iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Y'all, I've found a lot of weird things in my urban moth traps, but METH PIPE is certainly a new one. Ps. At what age do you talk to your bugs about drugs?? #entomology #thatsenoughfortoday

An orange delta trap with a glass tube sticking out of one end.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I live for berry season. Cloudberries and my first blueberries of the year 🫐 #AlaskaHarvesters #blueberries

A small cluster of orangeish, plump berries in the center of a hand. Cloudberries, Rubus chamaemorus.

Two ripe blueberries on a stem. These are oval-leaf blueberries, Vaccinium ovalifolium.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

In my element, lolloping through the bog meadows with my malaise trap💃 like oh this? It's a *Bugdorm*. My purse? A Conoco Phillips, and yes, the rust stain IS genuine. My hair? Styled by the shrubbery I crawled through to get here 💅✨️ #FieldFashion #Entomology 🧪

A smiling woman in sunglasses with disheveled hair wearing a black duffle bag as a backpack and holding up a bucket containing a milk jug and other accoutrements in her left hand.

A woman pauses to smile for a photo while kneeling beside a SLAM (sea, land, and air malaise) trap, setting the stakes to hold it in place.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

A good morning spent crawling around in the dirt 🍓 #AlaskaGardening #turnips

A yellow produce bin containing a modest harvest of white Hakurei turnips and a small handful of ripe strawberries.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I have been waiting for this day! 📯

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

How sweet are these two yellowjackets huddled under a haskap berry in the rain together 💛 They sure do look dry under there, clever girls. #WaspWednesday #entomology #WaspFarm #AlaskaGardening 🧪

Two yellowjackets side by side underneath a haskap berry and leaf during a rain shower.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Today I discovered that this industrious aerial yellowjacket has been stripping the wood from the fancy moulding on my cavity nest boxes. That moulding was entirely blue last week. I'm simultaneously impressed and exasperated. Happy #WaspWednesday 🐝🧪 #entomology #yellowjacket

An aerial yellowjacket perched on the corner of a previously ornate wood moulding. Beneath the yellowjacket, the wood has been scraped from the moulding, leaving patches of unstained wood interspersed with the original light blue stained surface.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

My first two turnips of the year! These Hakurei turnips have a softer flesh and are perfect for biting into fresh, just like an apple. #turnips #alaskagrown #gardening

Two turnips, still with dirt on their white flesh, freshly picked from the garden and held up by their greens for the photo.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Soaking up the sunshine in my own "wasp farm" for #WaspWednesday 🐝 I love the way Evans writes about wasps; he's objective, observant, but best of all is the way his admiration and affection for aculeates lights up his prose. Wasp Farm (1963) by Howard Ensign Evans #hymenoptera #wasps #entomology

The book Wasp Farm by Howard Ensign Evans (1963) held up in front of an aculeate stem nest box and green currant bushes. The book cover features an illustration of a spider wasp on a flower in front of a small home and a blue sky.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Excited to find this large marble butterfly on my survey transect! The Fish & Wildlife Service is coordinating butterfly surveys with partners across Alaska in an effort to map their distribution, due to the recent petition for their listing as threatened by Xerces 🦋 #Lepidoptera #XercesSociety 🧪

A large marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides ogilvia) resting on a person's index finger. The butterfly has a fuzzy grey body. The ventral hindwing is olive-colored with pale splotches, while the forewing is more uniformly pale with some small grey markings.

A woman wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap is holding an aerial net over one shoulder in front of a patch of wild rose bushes.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Absolutely delighted to see the @biodivlibrary.bsky.social listed in the credits of the series "This is a Gardening Show" hosted by Zack Galifianakis! #ILoveBHL #thisisagardeningshow 🧪

A screengrab of the credits of episode 2 of the series "This is a Gardening Show". White credit text over a scene of water spraying from a hose over a patch of brassicas.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Happy #WaspWednesday to this cutie little Passaloecus cuspidatus that has been gathering up every aphid out of my currant bushes 💛 #hymenoptera #entomology 🧪

A small wasp with yellow mandibles peers out from a cavity entrance of a nest block.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

How delightful are these pollinator signs at Georgeson Botanical Garden in Fairbanks, AK! Illustrated by Renee Nowicki 🐝🪰🦋 #GeorgesonBotanicalGarden #AlaskaPollinatorWeek #entomology 🧪

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Happy Alaska Pollinator Week!4 species of aerial yellowjackets (out of AK's total 7) are to thank for my harvest of currants this year #hymenoptera #yellowjacket #pollination 🐝🧪

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

New Crabro, who dis? Crabro nigriceps is now added to Alaska's checklist of known species! Shield? 10/10, love a good shield #hymenoptera #crabronidae #Alaska 🐝🧪

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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

If you can only do the science that the political elite want you to do, that's not really doing science.

