Being in the middle of a tall tree is my new favorite happy place. For me, it’s immersive and calming. For others, however, it’s a very sexual place! Male soldier beetles (Chauliognathus marginatus) are on the prowl for the plumpest female as mating season begins. (Check out the size differential.) Meanwhile, my job is to make sure the chestnut tree gets some action, too. By hand-pollinating the female flowers with the pollen of another chestnut hybrid, we hope to produce nuts by October 🌰 Those nuts will then be planted, hopefully adding a new hybrid into the @chattanoogachestnut breeding program . . . #treetyoself #trees #plants #nature #natural #outdoors #forest #forestry #hiking #woods #treatyourself #americanchestnut #chestnut #castaneadentata #hybrid #nuts #pollination #beetles #cantharidae #ttu #tennesseetech #sexy #scicomm (at Tennessee Tech University) https://www.instagram.com/p/Byoft2BnwvC/?igshid=frvnnw5nzx2i