We are all implicated in this UK-backed genocide & ecocide, against our wishes. We must all stand up for the better world we wish to enjoy and share. #N4P #Naturalists4Palestine 🧵

Lovely to see Ashleigh Whiffin on #GardenersWorld tonight. A very worthy finalist for the Outstanding Contribution award in this year’s #NatureOfScotland Awards! www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...

Back in June, we hosted a team from #GardenersWorld to share how we’ve been improving the grounds of the National Museums Collection Centre for biodiversity. 🎬 🐞🪰🌿🌼 Catch it here: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis... #NMCCbiodiversity

@ashwhiffin.bsky.social excellent film just now on Gardeners World. Great encouragement to enhance the biodiversity of sites

Join our call for UK retailers to remove synthetic pesticides from sale, for a wilder, butterfly-filled future 👇 butterflyemergency.good.do/rescue-missi...

We're pleased that the @parliament.scot Rural Affairs and Islands Committee has backed proposals in the Natural Environment Bill to introduce statutory targets to restore nature. Nature targets are a key demand of our Scotland Loves Nature campaign. Read more: www.scotlink.org/msps-back-na...

You can find out more about our #NMCCbiodiversity work by tuning into Gardeners World this Friday, at 8pm on BBC TWO. 📺 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Rain beetles are SO FLUFFY! Now that we have your attention, don’t forget that Early-bird registration for #ECN2025 ends today. Don’t miss out! ➡️ www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-ecn-p... 📷 Pleocoma oregonensis, from Cornell University Insect Collection.

Bugs to make you go “Ooooh!” 😲🤩

A most welcome visitor to our site this week… A Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), soaking up the late September sun. It’s the first one recorded on our patch since 2021! #NMCCbiodiversity

Absolutely nobody asked for this but I reformatted my animal yeetability thread into printable poster & zine files. Introducing, the "Pocket Guide to Responsible & Sustainable Animal YEETING" featuring a revamped rating system. Download links below.

PLEASE READ! No more #BeeWashing. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Are you researching the conservation, ecology or taxonomy of soil & litter invertebrates? Submit your paper to this Special Issue of NZ Journal of Zoology, edited by me, @carlosbarreto.bsky.social & @barnesecodiv.bsky.social! More info: www.royalsociety.org.nz/news/nzjz-so... #SoilBiodiversity 🧪

Shhhh 🤫 *whispers* the moth meeting is in progress. They have very serious business to discuss.

Squid traps really delivered this weekend :)

I started a blog and my first post is online! The posts will try to explore topics which are not typically covered by introductory literature and textbooks, e.g. because they are considered to be "too basic". Let me know what you think! weevil-see.github.io/taxonomy/Ide...

🪲 Weevils! The UK boasts 600+ species, almost as many as birds! Join us on 13 Oct (7–8pm) for an entoLIVE with @markgurn.bsky.social to explore their ecology, habitats & quirky plant preferences. It is FREE!!! Don’t miss it! 🧪 🌎 🔗 Sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1491232379...

An opportunity of a lifetime for budding lichenologists. The National Trust and the Royal Botanics, Edinburgh are offering a PAID lichen traineeship in #Scotland! The work programme looks fascinating and a great opportunity to develop skills. Deadline: 3/10/2025. www.asva.co.uk/jobs/trainee...

Talk titles for #ECN2025 are due TODAY! Just titles today folks! Full abstracts (of no more than 150 words) must be submitted by the Sept 26th. Don’t delay, submit your titles now: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Insects across the UK are in crisis. 🚨 Which is why we’ve joined forces with Buglife and @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social to create the Big Insect Rescue Plan – and we need your help to shape it! Have your say here 👉 butterfly-conservation.org/big-insect-r...

Being a taxonomist is more than just being a taxonomist, and Ashleigh knows it. 🌼 It can open doors to a wide range of career opportunities—and we’ve got proof! 👇 #taxonomy #jobsearch #jobs #biodiversity

Talk titles for #ECN2025 are due this Friday (29th)! Full abstracts (of no more than 150 words) must be submitted by the Sept 26th. Don’t delay, submit your titles now: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

🌱 BHL’s Call for Support soft-closes on Aug 31. 🧪 With @clirnews.bsky.social as our new fiscal sponsor, we now have an administrative & financial home, but we still need partners, hosts, funders & long-term investment to secure BHL's future. about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup... #ILoveBHL

Registration for the 2025 Entomological Collections Network meeting is now open! 🪲 Join us in Portland November 8-9, in-person or online. For full details and to submit your talk title, head to our website: ecnweb.net/welcome/meet... #ECN2025

Scientists! @skypeascientist.bsky.social matches scientists with classrooms, libraries, & more for virtual Q&As! It's easy and fun! We are looking for 750 more volunteers by 8/15 If you're down to chat with 1-5 classrooms this semester, sign up here www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

Loving this wasps-in-the-media summer! I think the message is shifting… the scare-mongering is finally giving over to a more positive message about wasps and their role in ecosystems. More about why you should love wasps here: harpercollins.co.uk/products/end... www.bbc.com/news/article...

