iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Yes, still working with Andrea and Chris! Here’s a hybrid between them.

Part of an inflorescence of a hybrid between Lobelia siphilitica and Lobelia cardinalis. Flowers are large, five-lobed, have a prominent bi-lobed stigma, and are a magenta color.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

4th of July parade, downtown Bloomington, Indiana. Low-key, parochial, and oddly moving.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

The Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University has a super creative special exhibit of coral reefs, created by crochet and knitting. Follows a progression from healthy (colored yarn), to bleached (plastic bags), to dead. Powerful!

Part of the display room in the museum with healthy coral reefs represented by colorful yarn elaborately crocheted and knitted, to a bleached reef made from plastic bags.

Coral reef of sooo many colors and an ancient diver covered in reef animals.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Got to go wade fishing with two of my favorite people, and I caught 3 kinds of fish (6 total) and kept one. Lovely way to end the day.

A person wade fishing in Apalachicola Bay as the sun is setting.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Just out scaring up the rays.

Front of a kayak on the water with sandy beach with pine trees in the left.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

It’s redbud time in Bloomington IN. Millions of these will be out in force this week, giving meaning to the name of the city.

Two flowers on a redbud branch. In spite of the name, the flowers are a purplish pink color.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Post a pic you took, no context, to bring some zen to the feed

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Wild wind and rain today across parts of New Zealand. Areas of the North Island were flooded very recently, and now it’s happening again, this time in the center. Rail and ferry traffic has been stopped. Those communities are getting hammered.

Screen shot of the New Zealand metservice page for severe weather warnings. The central part of the North Island is being deluged.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Funnily enough, I am back at my alma mater today to hear a seminar by @carlbergstrom.com .

Sign saying welcome to the University of Canterbury

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Lunch in Kaikoura, New Zealand

Arancini on a white plate, with salad and chutney

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Speak of the devil… Mimulus—invasive here (MacKenzie District, South Island, NewZealand) @jenncouglan.bsky.social, @jannicefriedman.bsky.social, @davidlowry.bsky.social

Mimulus in flower, growing along a small water rivulet on Sawdon Station, a working sheep station (2 February 2026).

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Magical morning spent in the Blue Duck Scenic Reserve north of Kaikoura (New Zealand). Logging was banned in ~1902, so the place is full of emergent podocarps, including miro, matai, kahikatea, rimu, and totara. Bellbird songs galore.

View of a hillside forest, tree ferns and a large mature rimu.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Today the members of the Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior graduate program at Indiana University celebrated the upcoming retirement of Dr. Ellen Ketterson. Ellen was a bastion of civility and scientific excellence. The program would not be what it is without her presence over these past decades.

Ellen Ketterson smiling while holding a plate with cake frosted in cream and crimson.

A cake with cream and crimson frosting and a frosting photo of Ellen from the early ‘90s. ‘Happy Retirement Ellen’ is written on the cake.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

A pier overlooking Apalachicola Bay.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Will take some time to recover.

A view of Apalachicola Bay from under a gazebo at the end of a pier on a stunningly beautiful morning.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Cash creek in Tate’s Hell State Forest (Florida). Nearby vegetation is a mixture of holly, saw palmetto, and slash pine, with a smattering of Lobelia glandulosa and a nice trail. Heavenly.

View of a creek from a short pier, surrounded by salt marsh.

Slash pine forest, with a saw palmetto and holly understory

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

At one point I had this lovely beast (Trichonephila clavipes) on my face. We both emerged unscathed by the encounter.

A rather large spider with a black and white head, orange spotted abdomen, and striped orange and black legs.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

In the field today in Florida with my collaborators, Chris B and @andreacase.bsky.social. This site might not look like much but it has 3 Lobelia species and a hybrid. The state mows the edge, but these species send out side branches from the cut stem—cut and come again. Roadside botany rules!

Roadside near Telogia, FL, with two people walking along looking for plants

A pale, purple flowered Lobelia glandulosa

Lobelia apalachicolensis, a beautiful large flowered species with dark purple flowers

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Spotted in a coffee shop in Kyoto. Says “scan this QR code. Can you guess the 10 types of trees?”

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Harrod’s food court ✅ KaDeWe 6th floor in Berlin ✅ And now Mitsukoshi Ginza food court ✅❤️‍🔥

Bento boxes for sale behind a glass case.

Super-detailed confections in a glass case.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Ok Susana. Here’s a Charadra deridens that I encountered on my way home.

A segmented caterpillar with long white tufts extending out from each segment, on a brown leaf.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Beautiful morning here in Bloomington, IN. Breakfast on the porch and avoiding reading the news.

Wooden table top with a serrated spoon, paper towel, two halves of a hollowed out kiwi fruit, with some roma tomatoes photobombing in the background.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Reminds me of this recipe, which tastes like more than the sum of its parts.

