Martin Harvey
@kitenet.bsky.social
Mostly insects and biological recording, UK-based (he/him) https://linktr.ee/kitenet
This is the account for British Plant Gall Society - definitely worth a follow if you like plants, invertebrates, fungi or the interactions between them
Galling,@galling.bsky.social · 23h agoWe have just hit 500 followers, thanks to all of you. Please spread the word and keep the posts coming.
We're a proud sponsor of entoLIVE webinars (see @biologicalrecording.co.uk) and there's plenty coming up still this year, you can find a full list on our website: www.benhs.org.uk/entolive-2026/
What's coming up in entoLIVE 2026 - British Entomological & Natural History Society
benhs.org.uk
Dear All. Government is reviewing how money from the National Lottery Good Causes is used in the UK. £53billion has been raised since 1994 with around £2billion awarded by Heritage Fund for land, sea and nature projects. This is your chance to have you say by 23 Sept. www.gov.uk/government/c...
National Lottery Good Causes: Fund what matters to you
gov.uk
She's got a bald spot, she's offending by The Guardian calling her a "grey lump with orange wings", but she's ovipositing on our bedstraws, so I don't care. Humming-bird Hawk-moth, Macroglossum stellatarum. #VC55Moths #VC55 #moths
Don't forget, the UKBMS website (and other Indicia sites such as iRecord) will be offline TOMORROW and are expected to be back up from Weds. You'll be unable to access or enter data during this time. Thanks for your patience whilst the team at @ukceh work to boost the storage capacity of the system
Kudos to @sjbknott.bsky.social who got the correct species much quicker than I did: hoverfly Volucella inanis. The recorder was not trying to mislead anyone, they just asked ChatGPT to "clean photo", and didn't realise that the result included spurious extras such as a second head ☹️
Martin Harvey@kitenet.bsky.social · 2w agoAn insect follow-up to the issues raised by @alexanderlees.bsky.social - a recorder asked ChatGPT to clean up a blurry photo of an insect they didn't recognise. It was then sent in as a record of a cicada. Can anyone work out what the original insect was? (Answer to follow!) bsky.app/profile/alex...
We had to visit the in-laws in East Kent last week. We stayed at an AirBnB near Ash again where I caught lots of moths I don’t see in Norfolk very often (or at all), including this stunning little Promalactis procerella (Beautiful Silver-mark). #TeamMoth #KentMoths
An insect follow-up to the issues raised by @alexanderlees.bsky.social - a recorder asked ChatGPT to clean up a blurry photo of an insect they didn't recognise. It was then sent in as a record of a cicada. Can anyone work out what the original insect was? (Answer to follow!) bsky.app/profile/alex...
Alexander Lees@alexanderlees.bsky.social · 2w agoGreat write-up by @pgreenfielduk.bsky.social on our paper in @natecoevo.nature.com www.theguardian.com/environment/... on the impact of generative AI on biological recording #Ornithology #UKBirding 🪶🌍 1/2
Brilliant photos of a very rare fly, the first record of this species that we've received for many years, so it is very welcome that this population is still present.
Ian Andrews@suillia.bsky.social · 2w agoDelighted to find Thereva valida (Dark Northern Stiletto) at Ashberry yesterday. A rare stiletto fly, but with known population on south side of North York Moors. Thanks to @kitenet.bsky.social for confirming from photos. @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @ynuorg.bsky.social
I've been seeking and not finding moths on the small fig plant in our garden, but they must have visited as there are now four caterpillars of Fig-leaf Skeletoniser (Choreutis nemorana)! Also a small parasitic wasp investigating them. (Buckinghamshire.) #TeamMoth
Very pleased to have @graemelyons.bsky.social as a speaker at the Kent Wildlife Conference this October, talking on "Pan-species listing – how to become a super-naturalist". Open to all: go to tinyurl.com/WildConf2026 for details & booking. #pansspecies #panspecieslisting #biologicalrecording
Kent Wildlife Conference 2026
THE KENT WILDLIFE CONFERENCE SATURDAY 24th October 2026 Darwin Conference Suite, Darwin College, University of Kent The Kent Wildlife Conference is an opportunity for all those interested in the...
