Entomologist/Arachnologist Macro photography of inverts Research on scale insects, spiders, harvestmen, & mud dauber wasps Curator & research scientist at Florida State Collection of Arthropods (FDACS-DPI) https://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3l44xcultg32vFlorida's newest invasive mealybug currently prefers roadside weeds but may pose a threat to solanaceous crops (e.g., tomatoes, peppers). This species was only recently described from Japan where it is likely also introduced. New open access paper: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/flaent-2024-0024/html14 Sep 2024 17:03 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3l44xcultg32vhttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3kruchs7pck25A tiny weevil (Euplatypus compositus) with several mites on board. North central Florida07 May 2024 00:17 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3kruchs7pck25https://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3krr22y55522kThis moth was attracted my head torch and decided to rest on the net-casting spider I was photographing! Deinopis spinosa (Deinopidae) with Arta olivalis (Pyralidae) in north central Florida. #SpiderSunday05 May 2024 17:08 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3krr22y55522khttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3kr7gz4lwb22yNew paper out! We describe three new species of giant mealybugs from Mexico & Guatemala. You think spiders have a lot of eyes until you see male Puto mealybugs. Some species have 18 eyes! The drawing is Puto philo, pictured alive is a Puto decorosus from California. https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5443.3.1/5337828 Apr 2024 17:12 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3kr7gz4lwb22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3klphwgd4mz2uMore of the sentient gherkins 🥒 from yesterday, this time on their preferred host, croton (Codiaeum variegatum). They blend in beautifully. Phalacrococcus howertoni first showed up in Florida in 2008 and was undescribed at the time. It probably originates from the Caribbean or South America.18 Feb 2024 17:40 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3klphwgd4mz2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3klndujoown2zAnts tending their sentient pet gherkins 🥒 Little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) and croton scale (Phalacrococcus howertoni) in south Florida17 Feb 2024 21:22 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3klndujoown2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3klndqfmshm2aCockerell (1898) described this whitefly species as with "...ribbon-like rays of glassy secretion, not much shorter than itself. These rays are of a bright lemon yellow". Now we have some live photos to show it! Lemon yellow indeed. Aleuroplatus vinsonioides (Aleyrodidae)17 Feb 2024 21:20 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3klndqfmshm2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3khvhsyv6vn2cThe final guy of 2023 and #invertefest. A little subadult male Pardosa sp. (?) wolf spider (Lycosidae) in my yard this afternoon. North central Florida #SpiderSunday01 Jan 2024 05:13 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3khvhsyv6vn2chttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3khv6zfsbi52cOnly a small proportion of my photos end up on social media platforms. All of my observations go on iNaturalist, there's a total of 1,875 for 2023! www.inaturalist.org/people/645281 L -> R Dysimia pseudomaculata mating pair, Cyarda sp., Encarsia noyesi, Colonus sylvanus eating Anasaitis canosa01 Jan 2024 02:36 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3khv6zfsbi52chttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3khv6eoac6a2kHappy New Year! Here's a quick collection of just a few of my favorites from 2023. An assortment of scale insects, spiders, various arthropods from Florida, and arthropods from my summer trip to Europe which spanned Georgia (Republic of), Switzerland, France, England, and Scotland.01 Jan 2024 02:24 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3khv6eoac6a2khttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3khu6plixu32hMy top inverts of the year! Pecan giant scales (Neosteingelia texana). Active for only a couple weeks, emerging from the bark briefly to mate. These were out on hickory in late October in north FL. This year was my first time seeing them, I was slightly obsessed. Name a more sexually dimorphic duo! [contains quote post or other embedded content]31 Dec 2023 16:58 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3khu6plixu32hhttps://bsky.app/profile/erincpow.bsky.social/post/3khmy2u3z6x2dFinally trying out BlueSky! Ever wonder how a 'trash bug' gets its trash? My new paper (tinyurl.com/42pw4r5m), with videos, documents dorsal packet construction by a lacewing larva & defensive reflex bleeding by mealybugs. See the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As95aTckQZs&list=PLPBGrSmOvU_XXuzmh5-7TJoFF1W1f1tz3 #InverteFest28 Dec 2023 20:10 +0000at://did:plc:mdax6fru3kfarc3pxaoavlkv/app.bsky.feed.post/3khmy2u3z6x2d