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id="postdates"> <h2 class="date grouped_date">February 15, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-106405"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/106405-a-worm-with-a-fan-belated-observation-of-the-week-2-4-25">A Worm with a Fan! - (Belated) Observation of the Week, 2/4/25</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4291-original.jpg" style="width: 100%"></p> <p>Our (belated) Observation of the Week is this <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/259005318" rel="nofollow noopener">Red-trumpet Calcareous Tubeworm</a> (<i>Serpula columbiana</i>), seen in the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=1&subview=map" rel="nofollow noopener">United States</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/jensseattle" rel="nofollow noopener">@jensseattle</a>!</p> <p>“I am obsessed with the diversity of marine life here in the Pacific Northwest, where I now live,” says Jen Strongin, who traces her love for marine biology back to her childhood on the Atlantic Ocean.</p> <p><i>My family spent a couple of weeks every summer at the edge of Nantucket Sound in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. I remember getting up early with my mom, walking the beach and looking for <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48302-Limulus-polyphemus" rel="nofollow noopener">horseshoe crabs</a> and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/142977-Stromboidea" rel="nofollow noopener">conchs</a>. The beach was (and still is) endlessly fascinating to me with all of its weird and wonderful inhabitants.</i></p> <p>A few weeks ago Jen visited a floating dock in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma,_Washington" rel="nofollow noopener">Tacoma, Washington</a>, and did her thing:</p> <p><i>I was…lying on my belly, hanging over the edge of the dock, looking at all the animals who had decided to settle there. Floating docks are amazing places to observe marine life! There were several Serpula columbiana, looking </i><b><i>gorgeous</i></b><i> with their </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrus_(biology)" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>cirri</i></a><i> all fluffed out. I still cannot get over how beautiful some of our marine worms are here in the Pacific Northwest. I love photographing them.</i></p> <p>True to their common name, tubeworms live in a tube they create from calcareous secretions. Much of the worm’s body stays in the tube, but it can extend feathery radioles, or tentacles, which is what Jen has captured here. The radioles are used for both filter feeding and gas exchange. If disturbed, the worm will quickly draw them in and plug the hole to its tube with an operculum.</p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4292-original.jpeg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>“I have been working with the Seattle Aquarium's <a href="https://www.seattleaquarium.org/explore-the-aquarium/programs/beach-naturalist/" rel="nofollow noopener">Beach Naturalist Program</a> for the past 8 years, helping to educate volunteers and the public about life on our local shorelines,” says Jen (above). She’s also a professional photographer who specializes on marine life and fungi.</p> <p><i>iNat is such an amazing resource. I love being able to learn from others, share observations that may be helpful to scientists/researchers, and to be able to keep track of what I have observed.</i></p> <hr> <p>- you can check Jen’s photography on <a href="https://www.jenstronginphotography.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">her website</a>!</p> <p>- PBS has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJnwwts1C4g" rel="nofollow noopener">nice video</a> about related Christmas Tree Worms.</p> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">February 15, 2025 12:02 AM</span> by <a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane"><img alt="tiwane" title="tiwane" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-thumb.jpg?1739340503 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503" /> </a><a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane">tiwane</a> | <span class="count">8</span> comments | <a href="/blog/106405-a-worm-with-a-fan-belated-observation-of-the-week-2-4-25#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">February 11, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-106265"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/106265-this-fungus-grows-on-horns-and-hooves-observation-of-the-week-2-11-25">This Fungus Grows on Horns and Hooves! - Observation of the Week, 2/11/25</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4286-original.jpeg" style="width: 100%"></p> <p>Our Observation of the Week is this <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/259971115" rel="nofollow noopener">Horn Stalkball fungus</a> (<i>Onygena equina</i>), seen in <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=6718&subview=map" rel="nofollow noopener">Ireland</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/paddythecurious" rel="nofollow noopener">@paddythecurious</a>!</p> <p>I think most of us are used to seeing fungi growing on soil, or decomposing logs, but iNatter Paddy Kiely came across a fungus that specializes in a different substrate in southern Ireland, where he lives.</p> <p><i>Onygena equina I have come across in two different areas around Tipperary. Both in hilly areas with a forest close by. For this observation, I was looking for wax caps in the field adjacent to the forest. In the forest there was many sheep carcasses and that's where I found the fungi.</i></p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4289-original.jpeg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>Look closely and you’ll see no fungi on the sheep’s bone, just its horns, and that’s because horns are made of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratin" rel="nofollow noopener">keratin</a> (just like fur, claws, reptile scales, and the like), and <i>Onygena equina</i> grows on nothing else. It’s able to break down the keratin in horns and hooves, and then of course it will grow fruiting bodies from which it releases its spores. It’s reputed to sometimes infect human fingernails as well, although I personally haven’t been able to find a peer-reviewed paper showing that - if you know of one, please share in the comments!</p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4285-original.jpg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>Paddy (above, with a <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48701-Boletus-edulis" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Boletus edulis</i></a> mushroom) says he’s fascinated by “everything fungi.”</p> <p><i>I fell down the rabbit hole 7 years ago and learn more and more every day. I have maybe ten books, my favorite, The Fungal Wheels of Europe edition 1 and 2. Also I use a microscope to check spores. I help moderate in 4 groups in Facebook and triage and identify for emergency identification for plants and mushrooms, which I was delighted to be asked to help out in a few months ago. I love to eat mushrooms and have eaten over 150 species in the south of Ireland. I love to find every type of mushroom. Basically I'd like to know about them all. Every day is a treasure hunt.</i></p> <p><i>I use iNaturalist to log my findings of fungi, plants and animals. I believe this is very important for scientific data and research. Also, it's good to look back on for my own research.</i></p> <p>(Some quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.)</p> <hr> <p>- other fungi that grow on keratin may be more familiar to humans: <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/352616-Trichophyton-rubrum" rel="nofollow noopener">ringworm</a> and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1018977-Trichophyton-mentagrophytes" rel="nofollow noopener">athlete’s foot</a>. They’re all in the order <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50349-Onygenales" rel="nofollow noopener">Onygenales</a>.</p> <p>- just found out about <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1225577-Zythia-resinae" rel="nofollow noopener">this fungus</a> yesterday, which grows on coniferous resin. Amazing.</p> <p>- just a reminder that if you're interested in foraging, one shouldn't rely solely on iNat suggestions when determining the edibility of an organism. It's best to seek out local experts and learn from them.</p> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">February 11, 2025 10:25 PM</span> by <a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane"><img alt="tiwane" title="tiwane" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-thumb.jpg?1739340503 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503" /> </a><a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane">tiwane</a> | <span class="count">8</span> comments | <a href="/blog/106265-this-fungus-grows-on-horns-and-hooves-observation-of-the-week-2-11-25#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">January 30, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-105731"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/105731-new-computer-vision-model-v2-19-with-over-2-000-new-species">New Computer Vision Model (v2.19) with over 2,000 new species!</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p>We've released v2.19 today with 2,193 new species (99,545 taxa up from <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/104015" rel="nofollow noopener">97,352</a>). This new model was trained on data exported on December 29th, 2024.</p> <p>Here's a graph of the model's release schedule since early 2022 (segments extend from data export date to model release date) and how the number of species included in each model has increased over time.</p> <p><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4282-original.png" width="100%"></p> <p>The graph below shows model accuracy estimates using 1,000 random Research Grade observations in each group not seen during training time. The paired bars below compare average accuracy of model 2.18 with the new model 2.19. Each bar shows the accuracy from Computer Vision alone (dark green) and Computer Vision + Geo (green). Overall the average accuracy of 2.19 is 89.0% (statistically the same as 2.18 at 89.8% - as described <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/90401-some-thoughts-on-ml-accuracy" rel="nofollow noopener">here</a> we probably expect ~2% variance all other things being equal among experiments).