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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he)

@thatbugkid.bsky.social

813 followers 509 following 54 posts

PhD student at UC Davis studying wasps and other fun bugs. Enjoys talking to bugs, stuffing moss into their pockets, writing, and fiber arts.

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

If anyone is at #ESA feel free to say hi if you see me! I’ll be presenting a poster on Thursday!

a conference badge for the ecological society of america conference. text on a white background reads “ESA 2025” and the name Skye Austin is below it. Below Skye’s name is “UC Davis”. Skye has a variety of ribbons (from top to bottom): a light blue “Poster Presenter” ribbon, a silver “Student Member” ribbon, a neon green “Student” ribbon, a dark green “They-Them-Theirs” ribbon, a green “SEEDS Alumni” ribbon, and a navy blue “Career Central” ribbon. The badge is resting on a faux-wood table.

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Yes! Xylocopa sonorina! I caught one of the males a couple of weeks ago.

Skye is holding a snap cap vial with an orange bee inside it. the bee is looking at the camera

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

What.

a large, black bee is contained in a snap cap vial that skye is holding. you can see vegetation in the background of the photo.

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

obligatory:

a photo of oryx, the taken king reaching towards the camera. the caption reads “I’m taking that”

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

fiber shelf looks like an actual shelf instead of the site of some kind of sheep accident

a shelf with a bin and a basket on it. squeezed in between the bin and the basket is a bag of fiber and a drop spindle

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Looking through the notes I took during the last meeting with my PI so that I know what to prep for our next meeting. Current status:

a photo of a black man looking confused with question marks surrounding his face

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

This site is becoming more active, so time for an intro! I'm Skye (they/he) and I'm a PhD student at UC Davis studying solitary wasps! I mainly post about bugs, being a disabled student, and fiber arts, but might talk about other stuff like making music or video games every once in a while.

A picture of Skye in a public bathroom. They're wearing a jersey representing the Shenandoah University esports team. Skye is smiling in the photo.

A photo of Skye out in the field. There is lots of vegetation in the background. Skye is wearing a teal jacket, a yellow-green backpack, and a sunhat. They are smiling in the photo.

A photo of Skye at the Smithsonian entomology collection. They are standing in front of a butterfly display. Skye is masked, but you can tell they are still smiling in the photo.

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 24/10/2024

So MAD! I made the Worlds Most Perfect To-Do List on Sunday and it got completely and utterly derailed and DESTROYED by a 7 hour hospital stay I am going to--

A photo of Nezarec, the Final God of Pain. He is holding his glaive and running towards the camera.

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 04/08/2024

hi!!! hi hello!!! 👋🏾

an imperial moth is sitting on skye’s finger. it is waving its front leg to the camera like it’s saying hello!

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 14/03/2024

🎶woaahh we’re halfway there🎶 livin’ on a prayer (that my IDs are right)

A shallow, white cardboard box with foam at the bottom. pinned in the foam are small bees with labels. the label text is very small and hard to read. in the corner of the box is a vial containing the head of a bee. in the background of the photo, you can see some more bees that are pinned and drying.

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 26/12/2023

my cousin got me isopods for christmas! lovin these lil guys :’3

an purple-y gray isopod with a reddish skirt and yellow dots down its back. it is sitting nicely on the substrate of the tank it is in. you can also see moss and dried leaves in the photo

an isopod, similar to the one in the first image, is hiding in some moss and dried leaves

a photo of the tank setup that the isopods are in. it contains moss, dried leaves, and cocofiber substrate

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 10/11/2023

I had a blast at #EntSoc23 !!! Reconnected with friends, met potential grad advisors, my poster won 1st place in the category, and I got to go behind the scenes at the Smithsonian NMNH! Big shoutout and many thanks to Dr. Shockley for leading the tour!

A photo of Skye, who is wearing a white mask and has circular glasses, standing in front of a collections box. The box contains colorful butterfly specimens. Behind them is a photo of the collections drawers pulled out to show the large number of specimens.

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 31/07/2023

the episode in which skye replaces wrong IDs with even more wrong IDs (somehow) (still haven’t figured it out) (we’ll uh, get there eventually)

a hand holding a labelled specimen jar. the label reads (from top to bottom): Halictidae, Agapostemon (this is crossed out), Lasioglossum (this is crossed out), Coll: 05/06/2023, BEF S2 V#17. in the very corner of the label are the initials SAUS.

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skye, certified bug enthusiast (they/he) @thatbugkid.bsky.social · 31/07/2023

not quite sure how randomly selecting bees to ID backfired and left the hardest ones for last, but ok i guess?

a photo of a messy table. on the table is a stereoscope with the brightness set to high, a bottle of 95% ethyl alcohol, a flashlight, a marker, two pairs of tweezers, and many, many jars of bees.

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