iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Squeaky Pete started his work week by terrorizing another roll of toilet paper. He then moved on to his ball toy before wrapping up the morning honing weaponry on the cardboard scratcher. The morning has been exhausting. Siesta time. 😴

A sleepy brown tabby cat laying on a desk near the window.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Happy #Caturday from Squeaky Pete who decided it would be good fun to shred a roll of toilet paper.

A small brown tabby cat sitting politely and looking very innocent amongst the shredded remains of a roll of toilet paper. He is in a room with gray carpet and blue walls and there is a cat carrier and bookshelf in the background.

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Mike Saunders 🇺🇦 @hardwaterhacker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Rob says the #BirdOfTheDay theme, is #Borbs, birds looking plump. The Alt theme is #Brown, birds with brown in their plumage. I'll take both with this Sharp-tailed Grouse #birds #nature #wildlife

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Who wore it better? Phillie Phanatic vs Gambel’s Quail #BirdOfTheDay #Borb

The shaggy green mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies shaking his tummy while dancing on the infield. An infielder scratched his head in the background.

A very fluffy, round Gambel’s Quail strutting his stuff. He has a black topknot, brown cap, gray chest, black belly, and stylish while and brown striping on his sides.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is a fascinating read. If you enjoy science and history it’s worth a few minutes of your time. 🌿

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Nature’s Edge @edge-nature.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

There’s still a few around. White-lined Sphinx moth in the garden.

A moth colored with tans, brown and white stripes, the hind wings have pink bands.

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Reposted by Jen Cross

Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Listen up little buck, you have an entire mountain and yet you want to walk right where I'm standing. OK, wherever you want to go. Chugach State Park #Alaska 🦊

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A fine selection of falcons for #BirdOfTheDay #Raptors American Kestrel aka the best mini murderbird, Prairie Falcon, Peregrine Falcon

A bird with a slate cap, dark streaks under the eye like a football player, warm tan chest with a few polka dots at the edges, and a warm tan tail with a dark band and white tips. He is perched on a rusty pole and you can see blood spatter on the underside of his tail. Gray storm clouds fill the sky.

A bird with brown on white patterning. It is in flight and zooming past a brown cliff face.

A bird with gray wings and a light belly with dark gray horizontal banding. He has streaks below his eyes like a football player, and a black cap. He is standing on the concrete structure underneath a bridge.

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mossworm.bsky.social @mossworm.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

babies, you ate almost all the leaf. you're going to run out of leaf to stand on

Group of tint black and orange caterpillars eating a woolly pipevine leaf together

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Reposted by Jen Cross

Melissa Crytzer Fry @crytzerfry.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Somebody didn't do a good job of sticking the landing. Though the ramp that the javelina removed made a decent resting spot. Sonoran Desert #Toad.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is great. Birders might recognize the beak, build, and tail and correctly recognize the bird as a member of the cuckoo family. 🤩

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Glen Grambo 🇨🇦 @glengrambo.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A few of the fancy sparrows have started to come through on their trip south. This juvenile White-crowned sparrow hasn’t developed the black and white striped headgear of the adults yet, but it’s still fancy! It dropped in for a quick drink, and a bath in the creek! #Birds 🪶

A juvenile White-crowned sparrow in a shallow rocky stream. The water is all black and the surrounding rooms are pink and lit by the sun. The sparrow is mottled brown with distinct brown stripes on its head. The stripes will be black on stark white when it becomes an adult. The sparrow is reflected in the black stream.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

@skypeascientist.bsky.social does great work bringing scientists to classrooms and I’m happy to support them. These calendars are a super fun way to help fund the program! Get one today!

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

One of the things you aim for in photography is leading lines that guide the eye. This petunia seems custom colored for Dramatic Bee Framing. Sweat Bee (Augochlora sp.)

A small metallic bee in the middle of a flower. The flower is yellow with deep pink coloring seeming to explode out from the middle.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Here's a fun little friend. It's a caterpillar that has adorned itself with plant material to help camouflage itself. Quite an amazing find! Emerald Moth (Synchlora sp.)

A brown caterpillar with lots of burgundy-ish plants bits stuck to its body. It is standing on a linen sheet.

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Reposted by Jen Cross

Peter Nguyen @dptbirder.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Migration is full force on! Last week we had very few warblers. Now there are rare and uncommon birds in every corner of the county! Here a blackpoll warbler and Wilson’s warbler are sharing a natural bird bath! 📷🌿🪶

Blackpoll and Wilson’s warbler on ground next to each other

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Been taking time off to do different things and I enrolled in the PA Master Naturalist training program. Last weekend we did freshwater stream water quality assessment. Got to meet some fun new friends. Whirligig Beetle (Dineutus sp.), Crayfish (Faxonius sp.), Stonefly Larva (Perlidae Family)

A silvery beetle shaped invertebrate on the surface of water. It has a fun little mustache.

A warm tan crayfish sitting on some rocks in a tank full of water.

