Struggling to sleep in this heat but I've spotted one of my home's nocturnal residents - a Spitting Spider (Scytodes thoracica). Have seen at least 3 in the house this weekend.

"Whose Larva Is This?" A quick guide to figure out what you're looking at when you find something that resembles a worm or a Zerg unit crawling around. #insect #bug #education #SciArt

Is it just me who's really enjoying the British weather lately? I like proper heavy rain to give everything a good soak and make everything glisten, with sunny spells to warm up and draw the insects back out. Maybe I am secretly an amphibian..

All right cockers? I got home for Cockchafer o'clock tonight! Great to see these big, bumbling beetles around. Likely emerging from the neighbour's lawns. You can see where they've been munching the young ash leaves too.

Rather enamored with the big Banded Damoiselle nymphs that kids caught on our river dips in the Stort today for #HertsRiversWeek Also gratifying to find shedloads of Blue-winged olive mayfly nymphs and several caddis and Bullheads, showing that the water here is still of decent quality.

My sincerest thanks and condolences to all the staff and volunteers who cleared up Britain's greenspaces today after the heatwave bank holiday madness! Fighting the real, physical, shameless blight on the country. This pic was far from the worst - at least the culprits bothered to find a bin.

The Green Forest Fly Caliprobola sp;eciosa, a large & rare hoverfly - one of the gems of the New Forest where it can be seen around the base of old trees & stumps. Get into the world of flies with our 'flyble' bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social

“Calm down, Edna. … Yes, it’s some giant, hideous insect … but it could be some giant, hideous insect in need of help.”

Messing about by the river today helping to build up a brash berm in the Stort with the Friends of Castle Park. These features create a more dynamic flow, reduce soil erosion, vegetate into bankside habitat and offer refuge for fish and aquatic invertebrates. All with entirely natural materials.

Recently gave a talk to BTO Youth on starting out with identifying insects in Britain and Ireland. Pleased to see how keen young ornithologists are to engage with the world of insects! I'd be happy to give this again if any natural history groups are interested- it was a lot to put together!

Petition: gardenorganic.org.uk/glyphosate-campaign

Lovely to find my first nest of the shell-nesting Red-tailed Mason Bee (Osmia bicolor) on a Herts Invertebrate Project outing to Sheethanger Common yesterday. One of a few nice finds on this former golf course near Hemel Hempstead, now owned and managed for nature by the Boxmoor Trust.

EDIT: Mottled Shieldbug. A first for me! Thanks @sjbknott.bsky.social for the ID.

Decided to take a trip to some North London gardens on my day off. Wasn't expecting many insects in the overcast conditions, so the specialist Large Scissor Bee (Chelostoma florisomne) at Myddelton House and my 1st adult Bronze Shieldbug at Culpeper Community Gardens were nice surprises!

#WildBees and #pollinators need our help. You can help some of them with bee hotels. They also need food, pollen and nectar. So use less #lawnmower, and let #wildflowers bloom in your yard and garden! #bees #bumblebees #wasps #wildlife #backyard #beehotels

Happy #WorldRobberflyDay Everyone! Hers the video I made about my obsession with the Hornet Robberfly! (I was going to post it today but ended up posting it when I finished editing instead as I wanted to share!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gHN...

The Hornet Robberfly (Asilus crabroniformis) Its World Robberfly day in Fly Week today So to celebrate my fav Robberfly had to be the pic. An amazingly large Robberfly, one of the largest flies in the UK #worldrobberflyday #flyweek #robberfly #asilidae

Two males of the scarce Hornet Grabber (Conops vesicularis) in Gamlingay Wood LNR, S. Cambridgeshire this morning. A sexually dimorphic fly, I've included a photo of a female photographed in my garden earlier this month to illustrate the difference. #Diptera #Flies

A hoverfly (Chalcosyrphus nemorum) doing a poo

Is this the world's worst photo of a Wasp-banded Combhorn Cranefly (Ctenophora flaveolata)? Quite possibly. Am I dead chuffed to have spotted it way up in a standing dead oak? Absolutely! My first encounter with this striking, scarce species on our Herts Invertebrate Project outing to Hudnall Park.

I am absolutely made up about this 'Flyble' review in British Wildlife by none other than Brett Westwood! A publication and a naturalist I've had a huge amount of respect for since my uni days. It's really gratifying to see the reception of this book after so much hard work.

Drifts of Ramsons in woodland is unmistakable but look closer & you might spot a male Ramsons Hoverfly Portevinia maculata (top right) basking on a leaf the female (bottom) is often hidden amongst the plants where she lays her eggs @worcswt.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social bit.ly/4dqOI8Z

A mindful birding moment with the parents yesterday. There's always time to stop and watch a Little Egret on the river (and to appreciate Mum's homemade jumper!).

#WhatsTheUseOfFlies? No.3 - #pollination! You like flowers? You like eating food? Then you need #flies! Bees are OK, but a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to pollination is actually done by flies. Look at this #hoverfly with its face covered. #diptera #flies #insects

Thrilled to find a gathering of these Mammoth Wasps (Megascolia maculata) in Spain, busily nectaring with males pursuing the massive females. Their bold colours, violet wings and jack o'lantern faces look fantastic! They're Europe's largest wasps, with larvae parasitising chafer grubs.

