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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 22h

#Arachtober for today, a very leggy cellar spider (family Pholcidae), casts two shadows on the wall of the art gallery it is living in. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum west of Tucson, Arizona, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #spiders #arachnids

Very long-legged spider, upside down in a web, casting a double shadow on the wall behind it.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Happy #arachtober everyone. Here is a running crab spider (Philodromidae), from yesterday at the visitor center in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #spiders #arachnids

Sprawling, cement-colored spider, facing up, on one of those binocular viewer things. Spider is mottled with darker markings.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I ended up selling 18 books at the #KansasBookFestival yesterday. Considering my subject matter is not terribly popular with the masses, I’m pretty happy. Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, USA.

Me, older white man with gray hair, beard, and glasses, wearing blue flannel shirt with bright green t-shirt underneath, sitting at table with black tablecloth. On the table are copies of my books: Kaufman Field Guide to Insects; Bugwatching; Insectpedia; and Wasps. All this under a tent in a parking lot. Other people and tables in background.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Today is World Wasp Day, so here’s the newest species from our yard in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. This is an ichneumon wasp, Charops annulipes. You might recognize the banded cocoon it emerged from, more than the wasp itself. #bugsky #WorldWaspDay #bugwatching #insects #wasps

White cocoon with black bands and spots, attached to a long silken thread. Below is the small, very slender wasp that emerged from the cocoon. Wasp is mostly black, with white “feet.”

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I will have a table in the exhibit hall for #entsoc2026 in Columbus, Ohio, USA, November 8-11. Let me know if you are likely to buy one (or more) so that I know how many copies to order ahead of time. I will also happily sign books you already own. Thanks! #booksky #bugsky

Books, from left to right: Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America; Insectpedia; Bugwatching; Wasps. Hardwood floor background.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This has been a banner year for Cloudless Sulphur butterflies here in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, where they are late summer and fall visitors. Solid yellow male on left, female on right. #bugsky #bugwatching #butterflies #insects

Big, all-yellow butterfly on a pink zinnia flower, in the sun.

Big, yellow butterfly with pink streaks, and blotches circling white spots. Taking nectar from a pink zinnia flower in the sun.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Me, talking about wasps to a rapt audience at The Linda Hall Library this morning in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. I can’t tell you what an emotional boost I get from being around intelligent, enthusiastic, and diverse people. It doesn’t happen frequently enough. #bugsky

Myself, an older white man at a podium, facing an audience (their backs to the camera), with a slide projected behind me, featuring images of three tiny wasps, under the header “Reasons to LOVE wasps: Diversity!” Bottom center text lists these bullet points: “Solitary, Tiny, Can’t sting you, Ecologically important, Free pest control.”

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The Biden(s) administration is still going strong at our place. Bidens is a genus of plants that includes Spanish Needles, shown here as a tall, spindly weed with fern-like leaflets. The seeds are indeed stabby little things.

Spindly, fern-like plant in flowerbed in front of our house, next to a orange, red, and blue yard sign featuring the Statue of Liberty with the words “Resist, defend democracy, fight fascism.”

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Walked down to what I call the “moth church” this morning. Did not disappoint! This might be the first Laurel Sphinx, Sphinx kalmiae, that I’ve ever seen. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #insects #mothing #moths

Large, torpedo-shaped moth with beautiful wood grain appearance, resting head up on brick wall.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Today, August 15, and there are now five wasps. There is another nest in the corner of our front porch railing, and I am wondering if the two nests are actually one colony? I may need to station myself and observe if any wasps fly between the two. It’s really hot, though.

Paper comb wasp nest with five paper wasps on it. Located in the frame between our screen door and front door. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Here is the nest today, well, yesterday, August 12, and from the other side. There are now four adult wasps, but still no negative encounters. So cool!

