Katherine Oestmann

@koestmann.bsky.social

1487 Followers 1686 Following

Evolutionary biology HDR student. Loves the unloved critters. She/her 🏳‍🌈

A large glass jar with a white label and filled with yellowish ethanol containing 1,000 preserved isopods
The mnemonic on top reads "chewing bits in muck, crustaceans process debris." The text underneath lists leg segment names "coxa basis ischium merus carpus propodus dactylus" and in the centre is a line drawing of an isopod leg. The background is a murky green pond.
Oil painting of a scene with a prehistoric feel featuring dinosaurs and jungle plants surrounding a McDonald's, under a hazy sky
Fomantis, a green and pink baby bug Pokemon with big eyes
Microscopic image of a dark brown parasitoid wasp with orange legs. The whole wasp is only a few millimetres long.
Image text reads: you DO belong, you ARE worthy, and you deserve lovely days. Beneath the text are cute forest animals are gathered around seeds and fruits on a table. Credit: The Latest Kate.
The colourfully illustrated front cover of Return of the Wild by Helen Scales.
digital artwork of a bright purple, especially round isopod with blue and yellow markings
Pufferfish skeleton with modified scales in its normal state, and underneath, expanded state
A large jumping spider perched on the underside of a thin leafy branch. The spider looks to be planning where to jump next.
Title reading "the 2024 Christmas beetle count has begun!" above a close-up of the beetle on a leaf. The beetle is a shiny gold colour.
A vertical timeline illustrating extinct relatives of whales, representing their transition back to an ocean-dwelling life.
A hand holding a Kobo e-reader displaying a book cover, which reads 'The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe'
Photographer's description: I found this female green jumping spider in my backyard and struggled to get her in focus as she scurried back and forth, carefully weaving her silk into a nest. Once complete, this nest will be used as a shelter to rest in, and potentially lay her egg-sacs.
Photographer's description: The Bremer Canyon is a meeting place for most of the ocean’s most terrifying creatures. These orcas gather in great numbers to hunt tuna, great white sharks, giant squid and even other larger whales. Hanging over the edge of the boat in five metre swell, I dunked my camera into the water as these young orcas swam beneath the boat.
Photographer's description: New Zealanders love their native galaxiids—sandwiched between two pieces of white bread for the most part. What most people don’t realise is that whitebait are actually the juvenile of a spectacular family of native fish. At Manāki Whitebait, scientists have cracked the secrets to commercially tank-rear the endangered Giant Kōkopu.
Photographer's description: Across this open forest landscape, rambling sundews sparkle in the morning light. Each sundew has numerous tiny structures that ensnare their small prey. I have used a macro lens focussed on just one of these ingenious traps. Angling the camera for backlighting, a miniature light show was revealed.
Photographer's description: Spiders of the genus Deinopis have the largest simple eyes of any arthropod. Their photoreceptors are 2,000 times more sensitive to light than those of humans. Relying on their well-developed eyesight, they have developed an unusual hunting strategy. They cast their webs at prey that passes or flies underneath them.
Photographer's description: Tanglefoot, deciduous beech, fagus (Nothofagus gunnii), whatever name you give it, it’s Australia’s only cold-weather deciduous species. Every year, they go from waxy green to fiery reds. Sometimes, if you’re exceptionally lucky, you get to catch them in their fiery turn, under a blanket of snow.
Photographer's description: These three [numbat] siblings are only a few days outside their burrow, taking in the smells and calls of the woodland. Over their first few months, they are very vulnerable to predation and stay under mum’s care. Poignantly, the one in the middle didn’t make it to dispersal stage.
Photographer's description: Whale sharks are deep water fish, spending the majority of their lives in deep water far from shore. Being able to swim with them in the clear shallows of the Ningaloo Reef is really quite special.
Photographer's description: On my recent trip to New Zealand, I was lucky enough to witness a spectacular sight: a moon halo caused by moonlight passing through ice crystals in the atmosphere. This amazing display was made even more beautiful by the unique geological formations of limestone boulders. These formations were shaped over time by weathering and erosion and provided the perfect frame for the moon halo. As if that wasn't enough, I also got to hear the majestic sound of deer stag calls, adding a touch of wildness to the night, and creating an enchanting soundtrack.
Photographer's description: In the dusk of a rainy summer's day, the stunning glow worms of Helensburgh are glimmering brightly. Present in the rockfaces all around the abandoned train station, a few specks of blue can be found all around this picture. The tunnel itself provides a perfect home for these magnificent creatures!