Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. And a virtual hug for those who find the day difficult.

Another candidate for New Zealand’s #favouriteplant. A button daisy unique to the wild and windswept Kaitorete Spit. So cute and fuzzy #sciart

Here's another candidate for favourite New Zealand plant, the beautiful pīngao. It's great at stabilising sand and is used for traditional Māori weaving, but is threatened by coastal development, sea level rise and the invasive marram grass.

It's time to vote again! This time, there's a shortlist of 40 amazing native plants which are contenders for NZ's favourite native plant. OK, some of the contenders are a little obscure, but who couldn't love a rebel forget-me-not! Voting links here. You don't need to be in New Zealand.

Green Humour nails it greenhumour.substack.com/p/defining-a...

I did an art class this weekend and had a go using a dip pen and plant inks. Drawing was fun and I loved the look the pen and inks made, apart from the nibs being almost impossible for a left hander to write with (although drawing was fine). Here's my drawing of prairie grass. #sciart

So it turns out that the story of austral snipe is an emotional rollercoaster. The story of tutukiwi is one of the saddest in #conservation, but the story of the Campbell Island snipe is one of the happiest. So here it is... #Sciart

Feeling sad today, so thought I'd share something from one of my art projects, which is to bring life to Aotearoa's #extinct species. Here's a little treasure called tutukiwi, a shorebird which lived in the forest, extinct in 1964.

There's so much wrong in the world that it's overwhelming. But, if you can, spare a thought for the thousands of species which are silently slipping into extinction. This adorable weevil's just hanging in there, but how many more of our smaller creatures have we lost without noticing?

It’s a while since I’ve shared any #sciart, so here’s a recent piece to accompany my article on the North Island kōkako. I’ve also included a piece from a year ago when I first started drawing to illustrate my articles.

If you're into science communication #Scicomm and are in Auckland, Hamilton, Napier-Hastings, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch or Dunedin, check out the networking night for the Science Communicators Association of NZ. I'm co-hosting in Wellington.

Most accurate journalism I've seen on Aotearoa/ New Zealand in a long time.

On my recent visit to #TiritiriMatangi island I took this video in the forest. The birdsong here is extraordinary. I’ve never heard anything like it.

If you need something uplifting, it’s hard to go past the story of the hihi, and how a group of high school students and their inspirational teacher helped bring it back from the brink of extinction. open.substack.com/pub/theturns...

Such a frustrating and misleading headline. Do better @theguardian.com

Just a quick reminder that polls close tomorrow in the year's most anticipated election: #Birdoftheyear2025 #BOTY2025 Make sure you get your votes in, and if you aren't sure who to vote for, here are nine worthy but sometimes overlooked candidates. theturnstone.substack.com/p/time-to-vote

Another under appreciated candidate for #birdoftheyear2025, the teeny-tiniest tītīpounamu. #sciart Weighs less than a large garden snail.

Here it is, my guide to why you should vote for some of Aotearoa’s under-appreciated birds. open.substack.com/pub/theturns...

Fearless reporting from America's finest news source.

I decided to get behind #Birdoftheyear2025 so I've written a guide and done some drawings for 9 underappreciated birds. Here's one for hākoakoa #skua since I was inspired by @hakoakoa-boty.bsky.social The guide comes out tomorrow. Can you guess which other birds are on my list?

Hihi putting in a strong showing a day before voting opens in #BirdoftheYear2025

Something to help you through one of the most momentous decisions you'll make all year - which bird to vote for in #BirdoftheYear2025

I'm still finishing my work after 9pm because I decided to take a 3 hour walk this afternoon in the most perfect Wellington weather. Totally worth it. I made someone very happy.

I've written more about #vaccines - here's an article which looks at the traditional approaches to making live and inactivate vaccines, then protein subunit vaccines, then what makes #mRNA such an important development. #sciart, although my rabbits need practice...

I just checked back, and it appears I never shared my praying mantis drawings here. I'm still mostly drawing moths after #mothmay, but wrote an article on one of New Zealand's more surprising invasive species, which led to me drawing praying mantises. #sciart

#mRNA vaccines are an incredible develop, with huge potential to alleviate suffering, so it's heartbreaking to see the USA cutting mRNA research. To fight back against the current regime's regression to Victorian era health policy, the public needs good information to help see through the lies.