<br> <img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4283-original.png" width="100%"></p> <p>Here is a sample of new species added to v2.19: </p> <ul> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=68361,68467,69608,71008,81726,83264,83871,84858,94548,96236,97027,100800,101110,101646,102791,104570,107958,114473,114549,118981,121865,121876,125503,127977,134073,143278,148774,149709,151807,153080,154660,155396,198966,198988,199423,202231,202586,203353,208006,208195,210352,212327,212716,213496,214838,215212,215213,215517,218023,218148,218219,218356,218364,219185,219378,219541,219821,224994,224996,225206,226434,226930,227967,228778,229494,230487,230674,230676,233816,256348,256428,257271,257990,258010,258179,258188,258392,258424,261443,261642,265971,266053,266205,266627,271315,272435,300528,303579,318508,319050,321263,323656,324318,324400,326774,327153,329531,334477,340837,347307,347460,354248,354717,356426,357449,358312,358477,361091,362043,367083,368688,371355,372302,372688,372689,380069,384933,385097,385942,386069,387824,389302,389835,390014,390283,390700,391427,392233,392576,393651,394058,395134,395408,395971,397166,410571,416914,416950,416952,416955,417062,418554,418650,423778,423916,424903,425082,425252,428603,428848,433297,450488,451186,451593,451688,451804,451867,452359,453265,453414,453579,458279,461003,464163,464814,466029,466515,467426,468295,468910,469293,469825,470135,470153,470737,470743,470907,471074,471124,471160,471555,472480,472721,473851,478602,479049,479768,480049,480087,480289,480327,481188,481400,481656,482585,483315,484043,484047,484090,484101,484513,484588,484781,486067,486746,487438,487713,488672,489714,489758,490538,494816,494955,496780,497117,497154,497210,497237,498179,503026,503448,503966,505002,508147,508226,509040,509801,510211,516059,516486,516609,516921,518003,519262,519474,520770,520775,520869,520954,520981,522316,526808,526915,527097,527187,527519,528007,534675,536357,539058,541927,542223,543320,544663,544686,544695,545000,545299,547141,547287,547712,548209,549604,550049,551072,551078,551474,551709,553385,553719,554001,554654,555351,556311,557805,558201,560373,560574,561234,561863,563032,563777,566247,566280,566769,568300,570530,570596,572481,572592,572593,573970,574783,577874,578694,596404,601974,603374,603455,604728,605167,605943,606098,606567,606903,623049,623081,624123,626007,626081,626384,627734,627841,629080,631139,632415,633737,635235,635408,635669,636336,637219,637412,639038,639234,651864,663289,672343,683596,699343,700198,701056,702498,703558,704047,704784,706131,706539,707530,707835,708664,708954,710378,712962,713619,714771,715277,715790,733184,733756,733816,734491,737421,737740,738502,738522,743316,743384,748444,749329,756465,757238,764072,767699,768368,768376,772109,773350,774642,774829,776749,778782,782223,782559,784319,784393,785214,786035,787133,787376,791122,793960,798040,802088,802814,803437,803542,805272,809187,809385,824319,826342,831271,841623,842222,847037,848589,849401,849831,852543,854004,854820,856400,857456,859183,860646,860649,861281,861850,867729,868010,868041,870486,871807,871821,872232,874423,874523,875309,875497,876091,876660,876694,877175,881367,882106,883149,883950,883998,885357,886897,891859,891991,892172,892890,893417,893683,894144,894909,895042,895464,896432,896659,896726,899869,900593,900695,901114,902613,903531,906301,907487,908988,915504,915968,922915,925053,931267,947152,950666,957055,959250,961261,963613,966905,967271,974638,974758,976560,992748,994244,995088,1011132,1015564,1019512,1024102,1024231,1039581,1043373,1062489,1063090,1073441,1078243,1089044,1089469,1090291,1096999,1098540,1116680,1117895,1119188,1127054,1127839,1133603,1138984,1142827,1143087,1144390,1150190,1152112,1153158,1164143,1181440,1231230,1234307,1239122,1241064,1257002,1275093,1292372,1318672,1328776,1345419,1347827,1350859,1356382,1365316,1393932,1394448,1401600,1426605,1429028,1482294,1484271,1515211,1522798,1534567,1535862,1557331,1559377,1560700,1566536,1578624,1581468,1583798,1586091,1586786,1587239,1587240,1587241,1591318&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Insecta</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=327948,383669,500579,1201777&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Protozoa</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=118270,123509,154876,175864,194682,205699,206652,217598,218574,222479,223470,226109,228666,233712,320871,335137,350641,350941,351046,351165,352012,352126,355814,355898,367880,384734,460465,463177,464012,473934,481607,499741,499792,500101,504731,516129,517813,518976,550133,551142,552696,704738,704761,740800,765061,779202,790185,793407,796656,805145,805278,809286,809317,821043,822245,823802,829215,869324,895593,922662,924237,930311,933575,959244,963569,964411,967125,984187,995145,1018030,1031669,1079322,1098356,1112502,1153594,1179965,1199544,1254001,1268208,1349386,1369392,1454668,1497396,1510031,1520837,1533332&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Fungi</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=21627,21766,22009,22761,22963,25109,25805,25918,25920,26350,27728,65266,66250,66480,66657,134745,476532,517114,923352,1099566,1125824,1416113,1423555,1462621,1473439,1530406,1591819&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Amphibia</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=40183,40741,40828,40894,41199,42089,42362,42538,42674,43178,44676,46839,74359,74928,75082,496703,516127,1368490,1431621&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Mammalia</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=197001,226811,323032,354324,360640,408620,525636,525994,531183,543406,566691,604581,606908,623505,624853,680497,704746,709932,780963,783372,787527,796189,802183,805876,809421,810458,817127,817216,817788,823133,825732,832255,833198,835171,868111,884446,891266,895080,897763,964113,1045201,1070907,1283525,1405567,1442646&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Arachnida</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=803,1267,1327,1375,1642,1902,2098,2107,3076,3805,4046,4047,4139,4461,4709,5643,6963,7220,7634,7753,7955,8182,8381,8496,8634,8921,8933,9303,9496,9505,10347,10559,11216,13260,13359,13472,13823,13897,14059,14121,14938,15249,15372,15466,15562,15772,17146,17423,19125,19145,19784,19856,20367,20914,20945,72529,72775,72847,73095,117015,117117,144219,144253,144865,144967,145010,145294,199832,204478,320711,324718,339700,339783,339834,367487,467996,480198,558524,558586,604520,827387,979967,980051,1287007,1289391,1289429,1289461,1289585,1424159,1435029,1506273,1506391,1572871,1578489,1584771,1586160,1586803,1586809&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Aves</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=47281,67405,83296,97750,98897,100080,100107,100489,100516,101073,102072,102622,102837,105819,108016,109043,111903,112419,112461,113865,120706,128171,131505,135192,153273,172639,196758,215318,224368,229837,317367,320098,325534,326133,353515,359370,360950,418231,445664,445800,445883,446046,446181,446256,446373,446544,513499,516358,520894,529703,620551,620689,621568,1015406,1313244,1316000,1545653,1595787&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Actinopterygii</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=27064,27245,27453,28469,28806,29742,30014,31432,32983,33098,33377,33899,34458,34571,35235,35322,35406,36132,36582,37070,37512,37716,38613,38624,38980,82318,96494,98996,99186,99191,104645,146273,318648,484766,484770,539265,539267,539413,539836,540229,552263,889688,1304704&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Reptilia</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=53345,56507,56977,57192,57434,58121,60119,61148,71087,75366,75580,75681,75845,75907,76049,76191,76327,76950,77034,77062,77169,77430,77539,77571,77695,77885,78330,78339,78343,78416,78859,78898,78947,79115,79510,84046,85366,117332,117814,120043,122571,122613,126491,127868,129093,133296,136246,138285,138302,138343,138424,138603,139293,140621,140835,140889,141086,141213,142249,142924,145691,147012,147342,149013,155770,157577,158092,158779,159093,159695,160216,160271,160382,160553,160682,160690,160712,161120,161573,162101,162294,162638,162971,163298,163740,163964,164320,164533,164935,164964,165574,166071,166098,166155,166326,166374,166686,166699,167340,167391,167639,167789,167868,168392,168772,168829,168878,169015,169335,169460,169477,169581,169901,169971,170083,170105,181667,186092,186575,201386,201633,201833,205944,207302,207911,209274,210070,273907,275189,275378,276916,277576,277588,277768,278165,278321,278927,278944,280741,281231,281326,283367,283426,283476,283511,283756,283934,284368,284707,285224,285565,285592,285783,287161,289426,289908,291603,311565,316801,319387,321333,322425,323122,323128,323129,323136,323145,323146,323223,323301,323853,332838,333670,333944,334302,335644,336351,336470,336508,336649,337073,337712,338225,338659,340231,340403,341587,341606,342068,342129,342536,347883,348433,353830,353897,354692,359717,362361,364167,364302,365632,366058,369460,369758,369759,369793,370036,370461,370548,370585,371824,399276,399502,400068,400917,400993,401006,401751,402040,403415,404243,404920,405098,405424,405429,410916,410945,417363,421607,424499,426313,426886,427215,427954,428293,428528,429585,435955,437384,437474,437501,438279,438591,438703,438940,438963,439018,440161,441362,441366,441706,442117,442251,442869,442906,444743,446763,446990,447386,448242,450324,450391,452200,460831,461287,462038,464285,464613,465362,468001,468997,470687,474140,475219,475273,478521,480296,482005,484920,485339,486046,486122,486303,490674,491213,491359,492354,492794,492830,496060,500822,502783,505821,508410,509875,511202,511213,511250,511257,511288,511326,513807,515780,519859,520082,522023,525346,525355,531491,533446,534489,535712,537188,538001,538042,541112,542572,543589,544002,544368,544665,545097,545367,546767,547458,550645,551974,552338,553079,554215,556879,557911,558110,559144,561141,564306,564437,564995,565400,566052,566141,566142,567011,567322,567358,567697,568412,569333,569363,571073,575081,578947,579382,579651,580333,580345,580441,580659,580937,581257,581994,582758,582881,582901,582915,582948,582961,583237,583264,583978,583997,584049,584135,584288,585002,585089,585345,585359,585470,585694,585770,586210,587085,587135,587510,587819,587919,587932,588400,588422,588841,588846,589256,589714,589837,590104,590122,590138,590222,590580,590922,591085,591616,591703,592272,592593,593049,593357,593548,593605,594216,594466,594586,594589,595040,595132,595204,595347,595708,596146,601682,603331,604316,604580,604779,605202,607267,625264,628892,631331,633948,634492,635843,638031,701529,705015,705119,706110,706884,707014,707077,707332,709073,709898,711273,717999,724192,733331,736659,736749,736910,739228,741787,743041,746200,748547,752636,752639,769956,770399,771844,774033,774402,774559,775496,775740,776894,777164,777430,777781,777831,779056,780869,780873,781649,787305,788007,790643,792353,792726,792757,793688,795048,795083,801351,801411,805195,805538,810829,826631,827844,829423,829531,829618,829620,830620,831196,836819,840556,841965,842153,842440,846628,850767,851335,851449,853403,855685,856707,857480,857544,858754,859955,860840,860917,861710,861967,862868,865025,867039,867357,867809,868418,870388,871059,871608,873461,874132,881555,881614,882383,882778,883593,887335,890797,892716,893924,895780,896961,897605,898582,899717,899973,901300,905183,905638,905954,906700,908009,908995,910511,911280,912434,919300,919367,919806,920802,925097,925204,926456,926472,927752,928162,930321,931300,933022,935971,938525,940415,947103,947220,950219,950220,952648,957157,957318,961805,963272,963513,963884,964834,965899,972074,972082,976106,976388,977006,980569,983142,985045,993651,995123,1005615,1010112,1017166,1021029,1023970,1027925,1035371,1039145,1044999,1046806,1050171,1062317,1063468,1064626,1071410,1071650,1073279,1076312,1080025,1080281,1085683,1089619,1089995,1091468,1092411,1092523,1104995,1116072,1119780,1121140,1123169,1123939,1124939,1125792,1146620,1151604,1154113,1175374,1181552,1185590,1188655,1203460,1221562,1233520,1237779,1270699,1305880,1341143,1354687,1362251,1363964,1364912,1377201,1390803,1405661,1415012,1418979,1419952,1422986,1433113,1467316,1468683,1477998,1510204,1516303,1517509,1542300,1546117,1553581,1586226,1588183,1588185,1588815,1588817,1589196,1593806,1595253,1596514,1596588,1597704&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Plantae</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=51793,68102,96574,98264,100636,108370,108973,108978,110106,123381,129478,195556,195766,260331,293249,319378,319788,322415,416625,418075,430125,447323,459835,480437,485369,486945,503206,519608,543421,568214,569608,604276,604292,607504,704651,739180,752177,776496,778739,810823,847030,854538,856244,883864,883883,1019831,1075867,1134719,1144891,1149234,1159736,1180926,1423921,1432650,1452607,1557355,1557612,1558745,1587477&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Animalia</a></p></li> <li><p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=85130,85132,97692,104040,109778,112731,121311,123424,126096,214869,253556,253746,336836,338269,361279,361717,368477,394717,418355,432342,460491,476198,483065,483991,484181,492391,499902,504910,518909,575015,578436,635733,699013,717833,752300,778449,781444,784837,861601,871642,876590,877198,909481,961325,1006159,1006290,1048887,1065866,1106009,1118616,1238956,1267751,1483677,1589184&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Mollusca</a></p></li> </ul> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">January 30, 2025 04:15 PM</span> by <a title="loarie" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/loarie"><img alt="loarie" title="loarie" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/mini.png?1709012283 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/thumb.png?1709012283 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/mini.png?1709012283" /> </a><a title="loarie" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/loarie">loarie</a> | <span class="count">23</span> comments | <a href="/blog/105731-new-computer-vision-model-v2-19-with-over-2-000-new-species#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">January 28, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-105655"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/105655-slime-mold-sporangia-observation-of-the-week-1-28-25">Slime Mold Sporangia - Observation of the Week, 1/28/25</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4279-original.jpg" style="width: 100%"></p> <p>Our Observation of the Week is <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/258349114" rel="nofollow noopener">this slime mold</a> sporangia (likely in the genus <i>Arcyria</i>), seen in the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=1&subview=map" rel="nofollow noopener">United States</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tetracerus" rel="nofollow noopener">@tetracerus</a>!