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Jess Awad

@parasitoidrex.bsky.social

1.4K followers 560 following 200 posts

Entomologist specializing in parasitoid wasps and dark taxa. Leiden, Netherlands.

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Jess Awad @parasitoidrex.bsky.social · Feb 12

Gall midges and their parasitoids are abundant, megadiverse, and very hard to identify! Such "double dark taxa" systems present special challenges for ecology and agriculture. 🧵🧪🐙 @smnstuttgart.bsky.social @marinamoser.bsky.social @krogmann.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/aesa...

Untangling host specialization in a “double dark taxa” system

Abstract. Platygastrine wasps (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) are parasitoids of gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). They and their hosts are exceptionally

doi.org

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Colin Purrington @colinpurrington.bsky.social · 1d

Male and female chalcids that emerged from redbud seedpods. Both are in the genus Eurytoma and are possibly the same species but further identification is beyond my skill set. I can't find any mention of them being recorded as parasitoids of redbud bruchids. 🌿 #wasps #hymenoptera #insects #bruchidae

Two photographs of black wasps that look roughly the same except that top one has hairy antennae with large gaps in between the segments, while the bottom one has more beadlike antennae. The lower one also has an ovipositor. Their legs are partly orange and their head and thorax have pits and short white hairs.

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Colin Purrington @colinpurrington.bsky.social · 2d

I collected some oak leaves with Coptotriche citrinipennella (Tischeriidae) several weeks ago and had grand plans to photograph the larvae inside, but got distracted. This morning I opened one and found a very lively pupa that used rapid body flexes to launch itself around. #moths #lepidoptera #oak

Oak leaf that has thin strip on the margin that is folded over an area that seems browned, with epidermis peeling away.

Elongated brown pupa inside an uncurled leaf fold.

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New Scientist @newscientist.com · 1d

From an alien-looking flat-faced longhorn beetle to an abandoned baby rhino, images at London’s Natural History Museum show what we stand to lose from the decimation of global biodiversity

Stunning images highlight fight to save Earth’s rich biodiversity

From an alien-looking flat-faced longhorn beetle to an abandoned baby rhino, images at London’s Natural History Museum show what we stand to lose from the decimation of global biodiversity

www.newscientist.com

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Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary.bsky.social · 1d

Devastating news: the Slender-billed Curlew has just been declared extinct. This Slender-billed Curlew is from "A history of the birds of Europe, not observed in the British Isles" (1863). #SciArt by Benjamin Fawcett #ExtinctionIsForever www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42530095

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Karl Schmid @kjschmid.bsky.social · 4d

The Cluster of Excellence @greenrobust.de is hiring:

- Computer Scientist/Research data manager: shorturl.at/xSvvO
- Data steward: shorturl.at/l6NCv
- Scientific coordinator 'Plant Perturbation Atlas': shorturl.at/vBU6x

Deadline: Friday, 7 November 2025

RT are welcome

#plantjobs #plantscijobs

Stellenangebote: Universität Hohenheim

Aktuelle Stellenangebote der Universität Hohenheim.

www.uni-hohenheim.de

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Miles Zhang | 张远濛 @ymilesz.bsky.social · 1d

More wasps from Sichuan! This time we describe a new rose gall found on a protected endemic rose from China. We named the gall wasp Diplolepis nezha and its ichneumonid parasitoid Orthopelma aobing, after characters from the Chinese legend/popular animated film.

mapress.com/zt/article/v...

Movie poster of Nezha II featuring Ne Zha, with its head replaced by Diplolepis nezha

Movie poster of Nezha II featuring Ao Bing, with its head replaced by Orthopelma aobing

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Jack Ashby @jackdashby.bsky.social · 2d

Here's a little 🧵 of some of the specimens at @mfnberlin.bsky.social which would be superstars at any natural history #museum...
The finest specimen of Archaeopteryx - the first bird, from ~160 million years ago. The chap who found this #fossil traded it for a cow. 1/5

The Berlin Archaeopteryx, with incredible preservation showing the wings spread with the feathers preserved

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International Society of Hymenopterists @hymenopterists.bsky.social · 2d

🇬🇧The deadline to complete the survey is tomorrow (Friday, 10th Oct)!

🇪🇸¡La fecha límite para completar la encuesta es mañana (Viernes, 10 de Octubre)!

