Alex Wild
@alexwild.bsky.social
Pinned
Alex Wild
@alexwild.bsky.social
· Jul 9
The thing about entomology is, there are always weirder bugs than anything you could imagine on your own.
Here's Cysteodemus wislizeni, a blister beetle from west Texas.
Here's Cysteodemus wislizeni, a blister beetle from west Texas.
Reposted by Alex Wild
This is a real species of crab. No genAI required
November 23, 2025 at 3:47 PM
This is a real species of crab. No genAI required
The genus name for American harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex, means "bearded ant", and it refers to a basket of hairs on the underside of the head that helps these desert ants carry dry sand.
Monahans Sandhills State Park, Texas.
Monahans Sandhills State Park, Texas.
November 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The genus name for American harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex, means "bearded ant", and it refers to a basket of hairs on the underside of the head that helps these desert ants carry dry sand.
Monahans Sandhills State Park, Texas.
Monahans Sandhills State Park, Texas.
Reposted by Alex Wild
Blind cave spiders~
This occurs due to the process of regressive evolution. In an environment without light, vision provides no advantage in finding prey or avoiding predators. The loss of their eyes means that energy and resources once used for eyes are instead allocated to other traits.
This occurs due to the process of regressive evolution. In an environment without light, vision provides no advantage in finding prey or avoiding predators. The loss of their eyes means that energy and resources once used for eyes are instead allocated to other traits.
November 23, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Blind cave spiders~
This occurs due to the process of regressive evolution. In an environment without light, vision provides no advantage in finding prey or avoiding predators. The loss of their eyes means that energy and resources once used for eyes are instead allocated to other traits.
This occurs due to the process of regressive evolution. In an environment without light, vision provides no advantage in finding prey or avoiding predators. The loss of their eyes means that energy and resources once used for eyes are instead allocated to other traits.
That Mitchell and Webb Look remains in my mind the best comedy sketch series.
November 23, 2025 at 5:19 AM
That Mitchell and Webb Look remains in my mind the best comedy sketch series.
Reposted by Alex Wild
Broad-tipped katydid, Texas.
September 25, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Broad-tipped katydid, Texas.
Reposted by Alex Wild
Today was the day Zohran Mamdani finally became president
November 22, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Today was the day Zohran Mamdani finally became president
Reposted by Alex Wild
Which presidential portrait are you getting yourself photographed in front of on your White House visit? (For me LBJ obviously)
November 22, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Which presidential portrait are you getting yourself photographed in front of on your White House visit? (For me LBJ obviously)
A preview of the future of Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tucson.
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:06 PM
A preview of the future of Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tucson.
Reposted by Alex Wild
FYI, comments on this new attempt to gut the Endangered Species Act are due by December 22, 2025. The short version is: potential economic impacts will override scientific data; that includes development construction, drilling, etc. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Designating Critical Habitat
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or the Service), propose to amend portions of our regulations for section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act or ESA). Specifically, we...
www.federalregister.gov
November 21, 2025 at 2:48 PM
FYI, comments on this new attempt to gut the Endangered Species Act are due by December 22, 2025. The short version is: potential economic impacts will override scientific data; that includes development construction, drilling, etc. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
Parasites can only persist, in the long term, on a healthy population of hosts. The parasitic Republican cancer is collapsing the U.S. social and economic system that allowed it to proliferate in the first place.
A scam and hate-based economy goes nowhere. What comes next?
A scam and hate-based economy goes nowhere. What comes next?
November 21, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Parasites can only persist, in the long term, on a healthy population of hosts. The parasitic Republican cancer is collapsing the U.S. social and economic system that allowed it to proliferate in the first place.
A scam and hate-based economy goes nowhere. What comes next?
A scam and hate-based economy goes nowhere. What comes next?
More decades-long studies like this, please! Science crammed into short grant cycles misses important patterns.
“After the first burn, the net productivity of those plots was really low and the controls looked a lot better,” said John Battles @natureatcal.bsky.social and @ucanr.edu. “But by the third burn, the patterns had switched.” ucanr.edu/blog/green-b...
Prescribed burning helps store forest carbon in big, fire-resistant trees | Green Blog
A two decade long experiment in the Sierra Nevada found that regular prescribed burns promote carbon sequestration in live trees and plants, maintaining forests’ long-term ability to store carbon whil...
ucanr.edu
November 21, 2025 at 1:42 AM
More decades-long studies like this, please! Science crammed into short grant cycles misses important patterns.