</p> <p>Valentina (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tetracerus" rel="nofollow noopener">@tetracerus</a>) got into keeping arthropods as pet after she and her then-manager found a large <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/180713-Aphonopelma-chalcodes" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Aphonopelma chalcodes</i></a> tarantula. </p> <p><i>Around the same time, I started building miniatures and thought it would be funny to photograph my pets in these miniature settings [below - real mantis, miniature pizzas by Valentina - Tony]. Sharing these niche photos on Instagram was a turning point for me: I was able to connect with so many entomologists and macro photographers who inspired me to dive deeper into both fields. I began to spend increasingly larger portions of my weekends, vacations, and life in nature with my camera</i></p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4280-original.jpg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>Her second turning point, she says, was joining the <a href="https://sfmicrosociety.org/" rel="nofollow noopener">San Francisco Microscopical Society</a>, where she met naturalists who studied lichens, fungus, and more. </p> <p><i>I realized I could still do macrophotography in the winter when bugs were sparse. And that's how I ended up in </i><a href="https://www.openspace.org/preserves/purisima-creek-redwoods" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Preserve</i></a><i> on a windy January morning, looking for fungus and slime molds with friends. The Arcyria was one of several slime molds we found that day. Slime molds are usually quite small. At high magnifications, the depth-of-field is quite shallow so I usually have to use a technique called focus-stacking. I take a series of photos while moving the in-focus plane through the depth of the subject and later use stacking software to combine the in-focus parts from each image together. The end result is a single photo that shows the entire subject in focus.</i></p> <p>“True” slime molds (class <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47684-Myxomycetes" rel="nofollow noopener">Myxomycetes</a>) famously spend part of their life cycle as independent single cells that can eventually come together to form sporangia, or spore-producing structures, which is what Valentina photographed here. </p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4281-original.jpg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>“Joining iNaturalist has made me a better observer and photographer,” says Valentina (above, in Arizona). </p> <p><i>I used to shoot only subjects I thought would make for aesthetic social media posts but now I try to shoot everything. The extra practice is invaluable. I would get feedback from other users to capture various diagnostic features and that has forced me to always shoot from multiple angles. I also love a good technical challenge -- subjects that are difficult to photograph, due to their size or behavior, are surely under-reported so my personal goal is to capture more high-res photos of the trickier subjects. Outside of field macrophotography, I also shoot tiny insect inclusions in amber using a microscope objective attached to my camera. I wish there were a Seek or iNat equivalent for bugs in amber! Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you want to nerd out about macrophotography or photomicrography techniques</i></p> <hr> <p>- you can follow Valentina on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tetracerus_macro/" rel="nofollow noopener">Instagram</a>.</p> <p>- the top slime mo(u)ld identifier on iNat is <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/sarahlloyd" rel="nofollow noopener">@sarahlloyd</a> and one of her photos was <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/22554-slime-mo-u-lds-in-tasmania-observation-of-the-week-3-18-19" rel="nofollow noopener">Observation of the Week</a> back in 2019!</p> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">January 28, 2025 09:46 PM</span> by <a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane"><img alt="tiwane" title="tiwane" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-thumb.jpg?1739340503 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503" /> </a><a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane">tiwane</a> | <span class="count">21</span> comments | <a href="/blog/105655-slime-mold-sporangia-observation-of-the-week-1-28-25#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">January 22, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-105349"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/105349-phenology-in-focus-exploring-plant-cycles-with-inaturalist">Phenology in Focus: Exploring Plant Cycles with iNaturalist</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p>Thank you to everyone who participated in today’s Phenology webinar! Here we can continue the conversation about phenology, phenological research using iNaturalist observations, and how to add annotations to observations.</p> <p>If you haven’t seen the webinar, you can <a href="https://youtu.be/57teTK5V5t0" rel="nofollow noopener">watch the recording</a>. </p> <p align="center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/57teTK5V5t0?si=I_4ZYgol1yo2KVje" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>And here's a <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bF5GLAK3hU-S5hG7tLKRXEha2ApSX6LQbw1upUfzT0I/edit#slide=id.g2f7656c410d_0_102" rel="nofollow noopener">copy of the slides</a> for your reference or to reuse if you'd like to give a similar presentation to anyone else.</p> <p>These links below can help you explore more of the topics covered by the speakers and get started adding annotations. You can also learn about all the <a href="https://help.inaturalist.org/en/support/solutions/articles/151000191830-what-are-the-definitions-of-inaturalist-annotations-" rel="nofollow noopener">annotations for different groups of organisms</a>.</p> <p>Erin’s presentation:<br> <a href="https://phenobase.org/" rel="nofollow noopener">Learn more about Phenobase</a></p> <p>Vijay’s presentation<br> <a href="https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aps3.11315" rel="nofollow noopener">Methods for broad-scale plant phenology assessments using citizen scientists’ photographs </a></p> <p>Jeremy’s presentation<br> <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/yucca-moths-and-joshua-trees" rel="nofollow noopener">Yucca Projects on iNaturalist</a><br> <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14478" rel="nofollow noopener">Open Access paper in Ecology Letters</a><br> <a href="https://lab.jbyoder.org/2024/08/05/120-years-joshua-tree-flowering" rel="nofollow noopener">Blog post explainer</a></p> <p>Carrie’s annotation demo (be sure you’re logged in):<br> <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=research&order_by=random&taxon_id=47351&without_term_id=12" rel="nofollow noopener">Help annotate flowers and fruits in the genus Prunus</a><br> <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=research&order_by=random&without_term_id=36&taxon_id=47727" rel="nofollow noopener">Help annotate maple leaves in the genus Acer</a></p> <hr> <p>There were so many great questions we didn’t get to! Here are a few that we didn’t have a chance to address live in the webinar:</p> <p><b>How can I get my students involved in phenology on iNaturalist?</b><br> One great way to get students started is by exploring the existing data on iNaturalist. For example, they could look at the seasonality graphs on taxon pages for common species in your area. Starting with what data is already available on iNaturalist allows them to ask and answer questions about what might be missing. Then, they could help add annotations or make new observations to fill gaps for missing species or phenological stages. Please always keep in mind that students must be at least 13 years old, and that we always recommend caution and supervision if students are using iNaturalist. Please check out the <a href="https://help.inaturalist.org/en/support/solutions/articles/151000170805-inaturalist-educator-s-guide" rel="nofollow noopener">Educator’s Guide</a> for more tips.</p> <p><b>How does iNaturalist collaborate with other phenology programs like the National Phenology Network, Budburst, and other parts of the world?</b><br> Phenobase is a collaborative project working with iNaturalist, the National Phenology Network, Budburst, and many phenology recording programs around the world to make the data more accessible for research. iNaturalist will also be collaborating more closely with the US National Phenology Network on our respective program strengths.</p> <p><b>How can I access phenology data?</b><br> Phenology annotations can be accessed via our research grade data shared with GBIF. iNaturalist also has an open API where you can access annotation data. If you’d like to get updates about Phenobase, please <a href="https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/6237a557-d83c-11ef-bd64-f6bbc4b8b281" rel="nofollow noopener">sign up for occasional emails about plant phenology</a>.</p> <p><b>Can I add annotations in the iNaturalist app?</b><br> You can add them in the Android app, but not in iOS. For now, please use the website.</p> <p><b>Are observations of cultivated plants useful for phenology research?</b><br> iNaturalist’s focus continues to be on wild plants, but cultivated plants can be important for understanding phenology, and even observations that aren’t “research grade” can be used in research. You are welcome to make observations of cultivated plants, please just mark them as captive/cultivated.</p> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">January 22, 2025 08:55 PM</span> by <a title="carrieseltzer" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/carrieseltzer"><img alt="carrieseltzer" title="carrieseltzer" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/7580/2368d5c8cb7a89733bbb0a661f4eec6d-mini.jpg?1736799993 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/7580/2368d5c8cb7a89733bbb0a661f4eec6d-thumb.jpg?1736799993 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/7580/2368d5c8cb7a89733bbb0a661f4eec6d-mini.jpg?1736799993" /> </a><a title="carrieseltzer" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/carrieseltzer">carrieseltzer</a> | <span class="count">14</span> comments | <a href="/blog/105349-phenology-in-focus-exploring-plant-cycles-with-inaturalist#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">January 21, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-105323"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/105323-spider-egg-sac-or-cotton-candy-observation-of-the-week-1-21-25">Spider Egg Sac, or Cotton Candy? - Observation of the Week, 1/21/25</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4269-original.jpg" style="width: 100%"></p> <p>Our Observation of the Week is this <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/257873363" rel="nofollow noopener">Twig Spider (genus <i>Poltys</i>) egg sac</a>, seen in <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=6734&subview=map" rel="nofollow noopener">Singapore</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/nickybay" rel="nofollow noopener">@nickybay</a>!