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Mattia Menchetti

@mattiamenchetti.bsky.social
228 followers 248 following 9 posts

Loves beer, maps, ants, and flipping stones. PhD, working on ant phylogeography 🐜 MSCA fellow at Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. He/him. www.mattiamenchetti.com

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Mattia Menchetti @mattiamenchetti.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In 2023 we reported Europe's first established fire ant population, in Sicily. Our new update: residents recall Solenopsis invicta since the 1990s, and it now also occurs in 3 more provinces, over 120 km away. We also list 78 ant species around the invaded areas. 🐜🔥 doi.org/10.21426/B6....
The timeline shows residents recalling fire ants in Sicily since 1990. The map of Sicily shows earlier records between Siracusa and Avola and new records up to Milazzo, over 120 km away. Photos show the invaded sites, including farmland and natural habitats.
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Mattia Menchetti @mattiamenchetti.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Biodiversity: millions of species, impossible to collect them all. So I made a video game where you try anyway. Over 180,000 species, growing every update. Guess where they live, explore Adventure mode, build your field guide. Free, no sign-up, installs like an app. #Biodiversity #IndieGame #MSCA
mattiamenchetti.com
RangeQuest: Guess. Learn. Collect.
Guess where real species live on the world map. RangeQuest is a free biodiversity game: learn the ranges of animals, plants, fungi and more from across the tree of life, build your Field Guide, and ex...
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Mattia Menchetti @mattiamenchetti.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
The DNA barcode reference library for European ants is out! 🐜🧬 doi.org/10.1111/1755... Checklist of 650 species, ~78% covered 🧬, +6,500 COI 🧬, plus species genetic maps & trees, see Supp. Inf. "Atlas" tinyurl.com/antdnaeuatlas A framework for species discovery, biosurveillance, and phylogeography!
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Earth BioGenome Project 🌍 @ebpgenome.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
🦋🧬 A milestone for biodiversity genomics. Project Psyche is building chromosome-level genomes for ~11,000 European butterflies & moths — 1,000 sequenced, 3,000+ collected, across 34 countries. 🔗 Read the publication: bit.ly/ProjectPsyche @projectpsyche.bsky.social #BiodiversityGenomics 🧬🌍
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Matt Kerr @mattkerr.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
It was great to meet so many other Early Career Researchers at our #TIBS2026 mixer last night - both catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. To celebrate all the ECR Biogeographers, we have created a starter pack so you can follow all the exciting work being done: go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
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Yuki Haba @yukihaba.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities? Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation. 🧵(1/n) @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
science.org
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
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Mattia Menchetti @mattiamenchetti.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
Thrilled to have received these two prizes for my PhD thesis! 🤩 More info at news covered by IBE.
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Project Psyche @projectpsyche.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
(1/6) 🦋 We are thrilled to announce the release of the 1,000th reference genome of Lepidoptera species found in Europe! This goal was reached with the release of Stenoptilia islandicus, also known as the mountain plume moth. Read the story below!👇🏽
Genome sequencing progress for Lepidoptera. 
Stacked bar charts represent the cumulative number of lepidopteran species with a reference genome per year. The colours represent the different levels of genome assembly quality, ranging from contig to chromosome-level. Numbers in brackets represent the range in numbers of species that have a given assembly level per year. Data derived from GoaT on 05.09.2025.
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Gael Kergoat @gkergoat.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Our study on the recent invasion of the Little Fire #Ant in Southern Europe (including France!) was published today in Diversity & Distribution @consbiog.bsky.social #OA great collaborative work led by @cbgpmontpellier.bsky.social @inrae-dpt-spe.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Wasmaniia auropunctata queen
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10kLepGenomes @10klepgenomes.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
First field trip of the #WG2 has come to an end! We will share some of the most relevant moments of this fantastic week! Stay tuned 🦋🧬
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10kLepGenomes @10klepgenomes.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
👩🏾‍💻 It’s finally here! 👩🏾‍💻 We’re excited to announce the launch of our official website for Cost Action 10kLepGenomes: www.10klepgenomes.eu 🦋 We invite you to explore and stay updated with our progress in Lepidoptera genomics! 🧬 #10kLepGenomes #Lepidoptera #Genomics
w10klepgenomes.eu
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Project Psyche @projectpsyche.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
#Moths and #butterflies hold a special place in the hearts of #ProjectPsyche members, and some have chosen to carry them on their skin forever! 🦋 Check out this collage of Lepidoptera-inspired tattoos from our community, featuring real species and artistic interpretations alike 🎨
Collage of Lepidoptera-inspired tattoos featuring Actias isabellae, Erebia palarica, Acherontia atropos, Heliconius hermathena vereatta, Urbanus esmeraldus, Erebia euryale, Danaus plexippus and other Lepidoptera-related designs.
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Project Psyche @projectpsyche.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
(1/4)🦋 Introducing Project Psyche! A groundbreaking initiative to sequence the genomes of all 11,000 species of butterflies and moths in Europe. The goal is to analyse this data to understand global climate insecurity and threats to biodiversity on a genomic level🧬 #ProjectPsyche #Genomics
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Mattia Menchetti @mattiamenchetti.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Thanks to the Project Psyche and the Sanger Institute for such a fantastic course!
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Arthur Matte @arthurmatte.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
🚨 New Paper Alert! 🚨 🐜 How did ants evolve their highly specialized queens and workers? With @adriatica.bsky.social, we reveal a key evolutionary innovation: adult control over larval feeding unlocked extreme caste dimorphism and complex societies. 🧵👇 🔗 Read in @pnas.org: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
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David Peris @davidperis.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
📢Exciting Opportunity!! 🙌 We are hiring a reseach assistant! Do you have experience in computerized tomography of insects and 3D segmentation? Come to work with us! @ibb-botanic.bsky.social #LabPaleoecology
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Butterfly Diversity & Evolution Lab @rogervilalab.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
It’s not the head, it’s the butt! Meet a completely unknown organism: a blow fly (Calliphoridae) that evolved social integration in termite nests using a false termite head in the posterior part of the body. @CurrentBiology www.cell.com/current-biol...
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Awful and they won't be satisfied with even this. If not stopped, DOGE will dismantle American leadership in science & damage communities and economies throughout the US. joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/cutting-th...
joshuasweitz.substack.com
Cutting the National Science Foundation in Half Does Not Leave Us With a National Science Foundation
The administration is threatening America’s science and technology research infrastructure. They may not succeed. But it’s a threat that should be taken seriously.
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Rob Waterhouse @rmwaterhouse.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Robin Waples' reference manual for the elegant, yet hideously complex concept of effective population size (Ne) #biodiversity #genomics #conservation #evolution onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The Idiot's Guide to Effective Population Size
This is a reference manual for the elegant, yet hideously complex concept of effective population size (Ne), inspired by a classic, self-published manual of automotive repair ‘for the compleat idiot’...
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Mattia Menchetti @mattiamenchetti.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Thrilled to receive the #MSCA grant with the AntTRAILS project! 🎉 I will explore the genomic legacy of human transitions in Mediterranean ants across history at Bonnie Blaimer’s lab (@mfnberlin.bsky.social) and with Pablo Librado (@ibe-barcelona.bsky.social). Lots of ants and fun ahead! 🐜
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