Keep 'em coming.....

Did it in 2024. Gobsmacked. Doing it again in 2027. Meeting lovely old friends on it too!! ❤️

Looking back at 2025, we've lots to be proud of, not least having delivered some super tours to happy guests, and donations to @bsbibotany.bsky.social & @europebutterfly.bsky.social. More news and looking forward to the year ahead in our New Year's Day blog: www.mariposanature.com/about/news/2...

Ian I trust you will carry on your #AnOrchidADay next year. I really enjoy it. Roger

Have a great rest guys. See you next year. ❤️

And, without you Jon I would never have seen the amazing hybrid.

😊😊

Jon Have to agree there. @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social really is great company, both in the field and in the pub!

We're delighted today to announce the date for next year's Helleborines of Hutton roof daytrip - Sunday 5 July, led by the brilliant, erudite & friendly orchid-hunter @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social. This would make a lovely Christmas present: say it with flowers! (2/2) mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

#ArtAdventCalendar Day 9 is a post-thunderstorm snapshot in the old-growth forest where I work. This black-throated green warbler gave me a rare moment of stillness to admire him. 🪶

Every now and again on Rhodes I'll come across a largely white example of an orchid that would normally be highly colourful. Like the hyperchromic #orchids, they're a fairly scarce find - and one I love to share with my @mariposanature.bsky.social guests on our #OrchidsOfRhodes tour.

I've a keen eye for the unusual, and love stumbling upon orchid varieties, particularly when I have @mariposanature.bsky.social guests with whom to share them. Rhodes is always a happy hunting ground - here just a handful of hyperchromic #OrchidsOfRhodes we've found there over the years.

The Tenerife Giant Orchid, Himantoglossum metlesicsianium, at 1100m asl. in the Corona Forrestal, Tenerife 😃💜🌋 6-12-2025. Especially for Messrs Cole and Blood ... @ukorchids.bsky.social @orchidvinny.bsky.social

Every year I, or my European orchid-hunting friends, find at least one flavescens or chlorantha variety of Ophrys bee orchid in Rhodes. Always a pleasant surprise to see the way the genetic dice have rolled and come up with something slightly wayward, where normal rich colours are diminished.

Matt I have noticed that you have stopped using the tag RhodesOrchidOdyssey and now use the same RhodesOrchids tag as Mariposa Nature tours. Is there a business advantage in copying Jon? @mariposanature.bsky.social

How very weird to copy Jon Dunn's last post today.

Look I rarely post anything unrelated to natural history or wildlife. BUT what the fxxx is this peace prize from FIFA? He is a Cuxt. Ask Venezuela if he deserves it. FIFA's boots can be seen just sticking out of POTUS arse.

Melissa, it is one of my strongest memories of the trip. Perhaps "Get a xxxxxxx move on" is clearer though? 😁❤️😁❤️

My mate @stevieparsons.bsky.social will love this. He is a suckered for slime moulds.

‘If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise’ 😮 The amazing Aseroe rubra (Anemone Stinkhorn). Surrey 4/12/25 #fungi #FungiFriends

Like all of our orchid tours, from day one of Mariposa's inception, our flagship #OrchidsOfRhodes tour generates a donation to help support @bsbibotany.bsky.social's invaluable conservation work. It's important to us, and we know it's important to our guests too. mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

These are just so cool.

Day 2 of our #AdventCalendar, and it's a Late Spider Orchid seen in Kent - a star of our Orchid Garden of England daytrips. Like several folk who joined us this year, you could say it with flowers this Christmas for the orchid-lover in your life - a daytrip makes a great present!

"Are you bonkers - booking an orchid hunting trip in 487 days time?" "Well, I have another trip booked that's 534 days away to Southern Italy" It's well worth the wait. You just can't get better than @mariposanature.bsky.social @dunnjons.bsky.social and @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social

Looking at some old orchid photos from Rhodes in 2024 brought back warm memories. I had to book AGAIN. A look at the @mariposanature.bsky.social website showed it and just about ALL their 2026 trips were fully booked So I have booked for 2027! @dunnjons.bsky.social @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social

Intended to have a productive foray but Rubes & I were beaten by the rain & wind & turned back after 30 mins - all I found was a single (but perfect) Humpback Brittlegill (Dorset) #Fungi #Mushrooms

👍❤️

This week’s #thewinter10 challenge to myself, ten from Kenfig NR in South Wales. It’s definitely getting more difficult but here they are, plus a bonus Sea Spurge that wasn’t really in flower, but I liked it anyway. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Get on the 'net today. Choose a fabulous trip, and save enough to cover (some of) your bar bill! 🥂🍾🦋🥀 #Mariposa_Nature These guys REALLY make nature charity donations EVERY trip!!