Reposted by Alex Wild
Scientists tell Americans not to trust the CDC.
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said @pauloffit.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said @pauloffit.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
After unprecedented autism-vaccine messaging change, scientists, advocates say CDC no longer trustworthy
www.cidrap.umn.edu
November 20, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Scientists tell Americans not to trust the CDC.
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said @pauloffit.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
Instead of a global leader in science, the CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories,” said @pauloffit.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...
Reposted by Alex Wild
I feared this in 2016, but now it’s happened:
The CDC is gone. Strike them from your list of reliable purveyors of information.
The CDC is gone. Strike them from your list of reliable purveyors of information.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I feared this in 2016, but now it’s happened:
The CDC is gone. Strike them from your list of reliable purveyors of information.
The CDC is gone. Strike them from your list of reliable purveyors of information.
Sure, but I’m guessing the drum beat for this new track won’t be as good as “50 Ways to Leave your Lover”
November 20, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Sure, but I’m guessing the drum beat for this new track won’t be as good as “50 Ways to Leave your Lover”
Reposted by Alex Wild
Reposted by Alex Wild
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 2:26 AM
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
Reposted by Alex Wild
AI slop gracing the cover of Royal Society B. Not only in AI yellow but scientifically nonsensical. Come on. I'm certain human photographs and artworks were ignored to platform ... this.
November 18, 2025 at 10:49 AM
AI slop gracing the cover of Royal Society B. Not only in AI yellow but scientifically nonsensical. Come on. I'm certain human photographs and artworks were ignored to platform ... this.
This is not what the problem is. We have many excellent, talented, engaging science communicators.
Their reach is deliberately truncated by the social media companies, and billionaire-owned news outlets do not platform them.
Their reach is deliberately truncated by the social media companies, and billionaire-owned news outlets do not platform them.
Scientists are partly to blame by not learning to effectively communicate in lay language on modern communication channels. That information void is then ripe for disinformation to fill.
Embed lay comms & accessibility skills into academia.
Embed lay comms & accessibility skills into academia.
November 19, 2025 at 11:18 PM
This is not what the problem is. We have many excellent, talented, engaging science communicators.
Their reach is deliberately truncated by the social media companies, and billionaire-owned news outlets do not platform them.
Their reach is deliberately truncated by the social media companies, and billionaire-owned news outlets do not platform them.
This, exactly.
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 11:15 PM
This, exactly.
As best as I can tell, this might be the only live photograph ever taken of this species.
If you know the tropical ant genus Holcoponera, you know they are not all that fuzzy. But this Colombian species, Holcoponera pilosa, is positively frizzy compared to its congeners.
November 19, 2025 at 5:11 PM
As best as I can tell, this might be the only live photograph ever taken of this species.
This is not releasing the documents.
This is a criminal hiding his crimes.
This is a criminal hiding his crimes.
NEW: After fighting to keep emails between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and billionaire Elon Musk’s companies secret, officials have released nearly 1,400 pages of documents to The Texas Newsroom.
All but about 200 pages are blacked out.
All but about 200 pages are blacked out.
Gov. Greg Abbott Was Ordered to Release Some of His Emails With Elon Musk. Most Are Blacked Out.
Months after fighting to keep secret emails between Gov. Greg Abbott and Elon Musk, Texas officials released 1,400 pages of records. But they reveal little about the two men’s relationship or Musk’s influence over state government.
www.propublica.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM
This is not releasing the documents.
This is a criminal hiding his crimes.
This is a criminal hiding his crimes.
There have been no real technological developments since the invention of lenses that allow us to photograph bugs and an international network of machines that allow everyone to see those photographs of bugs. Discuss.
November 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
There have been no real technological developments since the invention of lenses that allow us to photograph bugs and an international network of machines that allow everyone to see those photographs of bugs. Discuss.
Reposted by Alex Wild
men just want one thing and it's a pop-up toaster they can drive
November 19, 2025 at 2:13 PM
men just want one thing and it's a pop-up toaster they can drive
If you know the tropical ant genus Holcoponera, you know they are not all that fuzzy. But this Colombian species, Holcoponera pilosa, is positively frizzy compared to its congeners.
November 19, 2025 at 3:37 AM
If you know the tropical ant genus Holcoponera, you know they are not all that fuzzy. But this Colombian species, Holcoponera pilosa, is positively frizzy compared to its congeners.