jaz @jaz

21 posts16 participants2 posts today

**Wanderin' Weeta** @WWeeta@flipping.rocks · 10h

Wanderin' Weeta @WWeeta@flipping.rocks

A Grainy-Hand hermit would rather hide than run. He prefers a shell where he can retire completely, sealing its mouth with his large cheliped. Here, he peeps out to assess the situation. Feels safe, so far. #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A hermit crab in the palm of a hand, mostly hidden inside the borrowed whelk shell; only the legs, chelipeds, and eyes are exposed. The entire cephalothorax, and of course, the abdomen, are hidden inside the shell. The hermit is a grainy-hand; this one's mostly a slightly greenish brown, with pale blue spots on the legs (and chelipeds, but these are barely visible in the photo); the antennae are orange.
The whelk shell is pale, creamy brown. It's small, with only 4 entire spiral whorls. It's as long as the width of two fingers.

**CurlyParakeet** @CurlyParakeet@mastodon.online · 10h *

10h *

CurlyParakeet @CurlyParakeet@mastodon.online

Saw these #moths the other day - anyone know what species they are?

Edit: looks like it’s a Red Underwing - Catocala nupta https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_underwing

The trunk of a sycamore tree. There are some naturally occurring triangular marks on the bark, and two which are not bark…

Two moths on a sycamore tree. Fairly close up. They are camouflaged against the bark beautifully. Mottled greys and browns.

#nature #invertebrates

**Wanderin' Weeta** @WWeeta@flipping.rocks · 1d

Wanderin' Weeta @WWeeta@flipping.rocks

Hairy hermits prefer smallish shells with a wide mouth. Not too heavy, not too clumsy; a Hairy relies on speed for safety from predators. An exotic like this freshwater snail shell is an acceptable choice. #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

All dressed up, ready to party. A small hermit crab, very clean, freshly molted, wears an imported snail shell, round, lightweight, brown with a pattern of large and small, irregular black spots. The hermit is pale brown, with hairy legs and chelipeds; the legs have blue knees. The eyes have a black centre in a pale blue area between black rims. She stands on a large shell, well coated with green algae and sprinkled with small sand grains. Two acorn barnacles are at the front, out of focus.

**Wanderin' Weeta** @WWeeta@flipping.rocks · 2d

Wanderin' Weeta @WWeeta@flipping.rocks

A can-do sort of guy. So he's lost both chelipeds? He'll be fine; while he waits for replacement parts (grow-your-own — 2 molts should do it), the tiny maxillipeds will handle the job. (But no fighting, ok, little guy?) #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

An olive-green hermit faces the camera, holding a food pellet. He doesn't have either of the two chelipeds that normally serve to grab and hold things, so he's holding the food between two small, hinged mouthparts, the maxillipeds. Two smaller pairs of mouthparts, visible above the food pellet, will take over the job of breaking off bits of food and conveying them to the mouth.
On the left (our left, his right) two legs are clearly intact. On the other side, in shadow, it looks like he's missing a toe segment.
Hermit crabs regenerate lost parts; with the next molt, he'll have rudimentary replacements, and with the next, they'll be full size and fully operational. A pale blue lump where the large cheliped used to be attached is the new one already starting to grow.
He wears an algae-covered whelk shell, his legs are hairy, with blue knees, his eyes striped. The food pellet (shrimp and veg.) is square and orange. He stands on an old oyster with its mouth open.

**CMacD** @CMacd1@mastodon.social · 3d

CMacD @CMacd1@mastodon.social

A species of Leptoglossus (Leaf-footed bug) they are cute when they aren't on my tomatoes. This one is nectaring on a species of Oenethera, sold to me as Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri), but it is bigger than any I've seen. This could be because it was (ethically) sourced from a wild population, or it's one of the many Oenothera species residing in the Coastal Tall Grass Prairies in my region. #entomology #nativeplants#rewilding #invertebrateconservation #invertebrates

A species of Leptoglossus (Leaf-footed bug) they are cute when they aren't on my tomatoes. This one is nectaring on a species of Oenethera that was sold to me as Gaura or ‘Whirling Butterflies’ (Oenothera lindheimeri), but it is bigger than any Gaura I've seen. This could be because it was (ethically) sourced from the wild, or it's one of the many Oenothera species residing in the Coastal Grass Prairies in my region. Either way it's nice to see the interaction.

