L. Brian Patrick
@lbrianpatrick.bsky.social
Arachnologist, ecologist, dabbling in evolutionary biology. Views are mine and are not the views of my workplace.
Tonight and for an eternity to come we grieve. She was an amazing companion and family member. She is dearly missed.
August 21, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Tonight and for an eternity to come we grieve. She was an amazing companion and family member. She is dearly missed.
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
The periscope-like head of Walckenaeria subpallida (Araneae, Linyphiidae) from Virginia, USA. #InverteFest
April 28, 2025 at 3:19 PM
The periscope-like head of Walckenaeria subpallida (Araneae, Linyphiidae) from Virginia, USA. #InverteFest
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
This ..
Students and society deserve better than what US universities are doing right now and the answer isn’t cut DEI and instructional budget.
The bloat is in admin and bureaucracy, which increases tuition and shifts resources away from educational mission.
www.forbes.com/sites/paulwe...
The bloat is in admin and bureaucracy, which increases tuition and shifts resources away from educational mission.
www.forbes.com/sites/paulwe...
Administrative Bloat At U.S. Colleges Is Skyrocketing
A recent report found that on average, the top 50 schools have 1 faculty per 11 students whereas the same institutions have 1 non-faculty employee per 4 students.
www.forbes.com
March 28, 2025 at 1:33 PM
This ..
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
People don’t realize spiders can supplement their diet with pollen. Eggs and Sanders (2013) found juvenile orb-weavers get up to 38 percent from it. Meadows matter. Flowers are tiny gas pumps for murder machines. #science #arachnology🧪
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Herbivory in Spiders: The Importance of Pollen for Orb-Weavers
Orb-weaving spiders (Araneidae) are commonly regarded as generalist insect predators but resources provided by plants such as pollen may be an important dietary supplementation. Their webs snare insec...
journals.plos.org
March 27, 2025 at 9:20 PM
People don’t realize spiders can supplement their diet with pollen. Eggs and Sanders (2013) found juvenile orb-weavers get up to 38 percent from it. Meadows matter. Flowers are tiny gas pumps for murder machines. #science #arachnology🧪
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Setbacks... fixable, but still setbacks...
March 21, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Setbacks... fixable, but still setbacks...
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
found a trapdoor spider burrow in the desert yesterday
the spider constructs this door from silk & soil & "saliva"
bonus liverwort in the LL
the spider constructs this door from silk & soil & "saliva"
bonus liverwort in the LL
March 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
found a trapdoor spider burrow in the desert yesterday
the spider constructs this door from silk & soil & "saliva"
bonus liverwort in the LL
the spider constructs this door from silk & soil & "saliva"
bonus liverwort in the LL
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
New book: A checklist to identify all known species of flies in Canada! doi.org/10.3897/ab.e...
"This checklist is a fundamental piece of work that will guide the assessment of the conservation status of those species."
@bioinfocus.bsky.social
"This checklist is a fundamental piece of work that will guide the assessment of the conservation status of those species."
@bioinfocus.bsky.social
March 7, 2025 at 2:29 PM
New book: A checklist to identify all known species of flies in Canada! doi.org/10.3897/ab.e...
"This checklist is a fundamental piece of work that will guide the assessment of the conservation status of those species."
@bioinfocus.bsky.social
"This checklist is a fundamental piece of work that will guide the assessment of the conservation status of those species."
@bioinfocus.bsky.social
NCBI is down. Ordinarily, I wouldn't worry, but with the way things are going here in the US I worry that this is more than just a temporary glitch or system update...
March 1, 2025 at 9:48 PM
NCBI is down. Ordinarily, I wouldn't worry, but with the way things are going here in the US I worry that this is more than just a temporary glitch or system update...
I got back reads today! 92 samples with reads across 16 genera and 40 species!
My first task: check for a mitogenome in Minicosa neptuna.
Got one! 😀 That will be worked out in the next week or two for sure and I hope to get that manuscript ready to be submitted by the end of March!
My first task: check for a mitogenome in Minicosa neptuna.
Got one! 😀 That will be worked out in the next week or two for sure and I hope to get that manuscript ready to be submitted by the end of March!
