Colin Purrington
@colinpurrington.bsky.social
2.4K followers 440 following 1.8K posts
Nature pics, especially insects and spiders. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA. https://colinpurrington.com
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colinpurrington.bsky.social
I'd be worried to have them around my house there. Have heard that termites can make homes in the culms.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
Every city should have a bamboo ordinance that governs whether you can plant bamboo and what to do about existing stands. E.g., Swarthmore, PA, (my town) bans new plantings of running bamboo. Pre-existing stands can remain but must be removed from property edges if neighbors file complaint. #bamboo
colinpurrington.bsky.social
Excellent. Have you done bamboo removal? I watched a crew in town do it last year. Maybe 5 guys. Took them almost a week and it was a small spot. I should have done a time lapse.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
It would be sooooo fun. Great opportunity for drama with neighbors, HOAs, town ordinance enforcers, spouses, insurance companies, and native-plant nerds who gather on the sidelines with bags of popcorn. And of course big machines and dramatic transformations.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
The show could also do fun segments on the people who push bamboo in the USA, such as Lewis Bamboo of Oakman, Alabama. This company asserts that bamboo is not invasive, is easily controlled by mowing, and helps fight climate change. They also imply that Bob Ross wants you to plant bamboo.
Is Bamboo Invasive? Bamboo is not an invasive species. Bamboo is a misunderstood plant. It is native to every continent except Europe. In summary, for a species to be truly invasive in an ecosystem, it has to be able to spread quickly over great distances. This is why the focus on invasive species is on its ability to spread by seeds. Bamboo is only expansive on a small localized scale because viable spreading only occurs from the root system. Control the root system, and you control bamboo. You don’t have to worry about the elements, animals, or insects spreading bamboo. Bamboo gets a bad name because of irresponsible planting on property lines, not that it is actually capable of taking over the world. With simple management techniques or bamboo control barriers, bamboo can be a very beneficial plant in your landscape. Instagram pic showing aerial photograph of clumps of plants with the caption "Current ariel picture of bamboo planted in the 1950's Auburn University study on bamboo. You can easily see how bamboo can be controlled with simple mowing. These groves are over 60 years old and are still small in size." Then a person comments, "It's a bit ridiculous when people talk about bamboo taking over neighborhoods/the world." Screenshot of a movie on Facebook about bamboo, with the caption, "It's World Bamboo Day! 🌿 Did you know bamboo helps fight climate change, grows fast, and looks beautiful too? Proud to grow it here at Lewis Bamboo." Instagram post showing a life-size cut-out of a man in blue jeans, very bushy black hair, and a squirrel on his shoulder. He's holding a brush and a paint palette. He's standing next to a potted bamboo. The caption reads, "Bob Ross says these Rubros are ready to paint your yard green! 🌿 Our oversized 2-gallon Rubro bamboo plants are bursting with life—multicane, 4'+ tall, and way too big for their current pots. To avoid upsizing them into 3-gallon containers ourselves, we’re offering a special deal: 💰 $25 OFF + FREE SHIPPING! Yup, we’ll ship these happy little giants straight to your door. They’re full, thriving, and ready to be the statement piece your landscape needs. Claim yours before they move up a size and the deal is gone! Limited quantity available!"
Reposted by Colin Purrington
hydaticus.bsky.social
Baird's Ratsnake (Pantherophis bairdi) eating a bat! Val Verde County, Texas.

#herps #predation #snakes
A gray snake with longitudinal dark lines down its back and orange skin between the scales is coiled around a bat.  The scene is inside a dark, rocky cave.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
I wish there were more articles about home prices being lowered because of bamboo. Might give people pause before planting it.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
Ahh, interesting. Thank you!
colinpurrington.bsky.social
Every several years I like to repost this observation on social media in case new eyeballs can help with an identification. My silly guess is that beetle larvae have excavated galleries below the bark and that changes what can grow on the surface. 🌿 #inaturalist www.inaturalist.org/observations...
Animals (Kingdom Animalia)
Animals from Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica on April 5, 2012 at 04:27 PM by Colin Purrington. I'm interested in the ID for organism that makes the pattern. Surface evidence of a gallery of a...
www.inaturalist.org
colinpurrington.bsky.social
I should probably write up some suggestions for people who get sued for saying sciency things. How to find attorney, add Bates numbers, submit FOIAs, prepare deposition questions, solicit anonymous tips, etc. Would be a fun talk to give.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
Got word last week that my legal battle with Spartan Mosquito will be included in a book chapter on the legal risks of science communication. And by the way, if anyone gets SLAPPed and wants to chat, DM me. 🧪🌿⚖️ #legal #mosquitoes #scicomm #science #slapp #defamation #lawsuit
Reposted by Colin Purrington
scottzona.bsky.social
In the 1980s, E. Stiles hypothesized that plants advertise fruit with a contrasting foliar “flag.” I’ve seen this phenomenon in cultivated Berberis, like this B. aquifolium (📷: Alicia CCBYNC4). Some experiments support the hypothesis; some don’t. 🤷‍♂️ #dispersal #Berberidaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
Photo of leafy shoots bearing blue berries. A leaf subtending a cluster of berries has turned bright coppery red.
Reposted by Colin Purrington
fotofacade.bsky.social
🚴John Betjeman said that it was worth cycling 40 miles in a headwind to see them.
🪽The early C16th Angel Roof at St Wendreda in Cambs is adorned with over 100 oaken angels.
View along the nave of St. Wendreda’s Church, March, showing the magnificent medieval angel roof with carved wooden angels soaring above the slender stone arcades.
Reposted by Colin Purrington
sderkarabetian.bsky.social
Hello Bluesky!

Do you like Opiliones? I post (mostly) Opiliones, my macro photos, and research.

I’m an arachnologist, systematist, and evolutionary biologist. Expert in Opiliones. (soon to be) Curator of Entomology at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Also, Opiliones.
A macro photo of an Opiliones facing left, the view is from the side. The Opiliones is orange-yellow and brown. It is generally oddly-shaped, with large tubercles on its body and small spines on the appendages. The most striking feature is its eyemound which is rather elongate and pointing forward. It is sitting on a piece of wood and the background is black.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
I loved being a poster judge because I could read the posters without the person present.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
Our local independent bookstore has a book at the checkout counter titled, How To Resist Amazon and Why. #swarthmore #books #bookstore
Interior of a bookshop with a red circle around an area on the counter, magnified to right in a similar red circle so that title is easier to read.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
Small braconid wasp that emerged from my collection of redbud seedpods. I think it's in the genus Heterospilus (Doryctinae) but of course happy to be corrected. #wasps #insects #braconidae
My finger next to a very small amber wasp.