Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Mia Croft (she/they)

Nature @nature.com · Sep 7

A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species

go.nature.com/467N16m

‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother

Nature - Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.

go.nature.com

3 24 87

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Sep 5

Had such a great time at #EcoNet2025 and met some really amazing researchers from this awesome international community. Bring on EcoNet 2027 in Brazil! 🇧🇷

1 3

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Sep 4

Having a fantastic time at #EcoNet2025 with so many impressive and inspiring talks

2

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Aug 27

I can't be certain predators aren't feeding in the trap, but I did run a pilot with wet vs dry traps, plus there's some previous studies showing no difference in abundance and diversity between wet vs dry

1

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Aug 27

Adding some LECA (clay granules) to the trap helps everything hide from the predators - most importantly I want the predators not to eat each other! Also sampling for less than 24 hours 🙂

1 1

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Aug 27

Carabids, rove beetles and spiders 🕷 isolated from a dry pitfall trap for dietary metabarcoding 🧬

1 5

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Aug 27

Set some dry pitfall traps with a couple handfuls of LECA to catch live predators for dietary metabarcoding 🧬 the LECA provides shelter from predation (including within-trap) 🪲

5

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Aug 26

Funnels are working well to reduce small mammals mortalities in pitfall traps 🐁 just cut the narrow end shorter and you can even drop a sample pot with solution into the cup for easy collection 🪲

5 15

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Aug 21

Adding charcoal-plaster bases to feeding arenas, ready for some beetle bioassays soon 🪲

3

Reposted by Mia Croft (she/they)

Rosy Christopher @envirosyment.bsky.social · May 22

Despite having seen my fair share of these #spiders at this point, I've only found two yellow morph Misumena vatia and they really are gorgeous 🌟💛☀️

1 7

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · May 20

Excited to learn some practical techniques in Metabarcoding for Diet Analysis & eDNA in a 2-day workshop with @nerc-eof.bsky.social starting today 🧬

5

Reposted by Mia Croft (she/they)

Rosy Christopher @envirosyment.bsky.social · May 19

Hi everyone, I am launching a community science scheme "Spider Spies" where we are asking you, to send us pictures and if you're keen and able samples of Misumena vatia, the Flower Crab Spider to investigate their interactions with their host flowers and the invertebrate community around them.

5 37 65

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · May 17

This maple trunk was covered in snipefly, Rhagio scolopaceus, drinking sap at Gibside, Northumbria

5

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · May 15

Fantastic time at the Light Pollution As A Driver Of Insect Declines symposium at University of Exeter, with a great range of talks, useful workshop on measuring light, collaborating on a paper, meeting lots of amazing researchers and sharing ideas, plus nighttime rockpooling on Falmouth beach 🏖

1 22

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Apr 28

My lighting rigs are up! Ready for the first round of data collection soon

12

Reposted by Mia Croft (she/they)

Foraging Ecology Research Group @foragingecology.bsky.social · Apr 28

We had a great time last week putting up experimental lamp posts at one of the university's experimental farms for @miacroftento.bsky.social's upcoming artificial light experiments! We even had a mining bee digging its hole near ours - perhaps setting up their own lamp posts! 💡🐝

3 10

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Apr 5

Had a go at painting iridescence, which was surprisingly difficult! Cyclommatus elaphus, an Indonesian stag beetle 🎨

4 3 85

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Apr 4

Fantastic to see tawny mining bees emerging from the bare earth patch in our garden after the long British winter

8

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Feb 8

Choosing my artificial light study sites with some beautiful established field margins and hedgerows at Cockle Park Farm, Northumberland

4

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Feb 8

Buglife mention light pollution as a crucial neglected issue in insect declines, and urge the Government to take action without delay

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

UK conservation goals insufficient to save ants and bees, says expert

Science committee chair calls for monitored species to include groups such as moths, lice and hymenoptera

www.theguardian.com

2 7

Reposted by Mia Croft (she/they)

Jordan Cuff 🕷️🧬🕸️ @jordancuff.bsky.social · Jan 7

Our Agricultural and Forest Entomology special issue on advances in insect biomonitoring was published today!

🌾🪲🔍🪰🌲

Explore new and upcoming advances in our ability to detect, identify and characterise insects in production systems!

resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14619563...

1 13 36

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Dec 9

@joe-roberts.bsky.social your students may be interested in this

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Dec 9

Great opportunities for internships with an entomology survey and an ant survey in the alps!

1

Mia Croft (she/they) @miacroftento.bsky.social · Dec 2

Exciting PhD opportunity with my research group! Please share 🪲🐛

Jordan Cuff 🕷️🧬🕸️ @jordancuff.bsky.social · Nov 27

🚨PHD OPPORTUNITY!🚨

Join us in Newcastle University to assess carabid beetle ecosystem services and foraging ecology, and develop new methods for inferring interactions between beetles and their food! 🪲🍽️💻

iapetus2.ac.uk/studentships...

Assessing ecosystem service trade-offs in omnivorous generalist beetles using network inference, molecular dietary analysis and nutritional networks

iapetus2.ac.uk

2 4

Reposted by Mia Croft (she/they)

Jordan Cuff 🕷️🧬🕸️ @jordancuff.bsky.social · Nov 27

Check out the latest special from The Naked Scientists on animals, featuring an interview with me about our recent paper on spider nutrition in @oikosjournal.bsky.social! Listen in here: www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/int... and check out the full episode for some incredible animal insights!

Spiders choose their most nutritious next meal

Putting in the legwork for a balanced diet...

www.thenakedscientists.com

1 5 16