Steve
@stevetypesstuff.bsky.social
Ants, fossils, beer. Drone mapping & GIS. Science PhD. Bambu Labs P1S. He/him, will also respond to “Oi you!”. AuADHD - if I seem over familiar in posts etc. that is probably why. 🇬🇧🇪🇺
Reposted by Steve
My book 'The Tree of Life' is published in the USA and Canada today.
Available as book, on kindle and as audio.
I would be really grateful for reposts.
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
Available as book, on kindle and as audio.
I would be really grateful for reposts.
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
November 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
My book 'The Tree of Life' is published in the USA and Canada today.
Available as book, on kindle and as audio.
I would be really grateful for reposts.
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
Available as book, on kindle and as audio.
I would be really grateful for reposts.
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
Reposted by Steve
A biologist at the American Museum of Natural History, Jonathan Coddington, cataloged a new genus of South American spiders in 1986.
Two things about the spider were unique:
they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs.
So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
Two things about the spider were unique:
they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs.
So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
November 11, 2025 at 12:10 PM
A biologist at the American Museum of Natural History, Jonathan Coddington, cataloged a new genus of South American spiders in 1986.
Two things about the spider were unique:
they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs.
So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
Two things about the spider were unique:
they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs.
So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
This really represents a biosecurity risk.
Keeping ants _is_ a great hobby for kids (and adults!) but many illegally imported species will be wrongly labelled (illegal sellers don’t care).
In the UK always encourage people to start with say Lasius Niger. If they escape no problem.
Keeping ants _is_ a great hobby for kids (and adults!) but many illegally imported species will be wrongly labelled (illegal sellers don’t care).
In the UK always encourage people to start with say Lasius Niger. If they escape no problem.
Giving a flash talk in Edinburgh on the 22nd about helping younger people buy invertebrates online responsibly.
I shared information for this Wired piece, which the talk draws from: www.wired.com/story/usda-a...
If you’re there, I’d love to chat and hear UK perspectives.
🧪 #entomology
I shared information for this Wired piece, which the talk draws from: www.wired.com/story/usda-a...
If you’re there, I’d love to chat and hear UK perspectives.
🧪 #entomology
November 11, 2025 at 11:59 AM
This really represents a biosecurity risk.
Keeping ants _is_ a great hobby for kids (and adults!) but many illegally imported species will be wrongly labelled (illegal sellers don’t care).
In the UK always encourage people to start with say Lasius Niger. If they escape no problem.
Keeping ants _is_ a great hobby for kids (and adults!) but many illegally imported species will be wrongly labelled (illegal sellers don’t care).
In the UK always encourage people to start with say Lasius Niger. If they escape no problem.
Reposted by Steve
NO WAYYYY! 🤯🤯🤯
Is this the COOLEST stick insect ever?? 💚
This mossy girl (Taraxippus sp.) from Peru was the most incredible phasmid I have ever seen, I could not get over how perfectly camouflaged it was on the mossy trees! 🌳
So in awe of our natural world! 🌿
Is this the COOLEST stick insect ever?? 💚
This mossy girl (Taraxippus sp.) from Peru was the most incredible phasmid I have ever seen, I could not get over how perfectly camouflaged it was on the mossy trees! 🌳
So in awe of our natural world! 🌿
November 11, 2025 at 10:19 AM
NO WAYYYY! 🤯🤯🤯
Is this the COOLEST stick insect ever?? 💚
This mossy girl (Taraxippus sp.) from Peru was the most incredible phasmid I have ever seen, I could not get over how perfectly camouflaged it was on the mossy trees! 🌳
So in awe of our natural world! 🌿
Is this the COOLEST stick insect ever?? 💚
This mossy girl (Taraxippus sp.) from Peru was the most incredible phasmid I have ever seen, I could not get over how perfectly camouflaged it was on the mossy trees! 🌳
So in awe of our natural world! 🌿
When I read “… smells like vomit” my first thought was Ginko 🤮
There was a fruiting tree in the bed between the steps at the front of the NHM.
Post landscaping it has gone! I meant to pop over and snaffle some ‘seeds’. Was it shredded or relocated?
@joshlukedavis.com @nhcooper123.bsky.social
There was a fruiting tree in the bed between the steps at the front of the NHM.
