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Andrew Straw

@andrewstraw.bsky.social
518 followers 501 following 30 posts

I'm a Professor in the Faculty of Biology at the University of Freiburg, Germany. I'm fascinated by visual navigation in insects. We study this and also develop tools to help us with that. strawlab.org

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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Professorship in Intelligence in Biological and Artificial Systems (salary level W3) at Osnabrück University www.uni-osnabrueck.de/en/universit...
uni-osnabrueck.de
129 FB 8 W3 Professorship Intelligence in Biological and Artificial Systems, Institute of Cognitive Science: Uni Osnabrück
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Come be our colleague @mpinb.mpg.de ! jobs.b-ite.com/jobposting/4... Bonn has a great community of neuroscientists and it's been a great place to start a group! #neuroethology @neuroethology.org
jobs.b-ite.com
Max Planck Research Group Leader (W2) in Neuroethology (m/f/div)
limited contract
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
We are hiring! Come join us in the Straw Lab at the @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social . Seeking a scientist to work on the neural and computational mechanisms of visual navigation in honey bees. uni-freiburg.de/en/job/00005...
Bee trajectories in agricultural landscape and two photon microscope for in-vivo calcium activity imaging.
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Ben de Bivort @debivort.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Hello friends, the Harvard Life Science departments have banded together to hire a new colleague working at the intersection of Life Sciences and AI. Could be primarily an experimentalist, or could be primarily a compute/theorist. academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/16773
academicpositions.harvard.edu
Tenure-Track Professor in Life Science and AI
The Life Sciences Departments in Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences seek to recruit a tenure-track professor whose research is at the interface of AI and life sciences, from methodological developme...
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Ajay Narendra @pipilika.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We have a fully funded 3-year PhD position to study jumping spider navigation. Open to both domestic and international candidates. Details below. Join us! @animbehav.bsky.social @austentsoc.bsky.social @ausevosoc.bsky.social @neuroethology.org @asab.org
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Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Elon Musk supported the rising neo-Nazi party in Germany. He’s the number one funder of Republicans in the midterms. He’s supporting fascist agitators in England. It’s long past time for anyone who supports democracy to leave his propaganda website. It’s time to boycott X.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
We are hiring! Come join us in the Straw Lab at the @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social . Seeking a scientist to work on the neural and computational mechanisms of visual navigation in honey bees. uni-freiburg.de/en/job/00005...
Bee trajectories in agricultural landscape and two photon microscope for in-vivo calcium activity imaging.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
That, too!
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Disgusting. They could do this all without trashing the books. For would-be trillion dollar knowledge companies, having a basement (or maybe even climate controlled library) full of rare books could be a status symbol. Instead, they destroy their heritage.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Congratulations, Harris!
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Oh, I'm looking forward to reading this! Congratulations to you and the team!
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Congratulations, Max!
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@macro_action @birdzandbees.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
The sweetest thing, don’t you think? These very fast and very loud Green eyed flower bees (Anthopora bimaculta) are also very cute. @nikoneurope Z9 and Z105mm macro SS1/4000 F11 ISO3200 natural light #bee #bees #cuteanimal #cute #macro
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KleineVehnLab @kleinevehnlab.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Open professorship — join our Faculty of Biology and our CIBSS signaling science community
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Kate Laskowski @katelaskowski.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications. My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/ academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
academic.oup.com
Replication studies: a win-win for early-career training and behavioral ecology
Replicating previous research builds confidence that results are real and meaningful. But close replications are rare due to limitations in resources and d
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Congratulations and happy birthday!
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Allianz für Artenvielfalt @nachtfalter-bw.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
In Baden-Württemberg sind nährstoffarme Offenland-Biotope landesweit rückläufig. Der Zustand der verbliebenen Flächen ist oft negativ. Die hier lebenden Nachtfalter sind an die lokalen Gegebenheiten oft seit Jahrtausenden genetisch angepasst, ihr Verlust ist unwiederbringlich! #Insektensterben
Grafik aus dem Untersuchungsgebiet Rottenburg am Neckar zum Nachtfalter-Monitoring Baden-Württemberg (1970–2020) mit Vergleich zweier Zeiträume: 1971–2000 und 2001–2020. Oben Abbildungen von hier heimischen Nachtfaltern, viele früher nachgewiesene Arten fehlen heute. Darunter ein Foto eines artenreichen, steilen Magerrasens mit Felsen. Hervorgehoben wird: hohe Verluste in Magerrasen- und Felsbiotopen.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Absolutely stunning shot! For me the beewolfs are famous because Niko Tinbergen studied this species showed about 100 years ago that they use visual memories to return to their nest.
