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

Looking forward to Coleopterists Day on Saturday 21st. It’s not too late to drop all your weekend plans and head over to the excellent World Museum Liverpool for a day of beetle talks and behind the scenes at the entomology collection 🪲

Really need to stop dodgy local botanical things, Hants Plants is so well done!

Oh hell YES! Proctotrupoidea course coming up from @tanyptera.bsky.social later this year! Tanyptera is really knocking it out of the park with wasps. With Ichneumon, Braconid & Chalcid courses in the last few years, here’s hoping for Cynipids to get a look in too! #hymenoptera #wasps

👍 Hoverfly Breaking News 🌎 The Green Forest Hoverfly (Caliprobola speciosa) referred to as the Jewel Wood fly in Europe, is increasing in numbers thanks to volunteers. #Hoverflies #Flies #Insects #Syrphidae #Diptera #Entomology #Conservation #Biodiversity #Woodland #Nature #Pollinator

'we are thrilled and proud to announce we have created marvin the paranoid android from douglas adam's famous novel, "don't create marvin, the paranoid android"'

movementforgood.com/draws/1000?u... Hello supporters, here we go again, please take 30 seconds to help us to raise £1000 from this draw. Our charity number is 1183592 and our category is 'poverty'. We can make £1000 go a long way so please nominate us now. #WeDoProBono #MovementForGood

Interesting stuff, although as it's the usual sickly marketing-ease from NE, which always seems to drive me to want to never submit another record again and then beat myself to death with a suitable ID book.

So this is utterly awesome!

I am working with #citizenscientists this weekend in the @taxonexpeditions.bsky.social entomological collection, to screen insects for the presence of ectoparasitic microfungi. This project is supported by @msafungi.bsky.social. #TeamLaboul #Laboulbeniales

Why use iRecord for wildlife sightings? 🐞 Built for the UK, it links records to national schemes, LERCs & the NBN Atlas—so your data supports real conservation & research. New or rusty? Join our iRecord 101 online course on 2 Apr. Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1734876575... @ukceh.bsky.social

This is a devastating blow to Canadian dipterology, entomology, ecology, and beyond. Please share. #diptera @dipterists.bsky.social @teamdiptera.bsky.social @canentomologist.bsky.social @entsocamerica.bsky.social @entsocontario.bsky.social @entsocbc.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social

From Chris Borkent: Fellow Dipterists/systematists/ecologists: Agri./Agri-Food Canada plans to eliminate the Diptera Unit at the Canadian National Collection of Insects. Dr. Art Borkent has prepared an open letter to support keeping the unit open. To sign, please read & follow the instructions here.

Scientists use rigorous language to avoid ambiguity, said no one who's read a species description.

Tea, Coffee, Natural History Book Swap, Talks, Displays, Data workshop- sound fun? Book to come to our forum, Sat 7th March 2026 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hbic-annua...

252 pages of back issue diptera excitement (Dipterist Digest Vol 30 pts 1 and 2) now available to download free from our website dipterists.org.uk/news/dipteri... World class science in action! @britentsoc.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social

Just wow!

#natuur #insecten #ElkeDagEenInsect Rups van het groot koolwitje geparasiteerd door een sluipwesp.

Call out to anyone with UK records of Sphaeroceridae not on NBN/iRecord. Looking at getting the best distribution possible for a new key, I realise this will be a 'best possible', but more the merrier. Please share @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @respublications.bsky.social

We're hiring! Could you become our new Wales Officer, lead our Priority Plants Project & support #BSBICountyRecorders across Wales? Apply here: bsbi.org/about/people... Deadline: 23 February Interested but not for you? Please help us spread the word!

Happy to share our latest publication with you. 🧵 Trees are often overlooked as relevant bee forage ressources. Realising that there is relatively little known about bees in flowering tree canopies, we searched for data and methodologies to tackle this gap. @jki-research.bsky.social

Join us for our first identification workshop of 2026 - Apoid Wasps with Mike Edwards on Weds 18th February - more info and booking here: www.northwestinvertebrates.org.uk/event/apoid-...

!Please Read! Coleopterists Day is happening on Saturday 21st February, not the 22nd as previously circulated. Accept our apologies for this confusion, we hope to see you there for discussions, presentations and more...🪲🪲🪲