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I am excited to share this comparative analysis of transposable elements in medusozoa genomes led by graduate student Ayanna Mays 🧬🧪

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

George Melika wearing a "crown" made from oak galls

Sad to report the passing of George Melika, the prolific world authority on gall wasps and the unofficial "king of the galls". He will be sorely missed.

To see some of his contributions to the world of cynipidology: scholar.google.com/citations?us...

Still accepting applicants for a postdoc! Here's the evoldir link if you're interested:
evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...

Please reach out! Share with a friend!

a person is holding a green grasshopper in their hand with the word cube visible in the background Alt: a person is holding a green katydid in their hand, the katydid is waving its front legs around

Hey you! I am still on the market for jobs this fall! I am an entomologist who specializes in inclusive biology teaching (15+ semesters of collegiate instruction) and a broad array of research skills spanning collection & ID, molecular work (RNAi, Genomics), and phenotyping (behavior, physiology)🧪

I'm hiring a postdoc (start date flexible) and a PhD student (for Fall 2027) to work in any area of computational phylogenetics! More info here:

mhibbins.github.io

I will be attending both PEQG and Evolution in June, so please reach out if you want to chat at these meetings!

I am not a podcast person by any means, but I'm excited about this series, and starting strong with my long time mentor Mike Gates!

In the footsteps of Linnaeus: scientists share their passion for species from tiny wasps to hairy plants – in pictures For his project ‘De Oförtrutna’ (The Relentless), photographer Christer Björkman pictured Swedish scientists working in the spirit of Carl Linneaus, the botanist who created the modern taxonomic syste...

So cool to see my Swedish microhymenoptera colleagues Emma Kärrnäs and Julia Stigenberg featured in here:

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Josephiella leaf and stem galls

Josephiella manana

Gibsonoma kuewa

The Chinese banyan stem gall first found in Hawaii in 2012 finally has a name! Meet Josephiella manana, and its associate Gibsonoma kuewa. Fun small project with @kmagnacca.bsky.social in sorting out some of these introduced micro wasps of Hawaii. Link to paper: tinyurl.com/ych93swd

Illustration of Kavayva davidsmithi, by Taina Liwak

Here is an illustration by Taina Litwak of the other known species from the genus, K. davidsmithi. Measuring at 10mm, it is a giant by eurytomid standards. It was named in honor of the late David Smith, a giant in sawfly systematics.

The paper came out in 2022: jhr.pensoft.net/article/71309/

Kavayva bodoquenensis Kavayva bodoquenensis from Asa Sul, Brasília - DF, Brasil on January 16, 2024 at 09:42 AM by Douglas

It's always exciting to see images of the critters that I've described live, even if it is a bit blurry. This is Kavayva bodoquenensis, a rare? Neotropical genus of eurytomids associated with Guarea (Meliaceae) seeds.

www.inaturalist.org/observations...

North America (south to the Darién Gap) is the best continent, judged solely on the basis of gall wasps.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could say goodbye to TurboTax and file your taxes for free, online, and directly with the IRS?

I have a bill to get that done.

a painting of uncle sam pointing at the viewer with an american flag behind him ALT: a painting of uncle sam pointing at the viewer with an american flag behind him

It's looking increasingly likely that I'll be hiring a 3-year computational pop-gen postdoc/PhD-level scientific programmer to start this Fall (2026). If you or someone you know is defending soon, and looking for a position, please DM/write to me! Thanks!

Postdoctoral Scholar – Insect Molecular Biology – ESPM (Organisms & the Environment) - Tsutsui Lab University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!

Job alert! Post-doc position available in the Tsutsui lab at UC Berkeley. I'm specifically looking for someone optimize and scale RNA interference for invasive ant control and eradication. Happy to take questions at ntsutsui@berkeley.edu. Spread the word! aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05325

MBE Call for Papers on the Major Transitions of Life

MBE is excited to launch our newest Call for Papers on the Major Transitions of Life, covering all aspects of phylogenomic research.

🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/pages/call-for-papers-on-the-major-transitions-of-life

Guest Editors:
Davide Pisani
Anja Spang

#evobio #molbio #phylogenetics

Join us here at @laurentianu.bsky.social as we rebuild our ecology/evolution group.

We are hiring an assistant professor in animal ecology

Working with me is a treat, so that's a bonus not mentioned in the ad.

laurentian.ca/about/career...

Yay congrats!!

This is the follow up to our UCE phylogeny that we published last year as part of Douglas' PhD thesis. The diversity of oak gall wasps is truly incredible in Mexico, so many new species awaits discovery!

The full paper can be accessed here:

ymilesz.github.io/Pubs/Castill...

Amphibolips megalokokka

Amphibolips idiopteryx

Amphibolips zapoteco

Amphibolips darioi

Meet some brand new oak apple galls from Mexico! We described five new Amphibolips species, including A. megakokka which produces the largest known gall by a single wasp in the Americas (>11cm in diameter).

mapress.com/zt/article/v...

Open postdoc position in my lab at Cornell, conducting comparative and experimental studies on transcriptomic responses to diet and toxins, utilizing the milkweed-insect community. Background in molecular bio & herbivory desired. academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31867

📢ISH SPONSORED MEMBERSHIP OFFER!

📌Sponsorship is primarily intended for members who are unable to afford membership and based in a country other than the 30 countries with the highest HDI.

📆Application Deadline: March 31st

🔗Application form: www.hymenopterists.org/apply-for-sp...

Hi all. I am very excited that after 6 years I finally got my phylogenetic comparative methods book and online exercises online. Feel free to use and share. The book is here: nhcooper123.github.io/pcm-primer/. Note that it is not finished, we had to abandon it before the sunk costs fallacy broke us

Apparently they are crypto people so unfortunately they are probably super proud of it 🙄

Gorgeous fly but ugh I hate the name so much, apparently the naming right was won at the 2021 Australian Museum Foundation Gala Dinner auction...🤑

Curatorial Associate in NEW YORK, NY for American Museum of Natural History Exciting opportunity in NEW YORK, NY for American Museum of Natural History as a Curatorial Assoc...

careers.entsoc.org/jobs/2214397...

The species of Brasema Cameron, 1884 (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae) associated with oak gall wasps (Hym., Cynipidae, Cynipini) in North America with the description of two new species from México ...

We might be able to put some names onto these Brasema now with this new paper?

www.mapress.com/zt/article/v...

The TL;DR version is that: There are so many new species that awaits discovery, please support taxonomists and our work by hiring us, funding us, and citing us, especially those from the Global South!

Tanaostigmodes johnlasallei from Australia

Josephiella manana from Hawaii

Gibsonoma kuewa, inquiline or parasitoid of J. manana found in Hawaii

Finally, new species of chalcidoid gall inducers that are coming out soon. The Tanaostigmodes is led by my student Tareva-Chine at Adelaide University. While the other two are done in collaboration with @kmagnacca.bsky.social: New Josephiella galler and Gibsonoma parasitoid(?) found in Hawaii.

Belonocnema mesoamericana from Mexico

Amphibolips megalokokka gall from Mexico

Two new species of oak gall wasps from Mexico, the gall image shows a new Amphibolips species that should be coming out any day now in Zootaxa. A single larva can induce a giant gall that's >11cm in diameter!

Diastrophus emeiensis, gall on Rubus found in Sichuan, China

Diplolepis nezha, rose gall from Sichuan, China

Orthopelma aobing, parasitoid of D. nezha from Sichuan, China

On #TaxonomistAppreciationDay I want to highlight some of the recent new species that I've described along with colleagues, many are from the global south where much of this diversity is from (and still awaits discover). First up, two species of herb gall wasps and a parasitoid from Sichuan, China.