Want to read the #OpenAccess article itself? Find it here!

Effects of #temperature & #humidity on the presence & prevalence of a common fungal #parasite on an invasive ladybird
buff.ly/jw3xPTY

#Harmonia #Hesperomyces

@michieldegroot.bsky.social @teamlaboul.bsky.social @inbo.be

Why did we use a hot dog roller for this? Did the ladybirds just enjoy it like a fairground ride? I explain here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=46JW...

Why did we use a hot dog roller for this? Did the ladybirds just enjoy it like a fairground ride? I explain here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=46JW...

The work reports on abiotic factors influencing the parasite-host interactions of a microfungus & the invasive harlequin ladybird (#Harmonia axyridis).

@michieldegroot.bsky.social @adriaenstim.bsky.social @dhaelewa.bsky.social @teamlaboul.bsky.social @inbo.be

Photo credit: Trey Wardlaw (CC-BY-NC)

Also, there's a great article on these here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

That's a really weird one! I've been in Oldrich Nedved's lab for a while where they cross various strains of H. axy., but never seen this. You could shoot him an email about it, he might be interested.

www.instagram.com/reel/C8wyOlI... prepare yourself with the videogame

We made a few terabytes of images, which were reconstructed to create 3D images over the past couple of years by Michel back in Paris, resulting in this paper!

Doesn't it still look like he has the ~99 million year old wind blowing through his antennae?

Also, the synchrotron makes you look like the most sciency scientist ever.
(Pictured: a guy who pretends he understands what all this machinery is for, exactly.)

The technique to create 3D image out of the microscopy is called micro-tomography, which was what we spent most our time doing. It is useful if you want to look at fragile fossil beetles trapped in amber! Michel Perreau, a French beetle and fossil expert, asked us to image them for him.

It's a massive complex with a big particle accelerator, which takes a long time to get around - many people had little mopeds or bikes. Particle accelerators produce extremely bright, focused, and tunable X-ray beams, which can be used to "see through" objects and reconstruct the details inside.