iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

I'm incredibly grateful to be in a community of insect enthusiasts that do incredible research, conservation, art, and science communication 😄

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Dr. Lee Rafuse Haines and I first pitched this festival to highlight the wonderful, growing community of entomologists and insect enthusiasts in and around Notre Dame, and seeing the festival come to fruition is a dream come true. heffernanp.substack.com/p/inaugural-...

heffernanp.substack.com

Inaugural Notre Dame InsectFest celebrates insect research, biodiversity, and conservation

This past Friday, we hosted the first-ever University of Notre Dame InsectFest to celebrate insect research, biodiversity, and conservation in the South Bend area.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Last week, we hosted the first-ever University of Notre Dame InsectFest to celebrate insect research, biodiversity, and conservation in the South Bend area!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Very excited to be a part of this celebration of insect research and biodiversity at the University of Notre Dame Eck visitor's center this Friday 🪰🪲🐜😀

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This is hosted with Football Fridays at the Eck, so there will also be food, drink, music, football guests, and more. Since this is on a workday, I will also be highlighting the many wonderful contributors to the event on socials!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

If you are on campus at ND next Friday (10/9) before the Notre Dame-Stanford football game, make sure to stop by the Eck Visitors Center from 12-3. We will be hosting the first Notre Dame InsectFest! We will be highlighting researchers at ND, local insect diversity, arthropod vectors, and more!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We had a lively discussion on how to identify aggregate, whole, and individual communities, as well as community health means at each level. We also discussed how to implement this framework as ecologists, particularly in relation to topics like trophic re-wilding and biological control measures.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

For this week's Eco-Env Ethics Reading Group, we discussed "Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Realism about Communities and Ecosystems" (2007) by @jayode.bsky.social, which beautifully explores the nature of communities and ecosystems 🌱

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Dragonflies finishing their molting in the reflection pond for Touchdown Jesus. Love seeing a healthy ecosystem even in the middle of campus!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I highly recommend this film, even though it is very hard to watch 😅

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Created several decades before we quantified the extent of artificial light pollution on insect physiology, behavior, and population dynamics, Mothlight is a film asking us to empathize with a moth whose life had been lost to artificial light at night.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A lot has been written about the importance of Mothlight from an experimental film perspective, but I wanted to explore its importance to me as an entomologist.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Mothlight (1963, Stan Brakhage) is the greatest insect movie of all time. It challenges the way in which all films are made, embeds itself in a conservation narrative still relevant 60 years later, and brings the dead back to life. pmheffernan.medium.com/the-greatest...

pmheffernan.medium.com

The greatest insect film of all time: Stan Brakhage, Mothlight, and Colorado moths

The greatest insect film of all time — Stan Brakhage, Mothlight, and Colorado moths You probably won’t like this movie recommendation. The movie has no words, no sound, and no immediately …

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

For today's Eco-Env Ethics Reading Group, we read "Ethics requirements for environmental research" (2023) from J Macdonald & M Simon in the Australas. J. of Environ. Manag. We had a great discussion on the benefits, drawbacks, and challenges to ethics oversight and guidelines for outdoor research!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Just finished reading Children of Time by @aptshadow.bsky.social. It might be my new favorite example of entomological world building! Such a fun exploration of rapid evolution and interplay between spiders and ants. I loved that Max Barclay and @nhm-london.bsky.social Ento Dept helped advise it!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

If you’re on campus and interested in joining our future discussions, please let me know so I can add you to the email group :)

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

We had a wonderful discussion reflecting on the field 21 years later, identifying how ecological ethics has changed, and what we can do to move the field forward.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

For our first meeting, we discussed “Ecological ethics: Building a new tool kit for ecologists and biodiversity managers” from Ben A. Minteer and James P. Collins (2005 Conservation Biology), which lays the groundwork for the creation of ‘ecological ethics’ as a field and why it is necessary.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Today we held our first meeting of the Ecological and Environmental Ethics Reading Group at Notre Dame, connecting ecologists and philosophers together on campus!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I've been having so much fun at #ESA2026 in Salt Lake City! I always love the amazing diversity of incredible talks and posters. I'm quite proud to be a part of the ecology community. Thank you to everyone that came to hear me talk about how insecticide gradients and mosquito thermal dynamics today!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Mosquitoes can develop in the places you'd least expect! I found ~200 larvae developing on the lid of a bin in my backyard after it rained last week. An excellent reminder to survey my property for standing water. Reducing larval habitats is one of the easiest and most effective control methods!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Had a blast showcasing the role mosquitoes play in ecosystems (and raising awareness for larval source management) at the inaugural ND Frog Fest!!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