A brown insect with two antennae and long tails. It is standing on my hand.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I don’t care about all the factions within the Democratic Party or care for all the infighting. What I love about this guy is that he’s out there doing the work. More of this please.

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Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Cool new behavior caught on video! This is a special type of octopus known as a #papernautilus (aka #argonaut) and her shell is a little less than 5cm. Watch as she extends and retracts her fleshy mantle - at the end, she rapidly retracts it all! #blackwater #blackwaterdiving

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Evelyndroid's Aperture Science and Bugge-Finding 🏳️‍⚧️🕷️ @apsciencebylyn.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Ms Phidippus apacheanus, one of the prettiest lasses you'll ever see, found on a rainy hike in Lake Wales Ridge yesterday. She (and a lovely plant I'll share later 👀) made our day. ❤️ I'd only seen one other apacheanus before, years ago. #EmotionalSupportSpood

Handsome black Phidippus jumping spider with a bright red top and stripy golden "socks" on her legs, little green chelicerae peeking out. She's on a small green oak leaf, legs bunched around her in shy salticid posture as she peers at you

The lass on her leaf, peering down over the edge. The red on black and gold is just gorgeous

The lass running up a twig of the oak. Small but very bright

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Melissa Crytzer Fry @crytzerfry.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Hey there #Tucson, tri-community locals... We're co-hosting this #purplemartin event on Wednesday. RSVP and learn more about this ancient breeding grounds! Original bird photo at nearby Copper Creek by @jencross.bsky.social (thank you!) WE made image pop with filters.

Flyer shows two purple martins, male (left) and female (right) sitting on top of a saguaro with the setting sun behind the mountains. Event to occur June 24 - a Purple Martin Perch Party ... watching them congregate at the river.

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Jocelyn Anderson Photography @jocelynanderson.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

A Blue Jay and a male Baltimore Oriole battle in a Cottonwood tree. The Blue Jay looks to have the upper hand (upper wing?) here, but was eventually chased off by the Baltimore Oriole.

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Janet Hill @saskajanet.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

It’s baby Richardson’s Ground Squirrel season. Lean in and embrace the cuteness 🌿 #mammals

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Happiness is a cozy pile of laundry. #caturday

A white cat curled up amid a pile of shirts, pants, and a pair of athletic shoes.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

An important read by @jamellebouie.net “The United States of America as understood for the last half century no longer exists… What's happening now is a fight over what will take its place, with the early lead taken by the people currently filling concentration camps with innocent immigrants.”

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

When you’ve had enough for the day. #caturday

A white cat curled into a ball with his tail over his face. He is laying on a striped comforter.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Welcome to Shrimp City! Teach your friends about a variety of crustaceans with this helpful visual aid - and set the record straight... bugs is shrimp. Shrimp is not bugs These shirts are designed by @the666cat.bsky.social & printed in Philly! Get one at SquidFacts.net (pls RT!)

A cream colored shirt with a red and blue design featuring 9 crustaceans and a fly. A scuba diving Fly Says a”am I shrimp too?” A pistol shrimp wearing a cowboy hat says “bang bang” a mantis shrimp says KO, the title says a”shrimp city and friends” a hermit crab uses a skull
As a shell, a jumbo shrimp is labeled himbo shrimp, and a yeti crab is labeled “snack bacteria cafe”. The fly has an asterisk next to
Him and underneath the whole design it says *the latest research shows that bugs is actually shrimp”

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

A weevil with a pseudoscorpion attached to its front leg, hitching a ride. Pseudoscorpions will often use other insects as Ubers to carry them around the forest, a commensal relationship called phoresis. It was exciting to see this in action. #invert El Septimo Paraiso Lodge, Ecuador

A tan weevil with black eyes and a reddish rostrum. It has a small scorpion looking critter attached to its front leg. This a pseudoscorpion hitching a ride. The weevil is standing on a leaf.

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Mike Melton @mikemelton.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

The Tropical Royal Flycatcher is a bird that nests in tropical riparian zones and they have an incredible crest that can be difficult to see. They display their crests during courtship, but they also spend a lot of time preening after catching insects and they'll often throw their crest then.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

I looked up this warbler to see if it migrates and Birds of the World said nope, "sedentary". The Spectacled Redstart calls the Andes Mountains home from Colombia south Bolivia. Like our North American warbler friends, this bird feeds on insects. 🪶 Guango Lodge, Ecuador

A bird with a red cap black on the face, and gray coloring on the wings and tail, with bright yellow around the eyes, chin, chest, and belly. It is perched on a thin branch with leaves and sun in the background.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Some weevil goodness. This little friend has excellent camouflage for life in a mossy environment. (Coelosternus sp.) El Refugio de Intag, Ecuador #invert

A greenish-yellow weevil with black patches on the elytra, black eyes, and a black rostrum. It is standing on an orange leaf.

A greenish-yellow weevil with black patches on the elytra, black eyes, and a black rostrum. It is standing on an orange leaf. Side view near the stem of the leaf.

A greenish-yellow weevil with black patches on the elytra, black eyes, and a black rostrum. It is standing in a mossy patch and very hard to see.