International Society of Hymenopterists @hymenopterists.bsky.social · 4d

🇬🇧
📢 THE 11TH CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF HYMENOPTERISTS WILL BE IN MEXICO CITY IN 2026!

🇪🇸
📢 EL XI CONGRESO DE LA SOCIEDAD INTERNACIONAL DE HIMENOPTERISTAS SE CELEBRARÁ EN LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO EN 2026!

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Society for the Study of Evolution @sse-evolution.bsky.social · 3d

Nominations are now open for the Dobzhansky Prize, which recognizes the accomplishments and future promise of an outstanding early-career evolutionary biologist. The award includes $5000 and an award talk at the in-person Evolution meeting. Deadline: December 1
shorturl.at/p70wY

Text: Society for the Study of Evolution Dobzhansky Prize to recognize the accomplishments and future promise of an outstanding early-career evolutionary biologist. Nominations due December 1, 2025.

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Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · 2d

A tiny moth, barely bigger than a rice grain, from the Mojave Desert. The curved "horns" are mouthparts, the labial palps. They help the moth both taste and smell - including being sensitive to changes in CO2 levels. I think they make the moth look like a mythological creature up close. 🐙🌿

A macro photo of a ghostly white moth on almost-white sand. The moth is seen from a front 3/4 angle; only the face and part of one antenna are in focus, and the back third of the body is out of frame. The moth has long, backward curving mouthparts called labial palps that look a bit like the curved horns of a mountain goat.

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Derek Binns @arnoldtortoise.bsky.social · 3d

A handsome male Trybliographa gracilicornis wasp of the Eucoilidae, Figitidae found under pine trees in Brede High Woods.

#UKWildlife #wasps #Figitidae #Eucoilidae #HighWeald

side view of a shiny black wasp with orange legs

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Soh Kam Yung @sohkamyung.bsky.social · 3d

My first pseudoscorpion observation was pure luck. Happen to see this wasp and took a shot. It was only later did I see what was hanging on the antenna.

On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ]

A brown pseudoscopion hanging on to the antenna of a wasp. The wasp is yellow with black stripes and transparent wings.

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Jane Waters 🏳️‍⚧️🐜🇵🇸 @lovetheants.bsky.social · 3d

Tenure track assistant professor of biology position in my department just posted!

www.schooljobs.com/careers/prov...

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Derek Binns @arnoldtortoise.bsky.social · 3d

A beautiful female Encarsia citrina wasp of the Aphelinidae found under pines in Brede High Woods this morning.

#UKWildlife #wasps #Aphelinidae #HighWeald

a tiny wasp with a yellow head that has a red spot at the top, a yellow-buff thorax, and banded brown and yellow abdomen. Its fringed wings are outstretched either side of the body, and they are partially shaded toward their middles.

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Peter Graystock @pgraystock.bsky.social · 4d

PLEASE SHARE. PhD advert: Predicting Pollinator Health and Disease Through Molecular and Sensor-Based Surveillance. tinyurl.com/559hjsm4 Rare opportunity at the intersection of molecular ecology, disease surveillance, modelling and precision apiculture. DEADLINE 24th OCTOBER!

Predicting Pollinator Health and Disease Through Molecular and Sensor-Based Surveillance at Imperial College London on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Predicting Pollinator Health and Disease Through Molecular and Sensor-Based Surveillance at Imperial College London, listed on FindAPhD.com

tinyurl.com

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iBartomeus @ibartomeus.bsky.social · 5d

We are offering a 2-year postdoctoral position to join the @valor-project.eu Horizon EU project: Values and dependence of society on pollinators bartomeuslab.com/joining-the-...

Joining the lab

2-year Postdoctoral position on VALOR EU-project: We are offering a 2-year postdoctoral position to join the Horizon EU project: Values and dependence of society on pollinators (VALOR; The candidat…

bartomeuslab.com

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Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · 5d

Apply by 24 October. Our Travelling Fellowships offer PhD students and postdocs up to £3,000 for undertaking collaborative visits to other laboratories. Find out more and apply at biologists.com/grants/trave...

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Centre for Biodiversity Genomics @cbg-uofg.bsky.social · 5d

Our DNA library is made possible thanks to the support of our funding partners.

Today’s featured specimen is a parasitic wasp from the Nixoniidae family, collected in Limpopo, South Africa. This record was made possible through funding from the New Frontiers in Research Fund.

