Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜

@woodwideants.bsky.social

46 followers 150 following 8 posts

🐜🧬 Genomics & evolbio of red wood ants 🎓📚 SciComm and teaching of entomology, biodiversity genomics, & citizen science 🌍 By UniBo UniFi & UniPv, supported by @sib.swiss @biogeneurope.bsky.social @ergabiodiv.bsky.social 🔗 https://linktr.ee/antswoodwide

linktr.ee

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜 @woodwideants.bsky.social · 4d

2/2🧵 Thrilled to announce that our shot "A fortress made of spruce needles" was awarded a Honorable Mention by the Environmental Photography Award 2025🐜📸🏆 It shows the spectacular nest of the #ants species Formica paralugubris #bugksy @ergabiodiv.bsky.social @biogeneurope.bsky.social @sib.swiss

A wide-angle photograph of a massive domed nest of the ant Formica paralugubris, situated in a dark, dense forest. The huge mound, built from brown pine needles and forest debris, dominates the center of the frame. To the right, a large tree trunk is covered in vibrant, thick bright green moss. The background features tall, dark pine trees, with a bright sunburst visible through the canopy directly above the nest, creating dramatic backlighting. A small credit is visible at the bottom: "© Iacopo Nerozzi | Unaesthetic Fauna".

A photorealistic digital mockup of an open art book lying on a white surface. The right-hand page features a full-page reproduction of the photograph of the wood ant nest in the forest (same as the other image of this post). The left-hand page contains several paragraphs of the photo caption, with the text "Iacopo Nerozzi" visible at the top.

2 5

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜 @woodwideants.bsky.social · 4d

1/2🧵In 2024 we took the first photo shoot ever of the #ant Formica parlaugubris, in order to support our #SciComm activity 🐜📸 A huge thank to the naturalistic photographer ©Iacopo Nerozzi for these outstanding pics. #bugsky @ergabiodiv.bsky.social @biogeneurope.bsky.social @sib.swiss

An extreme close-up macrophotograph the ant Formica paralugubris, engaged in predation. The ant's head, antennae, and reddish-brown thorax are in sharp focus. Its mandibles are clamped onto the bright green body of a caterpillar, which is large, out-of-focus, and curves out of the foreground. The image powerfully captures the ant's predatory action. The background is a mix of blurred dark brown and reddish-brown earth/detritus. A small credit is visible at the bottom: "© Iacopo Nerozzi | Unaesthetic Fauna".

A macrophotograph of the ant Formica paralugubris, adopting a defensive or aggressive posture. The ant has a reddish-brown head and thorax, a darker brown abdomen, and long, slender legs and antennae. It is standing on a dense, vibrant green bed of moss. The ant is rearing up, holding its head high and its mandibles open and ready, suggesting a defensive or threat display. The background is a softly blurred dark green and black. A small credit is visible at the bottom: "© Iacopo Nerozzi | Unaesthetic Fauna".

1 3 10

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜 @woodwideants.bsky.social · 7d

That's a wrap! Had a great time at the European Researchers' Night #ERN25 by @ec.europa.eu in Bologna🇮🇹! #SciComm #OpenScience

@fghiselli.bsky.social & Enrico Strada entertained loads of ppl with #ants, #genomics and all of our work 🐜🖥️🧪🧬

@sib.swiss @biogeneurope.bsky.social @ergabiodiv.bsky.social

A photo of our stand at the European Researchers' Night, with Fabrizio Ghiselli and a person scanning our QR code

A photo of our stand at the European Researchers' Night with Enrico Strada talking about mirmecology with two young people

A photo of our stand at the European Researchers' Night with Enrico Strada showing ant samples to a group of young people

3 5

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜 @woodwideants.bsky.social · 12d

Wonderful news! Keep us updated on further publications, F.gagates is such an interesting specie

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜 @woodwideants.bsky.social · 12d

🇪🇺Getting ready for today's European Researchers' Night 2025 #ERN25 by @ec.europa.eu #SciComm #OpenScience #bugsky

🧪🖥️🧬🐜WWA will be present in Bologna to talk about #biodiversity #genomics, #ants & #entomology

@sib.swiss @biogeneurope.bsky.social @ergabiodiv.bsky.social

Entomological box with specimens of various ant species, a phylogenetic tree and an explanation of the WWA project

A researcher observing ant specimens under a dissecting microscope

A macro photography of an ant head under a dissecting microscope

1 4 9

Reposted by Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜

Dr. Viktor Baranov🧪🦟🐛🪲 @swarmofthoughts.bsky.social · 13d

Everything is getting ready for #ERN2025 European Researchers Night tomorrow at @casacienciasevcsic.bsky.social , where we are going to present our workshop "Insects - witnesses of the past", dealing with #fossils, palaeoclimate reconstruction and ecological physiology of insects

Poster of the European Researchers night in Sevilla

3d printed replicas of the fossils of non-biting midges

Sediment core part, stickers with fossil insects, and bunch of postcard with Baltic amber insects

Part of the postcard with Archaeognatha and an ant from Baltic amber

6 11

Reposted by Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜

NL Institute of Ecology NIOO-KNAW @niooknaw.bsky.social · Dec 2

New publication: The European Reference #Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable #biodiversity genomics, by @KvanOers and others. #genomics #eukaryote #sequencing

https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-024-00054-6

2 6

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜 @woodwideants.bsky.social · 16d

3/3🧵Want to find out more about Wood Wide Ants WWA? Check out our website, where we post #research and #SciComm updates, as well as facts about the #ant Formica paralugubris 📚🐜🧪🧬🖥️

🌐🔗 tinyurl.com/59w7hhdp

@sib.swiss @biogeneurope.bsky.social @ergabiodiv.bsky.social

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜 @woodwideants.bsky.social · 16d

2/3🧵Our project Wood Wide Ants WWA is lead by people from Uni of Bologna, Uni of Pavia & Uni of Florence. We partner with @sib.swiss @biogeneurope.bsky.social @ergabiodiv.bsky.social, which supported #genome annotation and #SciComm activities

1 4

Wood Wide Ants — WWA 🐜 @woodwideants.bsky.social · 16d

1/3🧵Kicking off on #bugsky today & introducing Wood Wide Ants, aka WWA! We're researchers studying the #evolbio of the #ant Formica paralugubris and its kin, through #genomics, #SciComm & #CitizenScience📚🐜🧪🧬🖥️ #insects #mirmecology @sib.swiss @biogeneurope.bsky.social @ergabiodiv.bsky.social

1 4 11