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Brandon Claridge

@ichsofna.bsky.social

190 followers 130 following 76 posts

Ph.D. entomologist/ ichneumonid taxonomist/ founder of Claridge Traps. See ichsofna.org for AI/web tools to help with ichneumonid identifications in North America. Need Malaise traps or light sheets for insect collecting? Visit claridgetraps.com

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jan 20

Artificial intelligence has been almost criminally underused by insect taxonomists. See my ichneumon subfamily classifier for an example of how it can be done easily with museum specimens.

#entomology #ichneumonidae #artificialintelligence #taxonomy

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Soh Kam Yung @sohkamyung.bsky.social · 22h

My first pseudoscorpion observation was pure luck. Happen to see this wasp and took a shot. It was only later did I see what was hanging on the antenna.

On iNaturalist [ www.inaturalist.org/observations... ]

A brown pseudoscopion hanging on to the antenna of a wasp. The wasp is yellow with black stripes and transparent wings.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 2d

The crucial character is the pectinate tarsal claws which is very unusual among #Nearctic #ichneumonines.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 2d

Very preliminary but below should be a #newspecies and the first record of the #ichneumonid genus Patroclus in the US! This newly collected singleton specimen is from central Utah but Patroclus is neotropical, getting as far north as Mexico.

#taxonomy #insects #wasps #Hymenoptera #parasitoid

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 17d

from the 6-meter Malaise**

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · 17d

I've only sorted and pinned a very small fraction of the ichneumonds collected by the 6-meter Malaise I have in central Utah. Among other discoveries is a new species of Tricholabus!
#Ichneumonidae #newpsecies #entomology #insects #Utah #taxonomy #wasps

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Torsten Dikow @tdikow.bsky.social · 19d

#FlyFriday

one of my favorite assassin flies - Sisyrnodytes subater Oldroyd, 1957 (Asilidae: Willistonininae, USNMENT00870084) - collected in north-western South Africa near Pella - more info here n2t.net/ark:/65665/3...

#asiloidflies

fly specimen double-mounted on insect pin, frontal

fly specimen double-mounted on insect pin, dorsal

fly specimen double-mounted on insect pin, lateral

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Lee Dyer @gusanero.bsky.social · Aug 15

So many undescribed species, too many unknown interactions, no time. www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17...

New species of wasp. Images of head and wings.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Aug 15

I don't currently but could try out some pans at the bottom. Even better, I have a friend who runs a lot of VFITs in Utah who would probably be happy to trade. I'll dm you his email.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Aug 15

My friend Cameron Ramsey (chrysomelid taxonomist) and I have a 6-meter Malaise trap set up in a wash in central Utah right now. Between the large trap size and the location, it's collecting an insane amount. There's going to be a lot of bycatch for anyone looking to trade!

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Jakob Jilg @weevil-see.bsky.social · Aug 8

I started a blog and my first post is online!
The posts will try to explore topics which are not typically covered by introductory literature and textbooks, e.g. because they are considered to be "too basic". Let me know what you think!

weevil-see.github.io/taxonomy/Ide...

Species Identifications: Common Pitfalls

Some thoughts about Identifications. How do we identify properly? How do we avoid mistakes?

weevil-see.github.io

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jul 21

claridgetraps.com

Claridge Traps | Advancing Entomological Supplies

Claridge Traps

claridgetraps.com

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jul 21

For all the lep enthusiasts out there celebrating #NationalMothWeek, please check out #ClaridgeTraps for a great light sheet setup! Let me know if you have any questions!

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Torsten Dikow @tdikow.bsky.social · Jul 2

studying #asiloidflies at @amnh.org today - one of the best collections of apiocerid flies (Apioceridae) with almost every of the 65 North American species present - often with primary + secondary type material

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Andrew Johnston @andrewjohnston.bsky.social · Jun 18

Want to set up your own photo-stacking imaging system for under $3000? This post which outlines all the off-the-shelf items I used this year along with some recommendations for how to use it. Planning to talk about this at @entcollnet.bsky.social this November, too! www.insectid.org/post/focus-s...

Focus-stacking photography: Building your own system

Ten years ago, Alex Wild published a guide on Scientific American on how to make your own focus-stacking system for under $6000. I can't seem to find that post any more, just some secondary posts with...

www.insectid.org

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Karl Magnacca @kmagnacca.bsky.social · Jun 17

The corollary to this is, with some basic knowledge of insect taxonomy, you too can become the world expert on a group! Just spend a few years obsessively reading about and looking at them and you'll know more than anyone else.

The downside is you'll then be asked to review every paper on them...

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · Jun 17

What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

A majority of the world’s insect species have no living expert who can identify them.

Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · Jun 17

What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

The ocean produces a huge chunk of the world's oxygen a lot from a class of cyanobacteria called prochlorococcus

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jun 4

Big thanks to my undergrad coauthor Kyri Forman and her lepidopterist mentor for rearing the A. coloradensis specimens from their lycaenid butterfly hosts. Goes to show how easy it is to figure out new ichneumonid hosts in NA with some fun rearing work.

Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · Jun 4

Happy to announce that my paper describing Anisobas irwini and recording two host records for Anisobas coloradensis is finally out! The species name honors the prodigious collector Mike Irwin who collected the holotype.
centerforsystematicentomology.org/insecta_mund...

#Ichneumonidae #parasioid

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · May 22

I agree entirely. Add on the low likelihood of collecting more specimens in a reasonable timeframe due to natural rarity and increasing difficulty of collecting due to regulations and a lack of funding. The choice is often between describing a species now or it going unknown for decades.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · May 22

It's only known from a singleton male. Any strong opinions on describing species based on singletons?

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · May 22

New Plagiotrypes species from Arizona I'm working on describing. The genus is otherwise known from eastern NA and the wet neotropics, so it was surprising to discover this one from an arid mountain in southern Arizona.

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

ZooKeys @zookeys.pensoft.net · May 14

A revision of the parasitoid wasp genus parasitoid wasp genus Dolichogenide of the Neotropical region, with the description of 102 (!) species as new to science: doi.org/10.3897/zook...

#DNAbarcoding #biodiversity @alexsmithants.bsky.social @smnstuttgart.bsky.social @uofguelph.bsky.social

Composite image showing detailed views of a parasitic wasp.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · May 12

Nice! Yeah, there are some ichneumonids that do something similar to the Aleiodes-like mummification, but not exact. Probably most ichneumonids lack rearing records so feel free to contact me about anything you rear.

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Brandon Claridge @ichsofna.bsky.social · May 12

Hi Kevin, the wasp is a campoplegine ichneumonid. Glad you kept it after a wasp popped out instead of the lep you probably wanted.

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Journal of Hymenoptera Research @jhr.pensoft.net · May 9

Description of two morphologically unusual new neotropical genera of Miracinae: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....

#taxonomy #entomology #Hymenoptera

A photo showing a close-up lateral view of a small parasitic wasp specimen. The wasp has a slender, dark body with light brown and yellowish legs. Its antennae are long, segmented, and thread-like, extending forward. The wings are translucent with a noticeable iridescent sheen and distinct venation patterns. The head is small with prominent compound eyes.

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Reposted by Brandon Claridge

Jaswinder Boparai @jasboparai.bsky.social · May 7

Diphyus latebricola #parasitoid #newtobritain. Grateful to @entmonmag.bsky.social for all their support in bringing this to publication. tinyurl.com/5c5xvh9b

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