@mathbug.bsky.social
Yessssss…give in to the power of the lep side…
December 15, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Yessssss…give in to the power of the lep side…
I vote swallowtails WITH their caterpillars/chrysalids! The caterpillars have such great color changes, and fascinating behaviors!
December 11, 2025 at 1:11 AM
I vote swallowtails WITH their caterpillars/chrysalids! The caterpillars have such great color changes, and fascinating behaviors!
He showed me his jar of buttons: whenever he goes to an antique store, he sifts through their loose buttons and picks out the ones made from freshwater mussels. Apparently in some parts of the US the mussels were nearly fished out because of the demand for buttons. One of my favorite conversations!
December 10, 2025 at 3:39 AM
He showed me his jar of buttons: whenever he goes to an antique store, he sifts through their loose buttons and picks out the ones made from freshwater mussels. Apparently in some parts of the US the mussels were nearly fished out because of the demand for buttons. One of my favorite conversations!
This is the BEST. I recently had the pleasure of talking to a guy who was an expert on freshwater mussels—not just their biology and ecology, but the sociological history of them in North America.
December 10, 2025 at 3:37 AM
This is the BEST. I recently had the pleasure of talking to a guy who was an expert on freshwater mussels—not just their biology and ecology, but the sociological history of them in North America.
She is setting quite the fashion trend with those white kneewarmers!
December 10, 2025 at 3:25 AM
She is setting quite the fashion trend with those white kneewarmers!
Not so much a question as a slightly panicked “Oh, I was never any good at math.”
December 2, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Not so much a question as a slightly panicked “Oh, I was never any good at math.”
Can you bring yourself to do two books at one without going mad? Power through two or three identical ticks, have an orbweaver as a treat?
November 29, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Can you bring yourself to do two books at one without going mad? Power through two or three identical ticks, have an orbweaver as a treat?
And if that’s not proving love, what is?
October 25, 2025 at 6:47 AM
And if that’s not proving love, what is?
And if the price of getting to share all that span of time with such a friend is merely that it has to end, it is absolutely worth it, even for all the tears I will shed at the end.”
October 25, 2025 at 6:47 AM
And if the price of getting to share all that span of time with such a friend is merely that it has to end, it is absolutely worth it, even for all the tears I will shed at the end.”
who knows that I am huge and clumsy and could step on them at any moment, but nevertheless trusts me enough to twine around my legs; who will teach me things about themself and myself that I never could have imagined.
October 25, 2025 at 6:45 AM
who knows that I am huge and clumsy and could step on them at any moment, but nevertheless trusts me enough to twine around my legs; who will teach me things about themself and myself that I never could have imagined.
And the answer is “because I’ll get to spend ten or fifteen years (or maybe even just two or three) with a wonderful creature I never would have gotten to meet, who will have terrible claws and fierce biting jaws but will somehow, inexplicably, never want to sink them into my jugular;
October 25, 2025 at 6:43 AM
And the answer is “because I’ll get to spend ten or fifteen years (or maybe even just two or three) with a wonderful creature I never would have gotten to meet, who will have terrible claws and fierce biting jaws but will somehow, inexplicably, never want to sink them into my jugular;
This is the kind of thinking that helped me reconcile with my pets’ deaths, and the question of “why should I adopt another cat when I’ll just have to go through all that grief again when it dies?”
October 25, 2025 at 6:40 AM
This is the kind of thinking that helped me reconcile with my pets’ deaths, and the question of “why should I adopt another cat when I’ll just have to go through all that grief again when it dies?”
These are great tips! I really liked your discussion of these ideas at the Sierra this year, especially the “starfish people” with their little butt cheeks to show direction!
October 24, 2025 at 3:49 PM
These are great tips! I really liked your discussion of these ideas at the Sierra this year, especially the “starfish people” with their little butt cheeks to show direction!
There is a book, Singing Insects of North America, that includes a cd of songs of each insect covered. They cover a large number of Orthopterans, as well as the most common cicadas. But have I actually sat down with this cd and actually *learned* the songs? Don’t be silly!
October 24, 2025 at 3:32 PM
There is a book, Singing Insects of North America, that includes a cd of songs of each insect covered. They cover a large number of Orthopterans, as well as the most common cicadas. But have I actually sat down with this cd and actually *learned* the songs? Don’t be silly!
At least give me sound id! There are SO. MANY. ORTHOPTERANS.
October 23, 2025 at 11:33 PM
At least give me sound id! There are SO. MANY. ORTHOPTERANS.
While in Arches, I spotted some awesome plant galls on the junipers and the Gambel’s oaks, as well as an excellent velvet ant. Hope you got some great bugs too!
October 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
While in Arches, I spotted some awesome plant galls on the junipers and the Gambel’s oaks, as well as an excellent velvet ant. Hope you got some great bugs too!
If you haven’t yet, have a look at satellite views of Arches (and also bits of Canyonlands especially the area around Musselman Arch). You can see the parallel cracks in the white rock layer, that extend for miles north of Arches, as well as the parallel fins of sandstone that form the arches.
October 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
If you haven’t yet, have a look at satellite views of Arches (and also bits of Canyonlands especially the area around Musselman Arch). You can see the parallel cracks in the white rock layer, that extend for miles north of Arches, as well as the parallel fins of sandstone that form the arches.
I got to visit Moab a couple of years ago for an entirely-too-short four days. The geology is absolutely mind-blowing and I am still trying to wrap my mind around it all.
October 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I got to visit Moab a couple of years ago for an entirely-too-short four days. The geology is absolutely mind-blowing and I am still trying to wrap my mind around it all.
Wow! even in this close up shot, I have to really really stare at the eyes to convince myself it’s not just a bit of debris. Amazing camouflage!
September 29, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Wow! even in this close up shot, I have to really really stare at the eyes to convince myself it’s not just a bit of debris. Amazing camouflage!
I do love when cats get so comfy they twist their heads nearly upside-down.
Here’s Cricket doing the same, with bonus paw-over-nose!
Here’s Cricket doing the same, with bonus paw-over-nose!
September 27, 2025 at 12:06 AM
I do love when cats get so comfy they twist their heads nearly upside-down.
Here’s Cricket doing the same, with bonus paw-over-nose!
Here’s Cricket doing the same, with bonus paw-over-nose!
Well now I need a roleplaying game that uses these dice!
September 25, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Well now I need a roleplaying game that uses these dice!
OMG look at it’s precious little wispy moustache though!
September 24, 2025 at 8:49 PM
OMG look at it’s precious little wispy moustache though!
After mirror gelds there is nothing you can do that will scare me
<- said with the utter hubris of a person who will be reduced to a gibbering wreck in two weeks
<- said with the utter hubris of a person who will be reduced to a gibbering wreck in two weeks
September 15, 2025 at 8:29 PM
After mirror gelds there is nothing you can do that will scare me
<- said with the utter hubris of a person who will be reduced to a gibbering wreck in two weeks
<- said with the utter hubris of a person who will be reduced to a gibbering wreck in two weeks
This one makes me cry. We need more giant magnificent vultures in the world! Condors may be huge, but there is room in my heart for ten thousand of them.
September 13, 2025 at 7:02 AM
This one makes me cry. We need more giant magnificent vultures in the world! Condors may be huge, but there is room in my heart for ten thousand of them.
Was just thinking the same!
I am eagerly awaiting/dreading the result in ten years…
I am eagerly awaiting/dreading the result in ten years…
September 12, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Was just thinking the same!
I am eagerly awaiting/dreading the result in ten years…
I am eagerly awaiting/dreading the result in ten years…