Just the six #moth visitors last night, but four of them were first sightings in 2025.

1) Angle Shades (top left)
2) Knot Grass (top right)
3) Shuttle shaped dart - female (bottom left)
4) Twenty-plume moth (bottom right)

Composite image from #AutomatedMothTrap operated in #Aranda, #ACT, #Australia over night of 20 to 21 Apr 2025.

High-resolution (7740 × 4760) copy at: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54465358488_35a576a36a_o.jpg

https://amt.hobern.net/ @dhobern@scicomm.xyz #Lepidoptera #entomology

A Spring Azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon) basking this afternoon along the Pierce Road, #Harvard #Forest.

Warum Termiten so erfolgreich sind (aber nicht in kühleren Breiten):
https://youtu.be/IPICzi97Fiw?si=6O7VdFmenCpOhLQU

#Moths never cease to amaze me. Weather seemed promising last night: mild, drizzle forecast, light to moderate wind. Yet, only four in total. A Muslin Moth and Early Grey (both on my feed already).

The other two were first sightings in 2025 for Brimstone Moth and the wonderfully named Chocolate Tip. Chocolate Tips usually hold their wing so it appears tubular, but this one was more open.

#NewSpecies!
New jewel beetle from #cambodia just glittered:

Anthaxia haraldi

Treatment: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03B087A9-FFB0-3902-DDB4-A009FF7FFDD3
Publication: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5584.3.9
#Zootaxa #AnthaxiaHaraldi

#FAIRdata
#science #OA #openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #invertebrates #entomology #insects #coleoptera #beetles #bugs #jewelbeetles #jewels #scarabs

New on Entomology Today: Tiny in size but fierce in defense, harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex spp.) pack a sting that will knock your socks off. Particularly effective against mammals, harvester ants' venom may have evolved to keep rodents from raiding their seed stashes. The pain from a sting to a human can last several hours—an impressive power for such a small insect. #entomology #insects #ants https://entomologytoday.org/2025/04/17/painful-fascinating-stings-harvester-ants/

Composite image from #AutomatedMothTrap operated in #Aranda, #ACT, #Australia over night of 16 to 17 Apr 2025.

High-resolution (7740 × 4760) copy at: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54457242936_5d628e2b74_o.jpg

https://amt.hobern.net/ @dhobern@scicomm.xyz #Lepidoptera #entomology

Arthropod Photo of the Week: April 16, 2025
Eggplant horned planthopper
Leptocentrus taurus
Hemiptera: Membracidae
By Vijin Varghese, Kerala, India
#arthropodPOTW
#entomology #insects #photography

Scientists trace a #butterfly migration route between Africa and Europe that is millions of years old

#entomology

https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2025/04/16/g-s1-59897/painted-lady-butterflies-migration-photos

Two Belgian teenagers were charged with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser known species.

@AssociatedPress reports: https://flip.it/RnLBW2

The first tiny anise swallowtail caterpillar of the season! It’s the little black diagonal in the center with a touch of white in the middle. Soon the fennel patch will welcome dozens more. #swallowtail #insects #butterflies #aniseSwallowtail #garden #entomology

#entomology
A bug that jets pee? These comics illustrate nature's real-life superpowers https://www.npr.org/2025/04/14/1244690932/comic-book-bugs-superpower-cicada-pee

This summer I'm going to try luring the eastern shell-nesting mason bee (Osmia conjuncta) into my yard. The species occurs in Pennsylvania but is extremely rare, probably because its preferred shell, Anguispira kochi, is presumed to be locally extinct. But Ontario populations of the bee are thriving and seem completely happy to use shells of Cepaea (an invasive from Europe) so I thought I'd give them a try here. Yes, I know this is futile. #bees #osmia #insects #snails #shells #cepaea #pollinators #entomology #ontario #canada

https://www.europesays.com/uk/16975/ Population genetic structure analysis of Anopheles kleini in the Republic of Korea based on the mitochondrial COI gene | Malaria Journal #Entomology #Genetics #InfectiousDiseases #MalariaVector #Microbiology #MitochondrialCytochromeCOxidaseSubunitI #NAnophelesKleinin #Parasitology #PopulationGeneticStructure #PublicHealth #ROK #Science #TropicalMedicine #UK #UnitedKingdom

Are there any flowers that Western honey bees avoid? My sister just got several hives and she is worried about the native bee population having nothing left to eat. I'd love to give her a list of plants to seek out for her property. In Central Oregon, so ideally drought-tolerant, too. Thanks for any ideas. #bees #honey #beekeeping #gardening #honeybees #entomology #flowers #apiary #apis #insect #pollinating #pollinators #oregon

Mild night, heavy showers. Still lots of Common Quakers and Hebrew Characters about. First sightings in 2025 of:

1) & 2) Muslin Moth (male)
3) Double-striped pug

Also had a Brindled Pug but managed one blurry photo before he flew off! The unsociable git.

Numbers looking better this year. Mild and dry spring has helped. Still early in the year, but not long until the bright summer moths appear...