When you write or create, you need unbroken periods of time
"Meetings are a disaster. A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in"
paulgraham.com/makersschedu...
NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY Individual Resilience and Collective Action in Evolutionary Biology LIGHTNING TALKS: 9:15 - 10:30 AM EDT Focus on the collective: what can our community do in a time of uncertainty? PROTHAMA MANNA, CLEMSON UNIV. MOHAMED NOOR, DUKE UNIVERSITY RUTH SHAW, UNIV. OF MINNESOTA JOSEPH GRAVES, NC A&T STATE UNIV. SCOTT EDWARDS, HARVARD UNIV. EMILY JOSEPHS, MICHIGAN STATE UNIV. ALISON DAVIS RABOSKY, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN WORKSHOP & BREAKOUTS: 11 - 12:30 PM EDT Focus on the individual: how scientists can respond constructively, creatively, and sustainably in the face of instability NELIA VIVEIROS, UNIV. OF COLORADO ANSCHUTZ MEDICAL CAMPUS
👋 👋 SSE members, I hope you'll join me May 21 for the virtual SSE Presidential Symposium:
Navigating Uncertainty: Individual Resilience and Collective Action in Evolutionary Biology
Pls RT to help get the word out!
Best of luck!
The task of de-Trumpification of science and public health will take a generation and a "Marshall Plan" to rebuild. Without a bold, expansive vision to guide us, there is no coming back. Small-bore, poll-tested versions of the future will not help us. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Monopis moth with grey background (speckled dust of grey and white mist), it's long thin body with golden abdomen and defined black wings neatly folded. It has beautiful yellow marigold scales that glistened when lights hit on its body and its legs.
Few months back, took up the #SciArt challenge! In conjunction with #YearOfTheMoth
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Here's the 12th moth. Meet the little bright Monopis moth! (Monopis laevigella) 💙 #monopis #moth #teamMoth #mothweek2026 #mothweekart26 #mothweek mothing with
@dinalab.bsky.social @amnh.org
My super department @warwicklifesci.bsky.social is hiring 6 assistant profs in the wake of recent retirements. We're looking for people in microbiology/infection, cellular disease / immunity; environmental biology; and plant/crop science. #MicroSky warwick-careers.tal.net/vx/lang-en-G...
It's been a while since we shared a profile, meet Poppy Isabella Nana-Akua Sarpong Cann. She is a master's student at The University of Bristol studying Abiotic Plant Signalling and was part of the first cohort of BiPS Summer Studentship Awardees in 2024. Learn more about her here: buff.ly/XNjaB2s
And by cygnets I mean goslings. Shows you how well I've recovered from the migraine and POTS!
Your comment has also made me wonder if birds with more binocular-type eye placement (e.g. owls, other raptors) bob differently than birds with eye placement further back (e.g. the Snipe I posted), which have a much smaller zone of binocular vision than raptors. Hmm! Neat stuff :-)
If you've ever seen the "chicken head stability" videos online they are quite fun - many (all?) birds have the ability to keep their heads in a stable position while walking so that they don't lose track of objects, presumably for feeding purposes. It's really neat!
Makes sense! Dippers also bob while standing on rocks above flowing water - there is some suggestion that this is to communicate with other Dippers in noisy environments (e.g. burbling streams!) but I've not seen much evidence in support of any hypothesis of why they do it.
Unfortunately I don't love the migraine and nasty POTS episode I got (even using my wheelchair) - thankfully caught both early and able to decide to go home early rather than stay out longer. It's so frustrating that a favorite and mentally restorative hobby (birding) leads to migraines/fatigue!
I truly love going to Cley - the nature there is wonderful, the reserve excellent for wheelchair accessibility (though the hide entrances need some work now and getting to Coastguards involves the road which is unfortunate), and the volunteers a real pleasure to see and speak with.
An adult Egyptian Goose and some goslings are seen on a grassy field, partially obscured by blurry grass stems. The adult goose is light brown and rich reddish brown in color, with a black tail. The goslings are fluffy and mottled in dark brown and cream, and are mostly sitting or lying down in the grass.
Leaves and a flower of the Duke of Argyll's Tea Plant are seen amongst Bramble and grass stems. The leaves are oval-shaped and medium green. The flower has five separated pointed petals and visible stamens and is a medium purple color with a pale center.
