Unbelievably, #DuvetKnowItsChristmas generates such good will on social media that over the years we've raised somewhere approaching a quarter of a million quid for homeless charities. If you can spare a bob or two, sling some to Centrepoint, and here's the link: www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...

I reckon the closest we’ll get to seeing snowflakes in Western Australia at this time of year is seeing our endemic Flannel flowers (Actinotus leucocephalus), which bloom through December. Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and restful festive season 🎄⛄️🎅 #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #Christmas

Teams meeting BnF Français 16993; Barthélémy l'Anglais, Livre des proprietés des choses, traduit du latin par Jean Corbechon; XIVe siècle (fin)- XVe siècle -début); f. 286v @gallicabnf.bsky.social

I know one of you has to have a billionaire’s phone number, $1m to save one of the best fossil collections in the country is a bargain. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/s...

One more sleep! 😴 BL Royal 1 D X; Psalter; 1st quarter of the 13th century, before 1220 CE; England, Central (Oxford); f.2v

Today I have something really special for you guys! Not too far from the caiman I posted recently, I found something MIND BLOWING This is a butterfly pupa, and it mimics the head of a snake. And not just any snake, but specifically the head of a boa snake!!! Probably Opsiphanes, an owlet butterfly.

Wishing you all A #MerryChristmas 🕷️🕸️🐜🪰🦅🦋🪶

In case Christmas isn't a happy time for you or someone you know. Please share

Reports that Palestine Action activists on hunger strike have been hospitalised due to seriously deteriorating health send chills down the spine. The Government should agree to meet their representatives whilst prosecutors must take steps to end this excessively lengthy pre-trial detention.

A perfect Christmas gift from my parents. I can't wait to start reading the book. @matthewcobb.bsky.social

One of my more cynical mentors refers to this season as the Midwinter Trading Fest. If that ruffles your feathers, seek serenity in contemplation of Dancing Cranes by Lin Hukui. I offer this beauty in thanks for the sharing of your adventures thru the year, allowing me to participate vicariously.

You could argue that the roast potatoes are the most important element to get right at Christmas. Perfect Roast Potatoes create perfect happiness. Which is why they are, indeed, #RecipeOfTheDay! www.nigella.com/recipes/perf...

Our final #AdventCalendar post this year! It seems festively appropriate to finish with a couple of shiny butterfly baubles, European butterflies with tinsel-silver highlights on their wings - widespread Queen of Spain Fritillary, and a much rarer Levantine Leopard. @europebutterfly.bsky.social

Caloplaca cluster. A beautiful seaside #lichen at #Newfoundland, Canada. #fungi #fungifriends

Elegant Orange Sunburst Lichen. Northwest Territories, Canada. #Lichen #fungi #fungifriends

Here are some parahelia for you, for Christmas Eve, bringing with them my love and good wishes of the season, whatever you call it. Vädersolstavlan, (The Sun Dog Painting): original by Urban Målare, 1535, this a copy by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas, 1636.

will always be grateful for Claire Bretecher

"The biologist believes beavers should not be reintroduced without a system to deal with conflicts that inevitably arise". Beavers have infrastructure impacts that need funding to manage (almost £1m/year in CH). Is anyone preparing for this in England as legal & illegal reintroductions roll out?

Tour update 🚨 Our 2026 #OrchidsOfRhodes tour, the ultimate exploration of the island's kaleidoscope of wild #orchids, has been fully booked since last April. As of this morning, the 2027 edition now has just 2 places remaining available to join us. mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Discerning gardeners find Asarum spp. highly collectible. Who wouldn’t want to grow this beauty, Asarum maximum? What pollinates Asarum spp? Mostly small Diptera. They are probably brood-site mimics. Some have no perceptible odor; others are fetid. #Aristolochiaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Alone at Christmas? #joinin is always good.

Today on a desert slope, I found frosted Christmas stars: a rare succulent (Apteranthes burchardii) that produces starbursts of blossom after it rains:

We know that the role of nocturnal moths as pollinators has been greatly underestimated in Europe, but this impressive new study shows that tiger moths (Arctiinae) are important generalist pollinators in a lowland rainforest in Ecuador #teammoth 🌎 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Asarum (including Hexastylis) includes 137 spp. across temperate N. America, Asia & Europe. Some of the Asian species have spectacular (for Asarum) flowers & are gaining popularity in cultivation. This is A. nobilissimum. Check out the pattern on those flowers! #Aristolochiaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

BREAKING: Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested in London after holding a sign that reads: “I support Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide.” - via @novaramedia.com Love and respect to activists.

