Woo, first of the Scarlet Tigers spotted for this year! The caterpillars have been feasting on all the green alkanet, and adults starting to appear 🥰

Using generative AI for imagery is **directly harmful** to artists, graphic designers, photographers etc. This isn't a vague moral argument: this is just normal, standard theft, except at a completely new scale and social acceptability. We need to reverse that. www.instagram.com/reel/DY2L2-g...

One for Bluepals here in the UK: have your say on which animals should be on our banknotes. On the topic of finding joy in small things, imagine booting Churchill off the money and replacing him with a puffin ♥️ www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/he...

Happy Pride Month besties! 🌈💚 💖 4 upcoming Queer Ecology Walks, link in thread. 🤩 including a collab hike with @nataliareagan.bsky.social! My Pride hike THIS Friday 6/5 is almost sold out, so jump on it friends! 👯 #pridemonth #queerecology #lgbtq #gaypride #natureisqueer

Nottingham! I'm doing a Meanderer's bug hunt walk on the eve of #NationalInsectWeek; followed by a shared meal (and chat about how invertebrates helped produce the ingredients), and a bug badges art session with Ameila Daiz to round off with some #EntoFashion. www.meanderers.org/event-detail...

Yes rain, GET IN (my water butts)

🌿 Show us your pond 🌿 PondWatch is back! Whether you’ve just created a pond, are building one, or have wildlife sightings from an established pond, we’d love to hear from you. Share your photos & stories with us! british-dragonflies.org.uk/get-involved... #PondWatch #Dragonflies #WildlifeGarden

NOT trying to get a tan is very similar.

NORMALISE PARASOLS

I mustn't let May go by without a nod to my 2009 article on the discovery, during the 19th century, of same-sex copulation among Maybugs (also known as Maybeetles, cockchafers, doodlebugs). Do look out for them at it in your garden! 🌈🌳 #histsci #histbio 🗃️ www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3...

Okay and just to piggyback on this, as a person with both chronic and occasionally acute disabilities, one of which got me a radar key from the NHS- you can just buy them online for a tenner. You should not need to be doing this, I hate that you are put in this position, but if you need one, lmk.

I hate pricing things. Imposter syndrome full on battling with so many other bits of psyche; numbers become unreal and overblown so fast :(

Would you like some whimsy? We're sharing introductions to each of the rats in our Rat Trail by artist/maker Fong Scott. Watch now on our YouTube playlist! www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Maybe we should all get shirts that say “Scientists DO want you to know! AMA” 😂

A distinctive bum! #earwigs

Pay-as-you-feel Q&A webinar next tuesday - focusing on how to provide food / resources for garden birds without supplementary feeding. I'll be talking about bugs ofc; also POV of someone who'd only forget to clean feeders, so gardens for 'em instead! learn.wildlifegardenproject.com/talks/feedth...

I'll be out on Saturday 25th April too, either near the Central Library or the Wild About #Sneinton event (based near the King Billy pub); chatting all things #CityNatureChallenge and about @inaturalist.bsky.social in general (and seeing what bugs are out & about too). Look for a garish bug shirt!

I'm doing a few free events for #Nottingham City Nature Challenge this weekend too! Bioblitz at the Nottingham Victoria Embankment Memorial Garden, where we shall enjoy sunshine and find ALL THE THINGS. 24th April 2026. 13.30 - 15.00. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/city-natur... #CityNatureChallenge

I have ADHD and an iNaturalist account. Never be bored at a bus stop again 👍👍

It's #CityNatureChallenge this weekend :D I do enjoy this big community-science project - get out there with your phone / camera, take photos of any wild thing you spot, and pop it up onto @inaturalist.bsky.social. Very accessible, easy to do, lovely start to getting into casual wildlife recording!

This Is Just To Say I have turned off the AI features that were in the update and which you were probably hoping to monetize Fuck you they were stupid so unnecessary and so annoying

TONIGHT! My online workshop on how to add more habitat for invertebrates to your garden. Deadwood! Nooks & Crannies! Lots Of Things To Do With Piles Of Sticks! Bee hotels that actually work (and sarcasm about those that don't). 7.30pm UK time :) learn.wildlifegardenproject.com/talks/microh...

Next week I'm giving a talk with the #WildlifeGarden Project, on how you can add more habitat complexity to your garden, to encourage and support all sorts of invertebrates! I'll also get cross about Terrible Bee Hotels. Booking link here: learn.wildlifegardenproject.com/talks/microh...

Guess who forgot her Bluesky login for just long enough that I also forgot the entire thing existed. Oops.

