Brandon Claridge
@ichsofna.bsky.social
Ph.D. entomologist/ ichneumonid taxonomist/ founder of Claridge Traps. See ichsofna.org for AI/web tools to help with ichneumonid identifications in North America. Need Malaise traps or light sheets for insect collecting? Visit claridgetraps.com
Pinned
Brandon Claridge
@ichsofna.bsky.social
· Jan 20
Artificial intelligence has been almost criminally underused by insect taxonomists. See my ichneumon subfamily classifier for an example of how it can be done easily with museum specimens.
#entomology #ichneumonidae #artificialintelligence #taxonomy
#entomology #ichneumonidae #artificialintelligence #taxonomy
Here are the figures for the two new Ctenichneumon species. How many differences can you spot??
#entomology #Ichneumonidae #parasitoid #insects #taxonomy #newspecies
#entomology #Ichneumonidae #parasitoid #insects #taxonomy #newspecies
November 13, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Here are the figures for the two new Ctenichneumon species. How many differences can you spot??
#entomology #Ichneumonidae #parasitoid #insects #taxonomy #newspecies
#entomology #Ichneumonidae #parasitoid #insects #taxonomy #newspecies
From website development to image classification apps, I've been interested in improving ID resources for a long time. I've been exploring using NotebookLM as an ID tool and am extremely impressed. Here's a test based on one of my publications:
#entomology #taxonomy #ichneumonidae #insects #ai
#entomology #taxonomy #ichneumonidae #insects #ai
November 9, 2025 at 6:27 PM
From website development to image classification apps, I've been interested in improving ID resources for a long time. I've been exploring using NotebookLM as an ID tool and am extremely impressed. Here's a test based on one of my publications:
#entomology #taxonomy #ichneumonidae #insects #ai
#entomology #taxonomy #ichneumonidae #insects #ai
Working on describing this couple of new Ctenichneumon species from the Huachuca Mountains in #Arizona. Too bad they are both singletons! Hopefully someone can find the males eventually.
#insect #newspecies #entomology #nature #photography #ichneumonidae #trackerwasp #wasp
#insect #newspecies #entomology #nature #photography #ichneumonidae #trackerwasp #wasp
October 29, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Working on describing this couple of new Ctenichneumon species from the Huachuca Mountains in #Arizona. Too bad they are both singletons! Hopefully someone can find the males eventually.
#insect #newspecies #entomology #nature #photography #ichneumonidae #trackerwasp #wasp
#insect #newspecies #entomology #nature #photography #ichneumonidae #trackerwasp #wasp
Added a few newly collected Ichneumon species to Ichneumonids of North America. Amazingly, I've found 31 different species based on females when records only show 4 for the state! Compare that with 57 species in Main, which is probably a fairly complete inventory.
#entomology #newspecies #taxonomy
#entomology #newspecies #taxonomy
October 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Added a few newly collected Ichneumon species to Ichneumonids of North America. Amazingly, I've found 31 different species based on females when records only show 4 for the state! Compare that with 57 species in Main, which is probably a fairly complete inventory.
#entomology #newspecies #taxonomy
#entomology #newspecies #taxonomy
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
My first pseudoscorpion observation was pure luck. Happen to see this wasp and took a shot. It was only later did I see what was hanging on the antenna.
On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ]
On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ]
October 8, 2025 at 12:17 PM
My first pseudoscorpion observation was pure luck. Happen to see this wasp and took a shot. It was only later did I see what was hanging on the antenna.
On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ]
On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ]
Very preliminary but below should be a #newspecies and the first record of the #ichneumonid genus Patroclus in the US! This newly collected singleton specimen is from central Utah but Patroclus is neotropical, getting as far north as Mexico.
#taxonomy #insects #wasps #Hymenoptera #parasitoid
#taxonomy #insects #wasps #Hymenoptera #parasitoid
October 6, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Very preliminary but below should be a #newspecies and the first record of the #ichneumonid genus Patroclus in the US! This newly collected singleton specimen is from central Utah but Patroclus is neotropical, getting as far north as Mexico.