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Adam Haberski @ahaberski.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Did you know #Alaska has over 30 species of lady beetle? Here's a great article for Alaskans who want to make their garden #bug friendly. Thanks @awenninger.bsky.social www.uaf.edu/ces/publicat...

uaf.edu

Lady Beetle Habitat | Cooperative Extension Service

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cageyratfish (they) UTC-7 🐟🏳️‍⚧️ @cageyratfish.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

One Saturday I took a climb in north Queensland I met an ant up there who bit me on the hand Punk rock ant, can i take a pic Punk rock ant, your mohawk's sick Let's get a science grant Just you and me, punk rock ant

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

The Man Who Loved Wasps - a nice collection of essays by pompilid taxonomist Howard E. Evans. This collection covers a variety of topics, but mostly insects and birds. Perfect for passing time waiting for the fish to bite. #Hymenoptera #entomology #naturalhistory 🐝🧪

A hand holds up a book, titled "The Man Who Loved Wasps, a Howard Ensign Evans reader". The photo was taken from inside the cab of a boat, with a cloudy, ocean view in the background.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

I met the cutest little sea star yesterday while fishing for sablefish in Prince William Sound. About 1"/2.5 cm across, so tiny! It came up from 2400 ft, quite a journey. Someone on iNaturalist identified it as the cookie-cutter sea star, Ctenodiscus crispatus #seastar #Alaska #deepsea

A small, pale starfish with 5 points on the palm of an orange fishing glove. The edge of the starfish is adorned in small protrusions.

The underside of the starfish. A darker tan line radiates from the center to each point of the sea star.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

My department just dropped their new sock line: an ode to research on the use of kelp in livestock feed. Hilarious? Yes. Oddly charming? Also yes. 🧦🐄 #UAF #sciencefashion

A pair of socks on feet, standing on a wood porch in front of a snowy background. The socks feature cows in a pasture on the ankles, kelp and tiny crabs on the feet, and say "Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension" on the cuff.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

My tiniest niece insists that it's only a fart if it makes a sound, so for her sake I hope Vachal knew what he was doing and this is, in fact, a very noisy bee.

Text from a catalog listing the species "Halictus fartus"

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

So excited to find these two books from the Natural History Literature Rescue in my mailbox today! NHLR keeps books and other literature out of the trash and in the hands of folks who can use them. Adopt a book and/or send them your books! goodoldpaper.org #naturalhistory #goodoldpaper #literature 🧪

A blue hardcover book titled "An Annotated Catalog of the Halictid Bees of the Western Hemisphere" with a yellow, rectangular magnet on top. The magnet reads "GIVE MY REPRINTS and", followed by a checkbook for "all" or "most", "of my money to: Natural History Literature Rescue, good old paper dot org."

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I had the joy of watching this little aphid wasp over the course of a couple weeks last June. So many trips gathering resin! I reared out the offspring of this tunnel over the past month: mostly Passaloecus cuspidatus with a few Omalus aeneus for good measure #hymenoptera #entomology #Alaska 🐝🧪

A small, dark wasp forming a glob of resin with her mandibles on the outside of a wood trap nest.

A partially sealed tunnel in a trap nest. A small pair of mandibles holding a chunk of resin is visible through the opening.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I love reading acknowledgments sections for their little bits of warmth and humor. This inexplicable "non-endorsement" of Special Kitty Cat Food, in a study which as far as I understand makes absolutely no use of cat food whatsoever, is truly 10/10. #entomology 🧪

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Hello and welcome to my bee pit: a phrase made possible by this year's unusually cold spring 🐝 I'm asking this scattering of spent coffee grounds to work some real magic here. #beekeeping #alaska

Two beehives dug out from the snow in a backyard, leaving an asymmetrical pit in the snow. There is a dark sprinkling of spent coffee grounds scattered about to help hasten the melting.

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Rick Thoman @alaskawx.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Fairbanks airport will finish up with zero days with a high temperature above freezing between November 1 & March 31. That hasn't happened before in Fairbanks’ 120-year climate history. Previous fewest was 2 days above freezing in 2006-07. The average for Nov-Mar is 16 days. #akwx #weather #Climate

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Too cold for bug catching? No problem. I'll just drag tree bits indoors to see what wakes up. #entomology #alaska 🦟🧪

A woman in a down coat and puffy hat picks cones off of a larch tree in front of a snow-covered background.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

So relieved to see this! All too often I find myself working with an insect that was last referenced in an obscure piece of literature from over a century ago. The BHL is my go-to for those pieces and I am so grateful for all their work archiving these precious entomological treasures! #ILoveBHL 🐛🧪

