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rosariolebronentomology.com
Armando Rosario-Lebrón
@rosariolebronentomology.com
2.5K followers 1.8K following 1.1K posts
UK based in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Entomologist 🇵🇷
Former ITAP.gov Invert chair
Former US Labor Union Leader
Film Ent: imdb.com/name/nm13959020/
Editorial admin at: https://www.sswento.org/
Board Member: circulodepr.org
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rosariolebronentomology.com
Armando Rosario-Lebrón @rosariolebronentomology.com · Apr 11
Given the recent devastation to US #entomology, this thread is a resource list for aspiring entomologists or those who’ve lost jobs. I invite others to add links they think might help. I won’t pretend this is easy, but there’s no better time to start. Open below to read: 🧪 #AcademicSky #science
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
psyllobora22.bsky.social
Have a listen!
December 6, 2025 at 10:01 AM
rosariolebronentomology.com
Can't pass up a chance to talk about mites in a pub!
It's been a whirlwind. Edinburgh, Reading, London and Cardiff talks in one month!
I feel like an Acari and Hemiptera evangelist at this point.

Thank you to everyone in the UK for making me feel at home.
A cozy pub interior with warm yellow lighting and stone walls. At the front of the room a speaker stands near a doorway. The speaker is a person with shoulder length hair and glasses. They wear a burgundy sweater and hold their hands together while addressing the audience. Above them a large screen shows a slide titled “Mites Everywhere: A Fun Walk Through the Mite World.” The slide displays four highly detailed and brightly colored mite illustrations in red, green, and orange. Each mite has distinct textures such as bristled legs, segmented bodies, and fine hair like structures. Below the screen is a chalkboard style menu with cocktail names and drawings in various colors. Patrons sit in the foreground listening to the presentation.
December 7, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
the-episiarch.bsky.social
A tick... on an ELECTRIC EEL???
That's like finding a cymothoid isopod on an elephant
#Invertebrate 🧪
entomologytoday.org/2025/12/03/t...
Ticks on an Eel: Museum Specimen is a First of its Kind
Two ticks found on an 1873 electric eel specimen mark the first recorded case of ticks parasitizing a fish—but only documented just this year.
entomologytoday.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
rosariolebronentomology.com
Demodex mites live in your facial pores and have lost some of the genes that respond to daylight. They cannot make their own melatonin, so they use the melatonin your skin releases at night as a cue to crawl out and mate on your face.

You're never truly alone. ❤️

🧪 #entomology #invert 🪲🪳
December 5, 2025 at 11:10 AM
rosariolebronentomology.com
Demodex mites live in your facial pores and have lost some of the genes that respond to daylight. They cannot make their own melatonin, so they use the melatonin your skin releases at night as a cue to crawl out and mate on your face.