**Jonny Clark** @BelfastRoadster@birds.town · 3d *

3d *

Jonny Clark @BelfastRoadster@birds.town

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly on Field Scabious at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre.

#nature #naturephotography #wildlife #invertebrates #insects #lepidoptera #butterflies #smalltortoiseshell #flower #bloom #plant #grassland #wwt #WWTCastleEspie #NorthernIreland @wwtworldwide

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly on Field Scabious flower

**Wanderin' Weeta** @WWeeta@flipping.rocks · 3d

Wanderin' Weeta @WWeeta@flipping.rocks

Call it a street scene. Or a walk in the forest. Underwater. Hermit crabs in their ever-changing environment, their diverse community, even here in a tank. Sargassum, eelgrass, anemones, oysters, snails ... #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A view of a saltwater aquarium; always changing since these are intertidal species. Present at the moment: a few long blades of eelgrass, starting to turn black at the ends; floating stems of the brown alga, sargassum, with its tiny, round bladders; in the background are fragments of red algae. The animals: 5 hermit crabs, one in the centre, climbing the eelgrass; he wears an exotic zebra snail shell. The others, on the bottom, wear whelk shells and a periwinkle shell, small and round. Then there are the anemones; a tall Plumose anemone, brown-stalked with beige tentacles, and a group of small pink-tipped green anemones on an old, algae-coated oyster; this is a rough, fluted shell, also housing barnacles. Other shells may be live snails, empty shells, or hermits.
The water is misty, due to the presence of many tiny copepods, visible only as whitish specks, and other marine "snow".

**Judgment Dave** @davesdogmaggie@mstdn.social · 3d

Judgment Dave @davesdogmaggie@mstdn.social

Does this mean Zeus is my dad?

#lightningbug #insects #fireflies

Continued thread

**Climate Jenny 2.1** @ClimateJenny@biodiversity.social · 3d

Climate Jenny 2.1 @ClimateJenny@biodiversity.social

Update: The Virginia Herpetological Society assured me these are not native amphibian eggs.

I guess I’m going to have to keep checking them every other day to see what emerges!
#abominableMystery #invertebrates #eggs

**Plazi Species** @plazi_species@mastodon.green · 4d

Plazi Species @plazi_species@mastodon.green

#NewSpecies!
New huntsman spider from #china just snuck in:

Sinodromus lanyue

Treatment: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/FAD04B00-75A1-5956-A2F3-9A3A4EBABB51
Publication: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1240.149456
#ZooKeys #SinodromusLanyue

#FAIRdata
#science #OA #openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #invertebrates #arachnology #arachnids #spider #huntsmanspider #huntsman

**Plazi Species** @plazi_species@mastodon.green · 4d

Plazi Species @plazi_species@mastodon.green

#NewSpecies!
New parasitoid wasp from #southkorea just flew in:

Lipolexis longipetiolata

Treatment: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/9A82AD3B-DA04-58AA-9342-C7D09BF4E667
Publication: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1245.138802
#ZooKeys #LipolexisLongipetiolata

#FAIRdata
#science #OA #openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #invertebrates #entomology #insects #hymenoptera #wasps #parasitoidwasps #parasite

**Science | The Guardian** @theguardian_science@halo.nu · 4d

Science | The Guardian @theguardian_science@halo.nu

This Jurassic-era relic has survived 150 million years on Earth – now it’s one big fire from extinction https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/18/kangaroo-island-assassin-spiders-critically-endangered-bushfires-habitat-invertebrates #KangarooIsland #Australianews #Invertebrates #Environment #Wildlife #Spiders #Biology #Science

The Guardian · 4dThis Jurassic-era relic has survived 150 million years on Earth – now it’s one big fire from extinctionBy Graham Readfearn

**Plazi Species** @plazi_species@mastodon.green · 4d

Plazi Species @plazi_species@mastodon.green

#NewSpecies!
New snapping shrimp from #madagascar just snapped:

Arete cornutus

Treatment: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3777878E-AD02-2B76-8CA1-FF6204CEFEFC
Publication: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5659.1.3
#Zootaxa #AreteCornutus

#FAIRdata
#science #OA #openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #invertebrates #arthropods #crustacea #shrimps #snapping

**Wanderin' Weeta** @WWeeta@flipping.rocks · 4d

Wanderin' Weeta @WWeeta@flipping.rocks

Between grains of sand. What gets me is the interest in the world around him, the responsiveness, even the curiosity of such a miniscule creature. A Holm's hermit, watching me watching him. #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A tiny orange and white hermit facing the camera, eyes on slightly divergent stalks; each eye operates individually, giving the hermit a possible 360° field of vision. Here he carries his antennae, green and white dotted lines, spread horizontally; antennules between the eyes are lifted vertically; sensory hairs on his chelae detect scent and vibration: all senses alert.
The legs, chelipeds, and maxillipeds are orange with wide white patches. Eye stalks are also orange, the eyes black.
The hermit stands beside and behind two grains of sand, each one bigger than he, borrowed shell and all. On his right (our left) is a part of a food pellet, easily twice his size.

