🎄 Merry Christmas & Happy New Year / Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda 🎄 Thank you to all who’ve supported us through our transition to Glo i Natur CIC 💚 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting year - with events, training and new projects ahead. Keep an eye on our socials for updates!

Visited the Lewis Merthyr coal tip above Trehafod last weekend. Once industrial spoil, it’s now heather, whinberry, lichens & warm bare ground supporting specialist wildlife. Conifers are creeping in, so management is key. Even in winter it’s beautiful 💚 #GloiNatur #CoaltoNature #CoalSpoil

Great to speak with the Nature Restoration & Forestry students from Black Mountain College in Treherbert today about coal spoil wildlife. Sharing this knowledge is vital - inspiring future practitioners to recognise the biodiversity value of these sites. 🌿💚

We usually showcase the plants, fungi & invertebrates of coal spoil sites - but here’s some of the hidden life too 🐭 Wood Mice sheltering under a metal sheet at Darren Fawr Tip in the Garw Valley. Coal tips: full of surprises, even in winter. #GloiNatur #CoaltoNature #SouthWalesValleys

Tufa springs on coal tips 💦 These rare micro-habitats form where water passing through coal spoil picks up calcium - likely from ancient marine bands - and deposits it at the surface. Unusual in the acidic Valleys, and vital for specialist wildlife like soldierflies. #GloiNatur #CoaltoNature

🌿 A new chapter begins. After 10 years of raising awareness of coal spoil biodiversity, the Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative is evolving into Glo i Natur CIC - continuing the same mission with new opportunities ahead. ➡️ Follow @gloinatur.bsky.social - this account will shortly be replaced 💚

We’re excited to announce the launch of Glo i Natur CIC - a new community interest company dedicated to protecting, restoring, and celebrating the unique biodiversity and heritage of South Wales’ coal spoil sites. 🌿 Follow our journey from coal to nature: gloinatur.org #GloiNatur #NatureRecovery

🎉 Celebrating 10 Years of the Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative 🎉 This December marks 10 years since the Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative began its mission to change how people see South Wales’ colliery spoil sites — from barren relics of industry to thriving havens for wildlife. 1/3

Check out our new insect decline paper. By analysing 36 yrs of German ground beetle distribution data, we show: - ~80% of species have declined, with significant declines for >50%. - The decline was similar across species traits and threatened status. doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @consbiog.bsky.social

👻 Meet the Ghost Slug this #Halloween! 🐌 The Ghost Slug (Selenochlamys ysbryda) is a mysterious predator that hunts earthworms deep underground. Its scientific name comes from the Welsh word ysbryd, meaning ghost or spirit - a fitting title for a rather elusive creature! #GhostSlug #SpookySpecies

Exploring a coal spoil site near Aberdare today, we found the flat-backed millipede Polydesmus barberii. This non-native species, first seen in Britain in 1995, has only recently been discovered in Wales. Today's find is just the fourth known site in Wales — and the third in the Cynon Valley!

🐞🌿 Join us for Blaenavon Biodiversity Day on Sat 20 Sept! Guided walks with local experts on insects, fungi, birds + more. Don’t miss @liamolds.bsky.social from @collieryspoil.bsky.social leading an insect/invertebrate walk! 📍 Blaenavon | 🗓️ 20 Sept

Join the Buglife Cymru Coal Spoil Connections team, Lost Peatlands Project - Prosiect Adfer Mawndiroedd, KeyCreate, and others for a WildBlitz at Clydach Vale Country Park! 🗓️ Friday 29 August 🕙 10:30 - 15:00 📌 Clydach Vale Country Park No need to book, just turn up at Cambrian Colliery Memorial.

Hieroglyphic Ladybird (Coccinella hieroglyphica) from heathland at Sirhowy Hill Woodlands, Blaenau Gwent, this morning.

Last night we visited Gelli Tips and were treated to a beautiful scene – the evening sunlight casting a golden glow over the tips, with the heather in full bloom. 💜🌿 We also captured some breathtaking drone footage that will feature in an upcoming video for Buglife’s Coal Spoil Connections project.

