Mastodawn

"Hey, there are weird things in the raised planters...they look like exoskeletons." They were exactly that - puparaia (the hard outer shell of a pupa, left after the adult emerges) of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). A bit of careful digging revealed some additional pupae. #backyardnature #entomology

Swiss Army Nerd 2d ago

After a recent storm, I spotted a tiny speck on the glass of my front door. I thought it was a leaf, but I decided to take a closer look...and I've never seen a land #snail this small. (I have absolutely NO guess as to genus or species...) #backyardnature #malacology

Swiss Army Nerd 2d ago

USA friends - tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day! Participating stores will be offering a selection of free #comics, and you're likely to find costume contests, toy displays, and all sorts of other activities. Find your nearest participating store(s) at the link below... #fcbd

https://www.freecomicbookday.com/

Swiss Army Nerd 5d ago

#NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments to expand to 76 teams...

Just what we need - more mediocre teams from Power 4 conferences, instead of giving the rest of Division I a boost. The rich get richer...

Yeesh. #CBB

https://bit.ly/4tHJh6n

Swiss Army Nerd 6d ago

Hey, #adsb folks - if you're feeding your data to #FlightAware, you'll receive a free US$10 monthly "ADS-B feeder" credit for their #AeroAPI services when you register for their Personal service tier. I'm using it to identify airlines/operators...

https://www.flightaware.com/commercial/aeroapi

Swiss Army Nerd Apr 26

"Soy latte"...*snrk*

https://www.gocomics.com/lacucaracha

Read La Cucaracha by Lalo Alcaraz on GoComics

Dive into La Cucaracha, a comic strip by creator Lalo Alcaraz. Explore the archive, read extra content, and more!

Swiss Army Nerd Apr 26

That twig is no twig; it's an "inchworm". Larvae of geometrid moths (family Geometridae) only have two pair of abdominal prolegs; that's why they move in the "inch by inch" way that gave them their name. (Geometridae means "earth measurers".) #entomology #backyardnature

Swiss Army Nerd Apr 21

Why on earth would we want to make our forces more susceptible to flu outbreaks during military operations? Imagine an submarine or infantry unit with half its personnel laid out by the flu...

From a strictly military perspective, this is...nuts.

Swiss Army Nerd Apr 19

The salt marsh moth (Estigmene acrea) is found throughout the USA; it's in the same subfamily as tiger, lichen, footman and wasp moths. We'll see 3-4 generations of this moth in the southern USA each year, while the rest of the country sees only 1 or 2. #entomology #backyardnature

Swiss Army Nerd Apr 19

Hey, #entomology and #backyardnature folks, here's an #iPhone #photography note...the zoom setting is preserved in the image's EXIF metadata. If you're on Windows, you'll find it in the Details tab in File Manager; on Linux, I use exiftool. Useful when reviewing pictures of small things...