They are not loanwords. It’s sorta academic writing rules. We’re supposed to use katakana when we write species names in biology. If you open an illustrated book about Japanese animals or plants, you will find all of them are written in katakana. (This is a field guide featuring bird's footprints)

Reason why we quickly run out of humming bird sugar water!
#birds #photography #acornwoodpecker #hummingbird #photography

California ground squirrel on watch, Playa del Rey, Los Angeles county, California 🦊📷

Tiny cuckoo alert! 🥹 🧪

(ID pending)
7/2/23. N. Florida

I haven't been able to walk anywhere this week and find things because my job has been miserable, but I had enough energy afterwards to sit in my grass for a bit and look for a single molecule of serotonin tap-tap-tapping her way through the world 🥹

(Baeus wasp 🤎)

Wasp wings come in a variety of forms, mostly on a tidy range of None to Full Functional, with few surprises. And then there's Hoplitalysia slossonae boys. They have Wing Balls. No idea* what they're for, but they do wave their balls around periodically. So... 🤷

I need to update this, but last year I made a Pride flag out of some of my favorite chalcid wasp finds. 🏳️‍🌈 I have more colorful candidates for blue and purple, in particular. But I love it, and them.🖤

Demure

For the record, if you follow the entire population of BlueSky and you try to follow me, I'm blocking you on sight.

Speaking of branched antennae, consider this stag with the normal number of legs taking a drink from an icy lake

Eulophidae sp wasp boy 🖤

Me getting ready for the Met Gala @chinchillazilla.hellthread.vet

the teens do want beetles instead of Jesus

it was a magical snake very friendly even gave me it's coat when it got too small

Diplolepis rosae, the mossy rose gall wasp, actually a cynipid

Franz,
That's part of what makes learning about arthropods so fun. People will spend tons of money and travel to far away places to see wildlife, yet are overlooking hundreds or even thousands of different species in their own yards. They just aren't squirrels, rabbits, birds, etc.

For your consideration tonight: Ms. Baeus (scelionid wasp) running across a page printed with 12-pt periods, each one bigger than she is. Just the smallest creature in every way 🥹

5/9/23. N. Florida

Dairy Cow Isopod (Porcellio laevis)

Finally got permissions sorted out and gave myself an avatar so people could have a more accurate mental image of me.

Margined Calligrapher Syrphid Fly (Toxomeris marginatus)