</p> <p>A few weeks ago, David Ringer (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/djringer" rel="nofollow noopener">@djringer</a>) messaged me on iNat and suggested we feature a gorgeous spider egg sac observation from Nicky Bay (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/nickybay" rel="nofollow noopener">@nickybay</a>) as Observation of the Day, which I happily did. The extra attention gave the community some clues as to which spider might have constructed this silken puffball.</p> <p>From David: </p> <p><i>I like looking through the orbweaving (</i><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/319384-Araneoidea" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Araneoidea</i></a><i>) and unclassified spiders from tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, and Australasia. Several times over the last few years, I'd noticed photographs of apparent orbweaver (</i><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47535-Araneidae" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Araneidae</i></a><i>) egg cases covered in hot pink silk threads, usually with a “tail” or “ribbon” of silk decorating the construction…I had no idea what was making the pink ones, and apparently no one else on iNaturalist did either.</i></p> <p><i>One possibility was the genus </i><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?order_by=votes&taxon_id=209672" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Poltys</i></a><i>, a genus of nocturnal, highly cryptic (and often spectacular!) twig- and dead leaf-mimics. However, I didn't find any compelling images of their egg cases. This genus is restricted to Africa, Asia, and Australasia, and although its relationships within the family Araneidae are not very well studied, Scharff et al. (2020) indicated they may be related to </i><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/145654-Eriovixia" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Eriovixia</i></a><i> and </i><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1341473-Bijoaraneus" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Bijoaraneus</i></a><i>, two other orbweaver genera from the same broad region.</i></p> <p>“I've been fascinated by the lesser-seen details in our microfauna and used to spend some time visiting macro photography forums,” says Nicky. “So when my wife got me a camera, I bought a macro lens the next day. To me, macro photography is like a window to an alien world right under our noses.”</p> <p>Nicky now goes on weekly night hikes with a few friends to find and photograph tiny wildlife and “[we] get excited whenever we find something new. Taking photos is like catching Pokemon. I also do short expeditions around Southeast Asia for this.”</p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4270-original.jpg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>It was on one of these recent hikes that Nicky’s friend spotted the colorful egg sac you see above. </p> <p><i>I've seen somewhat similar egg sacs before that belonged to Araneidae, but nothing quite like it. Given the size of the egg sac, the spider must have been large enough to be familiar to us.<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/djringer" rel="nofollow noopener">@djringer</a> triggered the discussion and I think you've seen the rest! The vital clue was provided by our friend in Japan (sasagani_ya) after a repost (arachnonaut) of the Observation of the Day on Twitter/X.</i></p> <p>“[Those comments] led me to <a href="https://media.australian.museum/media/Uploads/Journals/18033/1465_complete.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener">this paper</a>,” says David, “which describes egg cases of <i>P. stygius</i> as being ‘overlaid with rose pink silk.’ So it now seems that <i>Poltys</i> species of the <i>P. illepidus</i>" species group (which includes <i>P. stygius</i>) are responsible for creating these gorgeous egg cases. I love the idea that a nocturnal, very camouflaged spider would create something so showy and fabulous.</p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4271-original.jpg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>Nicky (above, with an experimental “bazooka” macrophotography set-up) <a href="https://www.nickybay.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">has an archive</a> of thousands of photos, and has co-authored "<a href="https://www.macrodojo.com/product/borneo-spiders-a-photographic-field-guide/" rel="nofollow noopener">Borneo Spiders: A Photographic Field Guide</a>". </p> <p><i>I am not a researcher, but my interests lie in spiders, isopods and lantern bugs (Fulgoridae). I am also part of the organising committee for the </i><a href="https://www.asianarachnology.com/9th-asian-conference-of-arachnology-2025-vang-vieng-laos/" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>9th Asian Conference of Arachnology</i></a><i> in Laos this year. Excited to meet the arachnological community and post observations from Laos (think eyeless spiders).</i></p> <p><i>I started using iNaturalist in 2022 after running a macro photography workshop in Ecuador where the microfauna was unfamiliar to me. One of the participants was a heavy iNaturalist user and encouraged me to try it out. Since then, I've been using iNaturalist as a catalogue of my findings. The AI suggestions are pretty accurate for certain taxon groups but it gives me a decent hint about 80-90% of the time so that I can dive into the corresponding literature to check. I like to organise my observations taxonomically so iNaturalist is perfect for this (except that I am still waiting for the feature to sort observation listings taxonomically!).</i></p> <p>For his part, David encourages iNat user to annotate spider observations for eggs and constructions, because “unlike Lepidoptera and some other groups, spiders are very poorly annotated here on iNaturalist, which makes it hard to find good images of egg cases and other structures they create. There's a lot left to discover!”</p> <p>(Photo of Nicky by Kelvin Dao)</p> <hr> <p>- spider egg sacs are remarkable works of construction, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBDsMupBPEQ" rel="nofollow noopener">here’s some footage</a> of an <i>Argiope</i> making one. </p> <p>- David and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/michael-gasteracantha" rel="nofollow noopener">@michael-gasteracantha</a> spotted an undescribed spider seen by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/ivanovdg19" rel="nofollow noopener">@ivanovdg19</a> and it’s a past <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/31939-a-russian-soil-researcher-finds-a-possibly-undescribed-spider-in-vietnam-belated-observation-of-the-week-3-7-20" rel="nofollow noopener">Observation of the Week</a>!</p> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">January 21, 2025 11:19 PM</span> by <a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane"><img alt="tiwane" title="tiwane" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-thumb.jpg?1739340503 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503" /> </a><a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane">tiwane</a> | <span class="count">16</span> comments | <a href="/blog/105323-spider-egg-sac-or-cotton-candy-observation-of-the-week-1-21-25#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">January 10, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-104576"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/104576-december-2024-news-highlights">December 2024 News Highlights</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> Happy New Year everyone! Here are our December News Highlights. If you missed last month's highlights you can catch up <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/102853" rel="nofollow noopener">here</a>. <h2 style="color: #000000; margin-bottom: 5px;">Enriching the Lives of Millions of Nature Explorers</h2> <hr style="border: 0; border-top: 3px solid #74AC00; width: 75px; margin: 2px 0;"> <p style="color: #74AC00; margin-top: 5px; font-size: larger;">iNaturalist empowers anyone with a smartphone to discover the diversity of nature</p> <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; max-width: 1200px; width: 100%;"> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box; padding-right: 20px;"> <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article297659588.html" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">I was like a stunned mullet after finding a critically endangered beetle</h2></a> <p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/john3819" rel="nofollow noopener">@john3819</a>'s <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/252918526" rel="nofollow noopener">discovery</a> doubles the known population of this New Zealand beetle that was <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article297659588.html" rel="nofollow noopener">long thought to be extinct</a>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article297659588.html" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4243-original.jpg" alt="New Zealand Beetle" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 0.5; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box;"> <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/xplore/2024/Dec/07/beetle-man-of-india" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Advancing Tiger Beetle conservation in India through Citizen Science</h2></a> <p>Read <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/xplore/2024/Dec/07/beetle-man-of-india" rel="nofollow noopener">this profile</a> on <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/sharanv" rel="nofollow noopener">@sharanv</a> and his work coordinating the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/tiger-beetle-watch-india" rel="nofollow noopener">Tiger Beetles Watch India</a> project.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/xplore/2024/Dec/07/beetle-man-of-india" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4244-original.jpg" alt="Tiger Beetle Watch India" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1.2; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> <a href="https://explorersweb.com/the-inaturalist-app-what-it-does-how-it-works/" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">How a Vietnamese snail triggered an iNat addiction</h2></a> <p>Read this helpful <a href="https://explorersweb.com/the-inaturalist-app-what-it-does-how-it-works/" rel="nofollow noopener">article</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/martin53" rel="nofollow noopener">@martin53</a> featuring <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38785332" rel="nofollow noopener">this critically endangered snail</a>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://explorersweb.com/the-inaturalist-app-what-it-does-how-it-works/" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4245-original.jpeg" alt="Vietnamese Snail" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1.3; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> </div> <br> <h2>iNaturalist on College Campuses</h2> <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; max-width: 1200px; width: 100%;"> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box; padding-right: 20px;"> <a href="https://weta.ento.org.nz/index.php/weta/article/view/432/416" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px; color: #000000; margin-bottom: 5px;">Student led assessment of aquatic macroinvertebrates</h2></a> <p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/brittneybarnard" rel="nofollow noopener">@brittneybarnard</a> describes how she introduces undergraduate students to iNat while <a href="https://weta.ento.org.nz/index.php/weta/article/view/432/416" rel="nofollow noopener">also conducting a scientific study</a>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://weta.ento.org.nz/index.php/weta/article/view/432/416" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4249-original.png" alt="Aquatic Macroinvertebrates" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1.1; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box;"> <a href="https://www.esf.edu/news/2024/bee_campus_survey_2024.php" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px; color: #000000; margin-bottom: 5px;">45 New bee species found on campus</h2></a> <p><a href="https://www.esf.edu/news/2024/bee_campus_survey_2024.php" rel="nofollow noopener">This article</a> gives an update on the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/esf-pollinators" rel="nofollow noopener">SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Pollinators</a> project.