Bird nests support a diverse, dynamic and distinctive macroarthropod community on the forest floor Nests built by vertebrates, such as birds and mammals, constitute diverse microhabitats that are inhabited by many arthropod taxa and represent important hubs of local biodiversity. Compared to leaf...

New paper! Bird nests (Wood Warblers) are hubs of invertebrate biodiversity on forest floor, hosting more species/individuals than leaf litter. Probably due to heat & food detritus. Losing Wood Warblers = ecological networks lost. #ornithology
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New research article! 📰

Tschinkel reveals that the tiny ant P. adrianoi lines its multi‑chambered nests with sclerotia from pine ectomycorrhizal fungi, whose sprouting mycelium binds the surrounding sand 🍄
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #SoilEngineering #DesertAdaptations #Behaviour

A parasitic, parthenogenetic ant with only queens and without workers or males Hamaguchi, Kinomura and colleagues describe an ant species that lacks workers and males and consists exclusively of queens.

Queen-only parasitic parthogenetic ant. Cool combination!

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Loved it.

Hidden treasures - Leaf litter arthropods and the good that they do - Value in nature I spend the majority of my research time looking at minute arthropods that live in soil and leaf litter. These species represent a large proportion of biodiversity, hundreds of thousands...

Interested in the ecosystem services provided by leaf-litter arthropod communities? Read all about it in the latest 'Value in nature' post: 'Hidden treasures'. #biodiversity #nature 🌐

mscaterino.pika.page/posts/hidden...

Novel worker-like behavior observed in a socially parasitic ant. New from @pogonokwap.bsky.social & Francois Brassard: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

🐜 4-year #postdoc position in the @socialfluids.bsky.social lab @camzoology.bsky.social investigating metabolic cooperation between bodies in a BBSRC-funded project.

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/postdoc...

#ants #socialtransfers #sociallytransferredmaterials #autophagy #socialinsects #aging #job (🧵1/n)

Assistant Professor, Plant Physiology - Orlando, Florida, United States The OpportunityThe Department of Biology at the University of Central Florida (UCF) invites applications for the position of tenure track Assistant Professor, Plant Physiology (9-month appointment), a...

Join us at the University of Central Florida! 🍊🚀🌴

We’re seeking an Assistant Professor of Plant Physiology! We’ve got growth chambers, hoop houses, greenhouse space, an arboretum, and students chomping at the bit for more plant courses!

#PlantPeopleFTW #IAmABotanist

jobs.ucf.edu/jobs/assista...

It was a joy to see the crickets durning my visit! You have a great collection.

Using Bayesian neural networks and evolutionary modelling, we show that trophallaxis evolved twice in ants: 130 million years ago when flowering plants became more abundant and ants began harvesting sugary liquids from plants and their insect partners, and again in others ~90 million years ago.

Yes! It is interesting. I’m grateful for Chris Smith’s stable isotope work on that front. I’ve even seen foragers cutting and harvesting big mushrooms. I guess they take all they can get with so many troublemakers and larvae to feed.

I concede. Sometimes beetles disappoint.

Thank you! Beetles never disappoint.

Thanks, Alex!

It really is heavenly there. Thank you!

Nope! The ants attack them readily. We don’t suspect that they mimic any ant signals.

New research article! 📰

Kwapich @pogonokwap.bsky.social et al. revealed that H. dorsalis larvae parasitize P. badius colonies by intercepting insect prey meant for ant larvae🪲
doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#InsectesSociaux #SocialInsects #Kleptoparasitism #InsectBehavior #Myrmecology #BeetleLarvae #ants

A kleptoparasitic beetle larva (Hymenorus dorsalis) exploits vertical division of labor in nests of the Florida harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius - Insectes Sociaux Pogonomyrmex badius workers divide transport tasks across subterranean nest space. After foragers deposit seeds and insects in shallow entrance chambers, younger workers transport these items downward...

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Read all about these parasitic beetles here: nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

The ants divide transport tasks across the vertical strata of their giant, subterranean nests. Hymenorus dorsalis exploit this sequential caching behavior, and snatch insects set down by ant foragers, before they are collected by younger ant workers. 2/n

My lab has a new paper in @insectessociaux.bsky.social. We found that alleculine beetle larvae consume most insect prey collected by Florida harvester ant workers, and occur in up to 63% of nests. 1/n

Ant-like wasp, dark purple and gold with no wings, running along a dry pine needle

Slender black thrips, moping low to the pine needle it's on; booty tip curled into the air in an elegant twist

A couple of favorite An'ts from last weekend: Holcencyrtus nugget wasp, and a silly little mopey thrips (Phlaeothripidae). Carry on, tiny friends 🖤

Very nice!!

I'm looking for a graduate student (master's level) to join my lab starting Fall 2025. If you know any undergraduates interested in termite behavior and evolution, please let them know!

I would love to be on this list! Thanks.

It was a pleasure to have you here. Everyone is still buzzing about your excellent talk. Please visit us and the palm trees again, any time! 🪰🐜🧬

Rhodamine B in their food will work wonders. It fluoresces — but should be disposed of carefully based on the label.