Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Jenny Jandt (she/her)

👻Sewall Fright🎃 @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · Jul 31

Colin Wright is a world class loser

WSJ OPINION

Cornell University Discriminated Against Me
I was excluded from a candidate search on the basis of my race and have filed an
EEOC complaint.
By Colin Wright
July 30, 2025 at 4:53 pm ET

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Jul 28

German wasp vs male sweat bee.

When males hunt for mates, the ground nesting bee community becomes more obvious to predators. The males won't contribute to the nest, and the females don't waste time hovering. This community will be fine.
@zoologyotago.bsky.social

youtu.be/ymdlevx43nY?...

German wasp catches sweat bee

YouTube video by Jenny Jandt

youtu.be

1 2

Reposted by Jenny Jandt (she/her)

Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · Jul 25

Tarantula Hawks are very handsome.
New World Tarantula-hawk Wasp (Pepsis sp.) on horsetail milkweed. #inverts
Southwestern Research Station, Portal, AZ

A large bluish wasp with orange wings. It sipping nectar from the flowers on horsetail milkweed.

13 43 290

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Jun 30

For Pride Month, I created bumble bee and #WaspLove Progress Flags from photos I've taken over the years.

5

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Jun 2

A link to our #JandtLab website and to our "Is it a Bee?" pamphlet are now prominently featured on an Otago Regional Council site dedicated to Bees in Otago!!!

@zoologyotago.bsky.social

www.orc.govt.nz/environment/...

Bees

Learn about the bees of Otago – from native pollinators to introduced species. Discover their roles in biodiversity, food production, and ecosystem health.

www.orc.govt.nz

1

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · May 19

But wait... there's more...

Zoology Department, University of Otago is hiring a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Conservation Biology too!

@zoologyotago.bsky.social

otago.taleo.net/careersectio...

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer (Pūkenga/Pūkenga Matua) - Conservation Biology

Click the link provided to see the complete job description.

otago.taleo.net

8 9

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · May 19

Get your CVs updated. Zoology Department, University of Otago is hiring a Lecturer in Evolutionary Ecology!

@zoologyotago.bsky.social

otago.taleo.net/careersectio...

Lecturer/Pūkenga - Evolutionary Ecology

Click the link provided to see the complete job description.

otago.taleo.net

18 23

Reposted by Jenny Jandt (she/her)

Evelyndroid's Aperture Séance and Spooky Spood-Finding 🏳️‍⚧️🕷️ @apsciencebylyn.bsky.social · Mar 23

Also see: the absolutely ridiculous flappy fairy wings of Olixon banksii

3 19 140

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Apr 30

Our recent publication on bumble bees was highlighted on RNZ today, and I was asked to give a short interview about it (~15 min).

The publication is open access - so anyone can access it: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

@zoologyotago.bsky.social

www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

The special relationship between bees and tomatoes

Bumble bees are the only insects that can pollinate tomatoes. Professor Jenny Jandt from Otago Uni's zoology department has just completed a study looking at how we can help the bumble bees thrive and...

www.rnz.co.nz

2 5

Reposted by Jenny Jandt (she/her)

Zoology Rainbow Committee @zoologyrainbow.bsky.social · Apr 11

🎨 Tie-Dye Your Lab Coat!
Join the Zoology Rainbow Committee for an explosion of color, creativity and snacks! Bring something cotton to dye, something plastic to carry it home, and wear mess-friendly clothes.
🗓️ 28 April 2025, 5:30 PM
📍 Benham Garage, Zoology

3 1

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Apr 5

Not only a great opportunity to work at a stellar Uni, but it's only a 38 min drive to the Shire.

Chrissie Painting @cpaintingnz.bsky.social · Apr 5

Wanna come work with me? We're advertising a fixed term Lecturer in Animal Behaviour at Waikato. We're especially keen on someone who works on birds, reptiles, bats etc. Let me know if you have questions!
www.seek.co.nz/job/83279795...

Lecturer - Animal Behaviour Job in Hillcrest, Waikato - SEEK

Seeking an enthusiastic Lecturer in Animal Behaviour to teach, research, and supervise in ecology, biodiversity, and animal behaviour.

www.seek.co.nz

1 1

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Mar 20

Ok - I am not a fan of taking photos of dead things, much less posting them to socials. But I've successfully identified female (left images) and male (right images) Lasioglossum sordidum - New Zealand Sweat Bees - under a scope using a proper taxonomic key.