**Plazi Species** @plazi_species@mastodon.green · 4d

Plazi Species @plazi_species@mastodon.green

#NewSpecies
New forest grasshopper from #cameroon just hopped in:

Pterotiltus erythrocerus

Treatment: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/552F87FD-9764-8C6E-985C-B7B4907DF4B5
Publication: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.986.2853
#ejtaxonomy #PterotiltusErythrocerus

#FAIRdata
#science #OA #openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #invertebrates #entomology #insects #orthoptera #grasshopper

**Wanderin' Weeta** @WWeeta@flipping.rocks · 4d

Wanderin' Weeta @WWeeta@flipping.rocks

Fuzzy sea star. It's underwater, and the skin gills are extended. New blog post: https://wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2025/07/following-tide.html #VancouverIsland #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #Nature #SeaStars

A purple sea star (very purple) underwater, surrounded by brown algae and deep green sea lettuce. The sea star has all five legs, and has a pattern of white "spines" (but they're really small, hard knobs). Around these spines, the skin gills, the sea star's breathing structures, which are hidden out of the water, are extended, looking like fuzzy purple lumps.

**Blue Appaloosa** @BlueAppaloosa@sunny.garden · 4d

Blue Appaloosa @BlueAppaloosa@sunny.garden

Dumb Little Project Update: Ant heads are painted! I'll admit I didn't really plan past this point, so, uh, now I need to figure out how to artistically mount them them on some sort of base.

Photo of a bunch of tiny, 3d printed ant heads on metal "spikes". The ant heads are painted a reddish-brown color, with black eyes. The spikes are being held vertical by a rolled up bit of corrugated cardboard.

#Invertebrates #SciArt

**Wanderin' Weeta** @WWeeta@flipping.rocks · 5d

Wanderin' Weeta @WWeeta@flipping.rocks

Safe haven. The story: in a home tank, w/o a chiller, frozen sea water added twice daily maintains an optimal temperature. Ice floats far out of the reach of any predatory crab intent on hermit dinner and newly-molted hermits climb up via the eelgrass to rest there, worry-free, until they're ready to descend and find a new shell. #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A naked Hairy hermit clings to an upside-down yogurt container full of saltwater ice, permitting a clear view of his generally hidden abdomen and shell-grabber legs. This hermit is missing the smaller of his two chelipeds, making a safe resting spot more than usually important. Behind the one cheliped, the next two legs are walking (and climbing) legs. Where the cephalothorax (the first segment of the body) joins the abdomen are two more leg pairs, these much smaller. The first holds the hermit inside his chosen shell; the second is mainly used for grooming. At the rear end of the abdomen, two other appendages, these called uropods, rather than legs, also serve to secure the shell.
The hermit is a light yellowish, greenish brown; there are darker brown stripes running the length of the carapace, the hard shield on the cephalothorax. The soft, coiled abdomen is a darker brown, smooth and glossy.

**Earthandabove** @earthandabove@pixelfed.social · 5d

Earthandabove @earthandabove@pixelfed.social

Meadow brown
Großes Ochsenauge
Maniola jurtina

#insectThursday #insects #invertebrates #naturfotografie #nature #natur #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #macrophotogaphy #MacroHour #moths #Lepidoptera #bugsky #makrofotografie #schmetterling #Osnabrück #Germany

A pair of meadow browns (butterflies) on an oregano inflorescence.

#germany

**Wanderin' Weeta** @WWeeta@flipping.rocks · 6d

Wanderin' Weeta @WWeeta@flipping.rocks

Bull kelp is a subtidal species of brown algae, but storms rip up vast quantities of it and toss it on the shore to dry or rot. And rotted bull kelp is a favourite dish for an intertidal hermit. Here, a Grainy-Hand snips off an edge for her supper.#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

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