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Rob Cruickshank

@bugblokenz.bsky.social
1.7K followers 500 following 68 posts

Lecturer @UCNZ | entomologist | ex-librarian | museum junkie | phylogeny nerd | urban iNaturalist | nemophilist | bug hotelier | maker | cyclist | percussionist | koumpounophobe | AI abstainer | INFJ | born 322 ppm CO2 | he/him | there's other stuff too

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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It's got so much worse since then :(
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myrmepropagandist @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy · 14/06/2026
I've created a search on iNaturalist that lets you look at all of the different kinds of nests that ants construct. www.inaturalist.org/observations?pr…
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
I'd rather not leave David Seymour at the top of my feed, so here are some far more delightful creatures that I've seen in our lovely little city of Ōtautahi this year.
Lemon tree borer, Oemona hirtaKnobbled orbweaver, Socca pustulosaTorpedo bug, Siphanta acutaCommon garden katydid, Caedicia simplex, with spermatophore attached
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
I'm taking a few week's break from social media. Happy holidays to those of you who take them at this time of year. See you in January!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
😟 www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
rnz.co.nz
Government to change free speech rules for universities
A union says the move seems aimed at ensuring people can spread disinformation on university campuses.
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caeculus.bsky.social @caeculus.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
A slide mounted cunaxid mite, Cunaxa capreolus, collected from leaf litter in northern California recently. Only 0.5 mm long, but sure to strike fear into the hearts of the litter springtails it might have encountered.
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Nick Land Acknowledgement 🇵🇸🏳️‍🌈 @lonestartallboi.bsky.social · 08/01/2024
20 years ago we were suing teenagers for millions of dollars because they were torrenting a single Metallica album and now billionaires are demanding the free right to every work in history, so that they can re-sell it. The law only ever serves capital.
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Animal Aspects (Art History Animalia) @animal-aspects.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
For #Crustmas on #Woodensday: gamisida długwe' ( #Crab Puppet) Kwakwaka'wakw, BC, Canada, before 1952 Painted wood 11.4x22.9x67.9cm UBC MOA collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?... #FirstNationsArt #NativeAmericanArt The Kwakwaka’wakw have a history of puppetry related to ceremonial feasts.
“Wooden carving of a crab with protruding eyes and eight bent legs. Each leg is composed of two pieces of wood, nailed together, and the legs are immovable. The body and legs are painted red, and the face is painted in red, black, and white.”

“These articulated characters are known as dług̱we’ treasures (as are the theatrical dances in which they appear). The Kwakwaka’wakw have a history of puppetry related to their ceremonial feasts. The winter potlatches are known for their spectacular performances, suffused with cultural teachings and supernatural content, such as the coming of Winalagalis, the supernatural warrior. Dances and songs associated with Winalagalis include the tuxw’id, which is performed by women, who have the power and rights to make the dług̱we’ treasures (puppets) come to life. For instance, a tuxw’id dancer could summon a crustacean to life, on invisible cords, in the flickering firelight.”front-facing view of the crab puppet showing face
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Richard Jones @bugmanjones.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Even the street lamps in Lyme Regis are ammonite themed.
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Richard Jones @bugmanjones.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
This sign, marking the side entrance to the 58th Street jazz bar speakeasy in Peckham, raises more questions than it answers.
Pink on black sign showing a naked woman riding on the back of a beetle.
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Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Today I found this impressive mite in some leaf litter. Oribatids are masters of self-protection: they've evolved protective armour flaps, some wear their old moults on their back like shields, and this Neotrichozetes spinulosa has instead opted to become a sentient pincushion! 🧪 #Invertebrates
A photograph of a round, hard-bodied mite covered in very long, barbed spines.
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Question for British people: Have you ever heard or used the word 'pottle', and if so what do you think it means?
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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
okay since apparently this is turning into my Stuff I've Written (or helped write) about Trans Inclusion in STEM, a few more things. here's a recap of a presentation I did for @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social back at the 2022 conference. yes, conference organizers, you too can organize a similar one!
jfmclaughlin.org
Supporting trans and nonbinary ornithologists: WOS2022 DEIJ recap — The McLaughlin Lab
This blog post is a little different than my previous ones. I recently was invited to facilitate a discussion for the 2022 Wilson Ornithological Society meeting on trans and nonbinary inclusion in o...