March 1, 2025 at 3:37 AM
I got back reads today! 92 samples with reads across 16 genera and 40 species!
My first task: check for a mitogenome in Minicosa neptuna.
Got one! 😀 That will be worked out in the next week or two for sure and I hope to get that manuscript ready to be submitted by the end of March!
My first task: check for a mitogenome in Minicosa neptuna.
Got one! 😀 That will be worked out in the next week or two for sure and I hope to get that manuscript ready to be submitted by the end of March!
Just talked to the sequencing facility and it sounds like my first round of lycosids are working out pretty well, including my new favorite spider Minicosa neptuna! I should have data tomorrow to start getting mitogenomes and to use in the phyluce pipeline to extract UCEs!
February 27, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Just talked to the sequencing facility and it sounds like my first round of lycosids are working out pretty well, including my new favorite spider Minicosa neptuna! I should have data tomorrow to start getting mitogenomes and to use in the phyluce pipeline to extract UCEs!
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
welcome to the world new spider genus Siskiyu. you've been lurking in the dark, magical woods of far northern California for millenia. Now the humans have finally gotten around to telling your story, at least in part
this research was funded by the NSF
OA here
zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1402...
this research was funded by the NSF
OA here
zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1402...
February 7, 2025 at 8:29 PM
welcome to the world new spider genus Siskiyu. you've been lurking in the dark, magical woods of far northern California for millenia. Now the humans have finally gotten around to telling your story, at least in part
this research was funded by the NSF
OA here
zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1402...
this research was funded by the NSF
OA here
zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1402...
Do you have any wolf spiders (Lycosidae) collected in the last couple of years? If so, I am looking for specimens from any species and any location *in the world* to add to a genetic study of the family. Let me know if you think you can help!
February 8, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Do you have any wolf spiders (Lycosidae) collected in the last couple of years? If so, I am looking for specimens from any species and any location *in the world* to add to a genetic study of the family. Let me know if you think you can help!
GenBank can be incredibly frustrating when it comes to submissions. I so thoroughly respect my colleagues there, but still frustrating.
February 8, 2025 at 3:42 AM
GenBank can be incredibly frustrating when it comes to submissions. I so thoroughly respect my colleagues there, but still frustrating.
I *finally* got my first mitogenome paper revised and resubmitted. Now I need to chip away at the next several. Hopefully, all will be submitted/resubmitted by the end of February. Only 7 more to go...
January 31, 2025 at 7:16 PM
I *finally* got my first mitogenome paper revised and resubmitted. Now I need to chip away at the next several. Hopefully, all will be submitted/resubmitted by the end of February. Only 7 more to go...
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
2- We found out that Pycnogonida diverged from the rest of the chelicerates during the Cambrian (~539-510 million years ago) while modern sea spiders (order: Pantopoda) took another 100 million years and appeared between the Silurian and the Devonian (~435-367 mya). #CambrianExplosion
January 27, 2025 at 5:52 PM
2- We found out that Pycnogonida diverged from the rest of the chelicerates during the Cambrian (~539-510 million years ago) while modern sea spiders (order: Pantopoda) took another 100 million years and appeared between the Silurian and the Devonian (~435-367 mya). #CambrianExplosion
YES! DNA acquired from Minicosa neptuna from South Africa!
Also, I got quantifiable DNA from all the lycosid species I have from North America, Europe, Israel, Australia, and South Africa!
Next step: To the sequencing facility on Tuesday!
Also, I got quantifiable DNA from all the lycosid species I have from North America, Europe, Israel, Australia, and South Africa!
Next step: To the sequencing facility on Tuesday!
January 26, 2025 at 11:08 PM
YES! DNA acquired from Minicosa neptuna from South Africa!
Also, I got quantifiable DNA from all the lycosid species I have from North America, Europe, Israel, Australia, and South Africa!
Next step: To the sequencing facility on Tuesday!
Also, I got quantifiable DNA from all the lycosid species I have from North America, Europe, Israel, Australia, and South Africa!
Next step: To the sequencing facility on Tuesday!
Minicosa neptuna female from South Africa! It's a terrible picture taken with my phone, but it's a picture... Scale in the background is 1mm x 1mm.