Post landscaping it has gone! I meant to pop over and snaffle some ‘seeds’. Was it shredded or relocated?
@joshlukedavis.com @nhcooper123.bsky.social
It’s our 13th episode! UNLUCKY for some… but not for @joshlukedavis.com and @nhcooper123.bsky.social as they share their favourite UNLUCKY specimens. m.youtube.com/watch?v=JwGf... Yes we know some might be considered LUCKY depending on how you look at it! Picking stuff is hard! 🤣
What's beautiful and smells like vomit? | The 'Perfect' Specimen Ep13
YouTube video by Natural History Museum
m.youtube.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:00 AM
When I read “… smells like vomit” my first thought was Ginko 🤮
There was a fruiting tree in the bed between the steps at the front of the NHM.
Post landscaping it has gone! I meant to pop over and snaffle some ‘seeds’. Was it shredded or relocated?
@joshlukedavis.com @nhcooper123.bsky.social
There was a fruiting tree in the bed between the steps at the front of the NHM.
Post landscaping it has gone! I meant to pop over and snaffle some ‘seeds’. Was it shredded or relocated?
@joshlukedavis.com @nhcooper123.bsky.social
Reposted by Steve
So I realise that 7am on a tuesday, within an existing thread, was a bad way to release these 😅 please do share the post though! I have faith they'll do great if they can only make it far enough to be seen by the right communities
Today, I can finally share the rest of my Game Changer, "we've been here the whole time" stickers and pins, in a whopping 27 flag designs!
Stickers: canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/4333...
Pins: canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/4346...
My endless thanks to @samreich.bsky.social for blessing these! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Stickers: canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/4333...
Pins: canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/4346...
My endless thanks to @samreich.bsky.social for blessing these! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
November 11, 2025 at 8:13 AM
So I realise that 7am on a tuesday, within an existing thread, was a bad way to release these 😅 please do share the post though! I have faith they'll do great if they can only make it far enough to be seen by the right communities
Reposted by Steve
JUST LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL GROUND SQUIRREL I WAS GIVEN FOR THE EPISODE ISN'T IT A THING OF WONDER
November 10, 2025 at 10:35 PM
JUST LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL GROUND SQUIRREL I WAS GIVEN FOR THE EPISODE ISN'T IT A THING OF WONDER
Reposted by Steve
Great to see the paper by @ecology-digest.bsky.social and I on the new British woodlouse (Chaetophiloscia elongata) now available. Check it (and other great material) out at bmig.org.uk/view/resourc...
November 10, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Great to see the paper by @ecology-digest.bsky.social and I on the new British woodlouse (Chaetophiloscia elongata) now available. Check it (and other great material) out at bmig.org.uk/view/resourc...
Reposted by Steve
Selling these badges each year is one of the main ways that Schools OUT (the charity who founded LGBT+ History Month) are able to fundraise, so please do check them out if you like my design! lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/product/scie...
November 8, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Selling these badges each year is one of the main ways that Schools OUT (the charity who founded LGBT+ History Month) are able to fundraise, so please do check them out if you like my design! lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/product/scie...
Reposted by Steve
Trying to identify African Crematogaster is a mess. I *think* this photo I took in 2012 in Uganda shows C. nigrans, but there are a zillion published species names with inadequate descriptions and no modern research that ties these names to real world populations.
November 10, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Trying to identify African Crematogaster is a mess. I *think* this photo I took in 2012 in Uganda shows C. nigrans, but there are a zillion published species names with inadequate descriptions and no modern research that ties these names to real world populations.
Reposted by Steve
this is absolutely wild framing of a story which should read 'eating meat to blame for Amazon tree-felling and polluting UK rivers'
November 10, 2025 at 12:13 PM
this is absolutely wild framing of a story which should read 'eating meat to blame for Amazon tree-felling and polluting UK rivers'
The #sloes in the hedges around the fields near our house are laden with fruit this year.
I will probably make #sloegin again, although I actually prefer #sloeport.
When you drain the gin from the sloes, keep them. Add red wine and brandy and wait for a while. The result is ‘sloe port’!
I will probably make #sloegin again, although I actually prefer #sloeport.
When you drain the gin from the sloes, keep them. Add red wine and brandy and wait for a while. The result is ‘sloe port’!