I wrote about the experience and patterns we’ve noticed so far here: (open.substack.com/pub/hefferna...) or here: (medium.com/@pmheffernan...)

open.substack.com

Exploring my dog’s spring tick burden

Bringing scientific exploration into the home

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Sharing what we’ve found with family and friends has been a fun and easy way of connecting science (specifically vector ecology) to our daily lives. Throughout the rest of the year, we’re very excited to see how other factors (such as seasonality and tick life-stage) come into play.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

This spring, my spouse and I have been counting the number of ticks we’ve found on our dog after every walk we take. So far, we’ve found 190 ticks, with the highest number of ticks-per-walk on nature trails and in warmer weather.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

These results highlight the need to integrate anthropogenic stressors with climatic drivers when predicting pest risk and optimizing control strategies. I'm looking forward to sharing more of my work in this space in the near future!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Through a response-surface experiment on juvenile Aedes aegypti life history traits, we found that the interaction between temperature and insecticides can reshape pest population dynamics, rather than each acting as independent stressors.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

🦟 New pre-print out! “Insecticide temephos alters thermal dependence of dengue vector” I’m very happy to share my first bioRxiv pre-print from my graduate studies! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

My first research experience was assisting researchers at the Niwot Ridge LTER in the Colorado Rockies. The scientists I worked with there were passionate, kind, and dedicated. The LTER system has always been great people doing great research. It is unacceptable to shutter such a valuable network.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Also on Medium: pmheffernan.medium.com/could-the-sc...

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Could the scrael from The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss be real? I'd certainly like to think so. open.substack.com/pub/hefferna...

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

As a side note, 2 years ago I also released a short story in this journal inspired by the stages of insect metamorphosis. After my reading, I got my favorite compliment I’ve ever received: “Oh! So, you’re like a real life bug guy!” 🦟🎉

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

I had so much fun sharing the biology of this extremely important pathogen group with our local community! I’m grateful to find people so excited to learn a little science alongside their fiction.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Viroids can cause over 50% yield loss in a wide variety of crops like potatoes, avocados, and palms, and they have caused billions of USD in economic loss across the globe.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Viroids are like viruses but much simpler. While viruses have a protective coat and machinery to replicate, viroids are just naked strands of RNA. They passively arrive in plant hosts after mechanical damage or through insect vectors, and then they hijack the host to do all the replicating for them.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Very grateful to have one of my short stories released in our local library journal today! This piece (an amalgamation of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy) is heavily inspired by my favorite type of pathogen: viroids.

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Reposted by Patrick Heffernan

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine @lshtm.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

📢 1st global “early warning system” for #dengue launches New online dashboard gives governments & the public a real-time picture of global dengue situation for the first time. #PublicHealth www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/n...

“For the first time, governments and the public can see how serious dengue is in different parts of the world.” Oliver Brady, Professor of Spatial Epidemiology, LSHTM

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

30 years ago today, the world of vector biology lost George B. Craig, Jr., a leading expert on Aedes mosquitoes. At Notre Dame, I’m lucky enough to work in his insectaries and care for his books. Here are some of my reflections on his legacy that I’ve had here. open.substack.com/pub/hefferna...

open.substack.com

From the library of George B. Craig, Jr.

Reflections from 30 years onward

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

Loved Eric Ochomo’s call to action during the George B. Craig memorial lecture! Fighting vector-borne disease requires united, integrated, and bold actions now more than ever.

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

Had a blast presenting at and attending #PHAM2025!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

I’m incredibly grateful to be funded through the NIH. Because of their support, I’m able to conduct research that helps fight mosquito-borne disease. The NIH funds countless researchers dedicated to helping improve human lives, and I hope they continue to give us that opportunity

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Just got to present @eselland.bsky.social and I’s Schistosomiasis lab project at ESA! While I primarily work with mosquitoes now, learning about Schistosomiasis in undergrad parasitology was what convinced me to become a disease ecologist. Such a cool full circle moment for me!

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Such a treat to get to see in person! It feels great to cross seeing a cicada-killer hunt off my entomology bucket list ✔️

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

The cicada-killer wasp had just stung the cicada and was waiting for paralysis to fully kick in. It will then carry the cicada back to its burrow where it will lay its eggs, and the cicada’s body will serve as food for the hatching larvae

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Patrick Heffernan @pmheffernan.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

While out walking, this pair of insects fell from the tree canopy and landed right in front of me!

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