These guys are so brilliant!

Drawing moths has given me a new appreciation of a group which I previously studied as pests. Here are a couple whose arrival in New Zealand led to major eradication programmes. #sciart

#MothMay got extended - I'm still drawing moths! Here's a couple of highlights from my article about the latest in lepidopteran fashion, as some of nature's most striking moths strut down the runway with flying colours. @loadofolbobbins.bsky.social #SciArt

I've continued drawing since I took part in #MothMay, and while I can't say practice makes perfect, it has certainly helped. Here's my latest moth! #Sciart

I've been doing a lot more drawing since I took part in #MothMay. Lots of moths, but I'm getting better at drawing other things too. Practice won't get me close to perfect, but it does help! Here's my latest moth.

This thread is the best laugh I've had all day. PR firm for the University of Warwick delivers comedy gold.

If you haven't already bought a copy, the first chapter of Shaun Hendy's book on #TheCovidResponse is now available for free. I highly recommend it!

For a change from my usual, more serious science writing, I wrote something for my 7 year old nephew. It’s science and about the importance of biodiversity, but only for those with a strobg stomach. open.substack.com/pub/theturns...

If you are in #Aotearoa, you can participate in the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey, our longest-running #citizenscience project. I wrote an article about some of what we've learned so far and even drew a couple of our lovely manu. theturnstone.substack.com/p/the-compan...

A (mostly*) happy antidote to the dire news. Echidnas! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Reference to Indonesian occupation of West Papua. Please don't forget about it.

If you thought Philomena Cunk was funny, try reading a comments section full of people who haven't heard of Philomena Cunk. It's even better than people being outraged over stories in The Onion (sorry @bencollins.bsky.social, but you are still America's Finest News Source)

I wish I'd seen this post last month, when I was participating in #MothMay. @loadofolbobbins.bsky.social Jess, check out this genus on iNaturalist. Some great candidates for next year!

The world is burning and it seems as if everything is being run by the worst possible people. Apropos of nothing, here's a statue from the garden of Cardinal Ippolito D'Este, grandson of Pope Alexander VI.

Couldn't resist adding one more for #MothMay, as I didn't want to finish on one I was unhappy with. Here's a tiny spangle-wing, which bores into the bark of the linden tree. Lindens are cultivated in New Zealand, but I'm sad to say these moths haven't come with them.

Still behind on #MothMay, especially as it's technically June here. But I did want to draw this lovely moth. The shape went all wonky and I really struggled to get the gloss on its wings. I keep reminding myself that drawing is a skill and I will improve with practice.

Pūkaha is a national treasure, but it's now in a dire situation and may close. :-( Support it if you can. pukaha.org.nz

I needed a smile today. This guy was it.

Another weirdo for #MothMay. This is the currant clearwing, and as the name says, those wings aren't white, they're transparent. Native to Europe and Asia, introduced to NZ. I have currants in my garden and even though these are a pest, I'd be delighted if they turned up.

As requested @andrewtychen.bsky.social here is Marbles "helping" me at work.

Still drawing New Zealand weirdos for #MothMay. This one's the common hebe plume moth. Not a mosquito, despite appearances. It feeds on our shrubby, native Veronica species, which are known as hebes.

Still drawing New Zealand weirdos for #MothMay. Here's Gymnobathra flavidella, which seems like it should be conspicuous with its butter-yellow colour, but it's less than a centimetre long.

And here's one of my New Zealand weirdo moths from the weekend for #MothMay. Macarostola miniella is a pretty specialised moth, as the larvae are leaf miners and then leaf rollers on a threatened native tree, the swamp maire.

I'm a bit late posting one of my efforts for #MothMay last week. Here's my large emerald, a stunning moth native to large areas of Europe and Asia.

I love the lurid colours of the elephant hawk moth! It's a member of the Sphingidae, a family of fast, agile fliers. Some hover in mid-air to feed on flowers, and others are capable of crossing oceans. #mothmay