Eels had a surprisingly important role in medieval England. They were essentially currency, used to pay rent and make other transactions. Here's a look at their historical significance and sad decline — these days, they're a Critically Endangered Species.
I think I read too many economics & policy #books in 2023 and I feel like it rotted my brain a little bit. So... I'm looking for #Science and #NaturalHistory reading recommendations for next year. Maybe especially outside of biology since a few of the books on the list so far are:
Your Inner Fish (Neil Shubin)
Kindred: Neaderthal Life, Love, Death, & Art (Rebecca Wragg Sykes)
Today, on cool critters which share our planet, but which we seldom notice, let's meet the Pagoda ant (Crematogaster sp.).
These tree-dwelling ants are amongst those bugs which have pioneered the making of cardboard (much like the 'paper' wasps which build papery nests from chewed-up plant fiber).
Are you a scientist who's active on Mastodon and does research in #ornithology, #ecology, #naturalhistory, or a related field? I want to follow you - please reply and introduce yourself! (And please share so this reaches more people!)
🎂 A delightful birthday treat today, visiting Down House - former home of Charles Darwin - for the first time. This was long overdue!
Amid all the staid Victoriana, I couldn't help but think of Darwin writing about gynandromorphs, 'latent sex,' 'vice,' and 'extreme sensuality' here . . .
A post appreciating the weevil Liparus coronatus. Apparently this is not terribly common, but I seem to live in an area where it's locally frequent, as this is the second one I've seen in 2 months? Apparently it likes plants in the Apiaceae (which might explain why I keep finding it in arable/horticultural environments where Apiaceae commonly form part of the margin flora?). Need to learn more about its life-history and behaviour! #Weevil#Coleoptera#NaturalHistory#KentishInsects
Info on historical collectors & other collection agents affiliated with the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin was transferred from local wikis to @wikidata to help #accessibility & #reusability of #data, for example, as a resource for transdisciplinary #provenance#research.
Wikipedia: "The plant is rich in calcium and phosphorus and as such makes up the bulk of the diet of white-tailed deer in the northeastern United States in the spring."
No cute bunnies or lambs in my files, I'm afraid. I do, however, have a lot of queer chickens. This is a painting of a hen-cock (c. 1900), a prize fighter, by English artist Herbert Atkinson. 🥚🐥🐔
I mustn't let May go by without a nod to my 2009 article on the discovery, during the 19th century, of same-sex copulation among Maybugs (also known as Maybeetles, cockchafers, doodlebugs). Do look out for them at it in your garden! 🌈🌳
New edition of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), surrounded by plants and a mineral she touted as medical treatments, her invented alphabet and model of the universe, on lovely ivory Japanese washi paper. Her writings preserve not only her own knowledge and theories but the nature of institutional medicine and folk healing of her day (which she deftly combined). 🧵1/2