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bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · 7d

🍄🧪🚨GLOW-IN-THE-DARK TREE SCIENCE🚨🧪🍄

Scientists have identified 125 species of bioluminescent fungi, and there are likely many more. One of the latest discoveries is a species that doesn't just glow on its own -- trees interlaced with its filaments also emit an ethereal greenish light (!!)

Glowing from Within - bioGraphic

With more scientists and artists turning their attention to bioluminescence, new information about glowing fungi is coming to light.

www.biographic.com

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Derek Hennen, Ph.D. @derekhennen.bsky.social · 7d

Millipede fans rejoice: we published our revision of Apheloria! This is the most common cherry millipede genus, but its taxonomy has been riddled with nebulous subspecies names. No longer! We clarify species limits and provide a distribution map. mapress.com/zt/article/v... @apheloria.bsky.social

Revision of the millipede genus Apheloria Chamberlin, 1921 (Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae, Apheloriini) | Zootaxa

mapress.com

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Colin Purrington @colinpurrington.bsky.social · 8d

Phylloteras sigma (Cynipidae). Currently my favorite local gall because it's so darn cute. You can find them on the undersides of white oak leaves in the eastern United States, and apparently also in Chicago. Likely elsewhere but they are tiny and easy to miss. #galls #wasps #cynipidae #insects

Flat, red, oblong growth that has a central yellow nipple. Growing on the underside of a green leaf.

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Marie Stenseke @mariestenseke.bsky.social · 9d

University of Gothenburg announces a strategic professorship in biodiversity with an interdisciplinary profile
academicpositions.com/ad/universit...

The Crown Princess Victoria Professorship in Biodiversity - Academic Positions

Seeking an internationally recognized scientist for a prestigious professorship in biodiversity. Lead groundbreaking research, interdisciplinary collaboratio...

academicpositions.com

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Sarah Lambert @sarahlambert7.bsky.social · 8d

Fly Agaric aplenty at Castor Hanglands this week, drifts of them in birch woodland along with more Red-cracking Bolete than I've ever seen, and a single young Bay Bolete with a velvety cap and swollen, fibril-covered stipe

#fungusfriday #fungifriends

Red-cracking Bolete (no blue at base of stem)

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Francesco Martoni @cescomartons.bsky.social · 8d

Please share with anyone interested in a PhD project! Come work with us!

Claudia Lange @claudiala777.bsky.social · 8d

✨ ✨ ✨ #PhD POSITION ✨ ✨ ✨
Insect microbiomes and their role in biocontrol: a journey from field collection to invasive weed management. @aimeeemac.bsky.social @cescomartons.bsky.social

Scholarship: $37,000 (tax free) (2025/26 rate) up to three and a half years.
Based at AgriBio, the Centre for AgriBiosciences, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Successful applicants must meet the La Trobe University entry requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Check your eligibility here: https://www]atrobe.edu.au/study/apply/research/doctor
For enquiries and to apply, please forward a covering letter, your curriculum vitae (please include evidence of research writing) and academic transcripts to: Kendra Whiteman Higher Education Manager Agriculture Victoria Research kendra.whiteman@agriculture.vic.gov.au
Closing date for applications: until filled
Title: Insect microbiomes and their role in biocontrol: a journey from field collection to invasive weed management
PhD Project Aims
• Explore the microbiome composition of biocontrol insect/s and host plants collected from the field in their native range
• Understand the impact of lab quarantine protocols, mass rearing, and release under conditions on insect microbiome and fecundity
• Develop methods to preserve or supplement beneficial microbes to cultured insects
The successful candidate will be supervised by A/Prof Paul Cunningham, Dr Aimee McKinnon and Dr Francesco Martoni and Dr Raelene Kwong. With potential opportunities to travel internationally and collaborate with experts at the Bioeconomy Science Institute, New Zealand, this PhD will shape the future of biocontrol programs in Australia and internationally.

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Colin Purrington @colinpurrington.bsky.social · 9d

Got my walnuts on a bed of vermiculate and sand. In case anyone cares, it's so that I can collect several hundred pupae of the walnut husk maggot fly, which I'll then use as bait in the spring to attract the tiny wasp that parasitizes them. The wasp digs down into the soil to oviposit. 🌿 #wasps

Two rectangular plastic trays filled with walnuts that have green husks in various stages of decay.

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