</p> <blockquote style="border-left: 4px solid #74AC00; padding-left: 15px; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; color: #333; font-style: italic;"> “Knowing what species occur here can help inform future plantings, whether they are planted to support current species or to attract new ones” <p style="text-align: right; font-size: 0.9em; color: #555;">-<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/mollymjacobson" rel="nofollow noopener">@mollymjacobson</a></p> </blockquote> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.esf.edu/news/2024/bee_campus_survey_2024.php" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4247-original.png" alt="SUNY Pollinators" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1.6; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> </div> <br> <h2 style="color: #000000; margin-bottom: 5px;">Accelerating Global Biodiversity Science</h2> <hr style="border: 0; border-top: 3px solid #74AC00; width: 75px; margin: 2px 0;"> <p style="color: #74AC00; margin-top: 5px; font-size: larger;">Crowdsourcing the World's Most Important Global Biodiversity Database</p> <h2>Newly Described Species</h2> <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; justify-content: space-between; max-width: 1200px; margin: auto;"> <div style="flex: 1 1 calc(30% - 20px); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px; min-width: 200px;"> <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5555.1.7" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">New Leaf-footed bug from China</h2></a> <p>Read about <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/xunh" rel="nofollow noopener">@xunh</a>'s <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5555.1.7" rel="nofollow noopener">discovery</a> with the help of <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?id=249858197,227226740,231227438,124721975,227,2191111,44986137&subview=grid" rel="nofollow noopener">observations</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/redpandacat" rel="nofollow noopener">@redpandacat</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/allagelena" rel="nofollow noopener">@allagelena</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/jdshuai" rel="nofollow noopener">@jdshuai</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/liuguangyu" rel="nofollow noopener">@liuguangyu</a>, and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/redthird" rel="nofollow noopener">@redthird</a>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5555.1.7" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/71319769/large.jpg" alt="New Leaf-footed bug from China" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1 1 calc(30% - 20px); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px; min-width: 200px;"> <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/AEMNP/article/view/86673" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">New Stink-bug from Brazil</h2></a> <p>Read how <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/edgar_crispino" rel="nofollow noopener">@edgar_crispino</a>'s <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143979986" rel="nofollow noopener">observation</a> helped <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/guilhermelopez" rel="nofollow noopener">@guilhermelopez</a> describe a <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/AEMNP/article/view/86673" rel="nofollow noopener">new species</a>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/AEMNP/article/view/86673" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/247024475/large.jpeg" alt="New Stink-bug from Brazil" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1 1 calc(30% - 20px); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px; min-width: 200px;"> <a href="https://nl.pensoft.net/article/126042/download/pdf/" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">New Moth from South East Asia</h2></a> <p>Read about how <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?id=146602192,146953865,11046594,248236172,118136868,38752316&subview=grid" rel="nofollow noopener">observations</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/talibzuo" rel="nofollow noopener">@talibzuo</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/geechartier" rel="nofollow noopener">@geechartier</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/jsmith03" rel="nofollow noopener">@jsmith03</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/ruidasilvapinto" rel="nofollow noopener">@ruidasilvapinto</a>, and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/curiousann" rel="nofollow noopener">@curiousann</a> helped scientists <a href="https://nl.pensoft.net/article/126042/download/pdf/" rel="nofollow noopener">name a new moth</a>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://nl.pensoft.net/article/126042/download/pdf/" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/15589554/large.jpg" alt="New Moth from South East Asia" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> </div> <br> <h2>Range Extensions</h2> <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; justify-content: space-between; max-width: 1200px; margin: auto;"> <div style="flex: 1 1 calc(30% - 20px); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px; min-width: 200px;"> <a href="https://museumsvictoria.com.au/collections-research/journals/memoirs-of-museum-victoria/volume-83-2024/the-new-zealand-pagurus-traversi-filhol-1885-crustacea-decapoda-anomura-paguridae-in-australia-first-record-of-a-translocated-hermit-crab/" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">New Zealand Hermit Crab arrives in Australia</h2></a> <p><a href="https://museumsvictoria.com.au/collections-research/journals/memoirs-of-museum-victoria/volume-83-2024/the-new-zealand-pagurus-traversi-filhol-1885-crustacea-decapoda-anomura-paguridae-in-australia-first-record-of-a-translocated-hermit-crab/" rel="nofollow noopener">This study</a> describes how <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/125151855" rel="nofollow noopener">this observation</a> kicked off efforts by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/johneichler" rel="nofollow noopener">@johneichler</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/nickoshaw" rel="nofollow noopener">@nickoshaw</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/wildroo" rel="nofollow noopener">@wildroo</a> and others to track the hermit crab's journey west.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://museumsvictoria.com.au/collections-research/journals/memoirs-of-museum-victoria/volume-83-2024/the-new-zealand-pagurus-traversi-filhol-1885-crustacea-decapoda-anomura-paguridae-in-australia-first-record-of-a-translocated-hermit-crab/" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/212207940/large.jpeg" alt="Hermit Crab" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1 1 calc(30% - 20px); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px; min-width: 200px;"> <a href="https://thesiamsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/nhbss_066_1i_Hongsuwong.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Malaysian Beetle spotted in Thailand</h2></a> <p>These <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?id=147327101,109980069&subview=grid" rel="nofollow noopener">observations</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/benjamynweil" rel="nofollow noopener">@benjamynweil</a> and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/vatcharavee" rel="nofollow noopener">@vatcharavee</a> helped <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/thitipong_hongsuwong" rel="nofollow noopener">@thitipong_hongsuwong</a> document the <a href="https://thesiamsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/nhbss_066_1i_Hongsuwong.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener">first occurrence</a> of this beetle across north of the Thai border.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://thesiamsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/nhbss_066_1i_Hongsuwong.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/253493099/large.jpg" alt="Thai Beetle" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1 1 calc(30% - 20px); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px; min-width: 200px;"> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2584&context=insectamundi" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Caribbean Wasp detected in Florida</h2></a> <p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/rickcwest" rel="nofollow noopener">@rickcwest</a> and colleagues' <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2584&context=insectamundi" rel="nofollow noopener">study</a> describes the first occurrence of this wasp on the continental US from <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?id=110714290,113589195,73162261,235818275,235818248,217473959,205359925,202685272,108266967,15202762,228047194,165513962,164336326" rel="nofollow noopener">observations</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/lgarriga" rel="nofollow noopener">@lgarriga</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/livanescudero" rel="nofollow noopener">@livanescudero</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/alexsalcedo" rel="nofollow noopener">@alexsalcedo</a>, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/noaboa" rel="nofollow noopener">@noaboa</a>, and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/joemdo" rel="nofollow noopener">@joemdo</a>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2584&context=insectamundi" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/404628014/large.jpeg" alt="Caribbean Wasp" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> </div> <br> <h2>Ecology and Climate Change</h2> <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; max-width: 1200px; width: 100%;"> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box; padding-right: 20px;"> <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-19/california-squirrels-hunting-voles-like-carnivores" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">California squirrels are now apparently hunting and eating other rodents</h2></a> <p>Scientists suspect an <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-19/california-squirrels-hunting-voles-like-carnivores" rel="nofollow noopener">increased frequency of voles</a> documented <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?subview=map&taxon_id=44326" rel="nofollow noopener">on iNaturalist</a> might play a role in this strange new behavior. (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/254969911" rel="nofollow noopener">photo</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/kyle_eaton_photography" rel="nofollow noopener">@kyle_eaton_photography</a>)</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-19/california-squirrels-hunting-voles-like-carnivores" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/456804544/large.jpeg" alt="California Ground Squirrel" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 0.66; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box;"> <a href="https://www.herpconbio.org/Volume_19/Issue_3/Baker_etal_2024.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Spring arriving earlier for Amphibians</h2></a> <p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/peejaybaker" rel="nofollow noopener">@peejaybaker</a> and colleagues used hundreds of iNat observations to <a href="https://www.herpconbio.org/Volume_19/Issue_3/Baker_etal_2024.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener"> measure the increased risk</a> of freezing (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/256827623" rel="nofollow noopener">photo</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/lloyd50" rel="nofollow noopener">@lloyd50</a>).