Sign in

L. Brian Patrick

@lbrianpatrick.bsky.social
312 followers 148 following 70 posts

Arachnologist, ecologist, dabbling in evolutionary biology. Views are mine and are not the views of my workplace.

PostsRepliesMedia
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
When I first saw the picture I thought "that's a cool looking oplilionid-- wait, is that an oplilionid??"
010
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
-7 F is actually -21 C!
110
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
New Species Podcast @newspeciespodcast.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
It's time - tell me what you think of New Species Podcast! This feedback is really important to me and genuinely shapes the episodes I make. Please take 5-10 minutes to fill even part of it out, i'd be super grateful! forms.gle/BWxUAZzBtcmF...
forms.gle
New Species Census 2026
Hi! This is a survey to learn more about the listeners of New Species Podcast and to give you the opportunity to share your thoughts about the direction of the podcast and its content. It should take ...
122
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
Marshal Hedin @mhedin.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
this NPR write-up includes one of our 2025 new spider species! www.npr.org/2025/12/31/n....
npr.org
Meet five new species discovered in 2025
A bumpy snailfish, Andean mouse opossum and ancient sea cow were just some of the many species described in 2025.
1216
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Another mitogenome paper. This time, the California trap-door spider! share.google/i1qDmGvTpl0a...
041
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Ah, I didn't realize that clicking on the pic would reveal additional text!
110
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
What the heck is that? Any idea of the species?
110
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
Marc A. Milne @forthespiders.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
A cubed flat top for this southern Alabama boy.
Lateral view of Phycosoma lineatipes, a comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae from southern Alabama.
76810
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Here's part of the TOC
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
And in just a couple of days later, here is the next mitogenome paper published! Several more on the way in the next few weeks! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
030
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
It has been a long process, but the first of many mitogenome papers is *finally* published! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
The mitochondrial genome of Palpimanus capensis Simon, 1893 (Araneae, Palpimanidae) from ultraconserved elements (UCEs)
The mitochondrial genome of Palpimanus capensis Simon, 1893 has been sequenced and annotated from ultraconserved elements (UCEs). The species is endemic to South Africa and is a free-living ground-...
030
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
But, SEM?
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Where's the picture?
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Tonight and for an eternity to come we grieve. She was an amazing companion and family member. She is dearly missed.
150
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
Marc A. Milne @forthespiders.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
The periscope-like head of Walckenaeria subpallida (Araneae, Linyphiidae) from Virginia, USA. #InverteFest
Lateral view of a small dwarf spider, Walckenaeria subpallida, from Virginia.
0283
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
Marshal Hedin @mhedin.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
This ..
0101
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
Armando Rosario-Lebrón @rosariolebronentomology.com · 27/03/2025
People don’t realize spiders can supplement their diet with pollen. Eggs and Sanders (2013) found juvenile orb-weavers get up to 38 percent from it. Meadows matter. Flowers are tiny gas pumps for murder machines. #science #arachnology🧪 journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org
Herbivory in Spiders: The Importance of Pollen for Orb-Weavers
Orb-weaving spiders (Araneidae) are commonly regarded as generalist insect predators but resources provided by plants such as pollen may be an important dietary supplementation. Their webs snare insec...
2458
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Setbacks... fixable, but still setbacks...
010
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
Marshal Hedin @mhedin.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
found a trapdoor spider burrow in the desert yesterday the spider constructs this door from silk & soil & "saliva" bonus liverwort in the LL
round opening of a spider burrow, about the size of a US nickel, with a silken hinge on the top edge, attached to a silken lid (a trapdoor).
3738
Reposted by L. Brian Patrick
Pensoft @pensoft.net · 07/03/2025
New book: A checklist to identify all known species of flies in Canada! doi.org/10.3897/ab.e... "This checklist is a fundamental piece of work that will guide the assessment of the conservation status of those species." @bioinfocus.bsky.social
Cover of "Checklist of the Flies (Diptera) in Canada" featuring two fly images, with contributors and publisher details below.
04319
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Oof...
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
NCBI is down. Ordinarily, I wouldn't worry, but with the way things are going here in the US I worry that this is more than just a temporary glitch or system update...
110
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Just following the examples of my heroes, including you!
020
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Just messaged you!
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
I got back reads today! 92 samples with reads across 16 genera and 40 species! My first task: check for a mitogenome in Minicosa neptuna. Got one! 😀 That will be worked out in the next week or two for sure and I hope to get that manuscript ready to be submitted by the end of March!
160
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Just talked to the sequencing facility and it sounds like my first round of lycosids are working out pretty well, including my new favorite spider Minicosa neptuna! I should have data tomorrow to start getting mitogenomes and to use in the phyluce pipeline to extract UCEs!
150
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Messaged
010
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Hello! Do you know which species of Hogna you get there? I would also be interested in Trochosa (I assume terricola?).
110
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
I sent you a message! 😀
010
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
@kaina-privet.bsky.social to be clear, this is general ngs. I hope to extract mitogenomes and ultraconserved elements (UCEs) from the assembled contigs.
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Tobias emailed me. Please contact him and he will help you send specimens to me if you collect any wolf spiders, including Trochosa. 😁 Ah, yes, Kronestedt is a good idea. I will email him. Thank you!
120
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Salut Julien! Oui, bien sur! Specimens from southern France would be great. Do you have any Hogna sp.? I assume "radiata" at least?
110
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
I'm happy to share any data (reads) that result from specimens you provide. 😁
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
I'll be doing next gen sequencing (whole genome sequencing, random) for 150 bp paired-end reads, with targets of 15M to 20M reads per specimen.
110
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
It is okay if nobody specializes in arachnids. The name of the collections manager is enough to start. 😁 I found his email address and will send him an email in a few minutes.
110
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
T. terricola from Sweden would be brilliant! I am unsure who is curator at the Swedish NHM, but if you give me their name I can contact them. Additionally, if you do collect T. terricola, I have a specific interest in that species! We can arrange for the specimens to be sent through the museum.
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Well, this study is more about teasing apart mitochondrial vs nuclear genomic evolution in wolf spiders than confirming they're spiders.
110
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
That's understandable. I appreciate you reaching out.😁
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Basically, ANY specimen from which I get DNA needs to be deposited in a museum for this reason.
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
But I also need to voucher each specimen by depositing in a recognized museum collection, so they need to be dead for that. That way, the specimen can be examined by anyone else in case the species ID is ever in question.
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Well, yeah, dead is best. It's difficult to get DNA from living specimens.
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Where are you collecting?
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
I have heard that soaking in water for several hours can help increase the probability of getting usable DNA, so I'm willing to try. Can you message me? You seem to have messaging turned off (which I completely understand!).
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Messaged! 😁
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Oh, to be clear, you have messages turned off (I definitely get that), so you'll have to message me.
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Can you message me? Then we can exchange email addresses.
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Ha! I would hate to deprive you (and your shed) of these fuzzy spider cuties!
000
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Yes, that is ideal for DNA extraction. What have you been using?
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Do you know which species you have collected? If so, can you send me a species list? That would be the easiest place to start. Thanks!
100
L. Brian Patrick @lbrianpatrick.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Hi Ainsley! Literally any location is fine! If you have a list of species that would be helpful. Both Australia (from anywhere) and Appalachia (as a region) would be valuable for this work!
000