiffy.
September 25, 2024 at 8:49 PM
Limacodid caterpillars are spiffy.
Kathryn Shulz's beautiful piece on Norman Maclean included this hilarious anecdote. I think I'm going to reply to all MDPI, Frontiers In, etc. with some version of this from now on...
August 20, 2024 at 1:04 PM
Kathryn Shulz's beautiful piece on Norman Maclean included this hilarious anecdote. I think I'm going to reply to all MDPI, Frontiers In, etc. with some version of this from now on...