There was a huge amount of activity at one of my local nesting aggregations today. Andrena clarkella (pics 1 & 2) is one of the first mining bees to emerge each year. But look closely, and you might spot Nomada leucophthalma (pic 3), which is a brood parasite of A. clarkella.

Something new, big and never-before-seen is coming. Have you ever wanted to camp in a field with your family and spend a weekend learning about insects? Me too!!! Well, now you can... invertopia.ie Please share wide and far.

Argonemertes dendyi, a terrestrial proboscis worm from Australia, is now found across Europe. These worms capture and envenomate prey by ejecting a web-like structure from their mouths. Currently, it is in a stasis-like state, having built a cocoon to prevent drying out. Fascinating creatures! 🤯

Spring is here for sure... Some finds from today and yesterday. Andrena clarkella (Clark's Mining Bee) Bombus lucorum agg. (White-tailed Bumblebee) Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly It's time for you to go out and explore!

I've been working on building this app over the last month or so. If you're interested in biological recording, you might like it. It does cost (€4.99 a month), but just enough to cover the server costs. Works on mobile and desktop. Would love to hear what you think? bionexus.pro

I had a fantastic experience yesterday, as I was invited to DeafVillageIreland.ie to talk to the deaf community members about Irish bees. I've never felt so welcome nor witnessed so much interest in my talks. Special thanks to Caroline (who also invited me) and Aoife for signing my talk.

Serendipity allowed me to catch the exact moment a tiny (1.5mm) Chthonius ischnocheles pseudoscorpion caught and ate a bark louse (Psocoptera). For some reason, I assumed it would use its palps (pincers) more, but it didn't. It just chomped away with its chelicerae (jaws).

Meet Artioposthia exulans This flatworm specimen was sent to me to photograph and share it with you all. A non-native visitor to this island, it seems to be located primarily in the south-west and most likely arrived on horticultural goods, once again, highlighting the importance of biosecurity.

I was out surveying today, Blessington lakeside, and turned a stone only to find not one but two really scarce harvestmen (and you know I liove my harvestmen). The last time Mitostoma chrysomelas was recorded in the Republic of Ireland was way, way back in 1997. Isn't it a little stunner!!!?

Don't forget, tonight you can join me for a 90-minute chat about Ireland's Incredible Invertebrates. Grab your ticket here while you can: inverts-2025.eventbrite.ie There are so many things to talk about, 116 slides' worth of things to be exact! 🙂

Just one day before we settle down for a detailed yet accessible chat about Irish Bumblebees. There are still some places available if you'd like to get on board. Just follow the link to get your ticket... irish-bumblebees-2025.eventbrite.ie

Irish Bumblebees for Beginners 2025 - The Magnificent Seven plus a few more

A 90-minute run through Ireland's most common Bumblebee species. Where do they live and nest? And how to identify them to species level.

irish-bumblebees-2025.eventbrite.ie

Last chance to grab a ticket to this evening's webinar, The Weird & Wonderful World of Irish Wasps. I promise you some mind-blowing facts and anecdotes. irish-wasps-2025.eventbrite.ie

There's very little that matches the excitement of finding a pseudoscorpion for me. They are so few and far between that they always warrant a mini celebration. This stunning specimen is Chthonius ischnocheles (get your tongue around that!). Have you ever seen a pseudoscorpion? Let me know...

