iNaturalist Highlight: 25,000th observation (Podisus maculiventris, the spined soldier bug)

On 21 May 2026, I uploaded my 25,000th iNaturalist observation, a nymph of the Podisus maculiventris, the spined soldier bug spotted in Hillside Park, Arlington, Virginia. 

As of this date, I've had 11 observations of the species (with some additional observations from the genus Podisus). A few days before this observation, I had another observation of a P. maculiventris attacking a much larger Nearctic Carpenter Ant (Camponotus nearcticus)

"Podisus maculiventris, the spined soldier bug, is a medium-sized predatory shield bug common in North America. It has prominent spines on each "shoulder" and preys on a wide variety of arthropods, particularly the larval forms of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. As a generalist predator of many agricultural pests, P. maculiventris is generally considered a beneficial insect in gardens and crop fields." -- Wikipedia

P. maculiventris was first described by Thomas Say in 1831:

P. maculiventris, Hemelytra with a line at tip ; venter with five series of black points.

Inhab. U. S.

Body yellowish or pale brownish, with dense, rather large punctures : thorax acutely angulated each side behind the middle ; edge granulated before the middle : hemelytra having an abbreviated fuscous line at tip of the membranous portion : antennae, first joint short ; 2d longer than the third : tergum on the lateral margin with a blackish dot on each incisure : beneath yellowish : feet immaculate ; thighs sometimes having numerous minute blackish points ; anterior tibiae with an obvious spine over the slight emargination : venter with five obvious series of small black dots.

Say, Thomas. 1831 March. Descriptions of new species of North American insects, found in Louisiana by Joseph Barabino. New Harmony, Indiana. [page image from the HathiTrust].

A Visit to the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (Paris) in April 2026

While on a work trip to Paris, I had some time and after strolling along the Seine, thought I would take a wander through the Jardin des Plantes and make a visit to the one of the world's greatest natural history museums, none other than the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN).

I was last at the MNHN in 2023 for that year's BHL Annual Meeting. That visit was bittersweet as it was the first BHL meeting without Constance Rinaldo. We had lost her the previous year (in October 2022). At the Paris meeting, however, we were able to celebrate her life and accomplishments along with members of her family.

So, this visit was a bit different (and as a side note, the 2026 BHL Annual meeting was taking place this very same week, but, as in 2016, in London at the Natural History Museum  and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. But I digress. 

Grande Galerie de l'Évolution

On this visit (27 April 2026), I went to hit a few highlights -- chief among them the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution (above). The dodo exhibit was a bit disappointing. Seems the "disparues" animal exhibit was being redone, so there was no grand dodo on display this time.

I wandered around a bit more (lots of stairs, but in a nice open plan). Headed out and went across the way to pay respects at the House of Buffon, that would be Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. The building is now the offices of the scientific publishing wing of the MNHN (back in 2018, at my first visit to the MNHN we had some meetings with Laurence Bénichou (Head of Publishing and a longtime and strong supporter of BHL). 

Time to move on. Decided to look for lunch, but can't decide where, almost go to the cafe at the Grande Mosquée de Paris but realize I can't get a beer there so move on. None of the lunch spots are hitting what I’m looking for. Finally, decide to go to Place de la Contrescarpe which seems packed with eateries. I get there and there are throngs of people in cafes. I choose, the Cafe La Contrescarpe, almost get mussels, but choose steak and frites which includes 3 deviled eggs and a salad. Very good. I add a beer, but just one! Food and service are very good. My table overlooks the Place, so good people watching options.

Celebration: Official Launch of the BHL Portal, 9 May 2007

May 2007 was an important time for BHL. All the work done by Tom Garnett to integrate BHL into the funding streams for the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) was coming together. 9 May was selected as the official launch date for EOL and the event would take place in Washington, DC.

The day started with a press conference held at the National Press Club. After that, participants regrouped back at the Smithsonian's Natural History museum to (well, you know), do more work. A bunch of us hung out in the digitization space (where the Smithsonian's Scribe machine had been delivered a few days earlier, on 5 May 2007). We'd decorated the room with some print on demand books from the Internet Archive and a Mold-a-Rama dinosaur from The Field Museum.

Cathy Norton and Brewster Kahle between events at the Smithsonian's Scribe digitization room

National Academies of Sciences

Installations: The Internet Archive Scribe machine arrives at the Smithsonian

To ramp up digitization of content, BHL partnered with the Internet Archive. In addition to using the large scale digitization centers the Internet Archive had set up in other parts of the country (Boston, San Francisco, New York), the Smithsonian partnered with the Library of Congress to set up a digitization center on Capitol Hill. To supplement the mass digitization center, the Smithsonian also hosted a single Scribe machine in the natural history building that that would focus on rare and fragile materials. 

On Saturday, 5 May 2007, the Scribe machine was delivered to the Smithsonian. Along with Tom Garnett, we were there to meet the delivery truck and help the movers transport the Scribe into the building. 

The Natural History museum is across the street from the Department of Justice and the Attorney General's office. A large, unmarked truck arriving on a weekend and turning around in the middle of Constitution Avenue drew the attention of law enforcement. We were able to explain what was going on and allowed to proceed with the unloading.

The Scribe, operated by Internet Archive and Smithsonian staff would go on to digitize hundreds of thousands of pages of biodiversity literature for BHL until it was removed in 2025.