Andy Birkey

Vote NO on Amendment 83. Keep wildlife management flexible, accountable, science-based, and responsive to all Coloradans. Let us protect the wild—not constitutionally privilege the means by which it is harvested.

www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/s...

Insects’ contributions to people: ecosystem services and functions provided by insects academic.oup.com/aesa/article...

Butterfly releases as entertainment date back to the Gilded Age wealthy elite who wanted to impress their rich friends. So, of course, the plebs picked up the tradition, and that's how we got dead butterflies on RuPaul's Drag Race.

Working on a plant-insect relationships lecture and found something new to me. Midgley et al (2015) (doi.org/10.1038/npla...) reported a smelly, dung-mimicking seed that is primarily dispersed by deceived dung beetles! 'a' and 'b' below are Ceratocaryum seeds. 'g' is the beetles' typical target

Finally. Baseball content that is relative to my interests!

That time I put almost all the chipmunk species in the western USA on one map. Did you know there’s 1 species of chipmunk in Asia, 1 in eastern USA & >20 in western USA? (I’m not the crazy one here. The chipmunks are the crazy ones.)

I went to the Tarantula Fest in La Junta, Colorado. It was amazing! Here's my write-up about this town that loves its spiders.

The La Junta, Colorado, Tarantula Festival was good fun. There was a pet parade, another parade, the education pavilion, a makers market. This town both celebrates and protects the Texas Brown Tarantula, and has a good time doing it. And it's a charming town.

Want to conserve #birds, #mammals and other vertebrates? Then don’t forget their #insects. Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity paper explores the many ways vertebrates depend on insects — for food, shelter, protection and much more. I’ve written about it here: jeffollerton.co.uk/2026/09/30/w...

Male Texas brown tarantulas spend September and October wandering southeastern Colorado looking for mates. We went looking for them and found so much more: grand views, archaeology and paleontology, a quaint small town celebrating their tarantula neighbors, and new friends. More pics to come!

President Obama on Minneapolis: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iUP...

The Grizzly Rose sounds familiar. Isn't that the place that hosts the anti-vax singles mixers? You know, the ones for people who refuse to date vaccinated people? The mixer that nobody else in town would host? Basically, a venue that's a petri dish for diseases? Yeah, that's the one.

Trying out the near-infra red photography at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

Some bugs from the weekend at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. I love that place! The ant trapped in sunflower sap reminded me of insects trapped in amber. Just surreal.

I love that the City of Aurora's water conservation specialist is named Adam Waters. It's like he was born for it (and he's also really good at it!)

Most U.S. insects and arachnids remain unassessed for conservation risk, and even many known at-risk species lack legal protection. A study quantifying this lag in arthropod conservation reveals a major blind spot in efforts to save vulnerable wildlife.

That seems like my only option at this point. Sad but true.

Sea otters were a common, delightful sight as we moved through Alaska's passages. Look at this guy smiling for the camera! I mean, he was probably yawning or something, but... Still, it's fun to see. They were chomping on everything: starfish, fish, crustaceans. One of my favorite moments!

Glacier Bay National Park. It's a hard one to check off the bucket list since it's closed much of the year for ice or wildlife protection. We made it to the John Hopkins Glacier. In the third photo, you can see the tiny kayakers at the glacier's base. It really gives a sense of scale.

Brandi Carlile at Red Rocks on Friday night. Dolly Parton covers. Duets. Radiohead covers. Alanis covers (Alanis joined her ON STAGE last night!) All her hits. Requests from the audience. Pure Brandi charisma. I need to go all three nights next year. THE most talented performer I've ever seen live.

These two women are INCREDIBLE. I saw Brandi Carlile on Friday night for the Dolly Parton/Radiohead/Alanis covers. Also incredible! Kinda kicking myself for not going all three nights, but I'm also not a wealthy man. Can't wait for next year!

Juneau, Alaska, was a great first stop. I hiked the Gold Flume Trail, an old rail line turned into a boardwalk through the rainforest. Between the stunning views, the accessible hiking, the indigenous culture, and gorgeous views, I'm almost ready to move to Juneau! Almost. haha

I was into my thirties before I realized most of this. It should be commonsense, but it isn't. Maybe take a moment to read Naomi's thread?

Internet has been spotty but I’m in Alaska! So far Juneau hasn’t disappointed.

gosh what if these jabronies paid for three teams of researchers to travel to their jungle/arctic/desert field sites and document the planet's dwindling biodiversity instead

From Survivor to Fear Factor to The Traitors, reality TV loves to use bugs for shock value, but at what cost? Here's my latest cultural entomology piece.

Glamour shots for this little guy. It visited my moth light this morning, which really just means I set up a praying mantis buffet by bringing all the bugs to him. I believe it's our native Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina)

People will have much more beautiful things to say about her, but Dolly was a staple of my life since I was old enough to recognize music. She made the world a better place to be, and I'm going to carry that forward in any way I can.

Moths! We set up a moth light in the Rawah wilderness and found some cool critters. My best guesses on species in the alt text.

Why are so many of our alien creatures in horror shaped like bugs? Xenomorphs have exoskeletons, lay eggs, and are parasitic, like a praying mantis hybridized with a parasitic wasp. They have a long history in science fiction. Here's why: www.patreon.com/AndyBirkey/p...

Target has refused to stand up for Minneapolis and other communities impacted by ICE. As students and educators head back to school, America’s unions stand with @aft.org and urge workers to not shop at Target for school supplies. Shop smart, not Target! https://www.shopsmart.aft.org

Pete is my bestie and a fellow nature queerdo. The universe has thrown him a rough time over the last few years, and if you'd like to help him out a bit so he can get some dental work done, I know he'll pay it forward when he can. He's just that kinda guy www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-th...

matt damon is the only person in the world who is generation x and also generation z because he was born in the 70s and also bourne in the 2000s

Nearly 45 million acres of national forest land could be opened to logging and development.

I have not seen this much rain the entire 5 years I've lived here. The storm is just sitting on top of us dumping right now. My tomatoes are going to split :(

There is so much wrong with all of this. Unnecessary violence and hate. People in cars can be assholes. People on bikes can be assholes. WE DON'T SHOOT ASSHOLES. We ignore them.

A family of Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) came up to say hi on our morning walk while camping in the Rawah wilderness. An amazing trip! So many creatures all around.

Introduce yourself as what almost killed you: "Hi, I'm the drunk driver who missed that stop sign off the I94 ramp to 11th Ave and T-boned your truck at 50 MPH on Oct. 11, 2008. The impact left my bumper and attached license plate in the street when I ran off, so I was easily prosecuted."