The Fire Brigades Union has made a statement on the proposed EHRC Code of Practice on Services. Our message is clear. Equality matters, solidarity is essential, and we will continue to fight for both.

And we’re off! The first of our recently collected Lackey caterpillars is pupating, fingers crossed to finally get a wasp out of a caterpillar, only managed Moths & Tachinids so far. I’m beginning to think It’s personal! #Moths #Wasps #Entomology

‘Wildflowers’ out of a packet on one side of the path, weedkillered critically rare native plant on the opposite side 🤯

This cartoon by Ella Baron from the Guardian today actually made me well up a little. We will keep fighting. Together.

↓ This, so very much this. I still find it astonishing that despite precursing pretty much all of the "how-they-dun-its" whodunits, John Dickson Carr has never had a great screen adaptation. And yes Gladys Mitchell has had adaptation, but only touching the surface of her stuff.

Today has been a day engaged in entomological necromancy, of a sort. Collecting a series of these mummified aphids, from which will, hopefully any day now, arise their likely cause, Aphidiinae wasps! #entomology #hymneoptera #wasps

If you are interested in learning to identify the UKs ground beetles there are free guides to download on my website johnwalters.co.uk/publications...

This looks awesome!

A slightly odd one maybe, but dose anyone know of any resources on / have experience with maintaining temperate centipedes in culture, especially non Lithobiomorpha? #myriapods #entomology

It is absolutely extraordinary for the special advisor of a serving cabinet minister to be threatening a British media outlet with an injunction on what seem like deeply spurious grounds. You cannot get an injunction for defamation: the saying is "publish, and be damned" for exactly that reason.

These guys are so utterly brilliant!

A day spent cataloguing Sawfly’s is never a day wasted. Happy to have contributed to my local museums efforts to fully catalogue its collections. #hymenoptera #symphyta #sawflys #entomology

Here we go! Attempting to rear my first Tipulid larvae, with these three larvae collected from a wood chip pile. Apparently it's a matter of keeping the substrate damp and waiting. Fingers crossed! #diptera #entomology #rearing

What an amazing life Peter led, with so many achievements at such a high level. Very sad news.

A new one for me, I think that this is Blaniulus guttulatus with characteristic scarlet ozadenes. It is a blind hypogeal (underground) species. This one was about 4mm diameter when enrolled. I think this is 1st record for my patch so must get it logged. #myriapods #invertebrates #macrophotography

From yesterday: Nearly Legal and Giles Peaker: An Appreciation | Colin Yeo

It’s with a heavy heart that I tell you that on Thursday 23 April 2026 Peter Chandler, one of the most eminent Dipterists & all round amazing person, died after a fall at his home Peter’s passing will be a huge loss to the Diptera community. Such an intelligent, witty & kind man. A huge loss

Again: when something does not make sense, hold that moment, and keep looking. Don’t rush to posit a theory, conspiracy or otherwise. And don’t get carried away with various ‘razors’. Just accept there are things which are not known, and keep watching.

And remember: Starmer wanted to hide all this under "national security" but, to their credit, Members of Parliament said No.

Sometimes a thing doesn't make sense, and one should keep looking until it makes sense. Would be literally incredible for a senior civil servant to overturn a vetting decision without ministerial approval - or a paper trail. This is inherently the most unlikely of all possible scenarios. Odd.

Suspect blaming Olly Robbins and the Foreign Office will not end well for Starmer.

Chalcidoidea: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. #Wasps #Hymenoptera #Insects #Entomology

Publication seems a REALLY long way off, but do reach out if you'd like to schedule a book signing, talk, reading, podcast interview, exhibition, or any combination of the above to help get A New Unfeathered Bird off to a flying start next year. 'A celebration of all birds, across all time'.

Ah the ever interesting state of British Rail, currently experience both the air conditioning and heating on at the same time.