It's such an honour to have the brilliant orchid-hunter @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social as part of Team Mariposa. We're having a great day here at @bsbibotany.bsky.social conference - meeting friends old and new, sharing stories, making plans.

Ophrys lucis, your 'orchid of light' on Rhodes. I enjoyed shedding some light myself today. Remember the time a competitor who boasts of his conservation credentials lobbied BSBI to refuse charitable donations from my wildlife tour company? I do. It's an illuminating tale.

Discussing the Ghost #Orchid and its current status in the British Isles at the @bsbibotany.bsky.social Botanical Conference 2025, handily been put next to the @mariposanature.bsky.social stand so I can talk about our tours too, where you can come and see Ghost #Orchids in the wild if you want to!

Polar Bear Mountain Gorrilla Manatee Bengal Tiger Wolverine

I did this incredible trip a few years back and would do it again in a heartbeat if I didn't already have 4 trips arranged with @Mariposa_Nature in 26/7! I recall kneeling to photograph an Ophrys. Without standing up again I photographed 4 different species!! Spoilt for choice.

Conversation just now, whilst looking at the tidal river outside our window. "Oooh - a Common Sand'" "Where?" "Just to the left of the Blackwit and above the shopping trolley" Makes you think...........

The emperor has no clothes! Very much looking forward to sharing true stories about the little man of Rhodes - and other orchid tales - with @bsbibotany.bsky.social conference attendees this weekend. See you there.

The day I came home to find my wife in bed with @dunnjons.bsky.social

Good morning I don’t often reread books but I’ve started to reread one of my favourite books, Orchid Summer by Jon Dunn. It’s a joy! And a great antidote to a succession of very mediocre titles in our book group in recent months. What are you reading? Any good recommendations?

The gates of hell* opened fully in Rhodes last year when we found Cerberus - a unique Ophrys reinholdii with three labella fused on one flower. *insofar as we had to name this orchid after the three-headed canine guardian of the underworld in Greek mythology. We were in orchid heaven!

Yesterday evening I booked another European Orchid hunting trip - and it is not until 2027! I am really excited, but, sadly cannot disclose details yet. I shall when I can!!!

The most vibrant Goblet Waxcaps I’ve ever seen, in Dorset 🧡❤️ #Fungi #Mushrooms

Indeed it is. I can barely contain my excitement.

Yet you still had time for your #AnOrchidADay Respect! 🙏

It's not just butterflies that feature on our Butterflies of the Spanish Pyrenees tour. Our local naturalists, Peter Rich & Pau Lucio, are no one-trick ponies - they know their other wildlife too, and will be pointing out birds, moths, orchids et al! www.mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Tricholoma sulphureum, the Sulphur Knight. It used to be referred to as the Gas Works Mushroom because of its unpleasant smell, but that just seemed to attract this fly (anyone know what it is?) Deciduous woodland, New Forest. #fungi #NewForest

And naturally, like ALL of our butterfly tours, this one generates a donation to support the crucial conservation work of the brilliant team @europebutterfly.bsky.social, who work tirelessly to help some of the most threatened #butterflies across Europe. (3/3) www.mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

A mouth-watering range of butterflies may be seen during the tour, including some of the most iconic species found in Europe, and some Pyrenean specialities too. A guaranteed departure on 2-9 July, your leaders will be knowledgeable local naturalists Peter Rich & Pau Lucio. (2/3)

Good morning and welcome to a new week! Our featured Spanish tour this week is Summer Butterflies of the Spanish Pyrenees, a tour that offers guests an unrivalled immersion into the outstanding and dramatic butterfly diversity of the Pyrenees. (1/3) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

It seemed ambitious to try for a coastal #thewinter10 but I was surprised what was still in flower. Everything photographed at Cogden Beach (part of Chesil Beach) this weekend. See ALT text #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social