</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.herpconbio.org/Volume_19/Issue_3/Baker_etal_2024.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/photos/460569420/large.jpeg" alt="Spring Amphibians" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 2.5; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> <a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-12-ai-tool-wildlife-image-analysis.html" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">AI tool enhances wildlife image analysis for climate change insights</h2></a> <p><a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-12-ai-tool-wildlife-image-analysis.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Read about</a> the AI technology behind the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/vision_language_demo" rel="nofollow noopener">iNaturalist Vision Language Demo</a> (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/31368043?photo_id=49088213" rel="nofollow noopener">photo</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/joanescobetcasals" rel="nofollow noopener">@joanescobetcasals</a>).</p> <blockquote style="border-left: 4px solid #74AC00; padding-left: 15px; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; color: #333; font-style: italic;"> “These images are potentially a hugely rich resource that remains largely untapped... the wealth of information they contain could offer vital clues about how species are responding to multi-faceted challenges like climate change.” <p style="text-align: right; font-size: 0.9em; color: #555;">-<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/sbeery" rel="nofollow noopener">@sbeery</a></p> </blockquote> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-12-ai-tool-wildlife-image-analysis.html" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/49088213/large.jpg" alt="Inquire" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 2; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> </div> <br> <h2 style="color: #000000; margin-bottom: 5px;">Protecting Critical Habitats and At-Risk Species</h2> <hr style="border: 0; border-top: 3px solid #74AC00; width: 75px; margin: 2px 0;"> <p style="color: #74AC00; margin-top: 5px; font-size: larger;">Powering On-the-Ground Conservation Projects</p> <h2>Conservation</h2> <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; max-width: 1200px; width: 100%;"> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box; padding-right: 20px;"> <a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-12-citizen-quest-sea-stars-san.html" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Solstice Sea Star Search logs over 2,700 observations</h2></a> <p><a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-12-citizen-quest-sea-stars-san.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Read how</a> the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/winter-solstice-sea-star-search-2024" rel="nofollow noopener">Solstice Sea Star Search</a> helped scientists monitor these threatened creatures (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/255031016" rel="nofollow noopener">photo</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/welcometojen" rel="nofollow noopener">@welcometojen</a>)</p> <blockquote style="border-left: 4px solid #74AC00; padding-left: 15px; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; color: #333; font-style: italic;"> “There's no way my team could get enough scientists out into the field on these low-tide days … everywhere in California to see what's going on. The story with the sea stars is a success story for the field of community science.” <p style="text-align: right; font-size: 0.9em; color: #555;">-<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/opoulos" rel="nofollow noopener">@opoulos</a></p> </blockquote> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-12-citizen-quest-sea-stars-san.html" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/456944498/large.jpg" alt="Sunflower star" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1.5; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> <a href="https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/monarch-butterflies-may-get-federal-protections-many-mountain-butterflies-deserve-the-same/" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Helping Butterfly research through Citizen Science</h2></a> <p>University of Nevada professor <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/forister" rel="nofollow noopener">@forister</a> explains why <a href="https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/monarch-butterflies-may-get-federal-protections-many-mountain-butterflies-deserve-the-same/" rel="nofollow noopener">it's not just the monarch butterfly</a> that is under threat and could benefit from citizen-science (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/241807494" rel="nofollow noopener">photo</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/forister" rel="nofollow noopener">@forister</a>).</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/monarch-butterflies-may-get-federal-protections-many-mountain-butterflies-deserve-the-same/" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/431009628/large.jpeg" alt="Butterfly" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1.5; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box;"> <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/12/28/if-only-birds-were-puppies-lights-out-baltimore-tracks-3000-window-collisions-since-2018/" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Lights Out Baltimore documents 3,000 bird window collisions </h2></a> <p>This article in <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/12/28/if-only-birds-were-puppies-lights-out-baltimore-tracks-3000-window-collisions-since-2018/" rel="nofollow noopener">The Baltimore Sun</a> profiles <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/jtmerryman" rel="nofollow noopener">@jtmerryman</a> and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/birddad" rel="nofollow noopener">@birddad</a> and the important work <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/lights-out-baltimore" rel="nofollow noopener">the project</a> is doing to protect birds (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/247892412" rel="nofollow noopener">photo</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/jtmerryman" rel="nofollow noopener">@jtmerryman</a>)</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/12/28/if-only-birds-were-puppies-lights-out-baltimore-tracks-3000-window-collisions-since-2018" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/442830303/large.jpeg" alt="Bird window collision" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 0.55; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> </div> <br> <h2>Preventing the Spread of Invasive Species</h2> <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; max-width: 1200px; width: 100%;"> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box; padding-right: 20px;"> <a href="https://bestlifeonline.com/spotted-lanterflies-2025/" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Spotted Lanternflies in the US are living longer</h2></a> <p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/kmwinchell" rel="nofollow noopener">@kmwinchell</a> and colleagues analyze <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=1&subview=grid&taxon_id=324726" rel="nofollow noopener">20,000 iNat photos</a> to <a href="https://bestlifeonline.com/spotted-lanterflies-2025/" rel="nofollow noopener">determine</a> that cities are helping invasive lanternflies thrive (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/185472490" rel="nofollow noopener">photo</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/nfurlan" rel="nofollow noopener">@nfurlan</a>).</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://bestlifeonline.com/spotted-lanterflies-2025/" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/323923681/large.jpeg" alt="Lanternfly" style="width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 0.75; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> <div style="flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 50%; box-sizing: border-box;"> <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10767" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">The value of Citizen Science for early detection of invasives in Europe</h2></a> <p>The <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10767" rel="nofollow noopener">study</a> found that citizen-science sites including iNaturalist complement official reporting by agencies.</p> <blockquote style="border-left: 4px solid #74AC00; padding-left: 15px; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; color: #333; font-style: italic;"> "Our results further demonstrate the value of citizen science for early detection of invasive species...and the possible synergies between citizen science platforms and official first reporting, in terms of flow of data from citizen science platforms." <p style="text-align: right; font-size: 0.9em; color: #555;">-study authors</p> </blockquote> <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/12/746" rel="nofollow noopener"><h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Contribution of iNaturalist for detecting invasive species in coastal ecosystems</h2></a> <p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/12/746" rel="nofollow noopener">This study</a> describes how the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wild-coast-adriatic" rel="nofollow noopener">Wild Coast Adriatic</a> project was used for invasive species monitoring in coastal areas.</p> <div style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"> <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/12/746" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4250-original.png" alt="Adriatic" style="width: 100%; object-fit: cover;"></a> </div> </div> </div> <br> <p>Thank you to everyone who joined us on iNaturalist in December! If you’d like to expand iNaturalist's impact please consider becoming a supporter.</p> <br> <p style="text-align: center;display:block;"> <a class="donation-button" style="background: #74AC00;color: #fff;text-decoration: none;: inline-block;font-size: 16px;padding: 15px 38px;-webkit-border-radius: 30px;-moz-border-radius: 30px;border-radius: 30px;box-shadow: 0 1px 0 0 #1f5a89;text-shadow: 0 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); font-weight: 600; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px #888;" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/donate?utm_campaign=2024-news-highlights-nov&utm_medium=blog&utm_source=inaturalist.org&utm_content=button&utm_term=donate-to-inaturalist" rel="nofollow noopener">Donate to iNaturalist</a> </p> <br> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">January 10, 2025 02:07 AM</span> by <a title="loarie" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/loarie"><img alt="loarie" title="loarie" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/mini.png?1709012283 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/thumb.png?1709012283 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/mini.png?1709012283" /> </a><a title="loarie" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/loarie">loarie</a> | <span class="count">16</span> comments | <a href="/blog/104576-december-2024-news-highlights#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">January 8, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-104440"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/104440-those-are-some-spiky-caterpillars-observation-of-the-week-1-8-25">Those are Some Spiky Caterpillars! - Observation of the Week, 1/8/25</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4242-original.jpeg" style="width: 100%"></p> <p>Our Observation of the Week is <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/256313289" rel="nofollow noopener">this group of <i>Acharia nesea</i></a> slug caterpillar larvae, seen in Trinidad & Tobago by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/hameeda" rel="nofollow noopener">@hameeda</a>!