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Scientists make their living using their brains to interpret data.

So what happens when that organ breaks, and a respected researcher becomes mentally ill?

In this week's second #DeepDive, let's explore the case of Jay Traver.

CW: Mental illness
Jay Traver was one of the early entomological pioneers. Her career centered mainly around aquatic insects, specifically mayflies.

Most of her work-which is still cited to this day-revolved around describing the lifecycles of mayflies.
In 1951, Traver published a paper where she claimed to have experienced an infestation by a mite called Dermatophagoides scheremetewskyi.

This is a mite which lives in homes, and although it causes allergic reactions, it was known at the time to not be parasitic.
Read 15 tweets
With Glyphosate being in the news due to a recent court ruling, let's take this opportunity to explore the history of pest control in this week's #DeepDive.

It's a huge and complex topic, so the best we can do is a brief overview.
It's not really known when humans started using pesticides.

The first agricultural societies began about 10,000 BCE, with several independent shifts around the world from relatively nomadic lifestyles to those tending crops.
The first records of pesticides being used is in Sumeria, where they used elemental sulfur to control crop pests.

This is largely an accident of geography; Sulfur deposits are abundant in a stretch between Mosul and Fatha...which allowed easy access.
Read 27 tweets
For tonight's #DeepDive, let's talk a little bit about how insects use venom *and* poison for various things.

The divisions can be weird, and there's a lot of ways that venoms and poisons can be used!

Thanks to @RosemaryMosco for comic permission!

amazon.com/Birding-My-Fav…
When we think of venom or poison, we typically think about the act of eating...and for good reason.

Venom/poisons are used to either help something eat, or keep something from being eaten.

flic.kr/p/asPjzA
The only exception to this that I'm aware of is the mating of the African rock scorpion.

During mating (2:10 in this video), the male stings the female.

This species doesn't use venom to hunt, so the exact reason behind this behavior is unknown.

Read 17 tweets
#DeepDive #NXIVM Part3
(had some tech difficulties and it got broken into three different threads Ill link them together in this on thread)
#ArizonaMafia #Salinas #EmilianoSalinas #MarcoLopez
Its bigger than we know
Selling of America! #CarlosSlim #NYTimes #JeffreyPeterson
Read 3 tweets
#NXIVM Unlocks Worlds
This week, a public figure, Jeffrey Peterson, came forward
with a stunning story. A first-hand account being revealed thru his twitter page @realJeffreyP
His perspective changes what we know about the NXIVM case
Who is Jeffrey Peterson?
#DeepDive #KAG
2. On July 11, 2018 Jeffrey Petrerson "reset" his twitter account.
3. He said he was going to be using his account to "raise awareness 4 some pretty important stories (to say the least) that need to be told but it will take a while..."
Read 105 tweets
#NXIVM unlocks Worlds
Let's go beyond the NY Times
Beyond the controlled script
#DeepDive
#ArizonaMafia goes to Mexico
It's bigger than we imagine
Main Source and credit to:
Frank Parlato Jr and Frank Report
#EmilanoSalinas #Salinas #CarlosSalinas #CarlosSlim
We pick up our story after learning who the #ArizonaMafia are, and how they are directly tied TODAY to legally protecting and representing #NXIVM
3. We saw the deepest connections at the highest levels of our DHS under Janet Napolitano to the power elite of Mexico. Namely "former" President Carlos Salinas, his son Emiliano Salinas, and one of the worlds richest men (and major owner of the NY Times) Carlos Slim.
Read 49 tweets
#NXIVM unlocks Worlds
lets go beyond the headlines
#DeepDive
Who is the #ArizonaMafia ?
It's bigger than you imagine
Main Source: Frank Parlato Jr
#Qanon #Qarmy #FletchLives
2
Just Days ago, "famed internet businessman Jeffery Peterson" contacted Frank Parlato Jr and publicly came forward with claims against #NXIVM that go beyond the localized activity in Albany, NY.
frankreport.com/2018/07/19/fam…
3 He has also joined Twitter and has been sharing evidence. @realJeffreyP
Read 119 tweets
So...this is an interesting question, and answering it gives us a chance to see how scientific names are created, why they change over time, and why they change over time.

The moth named in this article is actually Resapamea stipata.

bugguide.net/node/view/2035…

#DeepDive
Resapamea stipata isn't one of the big corn pests that we're used to seeing, and I actually had to do some serious digging to find any agriculture information.