Love at the bee hotel? 💞🐝 No; just over-enthusiastic males checking out the new emergence! (I realised these are actually two different holes, but it's representative of the Absolute Scenes at the bee hotel yesterday 😆) #beehotels #wildlifegardening

Extremely pleased with this new weird addition to my ento #scicomm kit. Realistic aquatic insect larvae - silicone fishing lures! Gonna make 'em little magnifying pots or petri dishes. (Company is called FishUp) (I am delighted) (They smell odd, presumably to be delicious for fish)

M: "Which slides are you taking along this weekend?" Me: "Minibeast Mythbusting. There's plenty of variety, and it's a family event." M: "Didn't you have a weird bug history one?" Me: "....yes, but it involves biochemical warfare / crimes; animal trials; & 4 Horsemen: Bug Edition." A Normal Career.

the humiliation of going on a hot date then finding out she wasn't even in the same PHYLUM (then someone writes a whole paper about it, with photos of your wiener)

Timely — just saw this post yesterday. Haven’t explored it yet myself, but it looks promising! bsky.app/profile/sara...

Finally, the bug is back with a round of the Guinness.

Oh dear. Making an 'Identify Your Minibeast!' flow chart (cos I want a BIG one for kids to follow through on sites), and it's all gone very GrApH1C De5IGn Is My PAssiON 😅 Make and try out the draft version, Linda. Then get someone with art skills beyond Powerpoint Fiddlin' to make it nice...

Shieldbug chillin' out in a part-used #beehotel tube. (Birch shieldbug? I think.) A creature actually using a bee hotel as a *hotel*?! :P

At the 'Women in Warhammer' meetup at Warhammer world. Have immediately spent 20 solid minutes talking about How Bees Work 😅 Continues my traditional of discussing entomology at Warhammer events, and Warhammer at the @royentsoc.bsky.social conference 🐝🪰🕷

#InvertebrateShitposting as per @joabaldwin.com's request

Today's 'I'm not sure how I ended up here, but that's cool / useful' - discovering you can buy really realistic dragonfly / stonefly nymphs for flyfishing. Have ordered some to see if they'll work for outreach. Expect my google recs to be Fishy for a while... (fishuplures.com/en/products/)

A Valentine’s Day cartoon for @newscientist.com

Why use iRecord for wildlife sightings? 🐞 Built for the UK, it links records to national schemes, LERCs & the NBN Atlas—so your data supports real conservation & research. New or rusty? Join our iRecord 101 online course on 2 Apr. Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1734876575... @ukceh.bsky.social

A rare sunny day in Nottingham today, and some bugs were about! First bumblebee of the year (a surpisingly early one, though B.terrestris is known to be winter active; I used to see them quite a lot in London). 2 ladybirds chillin' on a post in Wollo Park in the sunshine.

Computer restarts overnight. Damn, I need to sort through those references / pages I looked through for text, make sure I got everything. Well at least there's an option to reopen closed tabs. "YOU ARE ABOUT TO OPEN 133 TABS, DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE." ...ffs, me.

Knocking back vitamin D pills with an energy drink. It's January in England, baybee.

Useful Things I Learned This Week: The DBS check rules have changed so that if you're self-employed, you can invoke Enhanced checks on yourself. Useful! www.gov.uk/government/n...

Bee… or not a bee? 🐝🪰 Meet the Dark-edged Bee-fly. Discover how to spot UK bee-flies and learn about their remarkable (and surprising) life histories in our entoLEARN webinar, on 25 Mar 2026. 🌍 🧪 👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976745510... @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @tonymadgwick.bsky.social

Well, shit.

My miniature tree identification pins are finally back in stock and the 2nd edition is better than ever! Please share them around so people can see 💚 canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/4386...

Sorting out some old files = bursts of nostalgia, plus occasional "Why do I have a folder labelled Slug Analysis?"

Ooh, I didn't realise that @ptes-org.bsky.social have a 'map your log pile' bit of citsci going on (in relation to Great Stag Beetle Hunt, but the habitat is generally brill for wood boring beetles etc); need to incorporate that into my habitat stuff! stagbeetles.ptes.org/map-your-log...

Is your back garden a pollinator hotspot? 🌸🐝 New research shows flower-rich gardens can be powerful refuges for urban pollinators. Join Emma Plant from @glasgow.ac.uk on 22 Apr 2026 for a FREE entoLIVE to learn more. 🌍 🧪 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1964456916... @royentsoc.bsky.social #pollinators

Last chance to book 🌿 Join the Wildlife Gardening Virtual Symposium 2026 on 14 Jan for cutting-edge garden science — from ponds & pollinators to fungi and urban mammals, with expert speakers from across the UK. 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1419239717... @jeffollerton.bsky.social @ptes-org.bsky.social

In an attempt to finally break even on these trans ferns and clear some space in my flat, I'm running a January sale for the pin versions. For the rest of the month, you can get them for £10 instead of the higher price I usually charge for this full 3d moulding canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/4312...

Starting the Work Thoughts for the new year! ... ... *cleans the bath* *sets up mum's new computer* *rearranges all the tea*