An impressive African Giant Mantis (Sphodromantis viridis) near Almeria, Spain. Identifiable by her whitevwing spots. Non-native to Europe but still exciting to see. She'd found a very productive ambush perch amongst Giant Fennel flowers.

Staying with a good friend in Almeria and of course enjoying the local insect life. Spanish Festoon and the shell-nesting bee Rhodanthidium sticticum have been highlights.

The Jackdaws are fighting over the chimney pots along my road. Too engrossed to notice the human on the ground floor hanging up their washing.

This is an excellent book. I have the previous version and would say if you buy just one guide to wildlife gardening, it should be this one. It's very practically laid out and gives good rep to insects beyond bees and butterflies. Pleased to see it getting a reprint with endorsement from the RHS.

Someone updated this copy of Thomas Moffet’s ‘Insectorum sive minimorum animalium theatrum’ (1634) with the Linnæan name for the Dark-edged bee-fly, Bombylius major (Linnæus, 1758) and other insects. 🪰💚 Rare books #BeeFlyWatch, M.14.42 @theul.bsky.social. #Diptera

Fly Research & Conservation Virtual Symposium 2026 Tue 23 Jun 2026 | Online | £30 or pay what you can Explore the latest fly ecology, conservation science & practical case studies. Live Q&A, expert talks & all resources available after the event 🌍 🧪 Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981718540...

One of the great things about authoring a photographic guide is that it can be enjoyed by all ages. My friend sent me these of her friend's daughter pouring #BestFlyBook in the back of the car (like me with bird books on family holidays). Would be lovely if it inspires more young entomologists!

Nice to read a review of the 'Flyble' by a dipterist. Encouraging people to look beyond hoverflies was precisely one of the aims of the project. Will be very interested to read more reviews as spring gets under way and people use the book. That's the real mark of an ID guide. Please tag us in.

Cheilosia pagana, a small black hoverfly, is one of our earliest hoverflies to be seen, flying from March-October. The female is identified by its large orange antennae. #BestFlyBook bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @bbowt.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social

Fantastic news, should be incredibly useful

A few solitary bees out in the sunshine yesterday including this stylopised male Andrena (2 female stylops are visible poking out of the penultimate abdominal segment). Parasitized bees like this can exhibit features of both male & female bee (called intersex) which makes identification tricky. 🧵

Gonia picea (Dark Broadface) is one of the first Tachinid flies to appear in spring - this one spotted in March on the Malvern Hills. Our new guide to #FliesofBritainandIreland features over 1200 species bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @georgemcgavin.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Female Common Earwigs Forficula auricularia are very good mothers. After spending the winter guarding her batch of eggs she cares for the nymphs for several weeks and regurgitates food for them. The nymphs will disperse when they are large enough to fend for themselves. Dartmoor, Devon

Have had a very cluttered mind lately. Stopping to appreciate this helped. Hopefully so will a proper day out tomorrow.

Tachina lurida (Dingy Tachina), one of our earliest Parasite Flies to emerge in March & found in woodland features in our new #FliesofBritainandIreland bit.ly/4dqQI8Z this one spotted in Bernwood Forest on the Bucks/Oxon border @bbowt.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

This is a great example of how ecosystems have myriad connections that that don't fit our binary ideas of 'friend or foe'. One species of insect regarded as a 'pest' supports another that people want to help in their gardens. Spray off scale insects and you could be impacting #bumblebees.

Osmia cornuta #SolitaryBees making the next generation. SW London 23.02.26 @ianbeavis.bsky.social @dustygedge.bsky.social

Oh hello… it’s here! The new ‘Photographic guide to flies of Britain and Ireland’. Steven Falk (not sure if he’s on BS?) @gailashton.bsky.social @rdimond.bsky.social Peter Creed Forward by @flygirlnhm.bsky.social It is an astonishing piece of work for such a diverse taxonomic group. #diptera

The Holy Flyble is being released into the wild! Thank you to everyone who preordered and great to see reviews already coming in. Can't guarantee it will be delivered by robberfly though!

Want to see a live Moss Safari? I’m excited to share I will be doing a live online session for the Linnaean Society of London on 8 April 12:30. Sign up here members.linnean.org/events/6995e...

Let it fly!! Check out this awesome fly art from jyoon_bug on instagram! 🪰❤️ #Diptera #FliesAreAwesome

It’s here! The wait is over! Thank you for your patience to all of you who pre-ordered ☺️

430(!) native tree whips planted today with Friends of Castle Park volunteers & CMS to restore a lapsed hedgerow at Grange Paddocks, Bishop's Stortford. Thanks to the brilliant Herts CC 'Your Trees Our Future' Project. We aspire to bigger changes for wildlife in this extensive amenity grassland.

Oh hey, it's my book! Due out next week!!

A Japanese Satsuma ware vase painted by the renowned artist Yabu Meizan (1853–1934) during the Meiji period. #art #sculpture #painting #vase #insects