On my daily commute back to Berkeley, I have spotted this (apologies for the cruddy image). Actually, I’ve seen a handful of these pop up around San Francisco and it makes me want to tear my hair out every time. For those who are new to my blog, this goes back to my Genius of . . . → Read More: It just won’t leave me alone
 7 comments - (Comments are closed)  Entomology  Bad Science, Butterflies, Entomology, Mimicry, Taxonomy Fail Wow it’s been a few weeks since my last post, and I’m a bit embarrassed having let it go so long. What have I been up to? Not a whole not. No impressive collecting trips, no new species or discoveries. Actually I’ve been sitting at a microscope dissecting genitalia or databasing parasitic flies. I’ll have . . . → Read More: Time has flown Share this!Another not all that difficult GOP challenge, found here from the Scottish TV website. What’s wrong with the story below?
Share this!A short clip from the brilliant show, Quite Interesting. The start of the discussion is in regards to cochineal bugs – although they refer to them as beetles! (see buggirl) Share this!A weekend without moths can lead a lepidopterist to do crazy things. Crazy enough to photograph a spider. Over the weekend I was accompanied to the eastern Sierra by fellow insect blogger, coworker and arachnologist, Tamas Szuts. I was on the quest for more specimens of a new Hepialidae of which you may be familiar . . . → Read More: A Sierran Spider Share this!While I work on a more substantial post, you can name this butterfly – and the plant should be pretty easy too. Extra bonus if you can guess the county (state won’t be too impressive) in which I took this photo. This was pre-DSLR, but my old beat up canon point-and-shoot did manage to get . . . → Read More: Mid-week Mystery Share this!For regular readers of my blog you might already know my stance on the monarch, but catch up here if you’d like to. Yesterday I came across this article in the LA times – regarding the overwintering colonies of monarchs in Pacific Grove, CA. Out here, west of the continental divide, there are quite a . . . → Read More: Monarch Madness Share this! 4 comments - (Comments are closed) Entomology Butterflies, Conservation, Invasive Species, Lepidoptera, Monarchs This genius of the press is extra special, not for its difficulty, but for its redundancy. I found the same story carried on two separate sources, with different images – and both equally incorrect! I can imagine that it won’t take long for someone to point out exactly what’s wrong with these stories (hint, there . . . → Read More: Genius of the Press XI Share this!And while I catch up you can watch some creepy Isabella Rossellini re-enact the mating strategies of a bedbug. You should also read, if you haven’t caught it already, the excellent bedbug article written by the distinguished (and my former professor) May Berenbaum. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MakIB_IJnu0&feature=search] Share this!Pictured is a black-veined white (Aporia crataegi ssp), and it is currently being returned to the Korean Institute of Biological Resources. Loans get returned, as they should be, every day – and can even number in the thousands of specimens. I myself have a few hundred moths out on loan from a handful of . . . → Read More: A Disturbing New Trend? Share this! |
Skepticism |
