September 1, 2012. Can anyone explain to me where the summer has gone? It feels like just yesterday that the snow was melting and I had grand plans of exploration, doable to-do lists to do, and plenty of time to enjoy the summer, but now BugShot is finished, a new crop of undergrads are moving into the University of Guelph residences, and the fall entomology conference circuit is quickly upon us!
Good thing I can bank on the Bug-o-sphere to keep the summer flowing throughout the year.
General Entomology
I was going to do a special BugShot Flypaper edition, but Alex Wild is on it, so go check out some of the thoughts and photos which came out of this most excellent workshop.
I love reading excellent interviews of prominent entomologists like E.O. Wilson and May Berenbaum!
An Arctic Adventure, in three parts by Chris Buddle: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
What happens when an entomology teaching collection goes wild? This.
Superman needs a cape and blue tights to fight crime, but all Jonathan Nixon needs to share entomology is a Pith Helmet (and I assume pants). Be sure to subscribe to Jonathan’s South Dakota Bugs blog, which I just learned about last week at BugShot.
Here’s an interesting selection of blood-feeders from around the world, including a number of thirsty insects.
Ani is back out exploring the Indian countryside and photographing all kinds of incredible diversity. Be sure to check out the amazing environmental portrait of two mating robber flies.
It was a colourful week for Piotr Naskrecki while he considered which critters to avoid eating when stranded in the jungle, and whether the colour blue is rare in the wild.
Diptera (Flies)
Did you know Dr. Seuss’ early work included malaria propaganda while in the US Army during World War II? (Be sure to check out this week’s videos for another example of high-profile malaria propaganda.)
Is Climate Change To Blame For This Year’s West Nile Outbreak? Great work by Christie Wilcox.
New research may have found a better lure for Spotted-winged Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), and as an amazing bi-product, the best petri-dish yeast culture EVER.
Roger Clemens came out of retirement to pitch for the Sugarland Skeeters Independent Baseball Team in Texas. Awesome logo!
Ever wondered what the flight muscles of a horse fly looked like? Now you know!
I laughed pretty hard at this What The Duck comic.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, Batman Hover fly!
Dave Walter wonders whether wasp-mimicking flower flies are actually hiding from real wasps instead of birds.
What does it take to study large-scale community ecology in the Arctic? Plenty of excited grad students, patience, and most importantly space according to Terry Wheeler.
How do phantom midge larvae tolerate heavy metal? They don’t have any ears! Ha! If you want the real answer though, check out Katie Marshall’s Physiology Friday at ESC Blog.
Coleoptera (Beetles)
An kindergarten teacher has her students paint representations of some of Alex Wild’s photos with awesome results.
Apparently there’s a big demand for fireflies in China as romantic gifts between young couples.
The Bug Blogger Nation is slowly taking over Why Evolution is True, and this time it’s Crystal “The Bug Geek” Ernst’s turn!
Just when Matt Bergeron thought it was safe to go back to the sand dune, Cicindela Strikes Back! This time, the horror is in adult form!
Great photos and life history review of the Black Oil Beetle by Adrian Thysse.
Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, & Ants)
After a short physical squabble, the new leader takes their place and calm & order return to the colony. No, this isn’t the story of a political coup, but rather what happens when a queen paper wasp dies.
Winner for the bad pun of the week, the Anternet may help us optimize data transfer online.
More success for the School of Ants project as they find an invasive ant species has massively expanded its range without us realizing it.
If you want to start identifying some of the ants in your backyard, check out the first few chapters of Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice’s new Book of Common Ants.
Other Insect Orders
A necrophilous stink bug. Well then. Thanks for sharing that Brian…
If you’ll be in or around Southern Ontario next weekend, check out the Migratory Dragonfly Short Course at Point Pelee National Park.
The Lord Howe Island Stick Insect is getting ready to go home. Great story by Becky Crew about the history of this nearly extinct species and the conservation work trying to bring it back from the brink.
Apparently it was ambush bug week, with Derek Hennen sharing a few yellow individuals, while Brian Cutting was dazzling in white.
Arachnida (Spiders, Mites & Ticks)
Everything you never wanted to know about the mites that eat, crawl, and have sex on your face. Thanks for that Ed. Really.
Fascinating account of someone who lives my worst nightmare: being severly allergic to meat after being bitten by a tick.
It turns out jumping spiders are the Neil Pert of the spider world.
Seattle, look out! You’re being overrun with GIANT HARVESTMEN!!!
Taxonomy
How many species are there? Good question. Let me get back to you in a bit…
Note to self: don’t let a holotype walk away. Oops.
Itsy Bitsy Beetle has a nice discussion of a frog with a rather royal Celebronym. I can’t help thinking that the name will be inaccurate the moment he ascends to the thrown however.
The Biodiversity Heritage Library has a new project to index and make centuries of natural history illustrations available to people around the world.
Academia
What if Canada restricted athletes to only participating in one Olympics in their lifetime? Because that’s essentially what NSERC has done to Post-Doctoral researchers.
There’s been a lot of negative buzz surrounding the number of PhD’s and the lack of jobs lately, so it’s good to remember that not all is lost when you invest in studying for a PhD.
You need to get through your undergraduate degree first before attempting a PhD, and Chris Buddle has some good advice for new students.
The other important aspect of a successful science career is academic publishing. Chris explains one method to decide who should be an author on your papers.
Social Media & Science Communication
Bug Girl is serving up her social media secrets for success, including tips on when and where to post.
The Canadian Field Naturalist is a small natural history journal that is getting more attention thanks to Twitter.
Photography
The Natural History Museum released 50 of the commended images for their Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, and they’re all amazing! Be sure to wait for the gorgeous photo of displaying cactus flies (Neriidae) about halfway through.
Ted MacRae is bringing out the big guns and taking some awesome shots of tiny insects at 8X magnification.
Piotr Naskrecki teaches you how to take insect photos which include the sun.
Glendon Mellow plays around with some cool landscape abstracts on his iPhone.
It’s important to tell a story not only with your photos online, but also in the caption underneath. Great tips from Alex Wild about maximizing your photos impact.
I second this entire post by Brian Cutting about why it’s hard to find someone to go hiking with when you’re an insect photographer.
Other Fun Stuff
Holy crap, the Curiosity Mars Rover IS HUGE! Just goes to show how important scale is.
The evolution of brewer’s yeast & the basics of beer. Dammit, now I’m thirsty.
The CN Tower is sending subliminal photos out into the world every night. Cool.
I can’t even imagine the patience and time needed to create this amazing music video. Well done!
Videos of the Week
Mosquito theme this week, as World Mosquito Day was August 20. Check out the great promo piece put together by the Malaria No More UK team, and then learn more about malaria and Anopheles mosquitoes (plus some rather scary management techniques) from my new favourite Disney movie!
Further Reading
Ed Yong – Missing Links
Bora Zivkovic – Scienceblogging Weekly
Adrian Thysse – The Week on Sunday
Was that a Chigoe flea I saw in your blood-feeder section? I wish there were more shots of that posted…