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@macro_action @birdzandbees.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Lady Killer! Beewolf wasp carrying a honey bee I’m looking forward to some different wasp species this season (I I can find some lol) Nikon Z9 and Sigma 105mm macro SS1/3200 F8 ISO3200 (natural light)
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Tessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Excited to share a new review by @kocherlab.bsky.social and me: Nature-inspired neuroscience We discuss diverse sensory systems and behaviors across the animal kingdom and argue for their integration into neuroscience. New tools in diverse systems are making this possible ✨ tinyurl.com/y5y9du27
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Emmanuelle Briolat @esbriolat.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
For anyone working on #lightpollution #ALAN and #animalbehaviour - just 2 weeks left to submit an abstract for our symposium on light pollution and invertebrate behaviour at ECBB this September, with @ecbb2026.bsky.social, @jimamclgalloway.bsky.social . Would be great to see you there!
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Very cool! Honey bees (like may other Hymenoptera) learn visual navigation in novel environments with just a few learning flights. We are working on a similar approach and have similar ideas but with a bee-brain inspired architecture. We will dig into this work deeply.
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BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
At a time when vaccines may mean that some forms of cancer and neurodegeneration may be cured forever through vaccine technology, this is a crime against future humanity.
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Bita Moghaddam @bita137.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Sharif University in Tehran was just bombed Founded in 1965, it is one the most elite science and engineering institutions in the world. Alumni include the mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, first woman to win the Fields Medal Here is the list of other alumni en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
en.wikipedia.org
List of Sharif University of Technology people - Wikipedia
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Maggie Couvillon @freelyflyingbees.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
We are searching for a new Department Head of Entomology at Virginia Tech. Come work in lovely Blacksburg with some pretty cool people and spectatular students. Please repost and spread the word. Review Date 4/26/26. jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/profess...
jobs.apply.vt.edu
Professor and Department Head, Entomology - Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
Job Description Virginia Tech seeks applications and nominations for the position of Professor and Head of the Department of Entomology, a tenured twelve-month academic and administrative appointmen...
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Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Pace of ecology drives the tempo of visual perception across the animal kingdom www.nature.com/articles/s41... - new paper with Clinton Haarlem, Cliodhna Hynes and colleagues Different species see the world as fast as they need to...
nature.com
Pace of ecology drives the tempo of visual perception across the animal kingdom - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Using phylogenetic comparative methods across 237 species from disparate phyla, the authors show that species with fast-paced ecologies have higher temporal resolution of perception.
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Ann Kennedy @antihebbiann.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
You have until March 3rd to apply for the Cajal summer school on Quantitative Approaches to Behavior and VR at Champalimaud! Come surf and track animals with us 🏄🪰🐟🚶 cajal-training.org/on-site/quan...
cajal-training.org
Quantitative Approaches to Behavior and Virtual Reality - CAJAL
[…]
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Universität Freiburg @uni-freiburg.de · 17/02/2026
Team der #UniFreiburg um Prof. Dr. @andrewstraw.bsky.social hat untersucht, wie #Honigbienen navigieren. Die Forschenden fanden heraus, dass jedes Tier eine eigene bevorzugte Route hat und diese sehr präzise abfliegt – visuelle Orientierungspunkte wie Bäume helfen dabei. ➡️ ufr.link/bienennavigation
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Using our bee-tracking drone, we discovered that honey bees 🐝 have highly precise and individual routes. Now published at @currentbiology.bsky.social : doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
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Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world: gershmanlab.com/textbook.html It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class. My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Glad it’s worked out!
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Let me know if I can help with the ex pat stuff! (Or anything else…j
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
I just saw this now -- congratulations on the move! Big news!
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 16/12/2025
Looking for a faculty job at one of the world's great research stations? We're looking for a marine invertebrate biologist at UW's Friday Harbor Labs. apply.interfolio.com/178804
Assistant Professor without Tenure (WOT), Marine Invertebrate Organismal Biology
University of Washington: Academic Personnel & Faculty: College of the Environment: Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Location
Friday Harbor Labs, WA
Open Date

