Birders, unless you are doing a point count there's not a lot of point in submitting butterfly records in BirdTrack.
The location data are rarely precise enough to be of value.
For butterfly records, can you please use iRecord, or iRecord butterflies. With at least Tetrad (e.g TL1234) resolution
Admittedly, his would probably have been more colourful..
But I'm getting more of a post-modern sculptural vibe from yours, maybe Rachel Whiteread's 'House'?!!
No worries, I first heard about it as an ID feature on the British Bugs website a while ago, luckily I remembered to check when I found that one!
Another day, yet another Shieldbug, this time a Mottled Shieldbug (Rhaphigaster nebulosa). Found among Ivy on a Hawthorn tree down the allotment, the first time I've encountered this particular species. Underside view shows the characteristic spike. VC30 Bedfordshire
Found my Gorse and Hairy Shieldbugs of the year this evening, soaking up the last rays of the sun on a Leylandii. Closer inspection revealed a dozen 7-Spot, 6 Pine and 2 Harlequin Ladybirds also present. I wonder what else might be hiding in there..? VC30 Bedfordshire
Good skills there then.. and quite fortuitous for me as I found quite a few of these whilst digging down the allotment and you've saved me the task of having to try to ID them! Thanks :)
Thanks! That's really useful, much appreciated. I'll take a look and see what I can find.
Nice pics, interesting to see them magnified. I was wondering if this can be recorded without examining under a microscope?
A picture of a blue research ship with "sea research" on the side.
A new ocean research ship is a rare and exciting event, but today the Netherlands said an official hello to its brand new ship RV Anna Weber-van Bosse. 🌊🌊 80 metres long, 47 berths and with high sustainability ambitions. Hello Anna!
www.nioz.nl/en/facilitie...
I wouldn't have understood the significance of this had I not recently listened to the 'Ocean Explorers' episode of the Rare Earth podcast, I can highly recommend it for anyone interested in natural history or geo-politics.
Can you find any wild or naturalised plants that have white blooms? That’s the #wildflowerhour challenge this week! Share your finds this Sunday 8-9pm using the hashtag #WhiteFlowers. Happy flower hunting!
@bsbibotany.bsky.social
#SignsofSpring for #Wildflowerhour from my home patch today, what I think are male flowers of Goat Willow (Salix caprea) and female flowers of Grey Willow (Salix cinerea). Hopefully providing lots of fuel for the early emerging bees and moths..
If you fancy listening to me talking about butterflies, moths and how to help them in your garden, there’s a new podcast from the fabulous folk at Garden Organic www.gardenorganic.org.uk/our-views/th...
Just checked my notes from the presentations, unfortunately I didn't make note of many of the variations, but recall some were using different foodplants to their Southern counterparts e.g. Powdered Quaker on Bog Myrtle giving rise to a reddish form.
Ah I see, thanks. I was wondering if it was the usual form up there.. I saw a series of zoom presentations a while ago by Phil Stirling who pointed out the incredible differences between Scottish and English forms of several moth species.
That's an interesting looking one, much darker than the ones I usually see down here in Bedfordshire.
It's tomorrow! Join us for a family friendly invertebrate fair with a range of talks, activities and exhibitions!
A large black beetle clinging to an Arum leaf. There are hints of purple around the legs and antennae, and the surface of its exoskeleton bears a series of deep punctures.
A large black beetle resting on the back of a hand.
Amazed to stumble across this Oil-beetle yesterday, something I rarely encounter. I'm leaning towards Black Oil-beetle as opposed to Violet as the rear margin of the (squarish) thorax appears relatively straight, but I'd welcome other's opinions.. #coleoptera
In my experience both Common and Scarce Footman larvae seem to be quite active in late winter/early spring, I often encounter them on walls, fences, trees etc during mild spells.
A positive week for #Wildflowerhour with several new-for-the-year things. Surprised and chuffed to find a patch of Moschatel just opening up. Viola odorata var.dumetorum and both Lesser and Greater Periwinkle.
Does anyone know if The beetles of Britain and Ireland volume 4 by Duff will be reprinted? It seems unobtainable at present
Nice! Not seen any yet this year but fairly common in my bit of Bedfordshire, I find it hard to pass by a patch of Daffs without having a quick look for them. Pretty sure I've submitted records in the past but will make sure I pop this year's sightings on iRecord to get the map more up to date.
*and , not 'anyone'!
That's great, glad it's arrived okay. Thanks for letting me know anyone thanks for taking a look it's very much appreciated. :)
Aha! I thought it looked familiar :)
Amazing tree, good to see it's still doing ok :)
Is that Holkhan by any chance?
Some thoughts on birding content online and how old guys like me could or should respond to it. Thank you again for reading any if this stuff! #ukbirding #birds
Thanks! That's great, I'll get them over to you soon then. :)
Thanks, I thought you might be interested, I wasn't sure if you had seen my original post from January.
I was wondering if I posted it to you would you be able to take a look and see if it can be taken to species level? Or if you know of anyone who might be able to?
@vc30moths.bsky.social