Yasha 
@Yasha@qoto.org
Analytical biologist with a focus on chemical ecology. Mostly interested in semiochemicals used in interspecific communication, as well as chemical and morphological defensive adaptations in arthropods.
Meme connoisseur, peepo enthusiast, hardcore gamer and tea gourmet.
Political centrist, always up for discussion and seeking a compromise based on facts and logic.
In addition, a classically trained singer with expertise in German songs and arias (Schubert, Schumann, Wagner).
Joined Nov 2022
Yasha
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The swollen stem of a Cordia nodosa plant houses a symbiotic colony of Azteca ants, including a massive queen. The ants protect the plant from herbivores in exchange for lodging. Jatun Sacha reserve, Napo, Ecuador.
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Wielding a massive goth shield crafted from its own feces, this young tortoise beetle is truly an animal for our times.
(Cassidinae, Peru)
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RT @apsciencebydan@twitter.com
While we're giving scale insects a little spotlight (as one should), how about we make a little noise for one of the weirder inhabitants of my back yard: Neosteingelia texana!
They show up in this form on my maple trees every year.
Male, female, and mating pair shown here!
N. FL
🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/apsciencebydan/status/1593355731952189442
Yasha
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This is an assassin bug, and it is so metal.
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Insect, but weirder than most
Friday Flyday!
Here’s a Richardia hammerhead fly from an Ecuadorian cloud forest.
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Insect
‘Sup?
(Proscopiidae, jumping stick insect. Ecuador) #insects #photography #wtf
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Photos of a classic insect symbiosis
Silky field ants tending black locust treehoppers for honeydew. Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
The main technical challenge here was balancing the foreground flash with the ambient light.
Steel your hearts!
It's Chucky the Ducky? 
#duck #dailyquack #birds #bird #ornithology #fun #horror #thriller
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Spider
A gorgeous little Cyclona conica #spider from deciduous woodland in Surrey. When they sit like this they always make me think of aliens 👽 #IsThatJustMe? #macro #invertebrates #wildlife #photography
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Scientists' warning on climate change and insects:
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecm.1553
Might be too cute for your mere human eyes!
Blessing your timeline with a cute little duck. 
#duck #dailyquack #nature #biology #photography #zoology #birds #bird #ornithology
Followup: The snake belongs to the genus Dasypeltis, also known as the egg-eating snakes (fitting).
"They have extremely flexible jaws and necks for eating eggs much larger than their head, and have no teeth, but they do have bony protrusions on the inside edge of their spine which are used to aid in breaking the shells of eggs.
The process of consuming an egg involves wrapping their mouth around it and drawing it into the throat and then flexing their muscles pushing the egg into the bony protrusions on their spine, which causes the egg to collapse in on itself. Then the snake carefully squeezes every last bit of liquid out of the inside of the egg, ending with regurgitation of the completely crushed egg shell." - Excerpt from wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasypeltis)
It surely looks ambitious, a bit greedy maybe, but it is fascinating to look at nonetheless.
Contrary to common believe, snakes do not dislocate their jaws to eat, as they do not have classic mandibular joints. Instead there are really stretchy ligaments that connect the upper and lower mandibular bones to each other and they fuse at the back of their head. Swallowing things a whole is therefore called gaping. 🐍 
PS: I don't know which species this is, please someone enlighten me 
#nature #biology #video #zoology #ecology #snake #herpetology
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Endless sparkle on this Eupholus weevil.
Focus-stacked image using a Canon SLR.
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Now it's personal.
Jumping bristletail or in this case the species Trigoniophthalmus alternatus, is a wingless insect of the family Machilidae. It is found throughout the northern Holarctic (excluding China) and undergoes virtually no metamorphosis during its life cycle. Insemination of females takes place indirectly. Males spin silken stalks on which they place droplets of sperm for females to pick up. 
Photography by 'Pierre Bornand'.
#nature #biology #photography #zoology #arthropods #ecology #bristletail #insect #entomology
Analytical biologist with a focus on chemical ecology. Mostly interested in semiochemicals used in interspecific communication, as well as chemical and morphological defensive adaptations in arthropods.
Meme connoisseur, peepo enthusiast, hardcore gamer and tea gourmet.
Political centrist, always up for discussion and seeking a compromise based on facts and logic.
In addition, a classically trained singer with expertise in German songs and arias (Schubert, Schumann, Wagner).
Joined Nov 2022
