Some fine examples of the colour range to be found in Orchis quadripunctata. Great time with @rogercharding.bsky.social at Rethymno prefecture, Crete, 19.04.26. #orchid #orchis @withylake.bsky.social

Comes and goes.....

I've had this too. Seems OK now though.

Postcard from the field from tour leader Michele Viganò, leading our Orchids of Sardinia tour this week: If ever an orchid lived up to the billing of its name, it's Sardinian endemic Ophrys lepida, 'lepida' meaning elegant or beautiful. This one was enjoyed by our group yesterday. #orchids

It's #ThrowbackThursday to a week ago today, enjoying the first of the season's Ophrys colossaea on Rhodes with the @mariposanature.bsky.social #OrchidsOfRhodes tour I was leading with my good pal @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social. We're both moving on to orchid-hunting pastures new this coming week...

Tour update 🚨 With three bookings taken this morning, the 2027 edition of Orchids of Sardinia now moves to guaranteed departure status, also guaranteeing a donation to support the work of @bsbibotany.bsky.social. It's filling fast, and no wonder! #orchids www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Fly #Orchids now out in Kent!

Common twayblade reaching for the sky

Cornwall Council has informed town and parish councils that its wholly owned contractor Cormac will resume widespread use of the chemical weedkiller glyphosate on roads and footways throughout Cornwall. Please sign the petition and share. www.change.org/p/cornwall-c...?

I can't wait to co-lead this wonderful tour this summer with my dear friend Kate joining us - she's fabulous company, and will make a brilliant week of butterflies in some of Europe's most outstanding landscapes all the more enjoyable.

Early-purple and Green-winged orchids starting to flower at a deserted Berry Head, Devon, today 12/4/2026 @ukorchids.bsky.social

Tour update 🚨 Our flagship Orchids of Rhodes tour now books up years in advance, and no wonder - nobody knows the island's orchids, their hybrids, and colour varieties better than us. Another place on our 2028 tour filled today... mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Postcard from the field from Sardinia, where Michele Viganò is leading our Orchids of Sardinia tour this week: Yesterday, joined by acclaimed European orchid expert Helmut Presser, we recorded 16 species, and found the achingly rare hybrid Ophrys normanii x O. chestermanii. #orchids

A small but exceptional Naked Man Orchid (Orchis italica). Saw this hyperchromic stunner in central southern Crete 12.04.26 #orchid #orchis

Lovely morning at Barrington Hill Meadows in Somerset between the showers. @withylake.bsky.social @lizlouise.bsky.social @orchidvinny.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

Found an attractive green form of Serepias orientalis in eastern Crete today (12.04.26). Special bonus invertebrate on the plant - in the form of a Dwarf Mantis! #orchid @withylake.bsky.social

There's nobody who knows the #orchids of Rhodes better than us. Naturally, *all* our orchid tours generate donations to support the brilliant conservation work of @bsbibotany.bsky.social. That support matters to us, and we know it matters to our guests too. (2/2) mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Today marks the conclusion of our #OrchidsOfRhodes tours for 2026. They've been a resounding success, with almost 60 species recorded, and some spectacular hybrids & colour varieties enjoyed. The 2027 & 2028 tours are fully booked; so we've laid on a second week for 2028. (1/2)

Our @mariposanature.bsky.social Rhodes tour ends tomorrow after a fabulous week of orchid hunting. The incredible number & variety has to be seen to be believed! Thanks to @dunnjons.bsky.social & @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social for site research & expertise. Good weather, good company, stunning scenery...

Thanks to the excellent @withylake.bsky.social Andy Rogers, I got tobsee the gorgeous alba EPO in mid Devon yesterday.

A truly memorable day with my @mariposanature.bsky.social #OrchidsOfRhodes guests and my close friend and co-leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social. The fine orchids kept coming thick and fast all day long. Tomorrow is bursting with further promise. #orchids #bloomscrolling

Anacamptis collina may look a little dull from a distance. However, when you get in close and the sun is shining - then it's an absolute dazzler! Prina, Crete, 09.04.26. @withylake.bsky.social #orchid

STOP PRESS: Grizzled Skipper out in Dorset. One seen by Nick Galer at Badbury Rings www.dorsetbutterflies.com/2026/04/griz...

Probably my favourite weird little fungi - Bog Beacon (Mitrula paludosa). In the New Forest today 9/4/26 #fungi #fungifriends

A tiny and exquisite orchid - so happy to find Ophrys omegaifera ssp. fleischmannii near Thripti in Crete. 08.04.26. #ophrys #orchid

Green-winged Orchid (Anacamptis morio ssp. caucasica) on Rhodes today doing its best unspotted impression of Italian beauty Anacamptis longicornu. Evidently it's a pale imitation of the real thing...

