In the middle of a new project that I'm calling "Crystallographs"--depictions of crystal lattices rendered with ccsb.scripps.edu/illustrate/, probably to be printed large-scale on fabric for the show. Here's my favorite so far--nucleosomes from rcsb pdb 💉🧬💻🔬💊🌱🧠🦠 rcsb.org/structure/6hkt

take a close look at this #spider silk. single strands coming from individual spigots (and glands), all housed on spinnerets, which are themselves modified appendages. Megahexura from montane San Diego county.

Our collecting started TREES Belize back in 2014. Here are David Wyatt & Fran Keller, PhD in front of the sign 2017. Dave at 3:00am at the lights near the cabins/2015. And finally Dave & Fran Bohart Museum with most of their #belizebugs from 2016. TREES is fantastic! Go Visit!

It is no problem grabbing these big #Belize beetles with your hands. Just make sure they can’t bend their body to reach your hand. They are squirmy! #belizebugs ⁦TREES Belize Males of this Cerambycidae species have larger mandibles than females (most do). & they’re fuzzy⁩

One thing I love about #fieldwork is being able to simply observe #nature. This leaf cutter #ant was so fun to watch. Notice how she positions her hind legs to keep hold of the leaf. #belizebugs #belizeants The other things I love are the sounds of the #rainforest & the #birds

oh geez, some of these big, furious cerambycids will mess you UP. I lost a fight with an Acrocinus in Costa Rica when it bit through the webbing between my thumb & forefinger D:

#Belizebugs are always the priority for our #BioBlitz but I can’t deny that I’m a secret birder. #birds are amazing. Not as diverse as insects, but Keel Billed Toucan & its call are recognizable in the jungle. Stopping ⁦The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center⁩ is a must to see these animals up close.

Not all the #belizebugs we capture are large or even insects. The best place to find #treecrickets is to listen & look in trees. #Tardigrades can be found in moss on tree trunks. #Moths mimic what’s on tree bark. Shiny #Dolichopodids can camouflage on tree leaves while hunting.

We love learning Belizean culture & history when we travel for #belizebugs. Since 2014 the site @ Xunantunich near El Castillo has been excavated & we have been humbled to watch. In 2014 just grassy knoll. Then a few years later the rock and room exposed. &then the room restored

One great thing about collecting #belizebugs is also watching them. Watching leaf cutter ants makes me feel like I really don't do much daily compared to ants. It's not the busy bee, rather it's the busy #leafcutterant. & Don't get in their way- OUCH! Ant bites/stings hurt!

Field pinning #belizebugs, saves some time in processing specimens. When we have tropical thunderstorms and can’t get out to collect then that is a great time to field pin specimens. #insects #biodiversity #beetles

Sometimes the #field pinning boards get quite chockablock

Have been taking a break to move classes online and reorganize life but wanted to share a good video with info on the way in which the corona virus works and why isolation is important.

The pandemic has caused us to cancel #belizebugs Bioblitz 2020. Fran Keller, PhD will miss the sleepless nights processing & labeling whirlpacs, hiking steep muddy trails & of course missing David Wyatt & the folks who love going to the jungle.

Working with Iris Bright and David Wyatt at the Bohart Museum today. We are not social distancing but we are #PhysicalDistancing A mini @belizebugs reunion. #belizebugs

Well we didn’t go to Belize for #belizebugs this year and I am definitely missing the field work, the thrill of the #malaise, the thick layer of #insects and the great folks that are also thrilled to document biodiversity.

It took us five years to finally capture and document these #helicopterdamselflies. Truly amazing #belizebugs. And the best at this at Las Cuevas was Charlotte H. E. Alberts. Some years none seen, others just too high in canopy. 2019 we captured more than 5. If you know ID, we’d love it.

#belizebugs are truly amazing! The #insects we find in malaise traps and yellow bowls are not always adults. No this is not a #Stegosaurus but rather a juvenile...? Put your guess/answers in the comments. 🙂

Just out! Garikipati & Bond-“A checklist of Mantodea of Belize..,”thank you to Jason Bond for support&collaborative work w/Lohit to make this resource possible. Excited for #belizebugs #BohartInsectBioblitz2022 TREES Belize & #LasCuevasResearchStation zookeys.pensoft.net/article/58193/…

#Beetles from Belize to be featured at #Bohart Museum of Entomology open house, 1 to 4 p.m., Jan. 22. Professor Fran Keller of Folsom Lake College, a Bohart scientist & #ucdavis doctoral alumna, will among the presenters. Free, family friendly. #BugSquad bit.ly/3CXsAve