Finally, the first young birds of the year - Egyptian Geese cygnets (invasive in the UK). Also nice to see the Duke of Argyll's Tea Plant (Solanaceae) that grows at the Cley NWT bus stop is back in flower! I've seen it several years running now, always a treat.
A Common Redshank stands on a wooden post in front of open water. This medium shorebird or wader has long red legs and a long red and black bill. Its body is mottled brown, grey, and white, and it has a large shining black eye.
A frontal view of a Common Snipe standing partially hidden among green grasses. This shorebird is fluffy and somewhat "dumpy" in profile, with a pale belly, mottled brown and tan chest, and heavily striped head and back in shades of dark brown and tan. Its bill is pointed towards us and is very long and thin, with the nostril clearly visible. The eyes are large and round and placed quite far back on the head.
Two Pied Avocets are standing bent over in open water feeding. These large shorebirds are white with black markings on the head and wings and long greyish legs. Their long black bills are notably upturned partway along, making them look like parentheses.
Who doesn't like shorebirds/waders? Here are a Common Redshank, Common Snipe, and Pied Avocets feeding. Nice to see all these friends up close and personal but from within a hide so they weren't disturbed by us!
A male Holly Blue butterfly perches on a green leaf. This pale butterfly is seen with its wings partially closed, giving us a view of top and bottom sides both. Its wing tops are shining silvery blue with black edges. The wing bottoms are silvery grey with black spots. The eyes are large and black. The antennae and legs are white with black rings and the antennae have long black tips.
A male Orange-tip butterfly is seen mostly concealed by vegetation (leaf and blade of grass) while perched on a green leaf. This butterfly has white wings with orange and black tips. Its thorax is barely seen but is notably furry, and it has long white antennae.
A Rhombic Leatherbug is seen crawling across black polarfleece fabric. This bug is a solid brownish color with long jointed antennae and long pale legs. The body has protrusions at the thorax and the abdomen is diamond-shaped, protruding strongly at the sides.
A very blurry photo of a Ten-spotted Lady Beetle crawling across yellow velcro fabric. This beetle is black with five red spots on each side of its elytra (wing covers) and a black and white thorax and head, barely visible due to the blur.
Here are some other photos, insects this time: Holly Blue (male), Orange-tip (male), Rhombic Leatherbug, and Ten-spotted Lady Beetle (the last found on the bus home!).
A Common Whitethroat songbird sits on top of a leafy branch against blue sky, seen from the side. This small bird has a brown back, tan chest and belly, white throat, and grey head. It has its beak open pictured mid song.
A Sedge Warbler perches on dry reeds in front of blue sky, seen from the back with its head turned sideways. This small brown songbird has a white stripe over its eye and a long pointy beak which is closed.
A Barn Swallow is seen from the side with its beak open mid-song. This songbird is standing on a wooden post in front of dry reeds and water and mud. It is iridescent shining blue-black on its back with a white tummy and breast and a dark face. The wings and tail are very long.
A Meadow Pipit stands on a wooden post in front of dry reeds and water and mud, seen from the side. This small songbird is streaked white and brown all over its body and has a large black eye with a white circle around it. Its beak is short and pointed.
Lovely day yesterday at Cley NWT - bugs and birds and all manner of things, as my profile says. Here are some photos in case folks want to see what I enjoyed seeing! (thread)
Passerines first: Greater Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Barn Swallow, Meadow Pipit. Many singing!
A Eurasian Jay sits on a lichen-covered branch of a tree in front of a blurry background. The tree has small leaves coming out of its stems. The bird is a large songbird, mostly tan in color, with black and white wings with a blue speckled stripe on the wing. Its face is white with a black moustachial stripe and a stubby black bill. We see it from the side with its head parallel to the body.
A Eurasian Jay sits on a lichen-covered branch of a tree in front of a blurry background. The tree has small leaves coming out of its stems. The bird is a large songbird, mostly tan in color, with black and white wings with a blue speckled stripe on the wing. Its face is white with a black moustachial stripe and a stubby black bill. We see it from the side with its head turned towards us.
Hello spring! Check out this Eurasian Jay feeding on bugs amongst the growing leaves of the oak tree on our verge. Cute, isn't it!
The Bacchini sp. has been kindly det. to Platycheirus albimanus by @matthewvosper on iNat - cheers!
What the actual everliving... but why am I sadly not surprised?