📢CALL FOR COLLABORATION📢 My PhD student Warre is looking for flies infected with #Laboulbeniales fungi. Especially Musca domestica! If you have any, store in 96% ethanol or in the freezer, record on @inaturalist.bsky.social, and/or contact Warre. #TeamLaboul #LFEE #LuminaQuaeruntur

Look what arrived today from @summerfieldbooks.com - another exquisitely illustrated book by Geoffrey Kibby. #MycoBookClub #Fungi #Mycology #Ascomycetes

wouldn't it be funny if EVERYONE blocked this Attie AI account @ bsky.app/profile/atti... before they could do anything with it

Also

Thanks to the always excellent Pemberly books, I'm very happy to have added a couple of excellent books to the ID shelf! The Flies of Britain is bloody brilliant! #wasps #hymenoptera #coleoptera #diptera

We found Rickia wasmannii, an ant-specific microfungus, on an ant nest-inhabiting rove beetle! Photo: André De Kesel. From our new paper in @insectessociaux.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1007/s000... #OpenAccess #TeamLaboul

Dichrogaster aestivalis, a Phygadeuontine ichneumonid. Parasitoids of cocooned Neuroptera. #Ichneumonidae #parasitoid

Rarely is an abuse of power met with such grace, credibility, and courage. Am almost lost for words at the sheer dignity of this speech, and awed by how a narrative of trauma has been reclaimed & transformed into purpose, serving both principle and justice. Standing ovation 👏👏👏

Always great to see this sort of amazing work! Thrips don't get enough love!

So this arrived today, I don't think that micromoths of the low countries have ever before been compiled in one (2 volume) guide before in such a clear and accessible way, with life cycle info. Anyone with interest in micromoths of NW Europe should buy this! knnvuitgeverij.nl/artikel/hand...

Thank you to all the tremendous staff @porthosp.bsky.social for providing care for my mother recently. #NHS

CO-SIGNED! I’ve met so many folks who want to study bugs and learn how to find new species, there are absolutely more interested parties than there are jobs

Myriapod Meet Up 2026 will be on 1 April, 8AM - 5PM (EDT). This online event will include short talks, and a chance to share and discuss research about myriapods (and other multipedes, e.g. Onychophora). Anyone may participate in this free event (no need to give a talk).

Damn Right! ↓

Abysmal, immoral, cruel, small hearted, tiny minded, ineffective, undemocratic, and just generally utterly indecent. What a bitter godforesaken disappointment these people are. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New #OpenAccess research by M. Prous, @niinakiljunen.bsky.social et al. in #RESSystematicEnt found that multiple full-length variants of the mitochondrial COI DNA barcode region are prevalent in north European sawflies. doi.org/10.1111/syen.70031 @gkergoat.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social

Woop!

Most of us in Britain aren’t Christian in our beliefs, practices, or identity. The only basis for national identity in our country is around the shared values and institutions of our plural society. Christian Nationalism is a divisive dead end. humanists.uk/2026/02/23/d...

Hurray! There's a diagram establishing the chaetotaxy in your key. BUT for some reason instead of using words, there's only arbitrary, very similar abbreviations, that you don't use in the key itself ARGGGGGHH. There is a very special spot in taxonomic hell for such people #taxonomy #taxonomyfails

Good luck to the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives who are in court today in the Mazur case, challenging what can only be called (ahem, searches for polite term) one of the most extraordinary judicial decisions of modern times. Background www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/mazur-m...

Although to anyone whose self confidence survives the orbatids, may I introduce you to mesostigmatic mites, and then proturans. Soil mesofauna will break you in the end, thankfully the madness of interest tends only to escalate to carry you through!

The apple Liquid Glass update to iPad, is just, terrible, the ’windowing’ is just garbage, it just about renders multitasking on the iPad unusable. Never thought I’d say this, but I think I’m done with the iPad, please tell me Linux tablets have gotten okay

Governments should be requiring open standards and open source code for everything commissioned with public funds, failure to do this is just privatisation. Allowing commercial control of IT systems and design is a good way to get a dystopia, especially if that is directed by the whims of investors

While I can be of no help, but what a spectacular metasoma! Wasps are so often so unnecessarily beautiful! #hymenoptera #wasps #wasplove

THE WAIT IS OVER - We're busy mailing out copies of our new guide to #FliesofBritainandIreland to all those who pre-ordered. Order your copy here bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @rdimond.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @sussexwildlife.bsky.social

Forgive me for bothering you Sawfly Bluesky, which is @naturespotter.bsky.social as far as I know, but have I gone terribly wrong, with only three antennal segments I don't think I can go that wrong...., or is this Aprosthema sp. ? #sawflys #hymenoptera