Michael Caterino
@mcaterino.bsky.social
1.3K followers 540 following 470 posts
Coleopterist, documenting patterns of beetle diversity (especially histerids & staphylinoids); University prof sharing systematics with the next generation; aspiring popular science writer; would rather be in the field.
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Reposted by Michael Caterino
mcaterino.bsky.social
Entomology-herpetology solidarity!
Reposted by Michael Caterino
lizzie-harper.bsky.social
Latest blog is out, it's on the #Lamiaceae, or Dead-nettle family of #wildflowers:

lizzieharper.co.uk/2025/10/wild...

It's one of a series on common flower families I've been doing, featuring my #botanicalillustrations #sciart and attempts to simplify the complexities of #botany & classification.
Wildflower families: Lamiaceae - Lizzie Harper
Wildflower families: Lamiaceae is one of Lizzie Harper's botanically illustrated blogs on wildflower families
lizzieharper.co.uk
Reposted by Michael Caterino
jennifermolidor.bsky.social
Hanging onto every bit of good news

The river has come alive in the Klamath with wild Chinook salmon. The wider ecosystem is healing.

This most powerful story of Indigenous-led #rewilding after the largest dam removal in US history keeps getting better.

lostcoastoutpost.com/2025/oct/9/o...
One Year After Klamath Dam Removal, 'There's Just Fish Jumping All Over the Place': Scientists Describe Improvements to Water Quality and Wildlife
lostcoastoutpost.com
mcaterino.bsky.social
Found a Lampyrid larva today neck-deep in a snail.
An elongate, flat, brown larva on a log with its head in the opening of a snail shell, eating the occupant.
mcaterino.bsky.social
Can you make a version where the beetle is in a frog costume?
Reposted by Michael Caterino
nottscoleoptera.bsky.social
Like little trilobites, larva of the common Riffle Beetle, Elmis aenea. #Coleoptera #Elmidae
mcaterino.bsky.social
What big cornicles you have, my dear!
zookeys.pensoft.net
The aphid genus Mollitrichosiphum is recorded as new for South Korea.

Learn more here: doi.org/10.3897/BDJ....

#entomology #insects #biodiversity
Reposted by Michael Caterino
witheelabs.bsky.social
My latest for @bizarrebeastsshow.bsky.social concerns these li’l cuties that live in our homes and ride around on other bugs.
The Tiny Scorpions* In Your House
YouTube video by Bizarre Beasts
youtu.be
mcaterino.bsky.social
Value in nature FAQ:

Q. Will all the posts be about bugs?

A. No! An entomologist I may be, so for the first post I had to go with my strength. But I plan to cover valuable species across the spectrum of life. Posts-in-planning include wild grapes and bacterial antibiotics.
mcaterino.bsky.social
Please check out my new blog: 'Value in nature'. I plan to feature the innumerable ways biodiversity benefits us - ecosystem services in the widest sense.

The punchline to nearly every post: our future flourishing depends on preserving as much biodiversity as we possibly can.

mscaterino.pika.page
Banner image from mscaterino.pika.page. The background image is a pineapple growing at the tip of a bromeliad against a tropical forest backdrop. In the lower left is the caption 'Value in nature'.
mcaterino.bsky.social
I agree this is worth more consideration. My working rationale is that humanity inflicts so much destruction on insects (we should also aim to reduce!) that the relatively small number taken intentionally for research is a drop in the bucket. But that's not to say that their lives don't have value.
Reposted by Michael Caterino
richardconniff.bsky.social
Stop buying wildlife pets—turtles, parrots, lizards, ferrets, even tropical fish—until the global pet industry gets serious about protecting and rebuilding species and habitats. richardconniff.substack.com/p/the-wildli...
The Wildlife Pet Trade is a Global Disaster
And it's going to keep wrecking the natural world--till we stop paying for it.
richardconniff.substack.com
mcaterino.bsky.social
sounds interesting AND looks good!
Reposted by Michael Caterino
smunoztobar.bsky.social
Twenty two new species of beetles from Ecuador’s páramo and cloud forest offer a rare glimpse into ecosystems that remain largely unexplored. Species names pay tribute to sites, communities and cultural traits of the Ecuadorian Andes zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1583... #Biodiversity #Ecuador #bugs
Dorsal view of Panabachia species
Reposted by Michael Caterino
iucnparasites.bsky.social
Hello, Bluesky! We're the IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group, a part of the Species Survival Commission! We're just starting to understand the important roles parasites play in their ecosystems, and our goal is to determine the threats wildlife parasites face and to conserve rare and unique species!
Rhinoceros Stomach Bot Fly (Gyrostigma rhinocerontis), a black-and-orange bot fly specializing in White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Africa. Credit: Bernard Dupont, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gyrostigma_rhinocerontis_(Owen,_1830)_1(a)_-_iNaturalist.org.jpg A Ryukyu Rabbit Tick (Haemaphysalis pentalagi), a brown tick that specializes on the Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) on Amami Ōshima, one of the southern islands of Japan. Credit: Takamasa Nemoto The Manx Shearwater Flea (Ceratophyllus (Emmareus) fionnus), a flea known only from the Isle of Rùm off the west coast of Scotland, where it specializes on nesting colonies of the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus). Credit: Olha Schedrina / The Natural History Museum Rhinoceros Tick (Dermacentor rhinocerinus), a spotted orange-and-black tick species that specializes on White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Africa. Credit: Moira Fitzpatrick