A paper comb nest with three visible paper wasp occupants (out of a total of four) on the nest, located on a door frame, between screen door and front door.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Drama at our wooden backyard fence today. A female grass-carrier wasp, Isodontia auripes, arrives at the abandoned carpenter bee hole that she is using as her nest, carrying a long piece of grass. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #insects #wasps

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

How is your #mothweek going? This large White-lined Sphinx, Hyles lineata, was the star of the show at our backyard blacklight last night. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. Please share *your* moths. #bugsky #bugwatching #nationalmothweek #insects #moths

Large, delta-winged moth with narrow wings, overall brown in color with numerous crisscross white stripes, and pink on the slightly exposed hind wing, resting on the bottom of a white sheet and lawn.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Spotted this lovely End Band Net-winged Beetle, Calopteron terminale, on a redbud leaf behind our backyard fence today. It is about 20 millimeters or so, and obviously colorful. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #insects #beetles

Elongate, pear-shaped beetle, orange with iridescent blue on the rear third of the elytra (wing covers). Elytra with longitudinal ridges, and less noticeable transverse ridges in the grooves between the ridges, creating a net-like pattern. Antennae are long and black, legs also black. Beetle is sitting on a leaf in daylight.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

This paper wasp nest is on the frame of our front door, between the screen door and the heavy door. We’re allowing it because other nests are failing. Here, two wasps are chewing up a caterpillar to feed to their larval siblings. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #insects

A pair of female paper wasps on their nest, having divided a caterpillar prey item to feed to their larval siblings. Nest suspended from a door frame.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Flipped on the front porch light tonight, and this spectacular longhorned beetle, the Ivory-marked Beetle (Eburia quadrigeminata), flew in. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #insects #beetles

Large, elongate, amber-brown beetle with very long antennae. Each elytron (wing cover) is marked with a pair of ivory quotation marks. Insect is sprawled on a white background (casserole dish).

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

A wonderful interview I had with @ryanfm.bsky.social has borne fruit in this article in the new issue of Audubon magazine. He is a wonderful human being, who has a Substack called “Wild NYC.” #bugsky #bugwatching #article #Audubon

Cover of Audubon magazine, summer 2026 issue, featuring a photo of an Osprey flying off with a fish in its talons.

A page in the summer, 2026 issue of Audubon magazine, with an article titled “Bugwatching is the New Birding,” with a sidebar on how to “Build a Bug Hotel.”

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

We just returned from field trips and national meeting of Dragonfly Society of the Americas, this year based in Hot Springs, North Carolina, USA. We saw relatively few species, among them the Black-shouldered Spinyleg, a female of which is shown here. #bugsky #bugwatching #dragonflies

Large “clubtail” dragonfly, dark brown (nearly black), with broken yellow stripe running down the entire length of its body. Slightly swollen tip of abdomen. The insect is resting on a large rock in a forested habitat near a large, shallow river.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

An unexpected benefit of tagging along on @heidi-eaton.bsky.social ‘s breeding bird survey was finding this gorgeous Elderberry Borer, Desmocerus palliatus. Leavenworth County, Kansas, USA, this morning. #bugsky #bugwatching #beetles #insects

Relatively large beetle, iridescent blue with a broad orange-yellow band across the middle, and long, hooked antennae, facing northeast, sitting on an elderberry leaf.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

I will put my camera photos on Flickr eventually.

Large brown bird with ivory bill, resembling a cross between a cormorant and a gull, sitting on a rock wall around the edge of a man made lake in an urban park.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Brown Booby has been hanging out by Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, much to the excitement of local birders. Today, June 13. #birdsky #birding #birds

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I will personally donate copies of books I have written, if you want. These two, plus “Wasps: The Astonishing Diversity of a Misunderstood Insect,” and “Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America.” Keep up the great work!

Two books. Orange one is “Insectpedia: A Brief Compendium of Insect Lore.” Green one is “Bugwatching: The Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects.”

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

This weekend, @heidi-eaton.bsky.social and I led “bug walks “ as part of a bioblitz in Lordi Marker Prairie, managed by @moprairie.bsky.social. This is a great annual event, each time at a different prairie. South of Sedalia, Missouri, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #bioblitz #iNaturalist

Several people fanning out from a mowed trail through a prairie. Tree line in distance, and mostly cloudy skies.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Finally found a fresh cocoon of a ribbed cocoon-maker moth, genus Bucculatrix, complete with the tiny, circular “picket fence” of short tufts of silk. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #moths #mothing #insects

Very small, linear moth cocoon, with vertical ribs, and encircled by a “picket fence” of short tufts of silk. On the underside of an oak leaf.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

This female Asian Tiger Mosquito has no sympathy for me after I just finished donating blood.

