Spinybacked Orbweaver, Gasteracantha cancriformis, from today's dog walk.

This morning, front yard. Pineapple Sage | Salvia elegans purchased @floridamuseum.bsky.social plant sale

And look at this graphic abstract….. 😱🤯

Asclepias must have evolved a 'heartfelt desire to be eaten' by the monarchs. Otherwise, why would they make flowers that are as attractive to these butterflies as their leaves?

Day 6 of the National Moth Week: The giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia).
If parasitized, the caterpillars may alter their feeding behavior to increase their consumption of plants containing alkaloids in an effort to self-medicate. I find them sometimes on passion vines.

Day 5 of the National Moth Week: Chalcoela pegasalis; its wing margin scales resemble eyeshine from jumping spiders' eyes to (presumably) deflect their attacks.
This crambid's larvae are predators of immature paper wasps; hence it's commonly known as the Wasp Parasitizer Moth.

Day 4 of the National Moth Week: the Imprerial Moth from Alachua, FL.
Not all butterflies and moths are symmetrical, and Eacles imperialis is one of the exceptions. Small black dots sprinkled on the wings are in different places on the right and on the left. How's this achieved?

Day 3 of the National Moth Week: Idia litter moths inside a hollow tree. Yesterday, Alachua, FL.

Day 2 of the National Moth Week. Moth of the day: the fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea), family Erebidae, known for creating webbed nests.
Closeup of male's head (taken 3 June 2025, Gainesville, FL) gives a different perspective on this species.

Moth week begins with this sighting of the underwing moth in Blues Creek park in Gainesville, FL this morning.

For the National Moth Week (July 19–27 this year): our book is still available here in hardcover or kindle
www.amazon.com/Lives-Moths-...
or as a PDF from @princetonupress.bsky.social
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

So very excited for the magnum opus of my #PhD to finally be out in @pnas.org. 🎉🎉 We demosntrate that mutualistic co-mimicking tropical butterflies not only converge in light microhabitat but, as a consequence, have also converged in visual system morphology! 1/n😀
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Wandering Hammerhead Worm on my window next to hammerhead shark. Convergence? It's been said that the wider head provides more surface area for sensory organs, which detect other animals, helping them locate prey.

Lepidopteran scales in 250 million year old poop: www.science.org/content/arti...

Yes, on Raindrops on roses and kittens,
Bright copper kettles or warm woolen mittens.
But wing of cicada light up by the Spring
That is by far my most favorite thing.

My first tweet 10 years ago was a robber fly photo on #worldrobberflyday. Saw this robber fly today, thought it'll be a good post to start with on my new BlueSky account. Eye-to-eye, a Fly is eating a Fly....