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Nick Dowdy

@njdowdy.bsky.social
214 followers 156 following 35 posts

Head of Zoology & Director of Collections Informatics @ Milwaukee Public Museum studying the evolution, behavior, and chemical ecology of erebid moths 🦋🔊🦇

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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Influencing model output at training time is intriguing. But here it's circular - "Barcodes improve agreement with barcodes". 🤷‍♂️ ok... and Claude didn't mention this at all. Critically, this doesn't necessarily improve performance on the actual task. It might even hurt, all while "metrics" look good.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Do you like moths that make sounds? Do you like museum collections? Do you want a PhD? Reach out ASAP!
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Super cool! Nedry vibes.
media.tenor.com
a person is holding a test tube that says stegasaui 2.0
ALT: a person is holding a test tube that says stegasaui 2.0
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
🚨 Erebidae Alert 🚨 A crime has been committed. This is (probably) Noctua pronuba, not a Catocala. Only a warning is being issued. Thank you for your future compliance. Have a moth-ly evening. 😂
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Meganeuropsis permiana has entered the chat...
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Your dangling floof is a Sycamore Tussock Moth, Halysidota harrisii (Erebidae: Arctiinae).
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Did you get the "prior written consent" to use these images? 😂 What a ridiculous requirement.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
We also added a special acknowledgment to Jeremy Holloway, a prolific contributor to our knowledge of Erebidae, particularly in southeast Asia, who sadly passed away while this article was waiting to be published.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Big thanks to my co-authors: Moe Sisson, Makani Fisher, Larry Gall, Paul Goldstein, Nick Homziak, Chris Schmidt, Becky Simmons, Susan Weller, Reza Zahiri, Jen Zaspel, & Alberto Zilli And special thanks to the many contributors of larval images too!
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Despite all of that, there is still so much that remains unknown about this family. It is a true honor to work on this group. I am looking forward to what the next 10 years unveils.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Erebids number more than 25,000 species, have a global distribution, are of vital economic importance, contain some of the largest and smallest lepidopterans known, and possess awe inspiring traits like chemical defenses and anti-bat sound production to name a few. There is something for everyone!
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
I am happy to share that my most recent publication is now live and open access! academic.oup.com/isd/article/... Our amazing team of Erebidae experts has brought together foundational information about one of the most biodiverse families on Earth, including photos for all subfamilies!
academic.oup.com
Erebidae systematics: past, present, and future—progress in understanding a diverse lepidopteran lineage
Abstract. Erebidae, the largest family of Lepidoptera with approximately 25,000 known species globally, forms the major clade of the superfamily Noctuoidea
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
Wasp or moth?
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
My student Annika and I had a great time at @mkepublicmuseum.bsky.social last night for Inside Out. Everyone was really excited to learn about mimicry and masquerade! Wanna take our quiz? Check it out:
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
media.tenor.com
a cartoon character from south park is covering his nose with his hand and says jesus christ
ALT: a cartoon character from south park is covering his nose with his hand and says jesus christ
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
the "wake up, babe" meme template saying "wake up, babe. a new phylogenetic method just dropped"
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Why would you expect barcodes to necessarily be associated with literature? In my experience (Lepidoptera) this is predominantly not the case. Many people are sequencing semi-randomly, for works-in-progress, or simply for comparative purposes. 39% doesn't seem unreasonable given that.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
I also loved how focused he was on Trump's "mood". Earth to dumbass... come in, dumbass! Do you think politics should be governed by the moment-to-moment shifting mood of an 80 year old felon? And these are the losers saying a woman couldn't be president... 🤦
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Lindsay Graham re: how valuable democracy is to Republicans: "I told Zelenskyy... you have a new relationship with America. A 500 billion, half a trillion dollar deal, that President Trump is proud of. That gives us an interest worth defending." They don't value human freedom. They value minerals.
media.tenor.com
a man in a suit and tie sits in front of a woman
Alt: Lindsay graham looking like a moron as usual
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Focus shifts, bringing the background in sharp focus. It's me, donning a pair of dope Ray-Bans, nodding in approval.
media.tenor.com
a close up of a man wearing sunglasses and a plaid shirt .
ALT: a close up of a man wearing sunglasses and a plaid shirt .
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
"He has experience in Parasitology..." 🤔 you don't say...
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
I do not recall seeing it in the Taiwan material, no 😕 but it's been a minute since my last trip.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
😵‍💫 Ya'll have any specimens?
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Reposted by Nick Dowdy
Niklas Wahlberg @lepphylo.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
A postdoc opportunity to work on Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) functional genomics with me, @jadrankarota.bsky.social and @chriswheat.bsky.social in Lund, Sweden. We aim to leverage the amazing amount of data being generated by @projectpsyche.bsky.social and DToL projects. lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
lu.varbi.com
Postdoctoral fellow in Noctuidae functional genomics
Subject description The project will use a comparative functional genomes approach to study a species-rich group of moths, Noctuidae (Lepidoptera). Noctuidae have both a huge negative and positive imp
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Spotted in "horrible city" Milwaukee today 😆
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
If you want to distance yourself from Supabase, then yes. If you want the name to signal that Supabase is a first-class citizen in the starter kit, I think Supastarter is better.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
I think right feels more premium. But I love clearly seeing the technologies used upfront. Saves me time if the stack clearly doesn't align with my use case.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
brb
media.tenor.com
a scene from a movie called spider man no way home
ALT: a scene from a movie called spider man no way home
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
This incredible moth is a male Uraga hoemorrhoa #Erebidae : #Arctiinae in the subtribe Ctenuchina, endemic to Jamaica. There are only a handful of images available online. It is probably very closely related to the Ctenucha (e.g., the common Ctenucha virginica) of mainland North America.
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Wow, this wasp is amazing! Reminds me of EVA 01. Get in the f%#^ing phylogeny, Shinji!
media.tenor.com
a person in a purple and green costume is walking down a road
ALT: a person in a purple and green costume is walking down a road
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Blue is not an easy color to find for #Lepidoptera, but #Arctiinae always provide! Not too many photos of this species online. Try to find it! I'll drop the ID here tomorrow. #BlueBugs #BlueMonday
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Typical.... 😮‍💨. Bread was good though!
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
If any US folks need tips on getting TikTok access, let me know. I just spent my morning circumventing the ban to get a Japanese milk bread recipe for my wife 😂
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
It was a lot of fun to co-author! It's wild how poorly understood many of these lineages are. So much to do, so little time!
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Thanks! I'm looking forward to covering the "darker side" of Lepidoptera. 😈
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Nick Dowdy @njdowdy.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Sneak-peak at Figure 1 from an upcoming review on #Erebidae, the most speciose family of #Lepidoptera. Type genera/species of all 18 subfamilies are figured, providing a cursory overview of what an "erebid" is.
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