Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 5h

Thank you Brendan --this was what I needed to read tonight. ❤️

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 5h

Do not miss the spectacular weevil pins!! 😍

Nicole 🪲 @fossilforager.bsky.social · 9h

FALL SHOP UPDATE! 🍁
New enamel pins, stickers, prints, and so much more will be added to my site this Friday 10/10 @ 11 am PDT!
You can preview everything here!
🛒🐛: shop.fossilforager.art

A mockup image with white bubbled text that reads “Shop Update! October 10th @ 11 am PDT” with a link url below (shop.fossilforager.art). There is a collage of sticker sheets and enamel pins around the text, featuring insects and deep sea marine creatures on a whale skeleton. The sticker sheets have weevils and sea creatures. They are placed on a yellow-orange gradient.

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Reposted by Gwen Pearson

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation @xercessociety.bsky.social · 10h

Like rivers & lakes full of fish? Then you need rivers & lakes full of insects!
On this #BugBanterPodcast we'll dive underwater to meet freshwater insects, & discover the conservation work they need!
Audio & transcript 📻 xerces.org/bug-banter/s...
Video w/ captions 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=22sh...

The Salmonfly Project: Anglers, Insect Conservation, and the Future of Freshwater Streams | Bug Banter Podcast

Insects play a critical role in rivers, lakes, and streams, acting as a vital food source for many animals and maintaining the health of these freshwater ecosystems. A few of these insects include: ma...

xerces.org

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 14h

😍😍

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Reposted by Gwen Pearson

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 1d

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 1d

It's certainly been described multiple times in older (1800-1900) literature, but given that this coloration was sometimes cited as evidence as why different human races were different species...... 😬

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 1d

Unfortunately, the only scientific research I've seen on this is from Didier Raoult, and nearly all his lice papers have been retracted for ethics violations. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22662229/

Evidence for an African cluster of human head and body lice with variable colors and interbreeding of lice between continents - PubMed

We identified two geotypes of Clade A head and body lice including one that is specifically African, that can be either black or grey and can live on the head or in clothing. We also hypothesized that...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 1d

A nice debunking of some myths about head lice! They don't jump and they don't care how long your hair is, among others www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/ar...

Head lice and nits: Treatment and myths and truths

With the return to school, lots of you may be hearing people talking about head lice and nits, but what do we actually know about them?

www.bbc.co.uk

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 1d

OMG.

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 1d

The cackle I let out! In the library, too 😆

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 3d

A little break from reality: a delightful insect procession by Nishiyama Kan'ei (Japan, Edo period). Check out the original for more delightful details www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

Detail of the the front of the painting. Katydids, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, and crickets are playing instruments and dancing, while mantids and other insects are carrying flowers

The full painting; katydids, mantids, and more lead the procession. In the middle is grasshoppers carrying a box, and in the rear are wasps offering up a comb of brood. Many are carrying flowers and dancing

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 3d

oooh I love these!!😍

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 5d

This is the content I needed this morning. Sturgeon are back in Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie after decades! 🐟

NE Ohio Regional Sewer District @neorsd.org · 5d

obligatory sturgeon mention content

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Reposted by Gwen Pearson

Babe&Oak @babeandoak.bsky.social · 6d

Sphinx Moths & Hemlock sketches🦋

Part of the washi tape & brand pattern I designed for the small press publisher Neon Hemlock @neonhemlock.bsky.social

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Reposted by Gwen Pearson

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 5d

Hey. It’s Friday. Have a nice bug.

A yellow butterfly with green eyes and some red accents around the face and legs and edges of their wings, standing in some grass

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 6d

Scorpions and tarantulas are some of the most highly trafficked animals -- and the most vulnerable to exploitation. 🦂 🧪 news.mongabay.com/2025/09/cons...

Consider the scorpions

Scorpions are a marvel. Some navigate by the stars and communicate by vibrations. They fluoresce under UV light and can live for decades. Scorpions give birth to live young who cling to their backs, a...

news.mongabay.com

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Reposted by Gwen Pearson

GBIF @gbif.org · 28d

❤️ Keen to combine CARE with FAIR?

🌱 Get involved with the work of the GBIF task group on Indigenous data governance to advance Indigenous rights and interests in open biodiversity data!

📣 Have your say in our survey:
🔗 gbif.link/Indigenous...

👀 Follow the work:
🔗 gbif.link/Indigenous...

peach coloured graphic with a drawing of a tree in a dome

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Reposted by Gwen Pearson

Steven J Cooke @sjcfishy.bsky.social · 7d

Thinking about all of my US colleagues today that work for USGS, USFWS, US Parks Service, NOAA and the EPA. From front line environmental practitioners to scientists and policy makers, these folks ensure that waters are swimmable, fish are edible, that natural areas are accessible, etc, etc, etc.

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Reposted by Gwen Pearson

SoCal Leslie @socalleslie.bsky.social · 7d

Good morning. Camouflage. Sulphur butterfly blending in with cottonwood leaves. 🍃 🌿#invertebrates

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 7d

Yes, they are in the same order, Hemiptera, but in a different family: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthoco...

Anthocoridae - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 7d

ARRRR it be Minute Pirate Bug Season 🏴‍☠️ in the NorthEast US! These little mateys (~5mm) are normally helpful biocontrol, but in the fall they are hungry -- and sometimes try snacking on people gardening. extension.umn.edu/beneficial-i...

A photo of a minute pirate bug on a yellow background. Their wings are crossed in a characteristic true bug X pattern. Photo from Bugwood, W Cranshaw

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 8d

Don't think for a second I'm saying to look away from what's happening. Just... we also have to keep ourselves healthy and strong enough to fight. For me, that's taking a nature break.

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 8d

Holy cow a lot is going on in the US right now. You may also need to take a deep breath and look closely at a painted lady butterfly.

Painted lady butterfly, Nymphalidae, from Bandera County Texas, Lost Maples State Park. It's a closeup of the head and wings; the antennae have "knobs" on the end, and the wings are a pretty pattern of mossy browns with a splash of pinkish orange. The "knobs" on the antennae are characteristic of Nymphalids, and their first pair of legs are reduced.

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 8d

Mystery solved! It's an Ohio thing 🌽 But also....
@bsky.app could have made the request a LOT clearer; and I'm still not sure what non-compliance means for my account here. Because I'm still not handing over my license or credit card details www.dispatch.com/story/news/2...

Ohio's porn ID, age verification law takes effect soon. What to know about the change

Starting Sept. 30, pornography websites will be required to verify the ages of their customers under a new Ohio law. Here's how sites will verify age.

www.dispatch.com

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Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 8d

Apparently the connection is Ohio -- new laws go into effect today 🙄 www.dispatch.com/story/news/2...

Ohio's porn ID, age verification law takes effect soon. What to know about the change

Starting Sept. 30, pornography websites will be required to verify the ages of their customers under a new Ohio law. Here's how sites will verify age.

www.dispatch.com

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