Thilina Hettiarachchi (@bugsnapz)
@ThilinaHA
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PhD student at the University of Manitoba | ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ A bug lover here | Passionate about bee taxonomy and macrophotography | https://t.co/DeDpDSU9rk
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Joined August 2014
Presenting what I consider the world's prettiest bee. I hope you all agree. I was captivated when I saw it on these Silky Prairie Clover (๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ท๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ข). This species is ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ฆ, in the family Colletidae Spruce Woods Prov. Pk, MB ๐จ๐ฆ
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I was invited to give a virtual talk about @inaturalist to the Sri Lanka Natural History Society yesterday & was surprised to find the recording of the talk up already on the SLNHSโs YouTube channel today. https://t.co/fio413HPKd
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Rare find! Monotypic genus and endemic to Sri Lanka - recorded for the FIRST TIME in 154 years since its original description! Huge thanks to all identifiers and https://t.co/ikPRJeHN9B for making this the Observation of the Day!
inaturalist.org
iNaturalist is a social network for naturalists! Record your observations of plants and animals, share them with friends and researchers, and learn about the natural world.
Identifying spiders can be challenging, but the iNaturalist community is an amazing resource for learning what features to observe ... ๐ท thilinahettiarachchi on iNaturalist ๐ Sri Lanka ๐: https://t.co/tKojiCBRoG
#ObservationOfTheDay
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The Amazing Art of Gamini Ratnavira Introduced by Rohan Pethiyagoda. https://t.co/eVlH5gTPJo
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MODEL OF THE DAY! ๐ธโจ Photoshoot with nature's coolest model - the Wandering Violin Mantis (๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐บ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐บ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด)! This is just a juvenile - the adults are even MORE spectacular! What do you think of this stunning model? ๐
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What is @inaturalist? An introduction & virtual demonstration of iNat to a primarily Sri Lankan audience, via the Sri Lanka Natural History Society. Saturday, Nov 15, 2025. 6:30 PM ๐ฑ๐ฐ time (Note: QR code in posterโก๏ธiNaturalist app) Zoom: Meeting ID: 840 2777 8484 Passcode: 824340
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Sleepy Bee Alert! ๐ค Found this adorable male Dimorphic Leafcutter (Megachile conjuncta) catching some Z's near my house during my Sri Lanka trip this year! #SriLanka #bees #Macro #nature
#coolinsects
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NTB WNPS Monthly Lecture ย The Study of Sri Lankaโs Endemic BiotaโA Malacologistโs View ย By Dinarzarde Raheem ย Unearthing Sri Lankaโs hidden worldโtracing how history, ecology, and evolution shaped our extraordinary, yet overlooked, endemic land-snail diversity
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The Living Jewel of #Mexico! ๐โจ Meet ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐บ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ข ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข - one of the most stunning #jewel scarab #beetles on Earth! Found from the southwestern US through Central & South America, but this Mexican #beauty is absolutely breathtaking! ๐ฒ๐ฝ
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๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ข cf. ๐ฃ๐ช๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ - a stunning #spittlebug (family Cercopidae) first described from Sri Lanka in 1891! ๐ฑ๐ฐ Check out that unusual color and those intricate black vein patterns on the tegmina tips - nature's perfect #artwork! Kuruwita, #SriLanka ๐ฑ๐ฐ
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Meet ๐๐ถ๐ญ๐ค๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐บ๐ณ๐ด๐ถ๐ด, an endemic leaf insect species of #SriLanka! The species behind that mystery face - one of the coolest insects on #Earth! ๐คฏ Found in green and yellow morphs. Perfect leaf mimicry! What do you think?
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Who can guess what kind of insect this is? Drop your guesses in the comments! ๐ I'll be sharing the full body shots of this #INCREDIBLE #insect later - and trust me, you're going to be amazed! This is honestly one of my absolute favorite insect groups.
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๐ฆ Meet ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ข๐ฆ, the dwarf wood scorpion! This species was first recorded in Sri Lanka in 2018, from the Southern Province as an introduced species. Yagirala, Sri Lanka ๐ฑ๐ฐ ยฉThilina Hettiarachchi | TH
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Another fascinating antennae-bearing firefly! This is a male of ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ข sp., a firefly genus found only in Sri Lanka. Just look at those incredible antennae! Mirigama, Sri Lanka ๐ฑ๐ฐ ยฉThilina Hettiarachchi | TH
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Time to share a cool beetle from Sri Lanka! This is male of ๐๐ถ๐จ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ญ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ, an endemic firefly species found in the wet-zone forests of the island. It is truly a glowing gem in Sri Lankaโs rich biodiversity. Rathnapura, Sri Lanka ๐ฑ๐ฐ ยฉThilina Hettiarachchi
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Here are more examples of its brutality... https://t.co/lSNm2bmA7a
Meet Jagged Ambush bug, ๐๐ฉ๐บ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ข ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ข & its photo series showing its diverse tasteโfrom a tiny bee to big bumble bee; ๐๐บ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ด, ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ด, ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ถ๐ด sp. & ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ค๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ญ๐ข (part1)
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I think the Jagged Ambush Bug (Phymata cf. americana) is one of the most underrated killers in the insect world. I found these butterflies taken down by this silent, camouflaged predator. Nature can be brutal. #AmbushBug #InsectPredator
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