This may be the shortest month, but it was certainly packed full of great new writing and other content!
Although I get almost all of my science news online from blogs and social media, that’s still well outside the norm. Matt Shipman reviews a new report discussing what media Americans get their science news & views from.
Sometimes grad students can become so focused on their research subject they fail to see the forest for the trees (or the genus for the species if you’re a taxonomist). This excellent article by Amy Wray provides some excellent reasons why young scientists should be reading non-scientific literature.
What’s this? Forbes Magazine published a story about neonicotenoid pesticides and bees that has nuance and actual examination of the scientific evidence? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA?!
Absolutely tremendous essay by Laura Burns on being a role model for young girls in science. If you only have time to read one article this month, I would suggest it be this one.
Sticky, a new documentary about the Lord Howe Island stick insect looks amazing! Gwen Pearson (aka Bug Girl) has an excellent preview over on Wired at Charismatic Minifauna, and be sure to watch the trailer below (which is amazing even on its own).
Wonderful piece by David Maddison on the legacy of taxonomists. Probably the best interpretation of what being a taxonomist is like that I’ve ever read.
Chris Buddle examines whether charismatic megafauna new species descriptions are more often cited in the scientific literature than charismatic microfauna. Spoiler alert: they are.
Brigette Zacharczenko makes a triumphant return to her blog with the story behind her first paper describing a new species of moth.
If you had to guess, how many U.S. Presidents have been inflicted with Malaria? Entomology Today has the answer, and it’s higher than you might imagine.
Piotr Naskrecki finds one of the most incredible & rare katydids on the planet, but at perhaps the worst possible time. Fantastic story and photos as always.
This video on the ecological role and services provided by insects by Dorothy Maguire and Sam Quigley is a lot of fun and a great primer for why insects matter.
I’ve often wondered how each U.S. state selected their official state insects (most of which are kind of lame), and really loved this article by Debbie Hadley explaining the history of each state’s.
Fantastic series of illustrations documenting how a few extinct species lost their final member by Jeannette Langmead & Frank Swain.
Caption of the month:
"Somday, I'm going to eat ALL of that." MT @quasicoherent Marvelous Australian alpine Orthoptera. Acripeza reticulata pic.twitter.com/CQ7zcDV65O
— Derek Hennen (@derekhennen) February 28, 2014
Wayne Maddison has an amazing series of photo essays documenting the complicated world of mimicry in tropical jumping spiders.
I was cited by Cracked magazine. 12-year old me would be extremely proud.
To celebrate Darwin Day this year, Stylianos Chatzimanolis described a beautiful new genus of rove beetle (Staphylinidae) in his honour, and then wrote two great articles about how he came to work with such an important specimen.
Pro Tip: This is not the proper pinning technique for flies. Poster by Ding Hao (1958) for Mao’s pest eradication program.
The poster above was featured in a very interesting article by Rebecca Kreston about the pest eradication program put in place by Mao during the mid 20th century.
I love me a good nomenclatural etymology dissection, and this one by Heather Proctor at her new blog The Inquisitive Anystid about the story behind Odocoileus (the genus that includes white-tailed and mule deer) is a great one.
Finally, Chris Buddle’s 10 Facts guest series continues to be a wonderful snapshot into the incredible biology & natural history of under-appreciated arthropods. This month’s highlights include the Giant Skippers by Andy Warren, and Ichneumonid Wasps by Laura Timms.