Postcard from the field today from @dunnjons.bsky.social, leading our flagship #OrchidsOfRhodes tour with the brilliant @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social: Today our guests saw 30+ species of orchid on Rhodes, and some very lovely colour forms and varieties too. We've a keen eye for detail in all things!

8/4/26 #OrchidsOfRhodes - It's always a pleasure co-leading with @dunnjons.bsky.social. At our first site this morning we enjoyed several spikes of Violet Limodore (Limodorum abortivum) and this amazing Pink Conehead Mantis, Empusa pennata

Early Purple orchid (Orchis mascula) in white - a good couple of weeks earlier than usual and before the standard ones at this site. Devon 9/4/2026 @ukorchids.bsky.social

8/4/26 #OrchidsOfRhodes - Reinhold's Bee #Orchid (Ophrys reinholdii) is an attractive species with plenty of variation to be seen across the multiple populations here on Rhodes. This lovely pale example, spotted by one of our guests yesterday, drew particular intrigue @mariposanature.bsky.social

Beautiful Ophrys candica & Ophrys halia today within a few minutes of the lovely family-run hotel we always stay at during our #OrchidsOfRhodes tours. The welcome there is always warm, the food outstanding, and it's in the heart of orchid country. #bloomscrolling mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

A magnificent clump of Arum creticum, at around 1000m altitude. Thripti, Crete, 08.04.26. Thrilled to tick it off my wishlist in such spectacular fashion! 😄

Lovely views of Ophrys attaviria and Ophrys blitopertha, among others, as the species count for our #OrchidsOfRhodes tour passed 50 today, and we're only halfway through the week... It's not all about numbers, of course - we're all about quality as well as quantity! #orchids

Ophrys reinholdii has been a daily delight for us here in Rhodes for almost a month now - tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social has been based on the island for weeks, leading our flagship Orchids of Rhodes tours. This variable orchid provides endless variety and joy in all its forms. #orchids

5/4/26 #OrchidsofRhodes - We’ve filled our boots with a veritable bounty of outstanding #orchids today but my highlight was this pair of busy Eastern Festoon #butterflies. We don’t just do orchids y’know! @mariposanature.bsky.social

Orchids on the way ! Heath Spotted, Greater Butterfly and Common Twayblade 😁 #orchid

A little bit of time yet......

Early Purple orchids starting to flower at Codgen, Dorset today 6/4/2026 ... Southern Marsh orchids poking through 😃

Postcard from the field, from tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social on our #OrchidsOfRhodes tour: New orchids continued to come thick and fast today, with new species for the week seen in good numbers, and some lovely hybrids too as an added bonus. Plenty more to come in the next four days...

The lovely Coralroot (Cardamine bulbifera) & it’s relative Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) in Somerset this evening 🤍 @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

A wonderful day of orchid-hunting with my good friend @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social and our @mariposanature.bsky.social #OrchidsOfRhodes group, filled with terrific finds: many Ophrys halia, and a couple of lovely, rare Ophrys x ionica hybrids particular personal highlights among many enjoyed by us all.

Amongst the thousands of lovely Early Spider orchids (Ophrys sphegodes) today, 6/4/2026, on the Purbecks, Dorset, a couple with coloured and furry petals/sepals 😃 @orchidvinny.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

In 16 days I meet up with the delightful @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social leading the @mariposanature.bsky.social Crete orchid trip. I have been before and here are a few photos to whet the appetite of my fellow travellers.

Just 53? Wait till we finish Crete. With the eagle eyed @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social we are bound to overtake that!!

This absolutely has to be stopped. @natbutterflycenter.bsky.social is priceless for both wildlife and its community (and anyone who loves butterflies).

We're delighted to announce dates for our 2027 Summer Orchids of the French Alps tour, led by the brilliant team of Dr Richard Bate & Dave Fairhurst, and generating a donation to support @bsbibotany.bsky.social - it's now available for booking on our website: www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

A hypochromatic roadside Himantoglossum robertianum 🤪🤍🇭🇷

A second reason for coming to the Dalmatian coast was to try and find the local endemic, Ophrys flavicans. Found 179 in peak bloom across the island 💥😃💜🇭🇷 @ukorchids.bsky.social @orchidvinny.bsky.social

I’ve been to see this rare plant at the Avon Gorge today - Bristol Rock Cress, Arabis scabra 🤍 @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Came to Croatia to see Giant orchids (Himantoglossum robertianum), just made it before they go over. Many hundreds today & some Ophrys sphegodes (prob ssp incubacea) just starting at 700m asl. 😃💜🇭🇷