#taxonomy #insects #wasps #Hymenoptera #parasitoid
#taxonomy #insects #wasps #Hymenoptera #parasitoid
I've only sorted and pinned a very small fraction of the ichneumonds collected by the 6-meter Malaise I have in central Utah. Among other discoveries is a new species of Tricholabus!
#Ichneumonidae #newpsecies #entomology #insects #Utah #taxonomy #wasps
#Ichneumonidae #newpsecies #entomology #insects #Utah #taxonomy #wasps
September 21, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I've only sorted and pinned a very small fraction of the ichneumonds collected by the 6-meter Malaise I have in central Utah. Among other discoveries is a new species of Tricholabus!
#Ichneumonidae #newpsecies #entomology #insects #Utah #taxonomy #wasps
#Ichneumonidae #newpsecies #entomology #insects #Utah #taxonomy #wasps
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
#FlyFriday
one of my favorite assassin flies - Sisyrnodytes subater Oldroyd, 1957 (Asilidae: Willistonininae, USNMENT00870084) - collected in north-western South Africa near Pella - more info here n2t.net/ark:/65665/3...
#asiloidflies
one of my favorite assassin flies - Sisyrnodytes subater Oldroyd, 1957 (Asilidae: Willistonininae, USNMENT00870084) - collected in north-western South Africa near Pella - more info here n2t.net/ark:/65665/3...
#asiloidflies
September 19, 2025 at 6:50 PM
#FlyFriday
one of my favorite assassin flies - Sisyrnodytes subater Oldroyd, 1957 (Asilidae: Willistonininae, USNMENT00870084) - collected in north-western South Africa near Pella - more info here n2t.net/ark:/65665/3...
#asiloidflies
one of my favorite assassin flies - Sisyrnodytes subater Oldroyd, 1957 (Asilidae: Willistonininae, USNMENT00870084) - collected in north-western South Africa near Pella - more info here n2t.net/ark:/65665/3...
#asiloidflies
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
So many undescribed species, too many unknown interactions, no time. www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17...
August 15, 2025 at 1:07 PM
So many undescribed species, too many unknown interactions, no time. www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17...
My friend Cameron Ramsey (chrysomelid taxonomist) and I have a 6-meter Malaise trap set up in a wash in central Utah right now. Between the large trap size and the location, it's collecting an insane amount. There's going to be a lot of bycatch for anyone looking to trade!
August 15, 2025 at 3:05 PM
My friend Cameron Ramsey (chrysomelid taxonomist) and I have a 6-meter Malaise trap set up in a wash in central Utah right now. Between the large trap size and the location, it's collecting an insane amount. There's going to be a lot of bycatch for anyone looking to trade!
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
I started a blog and my first post is online!
The posts will try to explore topics which are not typically covered by introductory literature and textbooks, e.g. because they are considered to be "too basic". Let me know what you think!
weevil-see.github.io/taxonomy/Ide...
The posts will try to explore topics which are not typically covered by introductory literature and textbooks, e.g. because they are considered to be "too basic". Let me know what you think!
weevil-see.github.io/taxonomy/Ide...
Species Identifications: Common Pitfalls
Some thoughts about Identifications. How do we identify properly? How do we avoid mistakes?
weevil-see.github.io
August 8, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I started a blog and my first post is online!
The posts will try to explore topics which are not typically covered by introductory literature and textbooks, e.g. because they are considered to be "too basic". Let me know what you think!
weevil-see.github.io/taxonomy/Ide...
The posts will try to explore topics which are not typically covered by introductory literature and textbooks, e.g. because they are considered to be "too basic". Let me know what you think!
weevil-see.github.io/taxonomy/Ide...
For all the lep enthusiasts out there celebrating #NationalMothWeek, please check out #ClaridgeTraps for a great light sheet setup! Let me know if you have any questions!