The Big Butterfly Count 2025 is here and butterflies need our help 🦋🚨 This isn't just a survey, it's a rescue mission, and we need everyone to get involved. No lab coats. No science degrees. Just 15 minutes of your time. ⏱️ Get out for the count 👉 bigbutterflycount.org

No more Beewashing please! Why beekeeping doesn't help conserve bees. Pls RT if you agree. youtu.be/fiBYBmlKSYU

Last week I showed Mark Stephen, from BBC Radio Scotland, around the grounds of the National Museums Collection Centre. We chatted about how we’re managing the site for biodiversity 🌱🐛 📻 Catch up on the episode here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... #WildflowerHour #NMCCbiodiversity

Reasons not to mow (24): Ablattaria laevigata on unmown lawn today in Bengeo garden, nationally scarce wingless snail predator. Very local in Herts & only found on free-draining chalk & gravel soils. @ashwhiffin.bsky.social #SmoothSnailHunter

Very excited to say that we are seeking an Assistant Curator to join our entomology team! 😁🪲 For full details on this 2 year fixed-term post, head to our website: ➡️ careers.nms.ac.uk/job/727783 #Entomology #InsectCollection #EntoJobs #MuseumJobs

Here are your Saturday Skippers. Skippers are (often) small, fast butterflies with chunky, fuzzy bodies, big eyes, and (often) earth-tone colors. These were at the National Museums Collection Center in Edinburgh, Scotland, where my wife & I had an amazing visit hosted by @ashwhiffin.bsky.social. 🌿🐙

🐞 Beetle Research & Conservation Virtual Symposium 🐞 💻 Virtual | 💷 £25 / Pay What You Can Join our specialist on 26 June for talks on beetle ecology, taxonomy & conservation + live Q&A! 🌍 🧪 🎟️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1222872738... #BeetleSymposium #NationalInsectWeek #nature #Conservation

It’s that time of year when social media just seems to be full of gorgeous orchid pics! The challenge this week is to see if you can find one! Share your orchidaceous finds for #WildflowerHour this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #OrchidChallenge. 📸 William Keble Martin

"Museomics" is OUT Now I study Quantum Dots

How a museum does #NoMowMay🌸 From boosting biodiversity, increasing insect diversity & letting native wildflowers bloom - just a few reasons why the National Museum of Scotland has been taking part in the No Mow Movement. Watch the full story, told by @ashwhiffin.bsky.social, below 👇

Calling all entomology collection managers & curators! Please check out this thread! 👇

Swifts have lost more than half their population in 20 years. A simple £35 brick in new builds could help save them. Labour used to support this – now they’re planning to backtrack. Sign the petition now to show them the public still backs a nature-friendly fix: act.38degrees.org.uk/act/swifts-p...

This Bitey McBiteface is a Hairy Rove Beetle (Creophilus maxillosus). They're attracted to carcasses, and feed on both the body and any fly larvae on scene. They won't bother you, although if one lands on you, you are probably either a zombie or in need of a shower. (Pryor Mountains, Montana) 🐙🌿🧟‍♂️

What do you call this device? An aspirator? 💨 Pooter? 💨 Maybe something else?💨 Comment with your preference 👇

Who heals the Earth’s healers? Ways to avert burnout for environmental advocates. You’re helping nature — but nature also has ways to help you, make you more resilient, and relieve the stress caused by environmental destruction. Read the latest from @therevelator.org ⬇️

Rather chuffed to announce that @vc40ladybirds.bsky.social & I have today had our guide to the Micro Ladybirds of Britain and Ireland published. Available from all good bookshops as they say, including here: www.field-studies-council.org/shop/publica...

Speak up for seabirds 📣 
Berwick Bank would be devastating for vulnerable seabirds. Take action with @seabirdcentre.bsky.social and tell the Cabinet Secretary to say no to Berwick Bank: www.seabird.org/conservation... Refusing Berwick Bank can open the door to nature positive offshore wind.

One bird. 399 pieces of plastic. 55 g. This is not our record.

Butterfly Conservation urgently need butterfly surveyors across East Anglia. Be part of a national effort to monitor & protect butterflies. Bethany Burrage reports 🦋 #Volunteer #WCBS @bc-cambs-essex.bsky.social @bc-suffolk.bsky.social @bc-hertsmiddx.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Repeat after me: There’s no such thing as ‘weeds’. Example no. 1: Dandelions. In the U.K., they are native #wildflowers, that provide vital pollen and nectar sources for more than 170 species of insect! #NoMowMay #WildflowerHour

Some #NoMowMay blooms to make you smile😍🌸 Giving #PowerToTheFlowers for the #NoMowMovement boosts biodiversity & helps local wildlife.🐝 1️⃣Cuckooflower 2️⃣Forget-me-not 3️⃣Dandelion 4️⃣Sweet Vernal Grass What have you spotted?👀 Join for tips & goodies👇 bit.ly/3UWii6B #FlowerPower #NoMowMay2025

It’s that time of year again! The St. Marks Flies (Bibio marci) on our grounds, arrived right on cue… April 25th! It’s super easy to tell apart the males and females of this species. It’s all in the eyes… 👀 ➡️ www.instagram.com/reel/DI4TNkG... #NMCCbiodiversity 🪰

It’s not about the size of your green space… it’s what you do with it that counts. 🌿🌼🐛🐞 #NMCCbiodiversity #EarthDay

Smugglers busted trying to take thousands of queen ants out of Kenya, destined for the exotic pet trade.