November 9, 2025 at 9:51 PM
I don’t think that I can remember a year with as many acorns either on or falling from the local oak trees.
I imagine the local birds are stuffed and the jays have buried more than they can remember (although that may not be possible, they dug acorns out of our lawn under 4” of virgin snow).
I imagine the local birds are stuffed and the jays have buried more than they can remember (although that may not be possible, they dug acorns out of our lawn under 4” of virgin snow).
November 9, 2025 at 9:43 PM
I don’t think that I can remember a year with as many acorns either on or falling from the local oak trees.
I imagine the local birds are stuffed and the jays have buried more than they can remember (although that may not be possible, they dug acorns out of our lawn under 4” of virgin snow).
I imagine the local birds are stuffed and the jays have buried more than they can remember (although that may not be possible, they dug acorns out of our lawn under 4” of virgin snow).
Reposted by Steve
November 9, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I don’t quite know why we are #snailposting today but it seems to ba a ‘thing’ so here goes:
Trochulus hispidus the Hairy #Snail seen in Dudley, UK.
I haven’t seen them often so I was excited to see this little they/them moving across a limestone quarry.
#gastropod
#mollusc
Trochulus hispidus the Hairy #Snail seen in Dudley, UK.
I haven’t seen them often so I was excited to see this little they/them moving across a limestone quarry.
#gastropod
#mollusc
November 9, 2025 at 8:58 PM
I don’t quite know why we are #snailposting today but it seems to ba a ‘thing’ so here goes:
Trochulus hispidus the Hairy #Snail seen in Dudley, UK.
I haven’t seen them often so I was excited to see this little they/them moving across a limestone quarry.
#gastropod
#mollusc
Trochulus hispidus the Hairy #Snail seen in Dudley, UK.
I haven’t seen them often so I was excited to see this little they/them moving across a limestone quarry.
#gastropod
#mollusc
There is an episode about this paper. Which I must read tomorrow! #ZombieInsects
#ants
Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect–fungal associations
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Author copy on researchgate
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
#ants
Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect–fungal associations
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Author copy on researchgate
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
November 9, 2025 at 4:05 PM
There is an episode about this paper. Which I must read tomorrow! #ZombieInsects
#ants
Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect–fungal associations
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Author copy on researchgate
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
#ants
Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect–fungal associations
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Author copy on researchgate
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Reposted by Steve
A poem for Elon Musk #empathy #humanity @humanists.uk #love @amnestyuk.bsky.social @hopenothate.org.uk @nionwomen.bsky.social #poetry #poem
November 8, 2025 at 2:28 PM
A poem for Elon Musk #empathy #humanity @humanists.uk #love @amnestyuk.bsky.social @hopenothate.org.uk @nionwomen.bsky.social #poetry #poem
Reposted by Steve
Walking back from the shop and I see some movement on the pavement. It was this beautiful, not so wee beastie, on her back! I got her onto my hand and moved her to a much safer spot.
Araneus quadratus, 4 spot orb weaver
#Spiders #Arachnids #Invertebrates #LondonWildlife
Araneus quadratus, 4 spot orb weaver
#Spiders #Arachnids #Invertebrates #LondonWildlife
November 5, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Walking back from the shop and I see some movement on the pavement. It was this beautiful, not so wee beastie, on her back! I got her onto my hand and moved her to a much safer spot.
Araneus quadratus, 4 spot orb weaver
#Spiders #Arachnids #Invertebrates #LondonWildlife
Araneus quadratus, 4 spot orb weaver
#Spiders #Arachnids #Invertebrates #LondonWildlife
Another of Alex’s cracking photos.
In our garden it’s the pigeons eat all the prunus flowers but I would be so excited to have ants stealing them!
In our garden it’s the pigeons eat all the prunus flowers but I would be so excited to have ants stealing them!
A Texas leafcutter ant, Atta texana, hauls spring Prunus buds along a tree branch on her way back to the nest.
November 8, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Another of Alex’s cracking photos.
In our garden it’s the pigeons eat all the prunus flowers but I would be so excited to have ants stealing them!
In our garden it’s the pigeons eat all the prunus flowers but I would be so excited to have ants stealing them!