July 21, 2025 at 4:40 PM
For all the lep enthusiasts out there celebrating #NationalMothWeek, please check out #ClaridgeTraps for a great light sheet setup! Let me know if you have any questions!
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
studying #asiloidflies at @amnh.org today - one of the best collections of apiocerid flies (Apioceridae) with almost every of the 65 North American species present - often with primary + secondary type material
July 2, 2025 at 6:28 PM
studying #asiloidflies at @amnh.org today - one of the best collections of apiocerid flies (Apioceridae) with almost every of the 65 North American species present - often with primary + secondary type material
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
Want to set up your own photo-stacking imaging system for under $3000? This post which outlines all the off-the-shelf items I used this year along with some recommendations for how to use it. Planning to talk about this at @entcollnet.bsky.social this November, too! www.insectid.org/post/focus-s...
Focus-stacking photography: Building your own system
Ten years ago, Alex Wild published a guide on Scientific American on how to make your own focus-stacking system for under $6000. I can't seem to find that post any more, just some secondary posts with...
www.insectid.org
June 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Want to set up your own photo-stacking imaging system for under $3000? This post which outlines all the off-the-shelf items I used this year along with some recommendations for how to use it. Planning to talk about this at @entcollnet.bsky.social this November, too! www.insectid.org/post/focus-s...
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
The corollary to this is, with some basic knowledge of insect taxonomy, you too can become the world expert on a group! Just spend a few years obsessively reading about and looking at them and you'll know more than anyone else.
The downside is you'll then be asked to review every paper on them...
The downside is you'll then be asked to review every paper on them...
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
A majority of the world’s insect species have no living expert who can identify them.
A majority of the world’s insect species have no living expert who can identify them.
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
The ocean produces a huge chunk of the world's oxygen a lot from a class of cyanobacteria called prochlorococcus
The ocean produces a huge chunk of the world's oxygen a lot from a class of cyanobacteria called prochlorococcus
June 17, 2025 at 3:12 AM
The corollary to this is, with some basic knowledge of insect taxonomy, you too can become the world expert on a group! Just spend a few years obsessively reading about and looking at them and you'll know more than anyone else.
The downside is you'll then be asked to review every paper on them...
The downside is you'll then be asked to review every paper on them...
Happy to announce that my paper describing Anisobas irwini and recording two host records for Anisobas coloradensis is finally out! The species name honors the prodigious collector Mike Irwin who collected the holotype.
centerforsystematicentomology.org/insecta_mund...
#Ichneumonidae #parasioid
centerforsystematicentomology.org/insecta_mund...
#Ichneumonidae #parasioid
June 4, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Happy to announce that my paper describing Anisobas irwini and recording two host records for Anisobas coloradensis is finally out! The species name honors the prodigious collector Mike Irwin who collected the holotype.
centerforsystematicentomology.org/insecta_mund...
#Ichneumonidae #parasioid
centerforsystematicentomology.org/insecta_mund...
#Ichneumonidae #parasioid
New Plagiotrypes species from Arizona I'm working on describing. The genus is otherwise known from eastern NA and the wet neotropics, so it was surprising to discover this one from an arid mountain in southern Arizona.
May 22, 2025 at 3:56 PM
New Plagiotrypes species from Arizona I'm working on describing. The genus is otherwise known from eastern NA and the wet neotropics, so it was surprising to discover this one from an arid mountain in southern Arizona.
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
A revision of the parasitoid wasp genus parasitoid wasp genus Dolichogenide of the Neotropical region, with the description of 102 (!) species as new to science: doi.org/10.3897/zook...