You're never truly alone. ❤️

🧪 #entomology #invert 🪲🪳
December 5, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
rosariolebronentomology.com
🪲🪳 Somewhere nearby, the forest was torn away by the power company. A concrete slab remains, the last oasis for the undergrowth. Here: a red snout mite (Bdellidae) and an Archaeognathan. Two alien arthropods in a beautiful oasis. #Invert 🌿
A close-up macrophotograph of a vibrant red snout mite from the family Bdellidae. The mite has a bulbous, segmented body and long, spindly legs, especially prominent front legs, with fine sensory hairs. Its head is small and pointed, equipped with forward-facing appendages. The background consists of damp mosses, lichen, and pale rock, creating a vivid forest floor microhabitat. Light glistens off the mite’s glossy exoskeleton, emphasizing its tiny, alien-like form. A detailed macro scene showing two small arthropods in a mossy microhabitat. On the left, a red snout mite (Bdellidae) climbs over moss and rock. On the right, an Archaeognathan (commonly called a bristletail) with long antennae and a black body speckled with white markings perches on the stone surface. Its body is segmented and covered in fine scales, with three tail filaments extending from the rear. Moss and organic debris fill the rocky environment, illustrating a miniature wilderness.
May 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
rosariolebronentomology.com
Working on a talk for this week and ran across this beauty of a slightly fuzzy picture. An eriophyoid mite under SEM, nestled among plant stomata. These mites are microscopic plant parasites, often species-specific.
#invert 🪲🪳
High-magnification SEM image of an eriophyoid mite (Eriophyoidea), shown in dorsal view. The mite’s elongated, vermiform body is segmented with a series of ridged, leaf-like dorsal plates that taper to a narrow, pointed rear. Unlike most mites, eriophyoids have only two pairs of legs, which are visible at the front of the body, projecting laterally from a bulbous anterior region. The surface of the mite is highly textured, with a rough, micro-granulated appearance. The mite is situated on the surface of a plant, surrounded by clearly visible stomata. These stomata are small, elliptical structures with central pores, scattered across the background, emphasizing the extremely small scale of the eriophyoid. Fine hairs and irregular textures on both the mite and the plant epidermis are sharply defined thanks to the electron imaging technique.
December 2, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
apsciencebylyn.bsky.social
Rake-legged mite! Rake-legged mite! Rake-legged mite!

Bug had not been introduced to Rake-legged mites in person. We fixed that today. He played dead the entire time. 10/10 experience
Flat brown roughly triangular shaped mite with stubby black legs, the 1st pair of which has large spines on the inner side which resemble a metal rake. He's very small amongst the white sand grains
December 1, 2025 at 4:24 AM
rosariolebronentomology.com
Working on a talk for this week and ran across this beauty of a slightly fuzzy picture. An eriophyoid mite under SEM, nestled among plant stomata. These mites are microscopic plant parasites, often species-specific.
#invert 🪲🪳
High-magnification SEM image of an eriophyoid mite (Eriophyoidea), shown in dorsal view. The mite’s elongated, vermiform body is segmented with a series of ridged, leaf-like dorsal plates that taper to a narrow, pointed rear. Unlike most mites, eriophyoids have only two pairs of legs, which are visible at the front of the body, projecting laterally from a bulbous anterior region. The surface of the mite is highly textured, with a rough, micro-granulated appearance. The mite is situated on the surface of a plant, surrounded by clearly visible stomata. These stomata are small, elliptical structures with central pores, scattered across the background, emphasizing the extremely small scale of the eriophyoid. Fine hairs and irregular textures on both the mite and the plant epidermis are sharply defined thanks to the electron imaging technique.
December 2, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
rosariolebronentomology.com
What am I? A toad? No. An invasive that’s damaging wine and beer production across the U.S.? Yes.
Still don't know? Check the alt text.

🪲🪳 #Invertebrate #entomology🌿
Extreme close-up macro photograph of the head of a spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), an invasive planthopper species in the family Fulgoridae. The image focuses on the insect’s right side, revealing a large compound eye with a mottled texture and earthy coloration. Below the eye is a strikingly red, textured sensory structure that resembles a tiny strawberry, sharply contrasting against the brown, leathery exoskeleton. Fine sensory hairs cover parts of the head and thorax. The image’s high detail and rich lighting highlight the lanternfly's alien-like appearance. Set against a deep black background for dramatic contrast.
April 30, 2025 at 12:16 AM
rosariolebronentomology.com
In Swansea?
Want to hear me ramble on about mites for half an hour in a pub?

Join me on Thursday Dec 4th for a fun talk on these critters.

www.eventbrite.com/e/talking-re...
Talking Research December
We have another TR lined up! You know the drill, see you in HB at 5pm ish!
www.eventbrite.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
nickybay.bsky.social
Meet bob the red velvet mite
November 1, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
nickybay.bsky.social
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.
November 23, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
nickybay.bsky.social
Phrictus quinquepartitus is what I'd call the dragon-headed lantern bug with the multiple tubercles lining its snout, or apical process.