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Just added this entomological dictionary to my word processor and am absolutely delighted at all the words that no longer give me a red squiggly! Highly recommend, and it's free to use! Built by my friend @ahaberski.bsky.social #entomology #dictionary 🪲🧪

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Enjoying this book about hyms by Eric Grissell very much. I especially love his interpretation that the etymology of the order is based on the hamuli; he references the parallels to the name Hymenaios, the Greek god of marriage. "Membranous wing" has always seemed suspiciously non-specific. 🐝 🐜

A hand holding a hardcover book with a photo of a combined sawfly in the center, covered in pollen. The title reads "bees, wasps, and ants: the indispensible roles of Hymenoptera in gardens". By Eric Grissell.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Visited Delta, AK this weekend to teach a pollinator workshop and I got to visit a coworker's yak farm after!! This is Flora, she is just 1 year old and I LOVE her ♥️ #babyyak #alaskalove

A small yak leans her head on a woman's thigh as she pets its head. The yak has a purple ear tag that reads "Flora".

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

An article about a recent community science project on the fireweed flower gall midge in Alaska! These galls caught my attention while doing field work for a pollinator research project but turned into a project all of their own! www.akentsoc.org/doc/AKES_new... #entomology #Alaska #cecidomyiidae 🧪🪰

A screen grab of an article titled "Community science collaboration enhances understanding of fireweed flower gall midge distribution in Alaska". The cover shows a three panel photograph displaying a fireweed flower spire on the left, a closeup of a galled bud in the middle, and an opened bud with larvae inside on the right.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

A headlamp set on the table works great for when you want to prep mini hyms for mounting at the kitchen table instead of at your desk (filter paper underneath the mini petri for contrast)✨ #hymenoptera #entomology

A mini petri dish set on a table with many microhymenoptera inside, lit from the side.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Seed-feeding chalcids are always a favorite to rear out; getting a whole adult wasp out of a tiny seed is nearly magical! This tiny rose seed chalcid (Megastigmus nigrovariegatus) emerged this week from a wild rose seed (Rosa acicularis) collected last month. 😍 🧪 #chalcidoidea #entomology #Alaska

Lateral habitus of a point-mounted rose seed chalcid, Megastigmus nigrovariegatus. She is about 4 mm long and a mottled golden brown color.

The Rosa acicularis seed from which the wasp emerged. A tiny circular hole is visible on the surface, which the wasp chewed when she was ready to emerge from the seed.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

On today's episode of Moss Makeover, a moss-covered boulder gets brushed by an entomologist who decided to take a quick look for Boreus snow scorpionflies during a fishing trip. Sadly she did not find any Boreus but this moss looks really great. #entomology #mecoptera #Alaska 🧪

A woman is standing next to a mossy boulder holding a white tray with one hand and raking the moss with her fingers using the other hand. The landscape is springtime in an Alaska coastal rainforest; some snow patches remain and the trees haven't yet leafed out but the moss is very green.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Anyone know of a good key to Nearctic dryinids? This one has been tricky to key out using Hymenoptera of the World, but seems to be either Anteoninae or Gonatopodinae subfamily. Specimen from Anchorage, Alaska. More details in comments. #hymenoptera #chrysidoidea #dryinidae

The lateral view of a tiny female pincer wasp on a glue board. The head and mesosoma are coarsely textured and black in color. The metasomal is smooth and brown in color.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

A little Sunday morning coffee and my least favorite bug chore. 500 points later and all I have to show for it is a very sore palm and what appears to be a pile of 12 points 🐝 #entomology #entomologistchores

A black-and-white image of an insect point mount punch tool next to a few very small piles of finished points.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Putting a little art into entomology with STEM night elementary kiddos! Love to see their creativity in action 🦋🧪 #entomology #scienceforkids #scienceisart

A panel of nine photographs of folded paper moths, each decorated in an array of colors and patterns with crayons. Each moth is photographed on a bug-themed table cloth.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 🧪 It's hard for me to resist a good insect collection opportunity, here I am taking a break between shrimp pot sets to do some bee collecting for the Alaska Bee Atlas 🐝 #entomology (and in my hand-knit fisherman's Gansey, of course) #knitting

A woman with glasses and dark hair worn in a ponytail holding an insect net in her left hand. She is wearing a greyish blue handknit fisherman's Gansey. A peat bog meadow and sparse spruce trees are visible behind her.

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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

I feel like there are enough moths in the world to open a portal to a completely different dimension. Just staggering amounts of moths.

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Alex Wenninger @awenninger.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Some highly photogenic flower galls on fireweed made by the fireweed flower gall midge in Alaska 🌸 My fly mom skills were put to the test but we pulled through and the adults were used to redescribe these Holarctic cuties 🪰 bioone.org/journals/pro...

Swollen fireweed flower buds galled by an insect called the fireweed flower gall midge.

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