Mosquito, black with ornate white stripes and bands, feeding on my hand.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Wednesday night through a little after midnight, I put up the blacklight in our front yard. This White-dotted Prominent moth, Nadata gibbosa, was easily the star of the show. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #moths #mothing #insects

Beautiful pale brown moth with a pair of thin, transverse lines across each wing, and two tiny white dots between those lines. Moth is on a white sheet, facing up, head hidden.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Stilt-legged flies, like this Rainieria antennaepes, are such cool wasp mimics. From our back yard in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, yesterday. #bugsky #bugwatching #flies #insects #Diptera

Very slender fly with long legs, sitting on a leaf. Body of fly is black, eyes red, legs broadly banded with black and dull yellow in basal half, black otherwise. Front feet are white. Wings are clear, with a transverse black band, and black wingtips.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Beautiful little jewel beetle, Anthaxia cyanella most likely, on a dogwood leaf. From my neighborhood walk this morning in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #beetles #insects

Small, bullet-shaped beetle, metallic blue, sitting on the tip of a leaf, facing northwest.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

The Brown Bark Carpet, Horisme intestinata, is always a nice geometer moth to see. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, May 20. #bugsky #bugwatching #mothing #moths #insects

Broad-winged moth, facing southeast, on an algae-stained wooden fence. Overall color of the moth is pale grayish brown with many fine, wavy black, horizontal lines across the back half of the wings.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Considerably cooler today in the wake of strong storms last night, but I still found yet another new longhorned beetle for our yard: Urgleptes querci. This one is under 10 millimeters. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #bugwatching #beetles #insects

Small, silvery gray beetle, with black “Batman” mark, and smaller black markings. Long antennae swept back, but held close to the body. Resting on algae-stained wooden fence.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

When I went out to check the blacklight Friday night, I noticed this golden beauty on the door frame, away from the light. A female Linden Borer, Saperda vestita. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #beetles #insects #bugwatching

Elongate beetle, gold in color with four oblique black hash marks midway down the back, and long orange antennae, perched at the tip of a twig in a brush pile.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Put the blacklight out in the back yard last night, and this big, amazing male Hickory Borer, Knulliana cincta, flew in. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #beetles #insects #bugwatching

Large, narrow beetle, with extremely long antennae, facing right. Color is velvety brown, not terribly evident in this photo, with a pair of oblique, ochre hash marks about halfway down the back.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Tonight’s moth du jour is a male Ambiguous Moth, one of the “litter moths” in the family Erebidae. Our Leavenworth, Kansas, USA front porch light. #bugsky #moths #mothing #insects

Moth, triangular in shape, overall brown in color with broad, horizontal bands of purplish gray, and a trio of tiny silvery dots near the center of each wing. Resting on a post on our wooden porch.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

At our front porch light a few minutes ago: Black-dotted Glyph moth, Maliattha synochitis. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #moths #mothing #insects

Small moth, facing southwest, under our front porch light. Mottled white and mossy green, with a few black marks and spots.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

At one point today we had nine Baltimore Orioles and six Orchard Orioles in our little back yard. We put out multiple orange halves and some grape jelly. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, about one block south of the federal penitentiary. #birdsky #birding #wildlife

Our back yard, with a wooden perimeter fence, what passes for a “lawn,” a prefabricated pond ringed with stones, plus a little waterfall, and bird feeders. A female House Finch is perched on the right side of the cylindrical seed feeder, and two male Baltimore Orioles are on the arm with the dish featuring orange halves and jelly.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

At the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri, right now.

Front of library with poster of scheduled events, on lawn, with trees, on a sunny day.

