On the 4th of June - @juleshoward.bsky.social & I will be discussing insects & just how important they are 👊🪰 (and they are) at the #CheltSciFest (2 - 7 June 2026)
@cheltfestivals
The full line-up is out now & tickets go on sale 22 April, 10am
www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/whats-on
Hey! Cheltenham Science Festival is coming in June (2nd to the 7th). A few events from me. Especially excited to be talking insect conservation with the world's greatest @flygirlnhm.bsky.social and discussing animal politics (and probably genitals) with my fav comedy hero, @countbinface.bsky.social
Smooth newt portrait.
Smooth newt side-on
Smooth newt reverse, showing cloaca.
Happy #worldsalamanderday! Feeling a bit bleurg, so smooth newting today. These characters are unbelievably common and can occupy even small ponds in 10+ numbers. Last pic shows swollen cloaca of the (crested) male - another telltale sign of spring that no-one writes poems about. For shame.
Ssssshhhhhhhh! 👀
Ladybird poking bum out of moss.
This is me nestling / snuggling into the Easter holidays after a long ol' term. Or is it a Ladybird? You decide.
just this week:
-- OpenAI killed Sora
-- Disney subsequently cancelled its investment in OpenAI
-- Wikipedia is now banning LLM-generated content
...tell me again how this is all "inevitable" and you have to "get on board or get left behind"?
A diagram of the life cycle of the seal heart worm. The first few stages of the worm develop in the louse, and then the nematodes move to seals and develop into larger adults. Seal lice are delightfully round, but less delightfully apparently transmit heart worms.
Thing I learned today: Seal Lice vector seal heart worms! I don't know of another louse species that vectors a nematode. Do any other entofriends? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our motto for life
Hairy caterpillar on wooden post.
I feel like this is the larva of swan moth (Euproctis similis). Early instar, still wet behind the ears*. About the size of a staple.
*the appropriate phrasing for yellow tail moth caterpillars should be "anal wool behind the ears" because the females anal spray the eggs but this is TMI, I guess.
Oooohhh. It was not far from Hampton Nature Reserve, on the old mud flats, if you know that? Such an amazing part of the world for fossils!
Shiny ammonite fossil. On moss.
Spring is a great time for finding fossils because the slightly slanted sunlight catches the metals in the mineralised rock, reflecting into thine eyes. Bit of rain helps too. Beautiful. (Jurassic ammonite. 1cm across. Peterborough. The moss is for scale, ok).
We've got one last author visit lined up before the Easter holidays...don't miss Jules Howard talking about his brilliant book 'Choose You Own Evolution' at 11am on Friday. Sign up via the link on the Online Author Visit Schedule... @juleshoward.bsky.social @nosycrow.bsky.social
Oh to be a bee-fly
To be like bee but fly
To be flying like a bee
But be a fly
A bee-fly
Like i said.
Be bee or bee-fly?
To fly or be bee-fly?
To be bee or not to be
(A bee).
To be beef or lamb
Or just be
Be a bee-fly.
That's who i want to be, bee
That's what I am saying
Don't go
*accepts award*
Wrens blasting, bumblebees bumbling, newts dancing, red kites mewing. Nature's THEME PARK (the theme being sex) is open for business.
Japanese version of Infinite Life features the most gorgeous little embossed silvery eggs behind the dust jacket. (UK-edition still 99p on Kindle, folks).
P.S. If you are (or know) a UK-based Japanese-speaker (/reader!) I would be happy to post a copy or two out for free. DM me.
Ah mate, that is so kind of you to say this! ❤️ THANK YOU!
Hurrah for Jules! Anyone with young folk who are inspired by nature & evolutionary stuff, please do check out @juleshoward.bsky.social's books. Inspirational.
In today's author spotlight, choose your own adventure with Jules Howard in his brilliant book 'Choose Your Own Evolution', shortlisted in our Non-Fiction category. Where will you evolution take you? @nosycrow.bsky.social @gordywright.bsky.social @juleshoward.bsky.social
youtu.be/T06rDxFWNac?...
CHIFFCHAFF
A victory for hope over hate. Excellent to see. More please.
A blackbird singing! A bumblebee buzzing! A random cat shuffling out of its house to crap on some gravel. HARK! SPRING COMETH!
A species of barkfly, right? 2-3mm. It just feels a bit... wide ... and ... regal-looking.
WOODPECKER TODAY MY FELLOW THRILLSEEKERS
It's a great list! Not quite as observable as most of these, but some tortoises throw caution to the wind and go for it in a very public way. Thinking of Hermann's tortoise, for example? And flying ant swarms are, I guess, pretty explosive too, if no-one has said that?
We're so excited about this year's #Bookspark books!
Here's Emma from our Books team to tell us about Choose Your Own Evolution by @juleshoward.bsky.social and @gordywright.bsky.social - one of 15 brilliant books included in the 2026 pack.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/4r4FfmI
Hello school librarians! Got a few spare copies of THE MARTIAN MUSEUM OF EARTH ANIMALS I'm happy to post out to schools for free. DM me if interested.
Day 1: Our first book in the Non-Fiction category is 'Choose Your Own Evolution' by @juleshoward.bsky.social & @gordywright.bsky.social - an innovative and highly engaging approach to the topic of evolution! @nosycrow.bsky.social
🎄🎁📚 #Spark12BooksofChristmas
Hey! Thanks Josh! Hope you're well!
British Audio Awards last night! So happy for the @nosycrow.bsky.social team who turned CHOOSE YOUR OWN EVOLUTION into a thing of audio beauty and were rewarded!
CYOE was one of only two titles in the whole show to be given a 'HIGHLY COMMENDED' - ours was for the Best Children's Book category.
Yay! We absolutely love this book and know that students will too!