An Evening Of History and Wildlife at Silent Valley - Friday 8th August, 6:30pm start Join Buglife's Coal Spoil Connections Team and @henebtwa.bsky.social for a guided walk through Silent Valley Nature Reserve. For further info and booking, visit: www.trybooking.com/uk/events/la...

A few spaces have become available on the 'Bee and butterfly guided walk' at #Mumbles 🦋🐝 Fri 1 August 10.00am – 12.00pm and 1.00pm – 3.00pm Meeting point: outside Forte's, Mumbles Road, Mumbles, #Swansea SA3 4JT What3words ///fields.sobered.sharpens 👉Booking required: www.trybooking.com/uk/EWZL

This year we've been working with the South Wales Trunk Road Agency to survey roadside verges for invertebrates around Merthyr Tydfil. Today we made our final visit to a very special verge in Dowlais. Comprising colliery spoil, it's proving to be a real hidden gem for biodiversity!

Back to Sirhowy Hill Woodlands today to continue the invertebrate survey. The reserve looked lovely, and great to see the bee hotels in use — even spotted a Wood-carving Leafcutter Bee (Megachile ligniseca) basking on one! Among today's nice finds was the leafhopper Rhopalopyx adumbrata.

Today's guided walks at Parc Melin Mynach, Gorseinon, explored the former Mountain Colliery site. Highlights included Marbled White, Six-belted Clearwing, Brown-banded Carder Bee, prowling spider Cheiracanthium virescens, and picture-winged fly Herina palustris. Great turnout despite the heat! 🥵

It's #WalesNatureWeek 🎉 Join @liamolds on a guided walk at Parc Melin Mynach, Gorseinon, and discover how nature has reclaimed this former colliery site. Friday 11th July 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM For booking, visit www.trybooking.com/uk/events/la...

🌟 Exciting Discovery Alert! 🌟 Back in January we teased some big news…and here it is! 🐌 Semilimax pyrenaicus (Pyrenean Semi-slug) has been recorded in Britain for the first time, found at a colliery spoil site in Cwmaman, S. Wales. Read more: doi.org/10.61733/jco... #SemiSlug #WildlifeDiscovery

Last week, @olds_liam led a guided walk for staff & students from University of Bristol at Coity Tips, Blaenavon. We explored the unique habitats and species of colliery spoil — which included sightings of iconic species such as Bilberry Bumblebee, Mottled Grasshopper, Fairy-flax & Bee Orchid.

Incredible tufa springs seen at the former Pentremawr Colliery, Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire, today - clearly decades of tufa deposits! Around the springs was Delicate Soldierfly (Oxycera nigricornis) and Giant Lacewing (Osmylus fulvicephalus), as well as caddisflies and craneflies.

Hidden Life of Colliery Spoil: Biodiversity Guided Walk (FREE) Discover the surprising wildlife of Parc Melin Mynach, Gorseinon, on a guided walk led by entomologist Liam Olds. Explore how nature has reclaimed this former colliery site. Friday 11th July 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

First piece about the new #LostPeatlands project. If those on the peatlands feed or working on other conservation projects could give it a repost it would be much appreciated! If you’ve got things you want to see us develop, deliver or evidence, let us know. businessnewswales.com/new-funding-...

How lovely is this male White-jawed Yellow-face Bee (Hylaeua confusus) found at Ogmore Washeries, Bridgend, this week!? This bee was one of two bees to be added to the former coal washery's ever-growing species list this week (the other bee was the Small-flecked Mining Bee, Andrena coitana).

Our suggested event this week is our #BioBlitz at Penllergare Valley Woods in #Swansea on Saturday! Help us to explore the wildlife of this fascinating Victorian estate. Join us on one of our guided walks (schedule below). Book here or come and find us on the day: penllergarebb.eventbrite.co.uk

Absolutely delighted to come across Bilberry Bumblebee (Bombus monticola) workers foraging on bird's-foot-trefoils at the former International Colliery, Blaengarw, this afternoon. We're so fortunate to have these beautiful bumblebees in the South Wales Valleys! @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social

Three-spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), Horse Leech (Haemopis sanguisuga) and the clown beetle Margarinotus neglectus among some of the finds at Sirhowy Hill Woodlands, Tredegar, today.

