Judy Webb
@judywebb.bsky.social
Ecologist, Palynologist (pollen expert) quite good at Botany, Entomology & Mycology. Conservationist. Ex School Teacher, Ex Forensic Scientist.
🐟️ The bream are back! Their lunar-pad nesting sites have been spotted by divers in vast numbers on the Sussex seabed - a great indication that nature is bouncing back thanks to the @sussexifca ban on bottom-trawling in our nearshore waters. Visit our blog to read more. 📹️ @drraymarine
A nice mix of migrants amongst the 222/88 in the Upton garden traps this morning, incl'g Ni Moth, a striking Small Marbled, Vestal, Bordered Straw, Turnip Moth, 4 SM Willow, 11 Silver Y, 6 RDP, 6 Rush Veneer, Diamondback & Euro Corn-borer #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social
Always happy for extra excuses to spend time enjoying butterflies - thank you #BigButterflyCount! Did a 15 min count at my allotment - 7 species seen. Large & Small White, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock & (too quick for pic) Silver Y moth. Lovely. 🦋 @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social
My Whetstone garden trap avoided Small Mottled Willow from 1999 to 2024, before one finally turned up here in 2025. One record, of one individual, in 27 years. During 2026 I have many records of multiple individuals, fewer than other recorders but still enough to be laughable. #vc55moths #teammoth
Stumbled on this Eyed Hawk-moth larva whilst out looking for leafmines. Actually it found me really; as I reached for a sallow leaf it reacted and waved around bashing my fingers before I'd seen it. #vc55moths #teammoth
Ruddy darters mating at Potteric Carr. My latest blog for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust: www.ywt.org.uk/blog/rod-jon... #nature #dragonflies #wildlife @yorkswildlife.bsky.social @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
My final survey of the spring/summer was a WCBS visit to Brantham this morning. 94 butterflies of 12 species, both personal August highs. Highlight a helice female Clouded Yellow. Spent the afternoon with my mum then saw Black Stork at Hemley on my way home!
Willow Emerald Damselfly at WWT Slimbridge this morning @britishdragonflies.bsky.social @wwtsightings.bsky.social #wwtslimbridgesightings
A flyover Cuckoo this morning is only the fifth patch record and the first ever in autumn. This species was not recorded between 2020 and 2026 and is an exceptionally rare bird in the city. Also the first Yellow Wagtail of the year overhead 👌🏻 @friendlyevalley.bsky.social #ukbirding #Oxford
New paper out 😊 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Plant species richness is key for restoring grassland butterfly assemblages
The results indicate that successful restoration of grassland vegetation and butterflies is strongly linked. To fully restore target butterfly assemblages, future grassland restoration should aim to ....
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
I thought this might be creeping thistle, I know for sure it’s a painted lady butterfly! #WildflowerHour
This time it really is Sea-holly (Eryngium maritimum) ! #ByTheSea #WildflowerHour 1/8/26 @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
I've not seen Parsley Fern Cryptogramma crispa for many years, so it was great to see it in abundance today in Caenlochan Glen, Angus. @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Pretty things from Strandhill dunes #ByTheSea: sunshiny Perennial Sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis) & misty blue Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia); Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) seedheads & my favourite miniature grass Sand Cat's-tail (Phleum arenarium) @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour
Grass-of-Parnassus in the dunes at Aberffraw #Anglesey Just a few minutes walk to the beach so I'm including it #ByTheSea #Wildflowerhour
My favourite flower #ByTheSea this week has got to be the beautifully delicate Common Sea-lavender growing on Chesil Beach. Erect stems sprinkled with gorgeous purple flowers, interspersed with little white cups that tell of past blooms. A lovely flower in a lovely location. 💜 #wildflowerhour
Happy #YorkshireDay to all my friends & followers🙂 Take care & stay safe all in this hot & humid weather. Enjoy & cherish the beauty of our natural world 🐍🐞🦗🕷🦟🪰🦋🐛🐌🐚🌾 Lathyrus palustris (more info in Alt)
August is your last chance to see all of the Big Eight bumblebees 🎱🐝 Of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species, these eight are the most common. Have you spotted any bumblebees recently? How many species have you seen? 🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/11BQ50ZoP6O
Gold Spot, Brimstone, Dark Strawberry Tortrix and Pale Mottled Willow in the trap in Cheshire a couple of nights ago. A cold night didn't produce many moths. #mothsmatter #teammoth
Hedge Bedstraw, Galium album (2 of 2). One of the food plants for the larva of the Hummingbird Hawk-moth. Also feeds on Lady’s Bedstraw and Wild Madder
Peak Rudd... The drains and rhynes of the Somerset levels are packed with Rudd at the moment - there are dense shoals of fish in even the smallest channels. It's a wonder to behold, if you take time to look. A full larder for the piscivorous creatures of Avalon. #Fish #SomersetLevels #Nature
Amber LED street lights could save millions of insects. New research shows 1800K amber LEDs cut insect attraction by ~40% compared to standard white LEDs, emitting almost no blue light. The study tracked 71,000 bugs across 6 German railway stations. #LightPollution #Insects #Wildlife #DarkSkies
Researchers may have solved a problem caused by artificial street lights
independent.co.uk
Yellow-Loosestrife bee, Macropis europaea. Fast asleep.
Always fascinated as to how a bracket #fungus can form in this drought covered in droplets like this Oak Bracket Pseudoinonotus dryadeus growing from the base of an oak tree #fungifriends
Highlight of our field meeting last weekend near Deal - this nymph of the shieldbug Arma custos, swept by Laurence Clemons. A species found new to the UK in 2024 by Simon Warry, and this nymph confirms that it's now breeding here. #UKBugs #Shieldbugs @britishbugs.bsky.social @rockwolf74.bsky.social