Photographed in Belize
December 1, 2024 at 2:35 PM
rosariolebronentomology.com
Got to do crafts and hear some great speakers at @royentsoc.bsky.social the Outreach, Culture & Education Special Interest Group meeting in Edinburgh. Such a fun day 🪲🪳 #Invert #entomology
A brightly lit classroom scene shows a speaker standing near a white podium. He wears dark trousers, brown shoes, a patterned shirt, and a brown vest. He gestures with both hands while addressing a small audience. Two people sit in the foreground with their backs to the camera. One has long dark hair and a shirt covered in butterfly patterns while holding a bright orange device. Another has pink tinted hair and a yellow patterned sweater. A large monitor beside the speaker displays a detailed close up photograph of an ant head with the text Make BIG out of a little. The room has white walls, grey carpet, and overhead ceiling lights. Two handmade paper insects lie on a white tabletop. Both have simple black bodies made of cut paper and thin curved antennae. The top insect has four white wings with orange tips on the forewings. The wings are decorated with hand drawn brown dots and branching vein lines. The lower insect has the same wing shape but remains fully white except for brown shading and small drawn dots at the edges. The wings have delicate brown pencil lines showing vein patterns. Both crafts resemble stylized butterflies from the family Pieridae.
November 22, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
aussienews.bsky.social
The deadly bee parasite has been detected in South Australia again — this time in the state's south-east. #beekeeping #agricultural #pest #control #pests #horticulture
Varroa mite found at second site in South Australia
The deadly bee parasite has been detected in South Australia again — this time in the state's south-east. #beekeeping #agricultural #pest #control #pests #horticulture
www.abc.net.au
November 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
rosariolebronentomology.com
The Acarology Summer Program (71 years strong!) returns to Univ of Arkansas summer 2026:
Soil Acarology: May 25-June 12
Medical & Veterinary Acarology: June 15-20
Limited to ~15 students for personalized instruction.
Registration: training.uark.edu/portal/train...
#Entomology #bugsky #invert 🧪
Acarology Summer Program | Professional and Workforce Development | University of Arkansas
For 70 years, the Acarology Summer Program has trained researchers in mite identification, biology, and collection. Join this intensive, hands-on course to build your expertise in acarology.
training.uark.edu
November 19, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
natsca.bsky.social
The Rediscovery of a Challenger Expedition Specimen in William Herdman’s Zoology Museum Collection at the University of Liverpool (and how digitisation is transformative).

Written by Leonie Sedman, Curator of Heritage & Collections Care, University of Liverpool. Along with many other NatSCA…
The Rediscovery of a Challenger Expedition Specimen in William Herdman’s Zoology Museum Collection at the University of Liverpool (and how digitisation is transformative).
Written by Leonie Sedman, Curator of Heritage & Collections Care, University of Liverpool. Along with many other NatSCA members, I care for a mixed collection, meaning that one inevitably becomes something of a 'Jack of all trades’ missing out on the academic satisfaction created by specialisation. As a curator who finds collections research to be the most satisfying part of my job, it can be frustrating when that research is often only possible on a ‘need-to-know’ basis - usually when a new display or exhibition is being planned, or when the specimens are to be used in teaching.
natsca.blog
November 20, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social
Sedgwick Museum Lates: Behind the Scenes uncovered

Free, 18+ evening event.
Thursday 20th November, 6-9pm

Delve into our work behind the scenes. Featuring @jackdashby.bsky.social ‘in conversation’ as we discuss his book ‘Nature’s Memory, Behind The Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums’.
A drawer of rocks. There are rocks of many colours from grey to orange to red to purple. They are arranged in a gradient. A drawer of shells. Most are spiral shells of a white colour sitting against the blue colour of the bottom of the drawer.
November 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
suedancey.bsky.social
www.field-studies-council.org/courses-and-...
Shropshire Ento Day - 18th January 2026
A day to enhance and share knowledge of invertebrates with exhibitions, sales, network and consultation time amongst speakers on entomological themes. Pre-booking essential via our website Please brin...
www.field-studies-council.org
November 11, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
ece2026tours.bsky.social
🎃 Halloween Special: The insect world has inspired some of the most terrifying stories. Parasitoid larvae growing inside live hosts, fungi turning ants into zombies, cannibalism and necrophagy… 🐜🐛🪳💀