And the final webinar for the moment... this time it's Ireland's Incredible Invertebrates. This started out as a presentation to entomology students in Trinity. 🙂 Monday, September 15th @ 19:30 Grab your ticket here: inverts-2025.eventbrite.ie

Ireland's Incredible Invertebrates

Join us for an exploration of some of Ireland's tiny but mighty invertebrates!

inverts-2025.eventbrite.ie

Monday, 8th September, will see me hosting a webinar on Irish Bumblebees for Beginners, showcasing the most common 7 bumblebees plus a few extra to boot. Learn about their lifestyles as well as how to identify them. Get your ticket here: irish-bumblebees-2025.eventbrite.ie

The Weird & Wonderful World of Irish Wasps Come join me for this webinar, next Monday, 1st September. Tickets are Pay What You Can: irish-wasps-2025.eventbrite.ie

A really exciting find for me this weekend in my parents' front garden. Say hello to the Nosy Pill Woodlouse, Armadillidium nasatum. This is the first record of it in the wild in Ireland (i.e. outside of a garden centre). Keep an eye out for strange things; you never know what you'll find.

Every field surveyor's worst nightmare. This is an adult tick (Ixodes ricinus). Photo 1: Dormant Photo 2: It smelled my breath or felt the heat of my finger using special organs (Haller's Organ) on its forelegs and started to wake Photo 3: It tried to give me a hug 😬 Amazing creatures.

This is the tiniest little jumping spider I came across yesterday while surveying my parents' front garden. I know it's anthropomorphic, but jumping spiders always look a little worried to me. I want to help them, but I'm not quite sure how... 🙂

This is the business end of a Brown Hawker Dragonfly. If you are a flying invertebrate, you do not want to see this up close. Dragonflies are exceptional on-the-wing hunters with a success rate that is unmatched in the animal kingdom.

Last spider pic for a while, I promise... 👀 This beautiful Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) was spotted hiding out on some Thistle flowers, waiting for an unsuspecting meal. We saw it eye up an Eristalis tenax (Drone Fly), but it opted out as the fly was quite large.

@collieennis.bsky.social and I went on a special adventure yesterday, including checking on a population of Cave Spiders (Meta menardi). Hunched over, walking down a smelly underground tunnel and trying desperately to avoid badger poo, I eventually got face-to-face with this stunning specimen.

Just look at this beautiful Trochosa species spider, found under a granite rock, lakeside in Valleymount, West Wicklow. These are bigger than your average wolf spider!

irish-harvestmen.eventbrite.ie Don't forget, this is tonight at 7:30pm... tickets (Pay What You Can) are still available for the next few hours.

Not Spiders! Irish Harvestmen for Beginners

Get ready to discover the fascinating world of Irish Harvestmen in a beginner-friendly session full of interesting facts and surprises!

irish-harvestmen.eventbrite.ie

Join me this Monday for a 90-minute online session about one of my favorite topics: Irish Harvestmen. By the end, you'll distinguish between Nemastoma, Oligolophus, Phalangium and more. Tickets are Pay What You Can, and if you need a free ticket, just let me know. irish-harvestmen.eventbrite.ie

This Saturday, I will be in Cork for an invertebrate walk at Fota House and Gardens organised by the Irish Bee Conservation Project. If it flies, walks, crawls, or slithers, I'll find it and tell you about it. I'm really looking forward to this. Some tickets still available at: bit.ly/fotabugs

Discover Insects and Invertebrates – with Brian Murray

Join us for a fun and educational day with Entomologist Brian Murray to explore the fascinating world of insects and invertebrates!

bit.ly

If I sweep the grass in the meadow with a net, it is absolutely overrun with bugs, true bugs, as well as other things. This is, I believe, a Marsh Damsel Bug (Nabis limbatus). Females lay eggs in grass blades.

What's going on here, you 'mite' be asking yourself? (See what I did there?) This female Mitopus morio harvestman is suffering the attention of no less than nine parasitic mites. Each is sucking out her haemolymph for its own benefit.

It's rarely only moths we catch in the moth trap. Just yesterday we had a stonefly (Siphonoperla torrentium), a 10-spot ladybird, a Green Drake Mayfly, a Tipula species Cranefly, dozens of Caddisflies and thousands of midges!

Another beautiful moth taken from the light trap yesterday. This one is called a Barred Straw. These fly regularly at night from June to August, and the larvae feed on the Bedstraw family of wildflowers.