Poster of scheduled events, on lawn, outdoors.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I was afraid the #CityNatureChallenge was going to be a washout here in the Kansas City area, USA, but if we survive the storms tonight, the next couple of days are favorable. Please participate via @inaturalist.bsky.social. Moth is Macaria sp., Leavenworth, Kansas. #bugsky

Moth, with angular wings, resting on fallen leaves. Overall color is beige, with darker lines and patches, especially near wingtips.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Apparently I just missed #butterflyweek, but I spotted this Harvester only yesterday. Its caterpillar stage feeds on woolly aphids instead of foliage. These are briefly common in spring. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #insects #butterflies

Small butterfly, perched head down on a honeysuckle twig, in the sun. We are seeing the underside of its wings. Wings are overall warm brown with a flush of bright ochre visible on the forewing. There are a few white rings, and random white “frosting.”

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Smoky sunset over Baker Wetlands in Lawrence, Kansas, USA this evening. We were looking for King Rail birds that have been heard there recently. We heard maybe two, but, like everyone else, didn’t see them.

Sunset over a wetland, through smoke from distant rangeland seasonal burns.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Quite blustery tonight, but warm and humid, so turned on the light by our garage. This Baltimore Snout, Hypena baltimoralis, was one of the few visitors. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #moths #mothing #insects

Moth with triangular shape, head up, on a wooden fence at night. Color of moth is pale gray with black patches, and black crescents near wingtips.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Doing chores can have its rewards. Taking out the trash just now, I found this Barberry Geometer moth on the inside latch of our screen door. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bugsky #moths #mothing #insects

Moth on inside latch of screen door. Moth has broad, triangular wings with broad, transverse bands of gray and brown-ochre.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Luna Moth selfie! This male was hanging from a branch of invasive honeysuckle close to the forest floor. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, April 6, 2026. #bugsky #moths #mothing

A male Luna Moth, green with broad wings, hind wings with long tails, hanging from a small branch. Selfie view with two people, sparse tree canopy, and blue sky in background.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Heidi spotted this freshly bloomed Jack-in-the-Pulpit flower on the forest floor in a ravine on the VA Trails here in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA today. #bloomscrolling #wildflowers #spring

Jack-in-the-Pulpit flower in bloom. Tall, green, cylindrical, with hood over central stalk in throat of flower. Background shows sunlit forest floor.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

So bummed that we already missed the bloom of trout lilies (aka fawn lilies) in one of our favorite hiking spots here in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, today. The leaves are still wonderful, though. #bloomscrolling #wildflowers #spring

Two trout lily flowers, faded red withered, surrounded by the beautiful green leaves that are lightly mottled with purple, growing from the forest floor.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Earlier this week I received an email from someone purporting to represent the Edinburgh (Scotland) International Book Festival, a real event, inviting me as a guest panelist. It was a phishing scam. Authors and writers are the biggest targets for scams, I swear. #writingcommunity #booksky

Book, titled Insectpedia: A Brief Compendium of Insect Lore, with a mason wasp pictured.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Eastern Redbud is blooming now, even the smaller trees in our back yard. I love them for both the color, and the fact that they are the most obvious native plants flowering, attracting a variety of bee species. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. #bloomscrolling #wildflowers

Bright pink flowers of Eastern Redbud, sprouting from bare, zigzag branches. An algae-stained wooden fence makes up the entire background.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

A Variegated Cutworm moth came to our front porch light last night, in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. This week we are probably going to have a fair amount of rain, so might not see many insects for awhile. #bugsky #moths #insects

Moth, shaped like a tall triangle, wings shivering slightly, on the side of our house, under our front porch light. Moth is overall mottled brown and gray with paler edges.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

If I get arrested today, it will prove that someone can’t take a joke.

Protest sign for No Kings rally that reads “Gil O’Teen Reporting for Duty,” with pair of shamrocks as decoration.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Private universities should compete in their own, separate athletic conference.

Classic Norman Rockwell painting depicting man in pilot jacket standing up to speak at a public meeting. Other people, seated, turn to look at him.

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Eric R. Eaton @bugeric.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Blacklighting again, because it is still 79 degrees F, in the front yard this time. I believe this beauty is a Bethune’s Pinion, a type of owlet moth in the family Noctuidae. #bugsky #moths #mothing #insects

Moth at rest on a sheet at night, attracted by a blacklight. Moth is vaguely iridescent beige, with chain-like markings of reddish brown. Moth is facing up. 🔝

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