Curious? Join us 👉https://www.ece2026.org/

#ECE2026 #Entomology #Science #Tours #Biodiversity
ECE 2026 - XIII European Congress of Entomology
It is our great pleasure to welcome you to Tours, France, in the heart of the Loire Valley, from June 29 to July 3, 2026.
www.ece2026.org
October 31, 2025 at 9:52 AM
rosariolebronentomology.com
The Acarology Summer Program (71 years strong!) returns to Univ of Arkansas summer 2026:
Soil Acarology: May 25-June 12
Medical & Veterinary Acarology: June 15-20
Limited to ~15 students for personalized instruction.
Registration: training.uark.edu/portal/train...
#Entomology #bugsky #invert 🧪
Acarology Summer Program | Professional and Workforce Development | University of Arkansas
For 70 years, the Acarology Summer Program has trained researchers in mite identification, biology, and collection. Join this intensive, hands-on course to build your expertise in acarology.
training.uark.edu
November 19, 2025 at 8:06 PM
rosariolebronentomology.com
I have two mite experts confirmed and coming next year to the UK and willing to run a very basic workshop. Does anyone in the UK know of a host organization that might be interested in hosting this?

#entomology #bugsky #invert
rosariolebronentomology.com Armando Rosario-Lebrón @rosariolebronentomology.com · 27d
Spider mite up close. Thinking about a public-friendly UK intro to Acari, similar to other ID workshops but a bit trickier since these animals are so small. Would need a good host site, and if there’s interest, I may bring experts from the US. Thoughts? 🪲🪳 #invert #entomology
Scanning electron microscope image showing a spider mite in extraordinary detail on a plant surface. The mite’s oval body is covered in delicate, rippled lines, with fine sensory hairs extending in many directions. Each of its eight legs bends forward and ends in small pads and claws that press into the plant’s textured tissue. The background reveals a landscape of ridges, pores, and plant fibers, with one larger plant hair crossing the frame. The grayscale tones emphasize every contour and make the mite appear sculptural, showing the structure and complexity of an animal far smaller than a grain of sand.
November 18, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by Armando Rosario-Lebrón
ajcann.bsky.social
Issus coleoptratus nymph.

#Bugs #Hemiptera #VC55 #macrophotography #macro #OMSystem
Issus coleoptratus nymph
November 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
rosariolebronentomology.com
Pravia et al 2025 shows oribatid mites thrive where UK soils are rich in organic matter, moisture, and acidity (IE Wales). They are key decomposers, as vital as earthworms, yet almost unknown. Only a handful of people in the UK study them. doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
#invert 🧪
A scatterplot showing how many species of oribatid mites appear in small soil cores taken across eight habitat types in the United Kingdom. Along the bottom are categories such as crops, tall grass, fertile grassland, infertile grassland, lowland woodland, upland woodland, moorland mosaic, and heath and bog. Each category is represented by many small colored dots, with each dot showing the number of mite species found in one soil sample. On the left, the agricultural habitats have tight clusters of low dots, usually one to three species, showing low diversity. As the chart moves to the right, diversity climbs. The woodland habitats show more dots spread upwards, many reaching five to ten species. The highest values appear in the moorland and bog habitats, where dots rise even further, reaching ten to fifteen species per core. Black circles with vertical bars in each category show the average and the uncertainty around that average. These black markers rise steadily from left to right. The visual trend is clear. Highly managed farmland has low diversity. Natural woodlands, organic rich soils, and wet acidic habitats support far richer oribatid communities. The figure communicates how habitat quality shapes the tiny decomposers living under our feet.
November 18, 2025 at 9:46 AM