</p> <p>Hameeda has been “hiking and exploring Trinidad and Tobago for the last 28 years,” and</p> <p><i>for the past 4 years I have been doing solo hikes and using inaturalist. Every weekend I venture into the forest and take my photos of butterflies and relax by the waterfall. I always see plenty of </i><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/68755-Morpho" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Morphos</i></a><i> butterflies and I love seeing that brilliant blue 💙💙💙. I have seen Acharia nesea 3 times at my usual hiking location. Even though the caterpillars are very small, I started observing a lot of animals that people would normally miss.</i></p> <p><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/84165-Limacodidae" rel="nofollow noopener">Slug moth caterpillars</a> are often striking in appearance, with many species protected by urticating hairs that can cause severe pain when touched. Early <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instar" rel="nofollow noopener">instar</a> caterpillars often skeletonize leaves (eating the soft tissue but leaving the veins), while older ones eat the entire leaf. They’re sometimes called “cup moths” because their empty pupae resemble a cup, <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/14684499" rel="nofollow noopener">like this one</a>. </p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4241-original.jpg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>Hameeda (above) says that</p> <p><i>my best moments are when I'm on an 8 hour solo hike and I see a butterfly. I would take the picture and immediately upload it to inaturalist. Dr. Matthew Cock (<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/matthewcock" rel="nofollow noopener">@matthewcock</a>) would respond while I'm still on the hike. This is absolutely fantastic because I'm surrounded by all these amazing animals and I also get the ID from scientists/biologists from around the world 🌍. I never feel alone in the forest with iNaturalist on my phone. I absolutely love using this app and I am happy I can contribute to the natural sciences</i></p> <p>(Some quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.)</p> <hr> <p>- take a gander at <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/465275-Acharia-nesea/browse_photos?photo_license=any&term_id=1&term_value_id=2" rel="nofollow noopener">photos of adult <i>Acharia nesea</i> moths</a>!</p> <p>- check out past observations of the Week from Trinidad & Tobago: <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/39734-in-tobago-a-male-glass-frog-guards-its-eggs-observation-of-the-week-8-24-20" rel="nofollow noopener">a frog</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/zakwildlife" rel="nofollow noopener">@zakwildlife</a> and <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/54721-a-naturalist-in-trinidad-and-tobago-spots-a-black-veined-hairstreak-in-her-backyard-observation-of-the-week-7-27-21" rel="nofollow noopener">a butterfly</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/sheneller" rel="nofollow noopener">@sheneller</a>!</p> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">January 8, 2025 07:32 PM</span> by <a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane"><img alt="tiwane" title="tiwane" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-thumb.jpg?1739340503 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503" /> </a><a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane">tiwane</a> | <span class="count">7</span> comments | <a href="/blog/104440-those-are-some-spiky-caterpillars-observation-of-the-week-1-8-25#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">January 3, 2025</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-104015"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/104015-new-computer-vision-model-v2-18-with-nearly-1-500-new-species">New Computer Vision Model (v2.18) with nearly 1,500 new species!</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p>We've released v2.18 today with 1,449 new species (97,352 taxa up from <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/101251" rel="nofollow noopener">95,903</a>). This new model was trained on data exported on November 3rd, 2024.</p> <p>Here's a graph of the model's release schedule since early 2022 (segments extend from data export date to model release date) and how the number of species included in each model has increased over time.</p> <p><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4239-original.png" width="100%"></p> <p>The graph below shows model accuracy estimates using 1,000 random Research Grade observations in each group not seen during training time. The paired bars below compare average accuracy of model 2.17 with the new model 2.18. Each bar shows the accuracy from Computer Vision alone (dark green) and Computer Vision + Geo (green). Overall the average accuracy of 2.18 is 88.2% (statistically the same as 2.17 at 88.5% - as described <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/90401-some-thoughts-on-ml-accuracy" rel="nofollow noopener">here</a> we probably expect ~2% variance all other things being equal among experiments).<br> <img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4240-original.png" width="100%"></p> <p>Here is a sample of new species added to v2.18: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=93074,95837,96997,100090,100465,100501,100545,100906,101430,102481,102980,102982,105565,109013,109634,110661,115010,127097,136468,143072,179482,187213,219464,358533,369141,424708,445674,447758,474443,529473,534647,564867,578042,605451,612907,1314222,1316851,1356519,1459288,1556621,1579630,1579632&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Actinopterygii</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=22862,23181,23568,24273,25233,25236,25298,25316,25858,26384,26396,26415,27204,65370,65413,66017,66257,66695,134736,555139&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Amphibia</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=114,1193,1353,1981,2063,3334,3620,3776,3828,4038,4048,6319,8048,8274,9500,9875,9972,13088,13146,13360,13447,13931,14013,14570,14960,15102,15468,15809,17393,17789,19530,20666,72639,73391,96387,144211,144631,144735,144780,145040,201284,367711,370399,465888,567142,603035,604103,700998,900684,979929,980042,1289612,1289623,1424156,1425255,1444627,1505882,1506102,1573679,1578442,1578501,1578502,1578607,1578718,1580267,1580268,1583337,1583474,1583576,1583632,1584560,1584584,1584768,1585192&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Aves</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=63669,94433,99659,104348,114659,271025,336901,465814,503726,522290,565419,607679,639178,743092,798324,809352,865364,946692,1090209,1150033,1476717,1524324&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Other Animalia</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=50519,50659,102445,129870,192710,212150,233776,253663,253735,292208,292733,328875,331169,336772,339394,391127,431812,431813,431870,461748,469554,484286,485128,486831,489118,489621,505622,538764,556288,568137,660780,699077,713914,785725,809214,869349,874597,896480,960805,991365,1066358,1296716,1351540&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Mollusca</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=63456,68757,118183,127548,179147,205843,207850,332473,340559,344540,350834,351301,351314,351345,351507,352254,384682,384733,405272,405311,406781,450936,495528,497395,499774,500137,509073,513328,519021,519072,520536,532208,543700,550735,552787,628829,629205,629208,638186,717941,765272,778494,854519,875098,875130,878393,886218,895600,979094,979164,1006201,1066491,1095961,1121881,1135326,1239856,1248678,1279892,1281985,1318341,1348484,1374664,1433934&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Fungi</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=61654,94050,96440,100285,103411,104305,106654,113527,120223,124892,149371,179796,205609,213796,216304,217305,217445,218459,218698,218973,219634,219850,221585,223764,224202,224662,224672,227343,227345,227690,227869,228303,228908,231366,231561,233681,243745,244154,244883,256857,257253,257280,257680,257906,258143,261445,267091,300381,300639,301569,305759,308753,308796,308832,309853,320370,321264,323084,325984,330227,334548,334970,335748,337092,338246,341650,342592,345748,346642,347077,347540,347554,355826,356125,358304,358887,360135,360883,366302,367081,387247,390926,394832,395523,397880,398776,408360,416951,417958,418682,418784,424511,424779,425118,428895,447966,449264,455831,460158,464699,468498,469064,469173,469222,469808,469913,470256,470579,470908,471148,471297,471956,472652,473854,475068,477629,481155,481364,481769,482539,483440,486022,486721,486801,487446,488372,490498,491477,491669,492032,493763,494593,495418,497757,497794,498036,498264,501016,501549,504435,507550,508156,509335,509354,511078,511877,520222,522659,522753,523429,524625,525672,525674,527197,528835,538576,542051,542169,542243,542486,542532,544933,545436,545769,546893,547025,547302,547466,547807,549511,551094,551456,551989,552617,553844,557062,557231,557601,558285,559562,560549,563142,566458,571016,603020,604241,604594,604610,605269,606101,623175,624424,627701,628263,634926,639657,639682,669545,699224,699634,700555,702243,702826,705053,706071,708060,709738,713955,714707,714781,715264,715436,716220,732927,733145,734732,736527,736818,741028,742616,742780,744604,745980,746043,746844,748952,749322,749799,762709,765081,778442,785339,787346,789391,790811,791151,794970,795127,796562,803523,806267,830593,830726,841130,847083,856148,857439,861455,868527,869951,871540,875867,876189,876508,876803,877122,886563,892074,893255,893834,895790,900438,901950,902955,907885,913546,914209,918503,922169,923160,934072,947165,950036,950198,959102,962738,968933,969237,974704,975638,984964,1005213,1038194,1046340,1063409,1065888,1078496,1079650,1084109,1127902,1137116,1143448,1145214,1148138,1190587,1228851,1235431,1238966,1250314,1265594,1292297,1352457,1354788,1375428,1409602,1412805,1413547,1422436,1430984,1458858,1467766,1475303,1478401,1482455,1494072,1497987,1503249,1508481,1516358,1529676&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Insecta</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=188855,209802,218235,218579,262096,262660,298738,360521,360562,369038,467123,501066,504719,550844,554828,568050,605213,625885,628363,636035,714051,746971,779414,780976,783725,783807,783848,784209,786758,796394,797014,797489,805295,809989,810391,817293,827583,828735,830313,832328,832830,833702,844048,845574,865180,962116&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Arachnida</a></li> <li><a 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rel="nofollow noopener">Plantae</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=28424,29007,29145,29570,30976,31061,31106,31270,31657,31747,31996,32721,32876,34112,34113,34301,35445,35737,36297,36446,36750,37271,37439,39205,39777,68435,73964,96412,99558,101633,104679,106631,116415,318727,521326,539934,554062,1439437&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Reptilia</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=40169,40993,74091,74453,74488,1431247,1453440&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Mammalia</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&taxon_ids=203733,841610&view=species" rel="nofollow noopener">Protozoa</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">January 3, 2025 06:27 PM</span> by <a title="loarie" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/loarie"><img alt="loarie" title="loarie" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/mini.png?1709012283 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/thumb.png?1709012283 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/477/mini.png?1709012283" /> </a><a title="loarie" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/loarie">loarie</a> | <span class="count">15</span> comments | <a href="/blog/104015-new-computer-vision-model-v2-18-with-nearly-1-500-new-species#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> <div class="column-separator"> <img src="https://www.inaturalist.org/assets/logo-eee-15px-8f26cb7404257fa9b8ee143ca65be95b53e98e56f81ff1678848b9e3ae2e13ee.png"> </div> </div> <h2 class="date grouped_date">December 31, 2024</h2> <div class="posts"> <div class="post" id="post-103823"> <h3 class="title media-heading"> <a href="/blog/103823-so-much-color-observation-of-the-week-12-31-24">So...Much...Color... - Observation of the Week, 12/31/24</a> </h3> <div class="body clear"> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4238-original.png" style="width: 100%"></p> <p>Our Observation of the Week is this <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/255007575" rel="nofollow noopener">Bahoruco Long-snouted Anole</a> lizard (<i>Anolis bahorucoensis</i>, Lagarto Hocico Largo del Bahoruco in Spanish), seen in the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=6931&subview=map" rel="nofollow noopener">Dominican Republic</a> by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/pedrogenarorodriguez" rel="nofollow noopener">@pedrogenarorodriguez</a>!