Lindsay Lindhult, PHD
Science Illustrator
Hi, I’m Lindsay Lindhult (she/they) - a biologist, lifelong arthropod enthusiast, and lead science illustrator at LindZeamays Illustration. I use a hand-painted style to translate complex scientific concepts into vibrant, approachable, and informative illustrations.
My path into science illustration began with a fascination with insect biomaterials. While studying materials engineering and entomology at Penn State, I led projects exploring caddisfly silk-inspired medical sutures and 3D-printed hydrogels for cellular scaffolds. Internships in freshwater macroinvertebrate diagnostics, invasive insect research, and entomological museum curation solidified my passion for entomology. Blending my interests, I went on to earn a Ph.D. at the University of Delaware, where I studied maize brace root biomechanics and how insect herbivory impacts plant stability. After a USDA postdoc in cranberry and blueberry pathology and breeding, I realized the part of research I loved most was illustrating it—so I made the leap to visual science communication full-time.
Through LindZeamays Illustration, I now collaborate with scientists around the world to turn their research into meaningful, hand-crafted visuals, and to spread the message that “no crawly is creepy!”
What I nerd out about: While I am no longer a practicing biomaterials scientist, I still geek out over entomological materials. I’m endlessly fascinated by things like the dew-collecting ridges on a darkling beetle’s elytra, the springy protein, resilin, that lets grasshoppers and leafhoppers leap to skyscraper heights (at scale), or how butterfly wing scales bend light to create vibrant blues without any blue pigment.
I still frequently stumble across strange and beautiful arthropod adaptations I’ve never seen before. Diving into those rabbit holes, then bringing the arthropods to life through illustration, is what fuels me most.
Outside the studio, I love science fiction, running, hiking with my nature-photographer husband, and hanging out with our beloved rabbit, Momiji.
Do you have a favorite species or science fact?
Right now, I’m completely fascinated by two arthropod groups: solitary wasps and springtails.
Wasps tend to get a bad rap, but most are solitary, non-aggressive, and incredibly important to the ecosystems they live in. They pollinate, defend their kin, and help control pests by parasitizing or preying on species that could otherwise decimate plant life. I’m especially fond of wasps of the family Sphecidae— thread-waisted solitary wasps that build nests underground or out of mud. Potter wasps, for example, make nests that resemble tiny clay pots! One of my favorites is the great black digger wasp, a sleek, iridescent hunter of grasshoppers and crickets. Their delicate form, bold behavior, and ecosystem service really make wasps akin to real life fairies.
Springtails are tiny overlooked soil arthropods that are absolutely everywhere - in fact they are considered the most abundant of all terrestrial arthropods. They’re fungivores and detritivores, and help break down organic matter and cycle nutrients, making them key players in soil health. They have a springy tail-like structure called a furcula that they use to launch themselves into the air to escape a threat. A neat fact about springtails is that they can withstand extreme pressure thanks to the hierarchical assembly of their cuticles. The primary and secondary cuticle microstructures render it omniphobic, or resistant to nearly all liquids regardless of surface tension. This enables tiny springtails to be unharmed when hit with large water droplets. A necessity when you are an organism that lives in moist environments!
Lindsay’s work:
“I still frequently stumble across strange and beautiful arthropod adaptations I’ve never seen before. Diving into those rabbit holes, then bringing the arthropods to life through illustration, is what fuels me most.”
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