#DNAbarcoding #biodiversity @alexsmithants.bsky.social @smnstuttgart.bsky.social @uofguelph.bsky.social
#DNAbarcoding #biodiversity @alexsmithants.bsky.social @smnstuttgart.bsky.social @uofguelph.bsky.social
May 14, 2025 at 1:33 PM
A revision of the parasitoid wasp genus parasitoid wasp genus Dolichogenide of the Neotropical region, with the description of 102 (!) species as new to science: doi.org/10.3897/zook...
#DNAbarcoding #biodiversity @alexsmithants.bsky.social @smnstuttgart.bsky.social @uofguelph.bsky.social
#DNAbarcoding #biodiversity @alexsmithants.bsky.social @smnstuttgart.bsky.social @uofguelph.bsky.social
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
Description of two morphologically unusual new neotropical genera of Miracinae: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
#taxonomy #entomology #Hymenoptera
#taxonomy #entomology #Hymenoptera
May 9, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Description of two morphologically unusual new neotropical genera of Miracinae: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
#taxonomy #entomology #Hymenoptera
#taxonomy #entomology #Hymenoptera
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
Diphyus latebricola #parasitoid #newtobritain. Grateful to @entmonmag.bsky.social for all their support in bringing this to publication. tinyurl.com/5c5xvh9b
May 7, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Diphyus latebricola #parasitoid #newtobritain. Grateful to @entmonmag.bsky.social for all their support in bringing this to publication. tinyurl.com/5c5xvh9b
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
102 new species?!
So important to get to know our community, including those of non-human form 🪲🐜🪳
#Diversity #GDFCF 🧪
So important to get to know our community, including those of non-human form 🪲🐜🪳
#Diversity #GDFCF 🧪
🧪
New paper led by Jose Fernandez-Triana of #CNC, builds on decades of Janzen & Hallwachs #ACG @gdfcf.bsky.social collections;
A description of 102 new species of the #parasitoid #wasp genus #Dolichogenidea in @zookeys.pensoft.net including this 1 for @rpuschen.bsky.social
doi.org/10.3897/zook...
New paper led by Jose Fernandez-Triana of #CNC, builds on decades of Janzen & Hallwachs #ACG @gdfcf.bsky.social collections;
A description of 102 new species of the #parasitoid #wasp genus #Dolichogenidea in @zookeys.pensoft.net including this 1 for @rpuschen.bsky.social
doi.org/10.3897/zook...
May 7, 2025 at 2:25 PM
102 new species?!
So important to get to know our community, including those of non-human form 🪲🐜🪳
#Diversity #GDFCF 🧪
So important to get to know our community, including those of non-human form 🪲🐜🪳
#Diversity #GDFCF 🧪
There are a ton of undescribed western Ichneumon like this beautiful female from northern Utah. Despite running traps for several years I've only ever collected this specimen and seen one other.
#MacroPhotography #insect #ichneumonidae #wasp #newspecies
#MacroPhotography #insect #ichneumonidae #wasp #newspecies
April 10, 2025 at 1:26 AM
There are a ton of undescribed western Ichneumon like this beautiful female from northern Utah. Despite running traps for several years I've only ever collected this specimen and seen one other.
#MacroPhotography #insect #ichneumonidae #wasp #newspecies
#MacroPhotography #insect #ichneumonidae #wasp #newspecies
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
So many Ichneumonids, so little time. I collected this Exetastes bifenestratus, a species I'd never seen before, at a blacklight in central Texas.
April 9, 2025 at 5:13 PM
So many Ichneumonids, so little time. I collected this Exetastes bifenestratus, a species I'd never seen before, at a blacklight in central Texas.
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
I mean, just look at some of these stunners!
April 5, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I mean, just look at some of these stunners!
Reposted by Brandon Claridge
Swift moth caterpillar-eye view of a female Alomya debellator wasp - a specialist parasitoid of root-feeding Hepialidae which it hunts in the caterpillar's underground burrow.
April 2, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Swift moth caterpillar-eye view of a female Alomya debellator wasp - a specialist parasitoid of root-feeding Hepialidae which it hunts in the caterpillar's underground burrow.