Such a treat to get to see in person! It feels great to cross seeing a cicada-killer hunt off my entomology bucket list ✔️

The cicada-killer wasp had just stung the cicada and was waiting for paralysis to fully kick in. It will then carry the cicada back to its burrow where it will lay its eggs, and the cicada’s body will serve as food for the hatching larvae

Another historic botanical garden in Varenna, Castello di Vezio, maintains artificial mini ponds full of mosquito predators as a means of ecological control. Very fun to see in action (and full of adorable snails, fish, and aquatic inverts)

Thank you @eselland.bsky.social and @scipolnotredame.bsky.social for organizing such a wonderful event! It was inspiring to be a part of a coalition of PhD students across Indiana advocating for research in our state