How big is a Western Rain Moth… really big! As a demonstration, here’s a Western Rain Moth (Abantiades hydrographus) sitting next to a more standard sized moth, a Pseudanapaea denotata which was around 18mm in length 📏 #teammoth #ausinverts #wildoz #Lepidoptera #inaturalist

Had a cracking day today 1st at #RyeMeads VC20 moth trap included Brimstone Muslin Streamer Common Quaker Double stripped pug then Emperor to lure before Sedge & Reed warbler NFY then onto Therfield Heath for a look At Pasqueflower new for me 😍 @naturelark.bsky.social @vickybird.bsky.social

West Country Class locomotive number 34028 'Eddystone' departs Hastings station this afternoon.

One of the best things about natural history is the potential for unexpected encounters at any time, in even the most familiar places. Today I bumped into my 2nd ever Scarab Shieldbug at a spot where I've spent dozens if not hundreds of hours happily looking for insects.

Dotted Bee-fly in the garden - a lovely little visitor to have!

C'mon Americans, it's time to do the right thing. You really need to get rid of Trump. He is delusional, demented and dangerous. If a UK politician had done just a tiny fraction of what POTUS has done, they'd have been removed and / or jailed. Are you scared of him? #25thammendment

My first Coleophora of the year just now - C. discordella (Lotus Case-bearer) on Bird’s-foot Trefoil in my garden. Now my mothing year is properly up and running! #teammoth

1010 Y'day heading for the Mynd w @janettem34.bsky.social we were amazed to see a White Stork over the A49 near Chatford. After some manoeuvring we found a place to stop and caught it heading to SW overhead. Assumed it was the Shotatton bird but primary damage = not the same one. #shropshirebirding

Tuesday so to VP with G as usual. Chilly and blustery w 120 Sand Martin, 2 Swallow, 45 BHGull (most 2CY), Common Sand, brood of 11 Mallard, 22 Shoveler, 18 Gadwall, 4 Siskin, Whitethroat, 3 Mandarin, Peregrine, Kestrel caught a small mammal etc. Red Kite being chased by the Oycs. #shropshirebirding

Me, looking at my to do list this morning 📝

Emergency services are at the scene of a serious incident involving a fuel tanker on fire in the Overdale area of Telford.

Might as well share this one again for #PortfolioDay...

Today's #EntoFashion that I can't justify, a £268 wicker Rhino Beetle bag

Over the Easter weekend a robin decided that the grille of the company EV was a good place to nest. Now she is sitting on five eggs! Grounded! Luckily we have two other pool cars.

Some targeted sweeping of Heather at Tiptree Heath in Essex provided me with my first new Coleophora of the year yesterday - Coleophora juncicolella (Least Case-bearer). Very few Essex records (but equally very little heathland in the county). #teammoth

Several Orange-tailed Mining Bees (Andrena haemorrhoa) around Waltham Abbey today, quite a common species but always nice to see. #EssexWildlife #UKBees

I was joined at dinner by this tiny little creature! I had no idea there was such a thing as a Turtle Shieldbug (Podops inuncta) Is anyone up for a #ShieldbugYearList?? It’ll be a great way to help me learn more about #Shieldbugs #Pentatomidae

Nice to see both of thee widespread groundhopper species at Severn Valley CP last Weds. Plenty of Slender Groundhoppers, plus a Common Groundhopper (flightless) up a tree for some reason!

Vous connaissez peut-être le grand concours photo "Close-Up Photographer Of The Year". L'an dernier, en marge du concours principal, l'organisation avait organisé un défi thématique, intitulé : "Death and Decay". À dérouler ci-dessous. (Trigger warning : mort & décomposition) #SciArt 1/19

Does anyone know please when iRecord will be back online (currently 'closed for maintenance'). Thanks!

A kitchen visitor this morning. Was happy to pose for a portrait before being relocated into the garden. Not sure on species - would it be a Red Mason Bee? #UKWildlife #Bees

🐛 New Bugs for the week 🐛 I found these critters down by the river Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami), Pied (Tritomegas bicolor) & Gorse Shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus) #Bugsky #Bugs #Insects #Gorse #Shieldbug #NatureWalk #ForestFinds #HiddenWonders What’s your best bug find so far this year?

