drlaughingmantis.bsky.social
Laughing Mantis Studio
Pittsburgh, PA. breast cancer scientist, artist, woodworker, naturalist, native plant enthusiast, gardener, gamer, husband, dog dad.
Full portfolio on IG @laughingmantisstudio
270 posts
3,305 followers
894 following
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Getting ready to release #4 that just hatched!
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And this excellent @nextpittsburgh.bsky.social article by Andy Moore gives a lot more history, research, and context!
nextpittsburgh.com/environment/...
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This was my original story in @publicsource.org: www.publicsource.org/zebra-swallo...
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Just perusing through your native plant photos. :) this one reminded me of some NE aster shots I took this week! Yes, really. I grew them from seed under light in my basement. Then took them in and out trying to harden them while avoiding freezes. They’re so confused 😵💫 😂. I was shocked.
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More great info! Thank you so much!
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That’s great to know! Although these deer will keep coming back over and over. City deer… haha. I had read that oenothera are deer-resistant. That clearly does not apply to starved urban deer. 😂 or just bad internet info
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Bonus: I get to make dog walkers laugh when they go by. 😂
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Yes the “stairs” were haphazardly thrown together today. Squirrels will ruin it regularly anyway.
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Wow. Here in Pittsburgh (6B), they haven’t even emerged from the ground yet!
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Aw thanks for sharing, Kate! I appreciate you!
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lol I took that same photo
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Nice catch ;)
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Purely based on my 1 successful attempt at doing exactly this: don’t give up hope on them if it takes FOREVER for them to pop out. Haha. Mine took like a couple months to germinate (I tried scar vs non-scar, fridge cold strat vs fall sow). But everything ended up growing after a few months.
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Next 2 stages of glue up. Since body is glued, I 1st did the bottom wing, pressing them toward center with cauls. Then repeated with forewings. You can see the cauls (a superglued scrap and a wedge) in the second photo to apply clamping force. The pieces interlock at the body creating a pivot point.
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1 step of glue up has begun. I usually find it helpful to glue at least 1 piece to serve as a stable reference when I go to glue the rest. Tiny errors are additive (especially with over 300 individual pieces of wood). So it’s best to take it in stages. I’ve never had a stress-free glue up. 😂
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On to the alcohol dyes!
#scrollsaw #woodworking #intarsia #monarch #butterfly
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Demonstration of homemade iron acetate (vinegar+0000 steel wool) stain. I’ve had this stuff sitting in the shop for a year+ with no loss of potency. After the steel wool mostly dissolves, I run it through a tshirt or coffee filter. Some maple turns shades of gray. Walnut and red oak turn black.
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Time to cut a riser to add some depth to the body.
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Such a satisfyingly tight fit!
Cue obligatory gratuitous comment by my wife (or any Michael Scott fans).
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1st step of glue up has begun: tacking in the little bits with cyanoacrylate so I can shape them as part of the larger sections. #woodworking #butterfly #intarsia
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Some of these pieces are tiiiiny. Cutting those on a scrollsaw is…fun. But hey , it’s better than reading the news.
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And still more to cut…
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Beautiful shots!
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Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you so much for the unexpected share!
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I didn’t know this when the adult visited my pawpaws and laid her eggs, but apparently they’ve been missing here in Pittsburgh, PA for almost a century. It ended up quite a big deal! Such a cool experience learning to raise the cats too.
nextpittsburgh.com/environment/...
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Ooh nice. Following for hopeful follow ups! I have ~30 zebra swallowtail chrysalises I hope eclose this year!
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Thanks for the share! It was a good day amongst a sea of bad ones lately!
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This was epic. Thanks for sharing! It answers so many questions the lay public would have like “why are we wasting money studying squid?!” 😂
The mountains of foundational work behind basically everything in modern medicine is astounding. The public needs to know this.
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Haha thanks for the note. I do know this but many might not. FYI this is my pawpaw story: www.publicsource.org/zebra-swallo...
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Ope. Maybe not. Looks like PA is just out of range. For now… haha