January 25, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Minicosa neptuna female from South Africa! It's a terrible picture taken with my phone, but it's a picture... Scale in the background is 1mm x 1mm.
Unsupervised undergrads...
January 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Unsupervised undergrads...
I am processing lycosid samples from South Africa for DNA extraction. I have 2 specimens of Minicosa neptuna and I have never even imagined adult lycosids that are as small as erigonine linyphiids!
January 25, 2025 at 4:31 AM
I am processing lycosid samples from South Africa for DNA extraction. I have 2 specimens of Minicosa neptuna and I have never even imagined adult lycosids that are as small as erigonine linyphiids!
When I left for work today, it was -10° F (-23° C). Thirteen hours later, it is 32° F (0° C).
THAT'S A 42° F (23° C) TEMPERATURE SWING IN 13 HOURS!!!
THAT'S A 42° F (23° C) TEMPERATURE SWING IN 13 HOURS!!!
unusual weather we 're having ain 't it ? is written on a picture of wizard of oz characters
ALT: unusual weather we 're having ain 't it ? is written on a picture of wizard of oz characters
media.tenor.com
January 22, 2025 at 4:02 AM
When I left for work today, it was -10° F (-23° C). Thirteen hours later, it is 32° F (0° C).
THAT'S A 42° F (23° C) TEMPERATURE SWING IN 13 HOURS!!!
THAT'S A 42° F (23° C) TEMPERATURE SWING IN 13 HOURS!!!
The **high** tomorrow is supposed to be -5° F (-20.5° C). Why do I live in a place like this???
a man with ice on his face is standing in a snowy field
ALT: a man with ice on his face is standing in a snowy field
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2025 at 2:24 AM
The **high** tomorrow is supposed to be -5° F (-20.5° C). Why do I live in a place like this???
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
Sci-comm at its finest! @sderkarabetian.bsky.social and I just published a systematic study of arachnids in the Magic: The Gathering card game @mtgarena.com. We discuss classification and evolution of spiders across the multiverse. Check it out here: virginianaturalhistorysociety.com/wp-content/u...
virginianaturalhistorysociety.com
January 14, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Sci-comm at its finest! @sderkarabetian.bsky.social and I just published a systematic study of arachnids in the Magic: The Gathering card game @mtgarena.com. We discuss classification and evolution of spiders across the multiverse. Check it out here: virginianaturalhistorysociety.com/wp-content/u...
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
A feast about to happen: the very rare and critically endangered Kangaroo Island Assassin Spider showing off her impressive mouthparts, whilst carrying around her 8-legged prey 🕷️🧪
#invertebrate #conservation #biodiversity #spider #australia
#invertebrate #conservation #biodiversity #spider #australia
November 25, 2024 at 9:05 PM
A feast about to happen: the very rare and critically endangered Kangaroo Island Assassin Spider showing off her impressive mouthparts, whilst carrying around her 8-legged prey 🕷️🧪
#invertebrate #conservation #biodiversity #spider #australia
#invertebrate #conservation #biodiversity #spider #australia
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
1/2 #speciesaday no. 519 is Troxochrus scabriculus. A small, local money spider that I almost always only find on chalky arable fields on the Downs (where it can be quite numerous), using the suction sampler. Although I have had it on amenity grassland in central Brighton too.
January 10, 2025 at 12:12 PM
1/2 #speciesaday no. 519 is Troxochrus scabriculus. A small, local money spider that I almost always only find on chalky arable fields on the Downs (where it can be quite numerous), using the suction sampler. Although I have had it on amenity grassland in central Brighton too.
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
This tiny little guy (~1.5mm) is Scolopembolus littoralis, a small dwarf spider that's known only from New Brunswick and Connecticut. That is until we found it at a military fort way south in southern Virginia. Not only that, but the female's never been described and we found her too!
January 6, 2025 at 8:27 PM
This tiny little guy (~1.5mm) is Scolopembolus littoralis, a small dwarf spider that's known only from New Brunswick and Connecticut. That is until we found it at a military fort way south in southern Virginia. Not only that, but the female's never been described and we found her too!