A few sightings from a quick visit to Darren Fawr Tip, Garw Valley, today: Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris), and American Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium montanum). The latter appears to be doing well there.

The treehopper Centrotus cornutus from Pentremawr Colliery, Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire, today. This is one of only two species of treehopper in the UK and is typically found in woodland rides, as this one was.

Butterfly heaven this morning at Cwm Tips, Beddau, with Small Blue (Cupido minimus) and Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) both on the wing 🦋 Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis) queens were also seen foraging on Kidney Vetch flowers in the grasslands.

Perfect weather for Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris) today! This male was seen at Cwm Tips, near Beddau, this morning. Just look at those fearsome jaws!

Enjoyable day spent exploring tips in the Cynon Valley around Abernant and Cwmbach with friends. Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva) seen foraging on Whinberry on one tip. A surprise find was the millipede Polydesmus barberii, which is endemic to southern Europe (along the French and Italian Rivieras).

Nice surprise to see Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis) active at Cwm Tips, Beddau, this afternoon - among the earliest records at this site. Good to also see the localised wolf spider Arctosa perita, which is associated with sandy habitats which #collieryspoil replicates.

Reptiles have started to make an appearance on colliery spoil over the past few weeks, such as these at Ogmore Washeries. This former coal washery is an important site locally for Adder, with Common Lizard and Slow-worm also present. #collieryspoil #reptiles

A new #bee for me! A male White-faced Mason Bee (Osmia cornuta), one of several drinking from Mahonia in a pub garden in St Margarets, Herts. Never managed to spot one in London but nice to see them spreading into the home counties. As good an excuse as any to yoink myself back into social media.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 #DyddGŵylDewiHapus #HappyStDavid'sDay 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 To celebrate, here is one of our favourite species to occur on #collieryspoil - the Celtic Ghost Millipede (Psichrosoma cf breuili). Known only from South Wales (globally), it was found new to science in 2015 from Newbridge, Caerphilly, by Christian Owen.

The Glossy Glass Snail (Oxychilus navarricus subsp. helveticus), seen at Ogmore Washeries today. The blue-grey body is quite spectacular! This tends to be the most common glass snail (Oxychilus) on colliery spoil. #collieryspoil #snails #molluscs #Wales #invertebrates

New course open for booking! An introduction to moth trapping for complete beginners. Attendees can also borrow a trap to try at home. Saturday 5th April at our office in Talbot Green #SouthWales Please email [email protected] to book a free space. #TeamMoth #MothsMatter

Great photo! #BeeFlyWatch

The Beddau Beast (Cranogona dalensi) is a small off-white, winter-active millipede that is known (globally) only from the western Pyrenees and Cwm Tips, near Beddau. These individuals were seen at Cwm Tips yesterday. #millipedes #invertebrates #myriapoda #Wales #collieryspoil

The silk #millipedes Maurieseuma nontronense and Turdulisoma cf turdulorum, seen at Ogmore Washeries, this week. In Britain/UK, both species are found only on #Wales, with the latter appearing to be a 'new to science' species that has yet to be described.

Hookeria lucens (Shining Hookeria) is a common but beautiful moss that is found in shaded, moist, humid locations, such as along flushes in woodland and on stream/river sides. This particular patch was spotted in wet woodland at Ogmore Washeries this week. #collieryspoil #bryophytes

Rosy Woodlouse (Androniscus dentiger) and the nationally scarce #millipede Brachychaeteuma melanops seen at the former Ivor Iron Works, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil last week.

We are the Coleopterists Society of Britain and Ireland!🐞, Our aim is to further beetle research, standardise and promote recording, and to develop and encourage public awareness and conservation of the 4,000+ species of beetles found on these islands. Check us out: www.colsoc.org

I am excited that I am tutoring @rhsrosemoor on August 30th 2025. Come & join me in these amazing gardens so I can introduce you to some of the charming bumblebees & fascinating solitary bees that bring our gardens alive & pollinate our plants. Tickets on sale here. www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/rose...

New to Bluesky? Our Biological Recording (UK) starter pack has a wealth of natural history organisations for you to follow. Let’s get more biological recording into those news feeds! #biologicalrecording #naturalhistory @nbntrust.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social 🧪 go.bsky.app/RboM6sR