Dec 12, 2025
Description

The School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) and Friday Harbor Labs (FHL) at the University of Washington (UW) invite applications for the Riddiford – Truman Endowed faculty Chair, a position in the Without Tenure (WOT) track at the Assistant rank with specialization in marine invertebrate organismal biology. The successful candidate is expected to develop a collaborative, extramurally-funded and nationally recognized research program based at FHL that leverages FHL’s unique marine research infrastructure and natural setting. We especially welcome candidates whose scholarship in natural systems advances fundamental knowledge and contributes to environmental stewardship. All University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research, and service.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Thanks for the thread. I’m looking forward to reading this!
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Nice review, congratulations and thanks to all authors! And nice complement to the following recent review (with many authors in common on both publications): link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
The diversity of lepidopteran spatial orientation strategies – neuronal mechanisms and emerging challenges in a changing world - Journal of Comparative Physiology A
The Lepidoptera, butterflies and moths, display an astonishing diversity of spatial orientation strategies essential for survival, reproduction, and ecological success. These spatial orientation strat...
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Spencer LaVere Smith @spencerlaveresmith.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Mice learn these tasks and are robust to perturbations like fog. Now, we invite you all to make AI agents to beat mice. We present our #NeurIPS competition. You can learn about it here: robustforaging.github.io (7/n)
A summary figure for a NeurIPS competition where AI agents compete with mice in a visual foraging task.
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Henri Greil @habitecture.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
We discuss various strategies for locating nests of the rare and endangered above-ground nesting bumblebee species Bombus muscorum. Although we did not find any nests, we were able to track bees marked with paper strips for up to 800 m. @jki-research.bsky.social @nabu.de doi.org/10.1111/icad...
doi.org
Locating nests of endangered bumble bees: Lessons from field trials in northern Germany
Tracking bumble bees to find their nests using coloured strips of paper stuck to their thorax proved to be the most suitable method, while radio transponders were too heavy. Tracking times of up to .....
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
We'd bee happy about that!
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
The tracks are 3D. We have stereo cameras on one drone. But indeed more drones would be better and help with occlusion.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
That's a cool idea!
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Thanks and you're welcome! So far it's just a preprint and I already confirmed that our granting agency is (grudgingly) willing to pay open access frees.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Many contributed directly or indirectly! Authors: Rachael Stentiford, Michael JM Harrap, Victor V. Titov, Stephan Lochner. @ttvodoan.bsky.social was instrumental in creating fast lock with a @hfspo.bsky.social fellowship. @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social @uni-freiburg.de. @brainworlds.bsky.social 9/9
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
This work is a technical demonstration that multicopter drones can track honey bees in 3D across landscapes with trees and other structure. Huge thanks to the @volkswagenstiftung.de who believed in our original "high-risk" idea. Also to @dfg.de for later funding to improve tracking precision. 8/9
Photograph of multicopter drone and bee hive.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Relating to the waggle dance, @freelyflyingbees.bsky.social, @schuemaa.bsky.social, and others have shown this dance is somewhat imprecise. Our results suggest this dance imprecision is not constrained by limits in bees' spatial representation. (Maybe, like me, they are just bad dancers.) 7/9
Heat map showing the proportion of flight aligned to the target "Inbound - Gap", at different angular thresholds when the trajectories are divided into 20 segments.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
The precision with which the bees repeatedly fly the same route surprised us. At one location near a prominent tree, we measured for each bee a spread of just 50 centimeters around the median. Elsewhere, over a cornfield, the trajectories were more variable. 6/9
Scatter plots of bee trajectories crossing planes at select locations along their route.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Could the individual variability arise from random wiring of (visual) inputs to the mushroom body www.nature.com/articles/nat... @thecaronlab.bsky.social ? Or from variability in visual neuron wiring @linneweberlab.bsky.social @bassemh.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...? 5/9
nature.com
Random convergence of olfactory inputs in the Drosophila mushroom body - Nature
In Drosophila, olfactory sensory neurons project to spatially invariant loci (glomeruli) and stereotyped circuitry is maintained in projections to a brain centre thought to mediate innate behaviours; ...
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
We discovered individual honey bees typically have their own preferred route and, in the vicinity of nearby landmarks, fly repeatedly very nearly the same trajectory. @mnjeschke.bsky.social @martinegelhaaf.bsky.social recently found similar in bumble bees in lab-based tunnel experiments. 4/9
Outbound and inbound trajectories from two bees.
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
The reflector, glued to the bee, would reflect light from "outshine the sun" LEDs hackaday.com/2025/11/06/2... back to our drone-mounted fast lock tracking system strawlab.org/publications.... 3/9
hackaday.com
2025 Component Abuse Challenge: Overdriven LEDs Outshine The Sun
Tagging wildlife is never straightforward in the best of times, but it becomes a great deal more complicated when you’re trying to track flying insects. Instead of trying to use a sensor package, […
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
We selected bees that had learned to forage from our sugar-water feeder. Such bees were flying repeatedly back-and-forth every few minutes and, after catching them, we would glue a reflector to them and release them again. (And we were often able to remove the reflector again when done.) 2/9
Bee with reflective marker.
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