</p> <p>Growing up in the Dominican Republic, Pedro Genaro Rodriguez says that when he was a child his parents provided him with books about nature, and </p> <p><i>as a teenager my heroes were </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cousteau" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Jacques Cousteau</i></a><i>, </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9lix_Rodr%C3%ADguez_de_la_Fuente" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente</i></a><i>, and </i><a href="https://ecohis.jmarcano.com/biografias/tudy/" rel="nofollow noopener"><i>Annabelle Dod</i></a><i>, an American naturalist who wrote the first book about the birds of the Dominican Republic. I wanted to photograph or film nature just like Felix’s documentaries and also wanted to travel my own country and see all the beautiful places and birds that Annabelle Dod described both in her books and her Saturday articles in the newspaper. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person, and I was gifted with a copy of her newly printed field guide to birds of Dominican Republic.</i></p> <p>Pedro’s parents also provided him with binoculars and a camera, but he says it wasn’t until digital photography that he was able to really delve into the hobby. Since 2007 he’s devoted much of his time to nature and conservation photography.</p> <p><i>I like to show the beauty of Nature but also the threats it faces. My main interests are birds, butterflies and herps, but lately I am trying to work also on ecosystems and how all the members of such a community interact. Widening my interest in nature helped me become a keener naturalist.</i></p> <p>Pedro has photographed the Bahoruco Long-snouted Anole many years ago, and in April of 2023 he found the one you see above while exploring the forest for birds. </p> <p><i>It made sense that it was present in this forest (cloud forest mixed with abandoned coffee plantations), but I was not looking for it. I normally try to use a macro lens for this kind of subject but I used instead what I had in hand (a Canon 500mm f/4 lens + Canon R7 Camera).</i></p> <p>Endemic to the island of Hispañola, this species lives in shaded forest areas. According to <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/amre/8/1/article-p69_6.xml" rel="nofollow noopener">Fitch and Henderson</a>, </p> <p><i>The male of A. b. Bahorucoensis [a subspecies] is one of the most colorful of all anoles…Color description of the living animal is made difficult by the fact that adult males are subject to rapid and drastic changes in both color and pattern. Within a span as brief as a minute the appearance may alter dramatically. The pattern described above can change by having the blue-green blotches fade until the animal is predominantly dark brown, with no sharp contrasts.</i></p> <p>Unlike many other species in the genus <i>Anolis</i>, males in this species have a small <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anolis#Dewlap" rel="nofollow noopener">dewlap</a>. It’s <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/74994505/75171431" rel="nofollow noopener">listed as Vulnerable</a> by the IUCN Redlist, threatened by habitat loss.</p> <p align="center"><img src="https://static.inaturalist.org/wiki_page_attachments/4237-original.jpg" style="width: 80%"></p> <p>Pedro (above), is about to celebrate his seventh iNat-iversary, and tells me</p> <p><i>I like to share both my knowledge and bliss for nature with everyone and I think it is a powerful tool for sharing the knowledge and doing citizen science, pointing out a place and a moment in time.</i></p> <p><i>Let me put it this way… getting to know iNaturalist has been like coming home to me. I have finally found the place where all my dreams have become true. I now have a catalog of all my observations and species I have seen, and I have the chance to interact with people that share with me the same passion and enthusiasm for nature.</i></p> <p>(Photo of Pedro by Javier Gautier. Some quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.)</p> <hr> <p>- a previous Observation of the Week was <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/18965-an-anole-dines-at-a-hummingbird-feeder-observation-of-the-week-9-23-18" rel="nofollow noopener">this Green Anole at a hummingbird feeder</a>, seen by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/vanremsen" rel="nofollow noopener">@vanremsen</a>!</p> </div> <div class="meta"> Posted on <span class="date">December 31, 2024 09:35 PM</span> by <a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane"><img alt="tiwane" title="tiwane" srcset="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503 1x, https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-thumb.jpg?1739340503 2x" style=" max-width: 16px" class="user_image usericon " src="https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/28/cf84a7ca721527a34d18af824d0b687a-mini.jpg?1739340503" /> </a><a title="tiwane" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiwane">tiwane</a> | <span class="count">11</span> comments | <a href="/blog/103823-so-much-color-observation-of-the-week-12-31-24#new_comment">Leave a comment</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div role="navigation" aria-label="Pagination" class="pagination"><span class="previous_page disabled" aria-disabled="true">← Prev</span> <em class="current" aria-label="Page 1" aria-current="page">1</em> <a rel="next" aria-label="Page 2" href="/posts?page=2">2</a> <a aria-label="Page 3" href="/posts?page=3">3</a> <a aria-label="Page 4" href="/posts?page=4">4</a> <a aria-label="Page 5" href="/posts?page=5">5</a> <a aria-label="Page 6" href="/posts?page=6">6</a> <a aria-label="Page 7" href="/posts?page=7">7</a> <a aria-label="Page 8" href="/posts?page=8">8</a> <a aria-label="Page 9" href="/posts?page=9">9</a> <span 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<span class="count">4</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/12">December 2021</a> <span class="count">4</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/11">November 2021</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/10">October 2021</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/09">September 2021</a> <span class="count">3</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/08">August 2021</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/07">July 2021</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/06">June 2021</a> <span class="count">10</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/05">May 2021</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/04">April 2021</a> <span class="count">9</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/03">March 2021</a> <span class="count">9</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/02">February 2021</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2021/01">January 2021</a> <span class="count">4</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/12">December 2020</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/11">November 2020</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/10">October 2020</a> <span class="count">8</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/09">September 2020</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/08">August 2020</a> <span class="count">4</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/07">July 2020</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/06">June 2020</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/05">May 2020</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/04">April 2020</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/03">March 2020</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/02">February 2020</a> <span class="count">3</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2020/01">January 2020</a> <span class="count">2</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/12">December 2019</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/11">November 2019</a> <span class="count">30</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/10">October 2019</a> <span class="count">33</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/09">September 2019</a> <span class="count">37</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/08">August 2019</a> <span class="count">36</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/07">July 2019</a> <span class="count">35</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/06">June 2019</a> <span class="count">14</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/05">May 2019</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/04">April 2019</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/03">March 2019</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/02">February 2019</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2019/01">January 2019</a> <span class="count">2</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/12">December 2018</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/11">November 2018</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/10">October 2018</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/09">September 2018</a> <span class="count">8</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/08">August 2018</a> <span class="count">8</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/07">July 2018</a> <span class="count">8</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/06">June 2018</a> <span class="count">9</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/05">May 2018</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/04">April 2018</a> <span class="count">4</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/03">March 2018</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/02">February 2018</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2018/01">January 2018</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/12">December 2017</a> <span class="count">10</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/11">November 2017</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/10">October 2017</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/09">September 2017</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/08">August 2017</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/07">July 2017</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/06">June 2017</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/05">May 2017</a> <span class="count">4</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/04">April 2017</a> <span class="count">3</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/03">March 2017</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/02">February 2017</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2017/01">January 2017</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2016/12">December 2016</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2016/11">November 2016</a> <span class="count">4</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2016/10">October 2016</a> <span class="count">7</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2016/09">September 2016</a> <span class="count">5</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2016/08">August 2016</a> <span class="count">6</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a href="/blog/archives/2016/07">July 2016</a> <span class="count">3</span> </li> <li class="clear"> <a 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