Woman goes to bar, gets help entering with her wheelchair, 5 minutes later asked to leave as a "fire risk" & manager threatens to pass any resulting enforcement fines on to her (icing on the cake).
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A male Syrphus hoverfly stands on a bright yellow Marsh Marigold flower above green leaves. This fly has big red eyes that meet at the forehead, a brassy thorax with some reflective shine, and a boldly patterned black and yellow abdomen. The two transparent wings are held apart from the body.
A female Syrphus hoverfly stands on the minute green flowers of a flowerhead of Alexanders. She has two brownish red eyes separated at the forehead, a brassy furry thorax, and a striped black and yellow abdomen. Her transparent wings are held above her back.
A male Bacchini hoverfly stands on a green leaf. This hoverfly has very large red eyes that meet at the forehead, a brassy reflective thorax, and translucent wings that prevent a view of the abdomen as they are folded on top of it.
A male Epistrophe eligans hoverfly stands on a green leaf. This hoverfly's thorax is shining bright bronze and highly reflective, almost mirror-like. The fly has two large purplish brown eyes that meet at the forehead, a bright yellow scutellum, and an abdomen that is also highly reflective in gold and black patterns. His transparent wings are held over his back but don't hide his abdominal patterns.
We're also definitely fully into hoverfly season now, hooray! Enjoy these friends - male Syrphus sp. on Marsh Marigold, female Syrphus sp. on Alexanders, male Bacchini sp., and male Epistrophie eligans, the last two basking on green leaves. Gotta love a hoverfly!
A white person's hand with some blue tape on it holds an ivy leaf with a papery whitish brown empty butterfly chrysalis stuck to it which is torn at the bottom. The chrysalis is held on at its top by a cone of darker brown material ending in a silk pad attached to the leaf.
In latest developments, the Speckled Wood (Nymphalidae: Pararge aegeria) chrysalis in my back garden is now empty! Something - by the size of the tears I'm guessing a butterfly rather than a parasitoid - eclosed sometime in the past 72 hours. Neat-oh!
This is the leftover chrysalis shell.
One can imagine the impact on the ECRs involved in this work
The behavior is very similar to what I've seen in the lab with bumble bees, who will closely approach a flower, extend their antennae towards it, and then if it doesn't smell right (e.g. if it's a mutant that's missing an important scent component) they will zoom off to find a different flower.
Basing that last on how they would approach the hole very closely whilst hovering, then suddenly fly away - the two holes in question were /very/ visibly different (one in a black plastic disc, one in red brick) so the difference would have been obvious a little further away, but scent is close in.
There were at least two other female Red Mason Bees (Megachilidae: Osmia bicornis) competing with this female for ideal holes in the brick! One hole was already partly full of dried mud, indicating some nest building activity this year or last year. They seem to tell if it's their hole by smell!
A Zebra Jumping Spider is seen walking along a red brick wall, very zoomed in. This spider has a long black and white and grey striped abdomen and a spotted black and white cephalothorax (head plus thorax), with long vaguely striped legs that are hard to tell apart from the brick texture.
A Seven-spotted Lady Beetle is seen walking along a rough wooden surface. This shiny beetle is fairly round with bright red wing covers (elytra) and a black thorax with white spots. The wing covers have a total of six visible black spots, one of which is on both wing covers at the top of her body and has white patches around it. Her legs are tiny and black.
A Missing Sector Orb Weaver Spider is seen sitting in a barely visible web against a grey background. This spider has long banded brown and black legs that are somewhat hiding its cephalothorax (head plus thorax), which is light brown with a dark patch. Its large round abdomen is greyish brown with a central white patch.
Other sightings so far today include this Zebra Jumping Spider (Salticus sp.), Seven-spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinellus septempunctata), and Missing Sector Orb Weaver Spider (Zygiella x-notata), who had built a web on our deck chair and was feasting on an insect it had caught!
A female Red Mason Bee is seen standing in front of a hole in a red brick wall. This medium size bee is very furry, with a wide black head, black thorax with brown hairs, and a thickly furred abdomen with orange-red hairs. Her translucent wings are held somewhat apart from her body and she has long black antennae.
Now that spring has set in the invertebrates in our back garden are coming out - I've just spent some time watching this female Red Mason Bee coming in and out of a hole in our brick wall. She goes in and out briefly - seems to be scouting the location so she can remember it for later.
No prob!