In a recent greenhouse study, researchers showed that yellow flag iris plants, working in symbiosis with fungi on their roots, can take up and transform certain PFAS compounds from water. This plant–fungus partnership enhanced pollutant removal compared with plants alone. buff.ly/ll7EuQu via @ACS

With the enormous diversity of the #OrchidsOfRhodes, it's no wonder I regularly see all manner of interesting insects interacting with them, pollinating or roosting upon them. It's one of the joys of orchid-hunting - the sense of wonder and surprise at each find never diminishes.

Enjoy the quiet moments of beauty, like these winter bell jellies, this season.❄️🔔🪼 There’s wonder in ocean life, and caring for it helps us all.

🚗 UWAGA! NOWY WPIS 🚗 Piotr R Frankowski: druga część opowieści o pięknych karoseriach i nienagannych liniach. Figoni & Falaschi, czyli sztuka na czterech kółkach. eksperymentmyslowy.pl/2025/12/22/h...

The Covid forecast for Nova Scotia is high and we've entered an early flu season. Wearing a well-fitted mask can break the chain of transmission! Free masks are available at: ▫️Venus Envy ▫️Cape & Cowl Comics ▫️HFX Community Fridge ▫️Dartmouth Community Fridge ▫️Cole Harbour Community Fridge

Would really love if your next president could be someone I don't have to monitor 24/7.

"Bibit hera, bibit herus, Bibit miles, bibit clerus, Bibit ille, bibit illa, Bibit servus cum ancilla, Bibit velox, bibit piger.." In Taberna, Carmina Burana, 196

A recent global review published in Frontiers in Pharmacology found that of 367 medicinal plant species studied over the past two decades, climate change has reduced suitable habitats for 106 species. This article was first published by @mongabay.com. www.thexylom.com/post/traditi...

my modest collection of flies with WIDE heads 🙇 a hammer-headed Richardia (Ecuador), a stalk-eyed Chaetodiopsis (Mozambique), a pointy-eyed Ophthalmoptera (Colombia), and an antlered Richardia (Colombia) why though? male-male competition? sexual selection? chime-in if you know!

This is a tragedy of UK Gov's making. "More than 800 healthcare professionals... expressing grave concern” "... David Lammy appeared to have no knowledge of the strike." “[no] hunger striker has received an adequate medical check-up, says NHS doctor" app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/71917/...

252 species of invertebrates on Hazel! It’s mind blowing.

Be prepared. Corylus avellana, Hazel, catkins today, getting ready for spring

@robyaxley.bsky.social 👇🏻

I'm lichen it ... I'm lichen it a lot! These petroglyphs from Shining Cliff Woods are rather beautiful but sadly we don't think they're archaeology 'Concentric boulder lichen' (porpidia/actomelia) might be the answer, but none of the online pix are this spectacular - any lichenologists out there?

These tiny but gorgeous #fungi were a highlight of today's walk. The apps are very sure they are Steely Bonnet, Mycena pseudocorticola, no idea if their confidence is justified 🤔

Cladonia verticillata #lichen. Newfoundland, Canada. #fungi #fungifriends

Pink Ghost Pipe plant at my hometown, Logy Bay, #Newfoundland Canada. Ghost Pipes are most commonly white, but some have pink or even red colouration. Pic from a couple of years ago, in August. #wildflower #flower #botany #plants #fungifriends

Leotia viscosa (Green Jelly Babies aka Chicken Lips Fungus). A pretty uncommon find. #Newfoundland Canada #fungus #fungi #fungifriends #mushroom Specimen is about 2.5” high (6 to 7cm).

Fascinating little jaw bone in an #Owl pellet found this afternoon

The Government has launched an eight-week consultation, which proposes the removal of the Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee in the planning process. Read the Gardens Trust’s statement bit.ly/3MPRRiM

#PhDSky #AcademicSky

There's a sneaky little parasite hiding in plain sight in Rhodes, sometimes emerging into the open and showing its true colours. Mostly it lurks unseen, hiding in the environment it depends upon for its survival. Cytinus lives inside Cistus rockroses, seen only when it blooms.

A small brain hiding among the lichen #fungifriends