Reposted by Steve
It is generally frowned upon to mount multiple insects on the same pin. It makes databaseing difficult + the chance that multiple species could be mounted together - a nightmare!
Even so, you have to admire the creativity and precision of this example from the UK Latridiidae collection at the NHM
Even so, you have to admire the creativity and precision of this example from the UK Latridiidae collection at the NHM
November 8, 2025 at 9:19 AM
It is generally frowned upon to mount multiple insects on the same pin. It makes databaseing difficult + the chance that multiple species could be mounted together - a nightmare!
Even so, you have to admire the creativity and precision of this example from the UK Latridiidae collection at the NHM
Even so, you have to admire the creativity and precision of this example from the UK Latridiidae collection at the NHM
Reposted by Steve
In 2021, the Gov warned we “could lose control of our climate for good” beyond 1.5°C.
Now, the CCC says “prepare for 2°C by 2050”
This huge shift in just 4 years calls for a new plan.
MPs can only make sound decisions to protect us if they’re briefed.
Is your MP attending?
www.nebriefing.org
Now, the CCC says “prepare for 2°C by 2050”
This huge shift in just 4 years calls for a new plan.
MPs can only make sound decisions to protect us if they’re briefed.
Is your MP attending?
www.nebriefing.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:15 AM
In 2021, the Gov warned we “could lose control of our climate for good” beyond 1.5°C.
Now, the CCC says “prepare for 2°C by 2050”
This huge shift in just 4 years calls for a new plan.
MPs can only make sound decisions to protect us if they’re briefed.
Is your MP attending?
www.nebriefing.org
Now, the CCC says “prepare for 2°C by 2050”
This huge shift in just 4 years calls for a new plan.
MPs can only make sound decisions to protect us if they’re briefed.
Is your MP attending?
www.nebriefing.org
Reposted by Steve
It's almost the weekend! 🥳
If you're looking for something for you and/or your kids to do, I've recently re-uploaded my arthropod coloring guide 🎨
Please feel free to share, print, and [definitely] have fun with it!!!
drive.google.com/file/d/1V59i...
If you're looking for something for you and/or your kids to do, I've recently re-uploaded my arthropod coloring guide 🎨
Please feel free to share, print, and [definitely] have fun with it!!!
drive.google.com/file/d/1V59i...
November 7, 2025 at 9:59 PM
It's almost the weekend! 🥳
If you're looking for something for you and/or your kids to do, I've recently re-uploaded my arthropod coloring guide 🎨
Please feel free to share, print, and [definitely] have fun with it!!!
drive.google.com/file/d/1V59i...
If you're looking for something for you and/or your kids to do, I've recently re-uploaded my arthropod coloring guide 🎨
Please feel free to share, print, and [definitely] have fun with it!!!
drive.google.com/file/d/1V59i...
New tracking tool for animal behaviour. Useful for field or arena studies.
This grass moth is often invisible in still frames, but easy to see in motion. BehaveAI can use this motion to track tiny & camouflaged moving objects in complex scenes. Its semi-automated annotation workflow also means this moth-tracker took only an hour to make.
Preprint: tinyurl.com/BehaveAI
Preprint: tinyurl.com/BehaveAI
November 7, 2025 at 8:28 PM
New tracking tool for animal behaviour. Useful for field or arena studies.
Fly people: is this Entomophthora muscae? The dead fly had wings spread at the top of a plant after a fungal parasitism.
Other flies (I don’t think the same species?) seemed very keen to be close or on the dead one.
@dipteristsforum.bsky.social
@flygirlnhm.bsky.social
#fungi
#diptera
#flies
Other flies (I don’t think the same species?) seemed very keen to be close or on the dead one.
@dipteristsforum.bsky.social
@flygirlnhm.bsky.social
#fungi
#diptera
#flies
November 6, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Fly people: is this Entomophthora muscae? The dead fly had wings spread at the top of a plant after a fungal parasitism.
Other flies (I don’t think the same species?) seemed very keen to be close or on the dead one.
@dipteristsforum.bsky.social
@flygirlnhm.bsky.social
#fungi
#diptera
#flies
Other flies (I don’t think the same species?) seemed very keen to be close or on the dead one.
@dipteristsforum.bsky.social
@flygirlnhm.bsky.social
#fungi
#diptera
#flies