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debmaluk.bsky.social @debmaluk.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

I was taking pics out my window and this Crow was hollering away...I said HEY! why so much yelling?? and I got this look and I can barely stand it 😂 Crows are awesome! 🥰 #birds

close-up of a Crow in a tree looking sideways at the camera. The bird is black. There are small branches in the green background.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Carunculated Caracara spotting the landing. These birds are only found in the high Andes Mountains of Ecuador and southern Colombia. They will feed on almost anything including worms, maggots, rodents, birds, and lizards. Caracaras are in the same family as falcons. 🪶 Antisana National Park, Ecuador

A bird with a black cap and black on top side of the wings, white on the underside of the front of the wing, strong black and white banding on the chest and belly, white leg feathers, and a black and white tail. The bird has its wings spread and is landing on a muddy roadside with dry grass in the background.

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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

slate.com

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.

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Moths in a human suit (they/them) @lycomorpha.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

OK then. My birthday's coming up. So... shenanigans: I've finally let go of my last few Cryptic Cards & Insecta decks. I'm selling them at lycomorpha.etsy.com with proceeds to Medical Aid for Palestinians (map.org.uk). If you missed them up til now? Last chance!

6 different designs from an insect themed poker deck - 1 card face from each of the 4 suits, and the 2 card back designs - all featuring colourful hand-drawn insects. Details: here's what the 6 designs are. King of clubs, a big shiny blue-green female scarab beetle with white club symbols on its back. Jack of diamonds, a colourful pink cockroach nymph with very long thin antennas and red diamond symbols on its back. 10 of hearts, 10 yellow and black striped honey wasps with pointy butts that have big red hearts on. 3 of spades, 3 green and blue horned shield bugs with white spade symbols on their backs. The ruby card back design with a big ruby jewel wasp on a sunset coloured background of insect silhouettes. The opal card back design with a black and blue ground beetle on a background of blue and green insect silhouettes.

Two decks of moth-themed playing cards, in their tuck boxes, held together to show the front and back tuck designs, each showing a painted moth design. Details: each of the painted moth designs shows a fictional moth species painted over a black and white polygon. Where the moths wings overlap the underlying shape, it's wing patterns match it. On the tuck back it's a hawkmoth with small black and red playing card pip markings down it's back. On the front it's a hawkmoth with a big colourful spade in the middle of it's back and wings, with intricate patterns of scenery, plants, and human eyes and hair painted in and around it.

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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I do love this subtle photo of a carpenter ant in the wood galleries. Insect photographers for some reasons don't make that many moody silhoutte photos, I should probably do more of these.

A mostly dark image showing a couple roughly cut chambers through wood, and the silhouette of an ant with her antennae raised in the smaller chamber.

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Okay so we're in between net checks and hanging out in the truck because the weather is shit, and a bird lands on the side mirror. My student Noelle looks and starts making incomprehensible noises, because it's a freaking HAWFINCH

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

These two moths were hanging out on a wall making baby moths. The color of the wall makes the photo look like an old-timey science illustration. Pug Moths (Tribe Eupitheciini) El Refugio de Intag, Ecuador

Two moths with mottled green and brown coloring on a tan wall. They are abdomen to abdomen and facing away from each other.

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Evelyndroid's Aperture Science and Bugge-Finding 🏳️‍⚧️🕷️ @apsciencebylyn.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Nugget Classic™ One of the more common encyrtid wasp forms out there: stubby, dark orange, big grey eyes, and stripy little clubbed antennae. Out tirelessly doing important biocontrol work. ❤️

Little orange and winged encyrtid wasp as described in the post text, running along a bright fence board

Face of the creature, little black false pupils showing cross-eyed in her big grey eyes

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

The bug light at El Refugio de Intag was pretty good. Here are some fancy moths that made an appearance. Still working on ID's for them. El Refugio de Intag, Ecuador

A dark yellow moth with bluish black markings on its wings. It is standing on a white sheet.

A greenish moth with patches of burnt orange and tan on its wings. It is standing on a white sheet.

A brown moth with a pattern of light yellowish markings on the forward part of its wings. It is standing on a white sheet.

A yellow moth with metallic patterns on its wings. It is standing on a white sheet.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

I've supported Skype a Scientist for since the beginning. Sarah does great work bringing scientists into classrooms and we need this kind of outreach! It would be great if you can help support the program.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

This cartoonish caterpillar will pupate into a large sphinx moth. I'm guessing the disguise is to fool birds into thinking it's a snake? A very, very goofy snake. Not a snack. (Xylophanes crotonis) #invert El Refugio de Intag, Ecuador

A chonky pale green caterpillar with bright blue eye spots. It is standing on green leaves. Side view.

A chonky pale green caterpillar with bright blue eye spots. It is standing on green leaves. Front view.

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

A lacewing larva carts around a bunch of debris, including the husks of conquered prey, to help disguise itself. El Refugio de Intag, Ecuador

A small tan insect with a bunch of debris on its back. It is walking on a leaf.

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