I never thought of shield bugs a pollinators - but this one has other ideas - not sure if thats tulip pollen or something else - but clearly a good dusting. #britishbugs #ukinsects #pollinators #shieldbugs

Bishop's Mitre and Hairy Shieldbugs and a Rhombic Leatherbug in Panshanger Park, Hertford, 09/04/2026 @hnhsoc.bsky.social @hertswildlifetrust.bsky.social

Bug appreciation from my Somerset garden this week: Hairy shieldbug, mating Green shieldbugs, dock bug and Rhopalus subrufus (I think)💚

Last September I found a Bombardier Beetle on my front door, and a couple of nights ago a second one turned in the road outside the house - they don't like sitting still for a photograph 😊 @colsocbi.bsky.social

A first instar Dark Bush-cricket nymph, one of 2 or 3 seen on Wednesday during wildlife group's trip to Severn Valley CP. My first cricket or grasshopper of the year and the earliest ever Dark B-C record in Shrops by 12 days.

Blackcap (female) in Blackthorn. Seen in Gloucestershire on Tuesday.

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.

Plenty of Ashy Mining Bees (Andrena cineraria) in the grounds of the Abbey Church, Waltham Abbey today. #EssexWildlife #UKBees

One of the weevils associated with Figworts - a 3mm long Cionus alauda found indoors yesterday and probably brought in on our clothes after some gardening. (we have lots of Common Figwort - an excellent plant for wildlife and have found 3 species of Cionus on them).🐘🐘🐘

Giant Sand Dune Cricket Brachytrupes megacephalus recording. There are two males singing at the end of our garden here in Marina di Modica, Sicily. Almost deafening up close.

Came across this small moth recently at Lydden Spout near Dover .I think that it could be Eriopsela Quadrata the Four Spot Belle ,which I believe is a Goldenrod feeder......Happy to be corrected ! #teammoth #mothsmatter #ukmoths

An outrageous (well, for me & a 20w actinic) 14 Brindled Beauty in and around the trap this morning. Also, a male St Mark's Fly (Bibio marci) was new to the 'intruders' list. #teammoth #mothsmatter

Trip to Gloucs on Tuesday resulted in several Adders basking in the Spring sunshine, where sheltered from the brisk wind. Some with clear eyes, having made their Spring moult, others, like the big female in the 2nd pic, still to do so. Long lens shots from distance.

This is the reason for growing Cerinthe in the garden. Time spent watching (and listening to) the Hairy-footed Flower Bees is time well spent. #UKWildlife #Bees

Arocatus longiceps/roeselii found in my nature reserve while setting up the moth trap last night

Petit rappel. Cette année, le 12 août 2026, une éclipse totale de Soleil pourra être admirée, juste avant le coucher du Soleil, en Espagne, du coté de la Galice et des Asturies (au Nord-Ouest de l'Espagne). Un rendez-vous à ne pas manquer ! La carte interactive : ssp.imcce.fr/forms/solar-...

The Harpocera thoracica nymphs (Miridae) are starting to appear on the oaks now they're breaking into leaf! #Miridae #Heteroptera #Shropshire

Join #NFBRConference2026 7-8(-9) May for: 1) Amazing speakers - u can see the line up (and book!) here: bit.ly/4sZO4iz 2) Insights into the wonderful world of #BiologicalRecording 3) A cracking field trip (if u can stay on for Sat) 4) Lots of tea, coffee, lunch and chats! #Biodiversity pls share!

There were several European Cinchbugs/Chinchbugs (Ischnodemus sabuleti) enjoying the sunshine this weekend. The look like they’re wearing little waistcoats! #Bug #Hemiptera

A rather smart fungus weevil - Platystomus albinus - from Covert Woods in SE Kent - 7th April

I’ve just watched 'My Garden of a Thousand Bees' filmed in Bristol by Martin Dohrn and available on BBC iPlayer. Absolutely mind-blowing and quite possibly the best wildlife documentary I’ve ever watched.

Today's Violet Oil Beetle survey at Brynna Woods & Llanharan Marsh Nature Reserve recorded at least 7 Violet Oil Beetle adults, and lots of triungulins! This survey is being conducted for the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales.

Finally, some love for our bee log. Red Mason Bee, Osmia bicornis. #Bees #Hymenoptera #VC55

A pair of Dark-edged bee-flies (Bombylius major) making more Dark-edged bee-flies today at Cardiff's Grangemoor Park. #BeeflyWatch

A beautiful female Hairy-footed Flower Bee nectaring at violet flowers in the garden. #UKWildlife #Bees

West Mercia Police are appealing for a motorist to come forward following a road traffic collision involving a pedestrian in Telford last Friday.

Ruby-tailed wasps were busy yesterday afternoon - what a little jewel of an insect! North Herefordshire #UKWildlife #BugSky