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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
looking over the arguments also is a good (by which i mean viscerally horrifying) example of why there's a *specific* need for those of us who teach biology to be explicit in how we talk about sex and gender. so much transphobic rhetoric gains a foothold bc of misconceptions of biology + genetics
jfmclaughlin.org
Trans inclusion in the biology classroom — The McLaughlin Lab
One of my favorite parts of working at a university is getting to teach. I find biology utterly fascinating and magical, and getting to impart that to students is an incredible joy. Although I don’t c...
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Thanks Chris!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Thanks Jitte!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Thanks John. That looks very useful. Much appreciated!
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John Brophy @brophyecology.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
The Irish National Biodiversity Data Centre runs a citizen scientist project monitoring butterfly populations, so you should find some useful information here: biodiversityireland.ie/surveys/butt...
biodiversityireland.ie
Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme – National Biodiversity Data Centre
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Colin Purrington @colinpurrington.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
"Sugaring" would be an excellent iNaturalist project but I just checked for such and couldn't find anything.
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Thanks Steve!
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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
I generally get ground cover, soil type, digital location coords etc. when looking for ants 🧪 I’m going improve my metadata for next year to include: Temperature Humidity Wind speed (tiny anemometer from eBay) Cloud cover Soil moisture Going to revisit Darwin Core & look for relevant fields
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The Ecological Citizen @ecologicalcitizen.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
🦋 Is it time for entomology to embrace compassion? This compelling read challenges traditional practices, urging us to study arthropods with care for their welfare and intrinsic value. 🪲 #entomology #compassion #ecocentrism #conservation blog.ecologicalcitizen.net/2024/12/10/m...
blog.ecologicalcitizen.net
Making a case for compassionate entomology
Here, I make a case for something that I call compassionate entomology, which is a way of studying insects and other arthropods that upholds the intrinsic value and welfare interests of the individ…
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Sorry, I should have been clearer that I was referring to *terrestrial* invertebrate monitoring, but I'd happy to hear about wetter places too.
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
I'd be interested to hear from anyone doing regular repeated invertebrate #monitoring about what other #metadata you record when you visit your sites.
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Frank Ashwood @frankashwood.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Slime molds may resemble fungi, but are in fact a distinct group of unrelated organisms. Although they're single-celled organisms, they'll also perform an astonishing feat of cooperation - gathering together as a collective ‘organism’ to form amazing fruiting bodies. Which is your favourite? 🧪🍄
A photograph of a collection of elongated lollipop-shaped brown fruiting bodies of slime mold on a dead log surface.A photograph of a pair of balloon/lollipop-shaped white fruiting bodies of slime mold on a dead log surface.A photograph of a collection of balloon/lollipop-shaped black fruiting bodies of slime mold on a dead log surface.A photograph of a single balloon/lollipop-shaped orange fruiting body of slime mold on a dead log surface.
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Robb Edwards 🌱 @robedwards1.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Around 9,000 species have already gone extinct in Australia and we’ll likely lose another this week – new study ⬇️https://theconversation.com/
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Can anyone point me in the direction of a standardised repeatable method for surveying #butterflies? If it makes a difference, it should be easy for non-experts to follow and be suitable for urban / suburban conditions. Thank you so much!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Thank you so much everyone. I will report back when I've tried some of these methods in New Zealand conditions. I'm looking forward to trying this out.
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
I look forward to hearing more about it.
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
I'm interested in beetles too, all insects in fact. What else is sugaring good for?
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Here's something you don't see every day. An entire school classroom on the back of a truck, waiting to be moved to a new location. The ultimate in recycling!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Thanks Pieter Much appreciated!
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Pieter Vantieghem @pietervantieghem.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
I've always used cheap wine added with sugar until almost saturated. I put this solution in a plant spray and spray a surface of approx 20 by 20cm on trees, if possible on both sides of a tree and do this on 30 to 50 trees in the afternoon. I control this when dusk has completely set.