It's a very rare pest of corn; only found when corn is grown alongside its host by accident.

lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewconten…
Normally, Resapamea grows by feeding on the roots of cordgrass...but will eat corn if it gets onto a plant by accident early in the season.

It's host is now being investigated as a potential source of biofuels, and this moth is one of the pest species because it feeds on roots.
Read 14 tweets
For our second #Pride2018 thread, let's delve a bit deeper into same sex bug hookups.

Same sex mating, like in the picture below, has been studied pretty intensely in bed bugs, but also in the Fruit fly Drosophila.

So let's talk a little bit about Fruitless!

#DeepDive
Fruitless is an insect-specific gene which turns on the developmental pathways needed for mating behaviors to happen in insects.

There's no equivalent in humans, so there's not really a way to make comparisons.
In fruit flies, sex determination is...weird. They don't have the same system we have.

In fruit flies, it's the ratio between the sex chromosomes and the non-sex chromosomes which is important. 1:1 sex:nonsex is female; 1:2 sex:nonsex is male.

It's...a bit wonky.
Read 17 tweets
Bed bug sex is incredibly violent, and never voluntary.

The male's penis is a dagger he uses to forcibly inseminate the female, puncturing her body wall and injecting sperm directly into the bloodstream.

So how does he know when he's found a female?

He doesn't.

#DeepDive
Again, before we continue...bed bug sex does not resemble anything human sex should resemble.

See disclaimer:

Early on in bed bug research, it was apparent to researchers that something wasn't right with the mating recognition systems of these insects.

Male bed bugs didn't seem to be too discriminatory, and would attempt to mount pretty much any well fed insect...male and female.
Read 17 tweets
Yeah, so...this is a really good question about a word we used in that last Sciarid tweet.

"Voltrons" is not a technical term, but I kind of feel like it should be.

Especially for formations like this.

Thread below, although not quite a #DeepDive.
Take a look at the insects in the original tweet from @natevanwechel and compare them to the sawflies below.

More or less, they're doing the same thing for reasons/benefits that aren't entirely clear.

Sometimes, insects will migrate in large groups from one place to another. Processionary caterpillars form a convoy, but some sawflies and Sciarids form huge groups that seem to act as a single organism.

They don't join up like slime moulds, but the idea isn't that different.
Read 9 tweets
For this week's #DeepDive, let's talk about the Southern Flannel Moth!

It's not well known, although we get lots of pictures of these guys.

Severe outbreaks can cause schools to be cancelled, so this is a very weird and important venomous caterpillar.

flic.kr/p/21bvzep
I am aware of three major outbreaks of these guys, although I'm certain there are others which have escaped my attention.

All three happened in Texas, one in 1913 and 1920 closed schools until the caterpillars could be sprayed. A third, in 1958 resulted in thousands of stings.
These guys like to feed in elm and oak trees, popular landscaping plants, and will fall off when disturbed by a bird or a parasitic wasp.

Most encounters happen when they land on someone (like inside a shirt) or while they're looking for places to pupate.
Read 19 tweets
just released @wildwildcountry, a documentary which explores the first confirmed bioterror attack in US history.

However there's one biosecurity incident that still perplexes entomologists.

For this week's #DeepDive, let's talk about The 1989 California Medfly Incident
Medflies are one of the most damaging pests in the world because they feed directly on the most valuable parts of plants, rendering fruit inedible before harvest.

Conservatively, an introduction would cost tens of billions of dollars in damage.

flic.kr/p/7n9VsS
Medflies are found all over the world, and are well established in Hawaii. However, they haven't gotten to the mainland yet...and @USDA_APHIS works hard to keep it that way with a number of tools that we'll explore a little bit later.
Read 25 tweets
So...for this week's #DeepDive, let's talk about some of the insect rescuing ideas that seem to go viral at this time every year.

A lot of these ideas are obviously well intentioned, but at best, have neutral effects.

Some of them are even harmful.
The first thing I'd like to bring up is this post by @BugEric, which discusses wing repair in Monarchs.

He hits a lot of the same points we'll be discussing today.

bugeric.blogspot.com/2017/10/saving…
In order to understand this post, first you need to understand how insect reproduction works...because it's not at all like humans.

A human can give birth to, maybe, 30 offspring over a lifetime?

Which is a crazy amount of babies.

Colorado Potato Beetle females do that daily.
Read 28 tweets

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