Follow me on Twitter

Things have been quiet here for quite a while – mostly because I’ve been inundated with work (always a good thing). But I have also recently joined the party eight years late to the Twitter train. For daily images of cool insects please follow me over there @skepticalmoth. Of course some stories require . . . → Read More: Follow me on Twitter

The Mothman visits Mars

I love digging through the abyssal pit of internet crazy because I get to find gems like this: The Mothman on Mars? Linked in the ‘article’ is a NASA Curiosity rover photo, Mastcam Right. SOL 194. Photo taken on 21 February 2013. The rock they are talking about as “mothman” is in the upper left . . . → Read More: The Mothman visits Mars

The Poodle Moth and the Problem of Cryptozoology

A few months ago many of you probably stumbled across this meme – the famous Poodle Moth! And indeed for the most part the reporting was half decent. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s a moth. Yes, it’s probably a species in the Lasiocampidae (possibly the genus Artace) as correctly pointed out by Dr. John Rawlins.

. . . → Read More: The Poodle Moth and the Problem of Cryptozoology

UFO Swarms Over Denver

Leave it to Denver to combine two things perfect for this blog – entomology and skepticism! If you haven’t seen these clips then take a second to watch the video above. At the very least this appears to be a real phenomenon, camera crews from the news station were able . . . → Read More: UFO Swarms Over Denver

The Invasion of the Butterflies

 

The local news for most of the eastern US and Canada has been aflutter (ha) recently with reports of the irruption of Vanessa atalanta – the Red Admiral butterfly. While this is a common occurrence every spring for these butterflies to migrate north from their overwintering grounds in the southern US, . . . → Read More: The Invasion of the Butterflies

Bugs in Reno: ESA 2011

I’ve just returned from the annual Entomological Society of America conference in Reno, Nevada! It’s the largest meeting of its kind in the world, with over 4,000 attendees from all walks of insect research life. My interests are in the systematics, evolution and biodiversity talks – and I’ll try to recap a few of the . . . → Read More: Bugs in Reno: ESA 2011

Happy Birthday, Carl Sagan.

We should all celebrate this day with an act of science or skepticism. Plant the seed of inquiry and critical thinking, or take a moment to broaden your own horizons. I was up before dawn this morning and watched the morning stars fade behind the light of the rising sun. It brought to mind my . . . → Read More: Happy Birthday, Carl Sagan.

Stink Bug Stink

CNN has now jumped on the bandwagon of FOX-esque bashing of scientific funding. Reporter Erin Burnett “reports” on the federal funding of $5.7 million dollars to help fight the invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys). Burnett’s sarcasm is nearly thick enough to break into SNL levels of ridiculousness, but she seems genuine in her . . . → Read More: Stink Bug Stink

The end of an era

Today marks a sad day in Physics history, the Tevatron accelerator at Fermi Lab in Batavia Illinois was powered down for the last time. Once the second most powerful accelerator in the world (and most powerful in the USA), the new LHC has made this beautiful machine obsolete. I can only assume the teams of . . . → Read More: The end of an era

Genius of the Press XXI

This is a pretty epic fail. I guess the “young adult” publishing guidelines are less strict with “facts”.

 

 

 

Thanks to Richard Lee Brown for first posting this on Facebook.