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Elli Leadbeater @ellileadbeater.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
PhD position available! Are you interested in how natural selection shapes the evolution of animal memory? Be part of our experimental evolution plans at UCL @ucl-pnl.bsky.social @treesdla.bsky.social , co-supervised by Flo Camus @fcamus.bsky.social. www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/evo...
trees-dla.ac.uk
Evolutionary ecology of animal memory | UCL Trees
This project seeks to explore how memory evolves in response to the ecological tasks that animals face in their natural environment. Associative memory exists in some form in almost all animal species...
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Dave Wheatley @wheatersdave.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
7). The end of year wrap up. Moth books, I think all serious moth-ers have so many ID books you need a separate house. So it was nice to read some other mothy literature for a change. Both brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable, thank you @mothyblackburn.bsky.social @jameslowenwild.bsky.social #teammoth
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Dave Wheatley @wheatersdave.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
@ajcann.bsky.social UV LED battery powered strip light and 5mm foam board - Amazon. Foam board notched each piece to slot together for the X shape. Width of foam board should be about 1mm less than the diameter of the bottle as the bottom LED wrap needs to fit inside the inverted dome #teammoth 1/2
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Jess Marsh @jessmarsh.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
📣New paper📣 We estimate the number of extinctions of Australian #invertebrates, plus the ongoing #extinction rate … Both figures are far higher than those currently recognised, pointing to alarming gaps in #conservation of an important area of #biodiversity 🪳🕷️🐌🪰🪲🪱 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
This is the way the world ends; not with a bang but a whimper: Estimating the number and ongoing rate of extinctions of Australian non-marine invertebrates | Cambridge Prisms: Extinction | Cambridge C...
This is the way the world ends; not with a bang but a whimper: Estimating the number and ongoing rate of extinctions of Australian non-marine invertebrates - Volume 2
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Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 10/12/2024
Up to three insect species become extinct in Australia every week, report says
theguardian.com
Up to three insect species become extinct in Australia every week, report says
Threats include climate change, habitat loss, land clearing, waterway pollution, misuse of insecticides and introduced species * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia is losing up to three native insects and other…
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Yeah, I might have some explaining to do!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Thanks Dave! I haven't come across wine roping before but I might give it a try.
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Dave Wheatley @wheatersdave.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
I use these recipes, they’ve both been effective butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blo...
butterfly-conservation.org
A recipe for moths: Sugaring & wine roping
Moth Night 2015 might be over, but there are still plenty of moths to see and you don't need a traditional moth trap to attract them. The methods below are particularly good for attracting moths rarel...
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RJ Millena @entomolrj.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
This is my right hand man
A tattoo of a male twisted-wing parasite (Elenchus koebelei) on my right forearmA stacked-focus image of an Elenchus koebelei museum specimen, measuring about 1.5 mm across
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Lars Pettersson @larspett.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Yes, we compared a simple wine-based bait with a quite complex beer-based one in this paper 🍷🍺 lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfil... (in English w a Swedish summary) It provides links to other papers too, the Finnish one with the beer-bait is a good one
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Perfect! Just what I was looking for. Thank you so much. I wonder if I might be able to persuade a few local winemakers and brewers to support some research like this? 🤔
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RJ Millena @entomolrj.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Thank you for your interest :) Here's a male Xenos peckii for luck haha!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
What a beauty!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Awesome! Thank you so much for the suggestions. I'll try that and let you know how I get on. They're fascinating little creatures. I look forward to hearing more about your own research on them.
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Thanks for that. Which hosts have worked best for you?
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Entomologists of Bluesky: Has anyone here tried sugaring as a method for attracting moths? If so, do you have any good recipes? I'm talking #entomology not hair removal. It's not an easy thing to Google!
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Rob Cruickshank @bugblokenz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
@entomolrj.bsky.social I've never seen a live Strepsipteran in the field. They are top of my bucket list. I know we have them here in New Zealand. Any tips for finding them?
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