Photos: Deploying wood blocks 24 hours post-burn (credit: Andrew Seiler); Typical block inhabitant, Aphaenogaster rudis, carrying a pupa after evacuation from the block nesting cavity (credit: Ignatius Wirasakti); Block and inhabitants ready for transport back to the lab (credit: Kane Lawhorn).
New work by @kane-lawhorn.bsky.social et al. in #RESInsectConsDiv reports on how prescribed fire affects #arthropod occupancy of wood cavities in a temperate deciduous forest.
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70079
#Biodiversity #Conservation
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social
New paper out in Ecology focusing on one of the most striking insects I've ever had the privilege to see!
This was a fun collaboration led by @benitoexplains.bsky.social with captivating images by @zekerowe.bsky.social
I will have an opening for a Ph.D. student (M.S. required) to begin Summer 2026, studying impacts to high Appalachian arthropod communities following Hurricane Helene.
I'll be at Ent. Soc. America meetings next week. Please point interested students my way.
More: sites.google.com/site/caterin...
Having briefly worked as an oyster farmer in the Outer Banks, these fish can be some of the most annoying creatures. They will nibble exposed areas of skin the entire time you're in the water. Submerging a basket and pulling it up rapidly will often yield plenty of bait fish, though!
Perhaps a pinfish? Loathed because of E.O. Wilson's fishing accident involving it?
Lots of spider activity today in this bottomland hardwood forest!
Tetragnatha sp., Dolomedes sp., and Neoscona domiciliorum
Brunswick Co., NC
Now I see why these are called "boogie-woogie aphids". Disturbing the branch causes the aphids to shake their behinds!
Grylloprociphilus imbricator
You can actually view all the gliding videos (ants, bristletails, AND SPIDERS!) on Steve's personal website (canopyants.net/research/gli...). He also has other fun videos including "swimming ants" from lowland tropical forest in Panama.
Stumbled upon one of the largest Dolomedes individuals I've ever seen at White Pines Nature Preserve a few days back. Stunning spiders!
Amazing intro for episode 3 of Bugs that Rule the World on @pbs.org, featuring @the-bug-hut.bsky.social!
Tumbling maneuver failed!
As someone who often speculates on the model of a salticid's mimicry - it's SO satisfying to come across a scene like this:
(Peckhamia sp ant-mimicking jumping spider among Crematogaster sp ants on a picnic table in woods, NE OK)
The alemdro tree doesn't just survive lightning strikes--it appears to use the electricity to fry parasites and kill competitors. Fascinating story by @erikstokstad.bsky.social for @science.org!
👏 👏 👏 👏
We collected 30 or so of these weirdos within lightning-damaged forest in Panama. We only ever saw them in canopy traps. Definitely oddballs!
Looks like a lymexylid. Perhaps Melittomma brasiliense--which has been captured on BCI before.
Always a treat to stumble upon Ophiocordyceps infected ants. Pictured are two of the ~15 infected individuals I found in the Piedmont of NC. Every individual exhibited "leg wrapping" behavior on live beech twigs. These red ants blended in remarkably well with the red leaf buds on each stem!
Check out this "shocking"⚡ new study in Ecology & its accompanying photo gallery in our Bulletin!👇
Also, almost forgot the beetle pics!
Finally, this project allowed me to work at one of the premier field stations in the world. The project always felt more like summer camp rather than work to me, since I spent a lot of time climbing towers, driving boats, flying drones, collecting insects, and meeting great people. BCI rocks! (8/8)
This work was funded by the National Science Foundation and supported multiple students (including myself), postdocs, and technicians. I would also like to thank the Smithsonian for supporting this project and providing the logistical support needed to carry out the work. (7/8)
This work is particularly important because roughly 40% of large tree (>60 cm dbh) death on BCI is due to lightning. Quantifying how consumers respond to this common forest disturbance is critical for understanding how groups will respond to predicted increases in storm-related disturbances. (6/8)
We also compared beetle assemblages between strike and control sites and found that beetles were more abundant and species-rich in strikes. The composition of these assemblages was also distinct compared to assemblages in control sites. (5/8)
Beetle activity and fungal fruiting bodies were more likely to be observed in lightning-damaged trees in strike sites versus undamaged trees in paired control sites. Other groups—such as carton-building Azteca ants and termites—were not more likely to be found in strike sites. (4/8)
Using a unique lightning monitoring camera on BCI, we located and tracked lightning strikes through time and monitored how insects and fungi responded to the generation of dead wood in these strike sites. (3/8)
This study took place on the famous Barro Colorado Island (BCI) administered by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The island is situated along the Panama Canal in Gatun Lake, making it a very unique place for tropical field ecology. (2/8)
Happy to see one of my Panama Ph.D. chapters finally out today in Ecology (doi.org/10.1002/ecy....) and Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America (doi.org/10.1002/bes2...). This work explores how insect and fungi respond to a widespread disturbance in lowland tropical forest—lightning 🌩! (1/8)
Oops all flies! Despite the snowy conditions across North Carolina, the flies are out and about. #SLAMTrap
Love these, Matt!