tinyurl.com
Park Grass is 170 🎉The long-term experiment continues to reveal how ecosystems respond to nutrients, soil chemistry and environmental change across nearly two centuries. Huge thanks to all who surveyed the plots (in serious☀️) Full story 👇 https://ow.ly/qYKC50ZpYpT #biodiversity #ecology #farming
For the last few weeks I've had a @ukceh.bsky.social AMI moth device set up in Epping Forest. It has photographed a very different selection of moths to what I'm used to seeing in my garden. I'm collecting new data as I develop my Moth x Human project for 2027. Next stop @kneppwilding.bsky.social
Fascinating study showing how public access (especially footpaths) and habitat availability interact, and what this means for interpreting butterfly records
Rob Boyd@robboyd.bsky.social · 2w agoWhat has a greater effect on the number of butterfly records across Devon and Cornwall: habitat or public access? Our new paper, led by Mingrui Li, addresses this question dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @jonbennie.bsky.social @davidroybrc.bsky.social @richardfoxbc.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
Fine Dipterists Forum week in Somerset. One highlight on last full day at Berrow was not a fly, in fact the enemy of the fly😅, the dune jumping spider Marpissa nivoyi, nationally scarce, no Somerset records on NBN atlas. Vac sampled by Keith Fowler. @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #ukwildlife #spiders
Great write-up by @pgreenfielduk.bsky.social on our paper in @natecoevo.nature.com www.theguardian.com/environment/... on the impact of generative AI on biological recording #Ornithology #UKBirding 🪶🌍 1/2
AI-altered images on birdwatching forums putting research at risk
Experts warn increase in enhanced photos on birding platforms creating fake sightings, threatening credibility of tool used by scientists
theguardian.com
Alexander Lees@alexanderlees.bsky.social · 3w agoOur new commentary rdcu.be/ftx6h in @natecoevo.nature.com written with folks from @inaturalist.bsky.social and @cornellbirds.bsky.social shows that use of AI to manipulate existing or create new wildlife images undermines the huge value of vast citizen science databases. 🌍🪰🪶 #Ornithology 🧵 1/10
Great to see this paper published, based on #BeeFlyWatch data - thank you to everyone who has ever sent in a bee-fly record 🙏 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
RES Publications@respublications.bsky.social · 2w agoNew work in #RESInsectConsDiv #CitizenScience data reveals that earlier & shorter flight periods correlate with climate warming in the dark-edged #BeeFly doi.org/10.1111/icad.70114 #Phenology @manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social @unirdgento.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social
This female Purple Hairstreak was unusually accessible yesterday at @bbowt.bsky.social Dancersend Waterworks - spending ages slowly feeding on Knapweed and thistles a long way from any Oak trees. What a delight!
Just found two Old Ladies in my welly boot! Good job I checked before I put my foot in it 🤣 The boots are stored upside down outside the back door, hadn't realised I was rewilding them #TeamMoth @kattyponder.bsky.social
Small Scabious seems to be enjoying the hot dry conditions in the Chilterns, never seen such a display before #WildFlowerHour #StillFlowering
It's not just about the bees, but all the pollinators! 🐝🪰🦋🪲 #BeesNeedsWeek, which has been running this week, is an annual event to highlight the importance of these vital insects and the ways we can help them thrive. 👀 What small changes have big impacts for pollinators?
My first #BigButterflyCount done in the garden just now - 18 Gatekeepers loving the Ragwort and Oregano flowers, plus 5 Meadow Browns and singles of Holly Blue, Large White & Red Admiral. Best 15 mins of my day 😊 Take part at www.bigbutterflycount.org @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Deadline tomorrow! This grant is dedicated to projects that celebrate equity, equality, diversity and inclusion, encouraging more involvement of underrepresented groups and greater diversity of contributions in entomology. Apply now and make an impact 🔽 buff.ly/rciuzmQ Deadline: 17 July
💡 Got an idea to make entomology more inclusive?
The RES EDI Grant can help fund it.
buff.ly
It was buzzing at the #BeesNeedsWeek Science Festival at RHS Wisley. Visitors discovered how easy it is to support pollinator science by spending 10 minutes counting pollinating insects on flowers 🐝🌼 Take time in nature with your own FIT Count for @pomscheme.bsky.social ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts
📣EUROPEAN RED LIST OF MOTHS PUBLISHED!📣 A m(amm)oth task - huge congratulations to the team! Spoiler: >3000 species assessed at the European level, 704 of them endemic. Ca. 25% are listed as Data Deficient & 11% threatened with extinction. op.europa.eu/en/publicati...
Decided to look for The Miller moth caterpillars on the garden Birch tree and found one quite quickly - a favourite of mine and first this year.🐛#teammoth
Senotainia conica (Small Shadower Fly) at Cali Heath @yorkswildlife.bsky.social reserve, lurking around Oxybelus uniglumis nests outside rabbit burrows, waiting to lay an egg on the wasp's diptera catch. Rabbit droppings make perfect watchpoints! @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @ynuorg.bsky.social