Photo of a bowl containing shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, rice, ans a runny yet crispy egg all topped with a sliced scallion sauce and dabs of red sauce.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Just finished helping out with the Evolution workshop at Mountain Lake Biological Station with an amazing team - Amanda Gibson (our leader), @corlettwood.bsky.social, and @clively.bsky.social, and me. Our 15 workshop attendees were terrific. It was so much fun. It will be offered again next year.

19 evolutionary biologists standing on lichen covered stone steps in front of an arched entryway to a stone building. Everyone is smiling.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Spent the afternoon yesterday at the Tucson Botanical Gardens with the incomparable Judie Bronstein. @caterpillar-coevo.bsky.social were your ears burning?

Two women pointing to a flowering Datura plant.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Join us for an Evolution workshop at the beautiful Mountain Lake Biological Station this July.

Join Drs. Amanda Gibson (University of Virginia), Corlett Wood (University of Pennsylvania), Lynda Delph (Indiana University), and Curt Lively (Indiana University) for a six-day workshop on evolutionary biology for early career graduate students. During this week, you'll have the time and support to think deeply about the evolutionary questions that excite you and to engage in focused conversations with a small group of peers. As your group shapes ideas into a research proposal, you'll practice communicating with one another and articulating yourself in writing. The workshop will also include tutorials on the art of science writing and question development.

We have found this workshop to be particularly valuable for students who are early in their PhD, prior to writing their dissertation proposal. We assume some prior experience working in the field of evolutionary biology. The research proposal is an exercise in scientific thought and communication; it will reflect the mutual interests of your group and does not need to focus on your specific dissertation research. So, come prepared to work with your group on a wide range of evolutionary questions and approaches that may fall outside your area of expertise!

Workshop dates: July 27 - August 2, 2025
Enrollment limit: 16
Cost: $300 (with financial assistance available, including registration awards for student members of the American Society of Naturalists)
Deadline for cancelation with refund: July 13, 2025
Location: Mountain Lake Biological Station, Pembroke, Virginia

For more information and to register, visit https://mlbs.virginia.edu/evolutionary-biology-workshop

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Rescued this 8-lb unit just over 20 years ago.

Mostly white fluffy cat sitting looking out the window. Side view.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

They are so amazing. I saw one yesterday (but only had my phone with me). Apalachicola, FL

Pileated woodpecker on the side of a pine branch.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Tom Petty as the Bridge City mayor in The Postman.

Photo clip of Tom Petty in a movie about post-apocalyptic America.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Sitting on a nice bench right now with this view.

View of the ocean from a track above Kaikoura

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

The government fixed the road and made a public pullout where travelers could stop to watch the seals, who simply moved to the intertidal pools for their romping. It is fabulous.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Then a big earthquake in 2016 changed everything.

Sign about a 7.8 earthquake and the destruction of the road.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Back in the ‘80s/90’s this little valley held a secret that locals knew about. A waterfall and the large pool below it, created by the Ohau river, was often full of several dozens of fur seal pups. They loved splashing about in the freshwater, while their moms sunned on the rocks. 1/n #NewZealand

View of a hidden river, with native bush covering the hillsides.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

New Zealand native plants have a preponderance of small white flowers, as with this female Pimelia (honey bee for scale).

Bluey-green, small leaved plant with small white pistillate flowers and a visiting honey bee.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Not entirely…it depends on how close you zoom in.

Screen shot of the gulf to the east/north of Mexico, labeled “Gulf of Mexico”.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Currently in New Zealand. Answer is that it depends on how much I zoom in (Apple Maps app, not Google Maps).

Map of the gulf south of the US and to the east of Mexico, labeled ‘Gulf of Mexico’

Map of the gulf south of the US and to the east of Mexico, labeled ‘Gulf of America’. Same gulf as previous photo, just zoomed out more.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Coffee in hand this morning in New Zealand, and being followed by a fantail (piwakawaka) who wouldn’t stand still.

Pseudopanax and Hinau, along with agapanthus.

A piwakawaka squeaking at me to rustle up some insects for breakfast. Moving too fast for a good photo!

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Years of work by a tremendous group, lead by Gabriel Marais. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Screen shot of an article in Science titled “The Silene latifolia genome and its giant Y chromosome”.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Oh, to be back in the land with native hebe. #NewZealand

Photo of a section of a hebe (Veronica) in flower with long white inflorescences.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Current status: transplanting hundreds of individual sprouts from filter paper into seedling trays for our big common-garden experiment. Look closer - there is a seedling there!

Photo of soil in the cell of a seedling tray with a single seedling at the cotyledon stage. A yellow toothpick marks the cell as having a seedling, because they are so very, very small.

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Here's my favorite from this semester - a meme about why we grow old and die.

A cartoon of a Trojan horse at the gates, with the horse appearing to be "advantages effects early in life", while hiding "deleterious effects late in life in its belly". Selection and antagonistic pleiotropy are also listed.

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