Rory Dimond
@rdimond.bsky.social
Environmental charity worker, wildlife gardener, author and volunteer. Avid entomology enthusiast. Mostly speaks about the smaller thigs (bees, wasps, flies, spiders etc.) on my local patch. He/Him.
Here's the full story of what we believe to be the start of the colonisation of yet another new orthopteran to the British Isles.
Team cricket - how we found a cricket new to the British Isles
This following italicised sections were written by Matt Phelps, who first heard this unusual cricket... I strolled over to Sussex Wildlif...
analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com
The Sea Snout cranefly Geranomyia unicolor does high speed push-ups when it feels threatened in an attempt to make itself almost invisible to potential predators such as the local Rock Pipits. East Prawle, Devon
Fantastic to have another glowing review of the Flyble from such a big name in ecology and conservation. Thank you @markavery.bsky.social ! Yes I wish I'd had our book for my lockdown 'backyard bioblitz' too!
Mark Avery@markavery.bsky.social · last mo.Sunday book review: A Photographic Guide to Flies of Britain and Ireland by Falk, @gailashton.bsky.social @rdimond.bsky.social & Creed Review: markavery.info/2026/07/05/s... Publisher: @naturebureau.bsky.social "1500 pin-sharp images of 1300 UK species" "An amazing celebration of insect diversity"
Struggling to sleep in this heat but I've spotted one of my home's nocturnal residents - a Spitting Spider (Scytodes thoracica). Have seen at least 3 in the house this weekend.
"Whose Larva Is This?" A quick guide to figure out what you're looking at when you find something that resembles a worm or a Zerg unit crawling around. #insect #bug #education #SciArt
Is it just me who's really enjoying the British weather lately? I like proper heavy rain to give everything a good soak and make everything glisten, with sunny spells to warm up and draw the insects back out. Maybe I am secretly an amphibian..
Anime Frogs in Rainy Pond
ALT: Anime Frogs in Rainy Pond
static.klipy.com
All right cockers? I got home for Cockchafer o'clock tonight! Great to see these big, bumbling beetles around. Likely emerging from the neighbour's lawns. You can see where they've been munching the young ash leaves too.
Rather enamored with the big Banded Damoiselle nymphs that kids caught on our river dips in the Stort today for #HertsRiversWeek Also gratifying to find shedloads of Blue-winged olive mayfly nymphs and several caddis and Bullheads, showing that the water here is still of decent quality.
My sincerest thanks and condolences to all the staff and volunteers who cleared up Britain's greenspaces today after the heatwave bank holiday madness! Fighting the real, physical, shameless blight on the country. This pic was far from the worst - at least the culprits bothered to find a bin.
The Green Forest Fly Caliprobola sp;eciosa, a large & rare hoverfly - one of the gems of the New Forest where it can be seen around the base of old trees & stumps. Get into the world of flies with our 'flyble' bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
“Calm down, Edna. … Yes, it’s some giant, hideous insect … but it could be some giant, hideous insect in need of help.”
Messing about by the river today helping to build up a brash berm in the Stort with the Friends of Castle Park. These features create a more dynamic flow, reduce soil erosion, vegetate into bankside habitat and offer refuge for fish and aquatic invertebrates. All with entirely natural materials.
Recently gave a talk to BTO Youth on starting out with identifying insects in Britain and Ireland. Pleased to see how keen young ornithologists are to engage with the world of insects! I'd be happy to give this again if any natural history groups are interested- it was a lot to put together!
Lovely to find my first nest of the shell-nesting Red-tailed Mason Bee (Osmia bicolor) on a Herts Invertebrate Project outing to Sheethanger Common yesterday. One of a few nice finds on this former golf course near Hemel Hempstead, now owned and managed for nature by the Boxmoor Trust.
EDIT: Mottled Shieldbug. A first for me! Thanks @sjbknott.bsky.social for the ID.
Rory Dimond@rdimond.bsky.social · 3mo agoDecided to take a trip to some North London gardens on my day off. Wasn't expecting many insects in the overcast conditions, so the specialist Large Scissor Bee (Chelostoma florisomne) at Myddelton House and my 1st adult Bronze Shieldbug at Culpeper Community Gardens were nice surprises!
Decided to take a trip to some North London gardens on my day off. Wasn't expecting many insects in the overcast conditions, so the specialist Large Scissor Bee (Chelostoma florisomne) at Myddelton House and my 1st adult Bronze Shieldbug at Culpeper Community Gardens were nice surprises!
#WildBees and #pollinators need our help. You can help some of them with bee hotels. They also need food, pollen and nectar. So use less #lawnmower, and let #wildflowers bloom in your yard and garden! #bees #bumblebees #wasps #wildlife #backyard #beehotels
Happy #WorldRobberflyDay Everyone! Hers the video I made about my obsession with the Hornet Robberfly! (I was going to post it today but ended up posting it when I finished editing instead as I wanted to share!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gHN...
The Hornet Robberfly - an insect worth obsessing over
YouTube video by UK Wildlife
youtube.com
The Hornet Robberfly (Asilus crabroniformis) Its World Robberfly day in Fly Week today So to celebrate my fav Robberfly had to be the pic. An amazingly large Robberfly, one of the largest flies in the UK #worldrobberflyday #flyweek #robberfly #asilidae
Is this the world's worst photo of a Wasp-banded Combhorn Cranefly (Ctenophora flaveolata)? Quite possibly. Am I dead chuffed to have spotted it way up in a standing dead oak? Absolutely! My first encounter with this striking, scarce species on our Herts Invertebrate Project outing to Hudnall Park.
I am absolutely made up about this 'Flyble' review in British Wildlife by none other than Brett Westwood! A publication and a naturalist I've had a huge amount of respect for since my uni days. It's really gratifying to see the reception of this book after so much hard work.
NatureBureau@naturebureau.bsky.social · 3mo agoCheck out the review in British Wildlife here bit.ly/4tlMckS for our recently published #BestFlyBook A Photographic Guide to Flies of Britain & Ireland @rdimond.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @worcswt.bsky.social
Drifts of Ramsons in woodland is unmistakable but look closer & you might spot a male Ramsons Hoverfly Portevinia maculata (top right) basking on a leaf the female (bottom) is often hidden amongst the plants where she lays her eggs @worcswt.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social bit.ly/4dqOI8Z
A mindful birding moment with the parents yesterday. There's always time to stop and watch a Little Egret on the river (and to appreciate Mum's homemade jumper!).
#WhatsTheUseOfFlies? No.3 - #pollination! You like flowers? You like eating food? Then you need #flies! Bees are OK, but a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to pollination is actually done by flies. Look at this #hoverfly with its face covered. #diptera #flies #insects
Thrilled to find a gathering of these Mammoth Wasps (Megascolia maculata) in Spain, busily nectaring with males pursuing the massive females. Their bold colours, violet wings and jack o'lantern faces look fantastic! They're Europe's largest wasps, with larvae parasitising chafer grubs.
An impressive African Giant Mantis (Sphodromantis viridis) near Almeria, Spain. Identifiable by her whitevwing spots. Non-native to Europe but still exciting to see. She'd found a very productive ambush perch amongst Giant Fennel flowers.
Staying with a good friend in Almeria and of course enjoying the local insect life. Spanish Festoon and the shell-nesting bee Rhodanthidium sticticum have been highlights.
