Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
@drstrangeant.bsky.social
1.2K followers 3.1K following 170 posts
CT microscopist at UIUC's Beckman Institute (@beckmanillinois.bsky.social) 🔬 Entomologist and biomechanist by training 🐜 Sometimes tweet about Pokemon. Furret Aficionado. Opinions my own.
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Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
drstrangeant.bsky.social
#microCT scan of the left palpal bulb (male copulatory organ) of a grass spider I found wandering Beckman's hallways last week! 😍(He was on his last legs when he was preserved for the scan). Taken in the Microscopy Suite of @beckmanillinois.bsky.social and rendered in the Visualization Lab.
drstrangeant.bsky.social
Tell them I said hi 👋 I worked at the collection for a couple of years as an undergrad.
drstrangeant.bsky.social
Are you working with Norm and Lu?
drstrangeant.bsky.social
No problem, happy to help. A 1mm wasp should be very doable depending on what scanner you have access to. We are also open for external users to run scans at our facility (for an hourly fee) if you cannot do it at OSU!
drstrangeant.bsky.social
I did leave it in fixative for a few days longer than normal because I forgot about it, so that also could've contributed.
drstrangeant.bsky.social
Thanks for the ID! I thought about attempting to key it out from the CT scan but didn't haha.

It could be weird because of drying. It was fixed in 2.0% PFA and 2.5% GA in 0.1M Na-Cacodylate buffer, dehydrated in ethanol and stained overnight in I2E and dried using CPD.

What looks weird about it?
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
beckmanillinois.bsky.social
Ted’s Café at the Beckman Institute
✅ Complete renovation
✅ Glass walls and welcoming décor
✅ New chef and menu
✅ New dining room
🩷 Ribbon cutting today!!!

beckman.illinois.edu/teds-cafe/be...
drstrangeant.bsky.social
#microCT scan of the left palpal bulb (male copulatory organ) of a grass spider I found wandering Beckman's hallways last week! 😍(He was on his last legs when he was preserved for the scan). Taken in the Microscopy Suite of @beckmanillinois.bsky.social and rendered in the Visualization Lab.
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
jebyrnes.bsky.social
That's right, folk! THREE TENURE TRACK JOBS IN BIOLOGY AT UMASS BOSTON! You might even be a good fit for more than one! Check 'em out! We'd love to have you!
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
hhmijanelia.bsky.social
🪰 A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system—a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the millions of connections between them.
🔗 https://hhmi.news/4o3EJnk
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
apsciencebylyn.bsky.social
He's perfect, and #Arachtober themed

Mr Phidippus cardinalis appeared this afternoon and made my day. ❤️
#EmotionalSupportSpood
Fuzzy Phidippus jumping spider with bright red uppers and black legs and dark face, a velvet ant mimic. He's on a dry leaf peering up at you Top view of the colorful lad on the leaf, peering up and away from you at something out of frame
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
markklwong.bsky.social
Excited to share a PhD opportunity in my upcoming lab at The University of Sydney!
Join an ARC-funded project on the ecology of ant invasions in 2026 🐜
🇦🇺 Live in Sydney, ant around Australia
🌍 Intl + Domestic applicants welcome
markwongecology.com/join
#PhD #Ecology #Biodiversity
Pls share, thx 🙏
Join — Sydney Functional Ecology
markwongecology.com
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
tjalamont.bsky.social
Here are some teeny tiny trapdoor spiderlings, found atop a plant stem getting ready to balloon away to find a new home. When I shot this, I didn't realize trapdoor spiders dispersed in this way - they're pretty chunky. But of course the babies are very small. (North Carolina) #Arachtober 🐙🌿
A group of four orange-colored, chunky trapdoor spider spiderlings in a tangle of webbing atop a dry brown plant stem, with out of focus greenery in the background.
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
robyaxley.bsky.social
One of a number of very smart noon-flies just nooning around at Holkham pines this afternoon.
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
roszenil.bsky.social
The Department of Biology at the University of Kentucky is hiring a Microbiologist (broadly defined). Microbial eco-evo folks, this is your sign to come work with us. Not in the search committee, but happy to answer questions.
ukjobs.uky.edu/postings/600...
#microbiology #ecology
Assistant or Associate Professor in Microbiology
The Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY seeks to fill a tenure-eligible faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor le...
ukjobs.uky.edu
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
mhedin.bsky.social
an amazing Habronattus jumping spider known only from a single spring in the bottom of an impossibly isolated and lonely desert valley
jumping spider with large central eyes, a white diamond sitting directly between the central eyes, all surrounded by a striking red mask which flows to the sides of the face, itself expanded laterally
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
colinpurrington.bsky.social
Junebug larvae use their back hair to move. #tmi #beetles #coleoptera #entomology #melolonthinae #scarabaeidae
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
annewhilborn.bsky.social
CA Biology job alert
My unit at the CA Dep of Fish and Wildlife is hiring a permanent position to write 5 year reviews for species listed under the CA Endangered Species Act.
Based in West Sacramento, currently 2x week in office.
I am happy to answer questions
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
Job Posting: CESA Five-Year Review Coordinator

 
State Seal Logo
 
Department of Fish and Wildlife

JC-493311  -  CESA Five-Year Review Coordinator
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST 
$4,269.00 - $8,877.00 per Month
New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

Final Filing Date: 10/13/2025
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
Here's an image that requires a second look.

It looks like a creature with big dark eyes is peering at you: it's not. You're looking at a FROG'S BUTT (you pervert).

Let's meet the Cuyaba dwarf frog (Physalaemus nattereri). Maybe we should start with seeing the front of it?

(📷: George Grall)
Stolen from a NatGeo article:  dark eyes on the rump of a frog look remarkably like big black eyes on a snake.  The rest of the animal is mottled brown, almost wood-like in texture, and it's on a red sand bed with blades of grass visible.
"A Cuyaba dwarf frog bloats its rump to frighten predators with false eyes."
Photograph by George Grall, Nat Geo Image Collection
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
Reposted by Josh Gibson, Ph.D.
americanbeetles.bsky.social
COULD BE BUGS
hellabarnes.bsky.social
go outside and observe something.

could be rocks, could be plants or herps.

let the world be imbued with meaning as you continue to learn.
stevanzetti.bsky.social
Does anyone have any good home remedies for treating the aching void inside the dark hearts of men