@zoologyotago.bsky.social

1 3

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 25

Few things better than when your butterfly student knocks on your door and proudly presents a cup full of tiny wasps that emerged from her butterfly pupa.

What's in there? We need to slow them down & ID under the microscope. Today, we admire so many living in one pupa!
@zoologyotago.bsky.social

1 2 11

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 21

#BugoftheYear2025 is now getting international media coverage!

edition.cnn.com/2025/02/20/t...

New Zealand’s bug of the year is an ancient worm that spits poison goo | CNN

Of all the bugs New Zealanders could have selected to win an international competition, they chose neither the prettiest, nor the most useful.

edition.cnn.com

4

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 20

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Ancient worm-like creature that shoots slime crowned 'Bug of the Year'

It is estimated to have been around in Aotearoa for 500 million years.

www.rnz.co.nz

1 7

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 20

Congrats to Team Velvet Worm!

#bugoftheyear2025

4

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 20

Re my love for bugs: "You have to look for them. But once you start looking, the world becomes this bigger, more magical place.”

I'm so happy she used this quote! Bug Day 2025 made it to The Guardian!

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

Worm-like creature with ‘dark secret’ wins New Zealand bug of the year award

Velvet worms have rows of pudgy legs, skin speckled like a galaxy and dissolve their prey with sticky goo

www.theguardian.com

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 17

It's the LAST DAY to vote for Bug of the Year 2025! We are 370 votes away from reaching 10,000 voters this year! Can we reach the goal in the next 7 hours?!?

Learn more about the nominees here - and don't forget to vote!
bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz

#BugoftheYear2025

2

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 15

Happy Valentine's Day!

Learn more about the Exquisite Owlet here.
bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/2025-bug-of-...

#bugoftheyear2025
The Entomological Society of New Zealand

1 2 5

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 14

Happy Valentine's Day!
Learn more about the Giant Springtail here:
bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/2025-bug-of-...

#bugoftheyear2025

1

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 13

Happy Valentine's Day!

Still haven't voted for Bug of the Year yet? Consider the Gravel Maggot - named after Smeagol (Smeagol climoi). Click the link to learn more about this nominee!
bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/2025-bug-of-...

4

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Feb 13

Happy Valentine's Day! Our study (6yrs to develop, 2yrs to carry out) is published! We show that by adding additional flowers (here, borage) to a protected monocrop (here, tomatoes) increases bumble bee colony health AND fruit output.
@zoologyotago.bsky.social

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The impact of floral diversity on bumblebee colony development and pollination efficacy among foragers - Apidologie

The environment in which pollinators are reared may influence both their health and pollination performance. We compared the performance of 12 colonies of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), each in their...

link.springer.com

2 6

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Jan 22

Check out our latest study - led by Greer Sanger and co-supervised by Janice Lord - on the Kahukura | NZ Red Admiral preference and performance on Ongaonga | Stinging Nettle (its host plant).

Congratulations Greer!

newzealandecology.org/nzje/3581
@zoologyotago.bsky.social

Preference and performance of Pūrerehua Kahukura (Vanessa gonerilla gonerilla) on native and introduced nettles of Aotearoa

The preference-performance hypothesis suggests that female insects prefer to oviposit on the host plant that provides the highest fitness for offspring. However, introduced plants can cause ecological...

newzealandecology.org

2 3

Jenny Jandt (she/her) @thewasplady.bsky.social · Jan 22

Sometimes, the nest entrance gets blocked with dirt while Momma is out foraging. If you watch in the upper right corner at the start of the video, another Momma flies right into her nest - no problem. But the Leioproctus fulvescens on the bottom - she's gotta dig first.
@zoologyotago.bsky.social

1 1 5

Reposted by Jenny Jandt (she/her)

Emily Moore @ecmoore.bsky.social · Jan 9

If you know anyone who might be interested in working as a technician before a PhD, I'm looking for someone to work with me to generate some amazing data to understand the genetics of behavior, sex differences, and reproduction in an evolutionary context. Bonus? Amazing and supportive department!

2 65 52