Great to catch up with Emile, Justin & Julia from the Moth Virome Project in Kent last week. Moth trapping with them turned up some nice woodland species, incl Light & Dark Crimson Underwing, Double Kidney & Psoricoptera gibbosella (Tufted Oak Roller) benlongdon.com/uk-moth-viro... #teammoth

No idea why they do it, but Argyresthia moths rest with their heads down. Here’s Argyresthia bonnetella (Hawthorn Tip Moth) which I found when out looking for leaf mines yesterday. #teammoth

This beautiful Small Tortoiseshell was the highlight of my #BigButterflyCount in the garden today. Still a week left to get involved and help @savebutterflies.bsky.social track how our widespread butterflies are faring www.bigbutterflycount.org

Two new Coleophora for me at Dungeness NNR on Tuesday: the rare C. galbulipennella (Catchfly Case-bearer) on Nottingham Catchfly and C. pennella (Bugloss Case-bearer) fixed on posts in the shadow of a nuclear power station #teammoth

Come on Devon!!

Butterfly Conservation@savebutterflies.bsky.social · 5d ago

As we come to the end of week two, it's time to dust off the #BigButterflyCount County Leaderboard 🏆 Greater London is currently smashing it out of the park with an impressive 4,644 counts submitted so far, but Devon is hot on their heels! Is your county on the board?

Suffolk Branch is run entirely by volunteers. If we do not have enough volunteers to fulfil various roles then the Branch will cease to exist after 35 years. We now have vacancies in two key roles Branch Chair & Transect Co-ordinator Please see suffolkbutterflies.org.uk for details

The micros didn’t disappoint at Folkestone Warren, Kent on Tuesday night: Ethmia bipunctella (Bugloss Ermine) was the star (a lifer for me), Blastobasis rebeli (Black-banded Masoner) also a lifer, & Oncocera semirubella (Rosy Knot-horn) #teammoth

Mothing at Folkestone Warren last night was like trapping in a different country - so many species that I never see in Devon: commonest macro was Rest Harrow 🤯 #teammoth

Three macro-moth lifers today during an afternoon at Dungeness: Rest Harrow, Pigmy Footman & Toadflax Brocade #teammoth

Stopped off at Darland Banks, Kent this afternoon and saw my first ever Straw Belle - a rare species of chalk downs in SE England. #teammoth

The Big Butterfly Count 2026 is here and butterflies need our help! 🦋 From now until 9 August, spend just 15 minutes outside counting the butterflies you see and help us take nature's pulse. The best part? Anyone, anywhere can take part. Count yourself in 👉 https://butrfli.es/3SVFepj

Mines of Bedellia somnulentella (Bindweed Sleeper) on Hedge Bindweed in my garden this week. #teammoth

What 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

Causal Analysis Reveals That Public Access to Land Can Shape Our View of Species' Geographic Distributions

Aim Citizen science data are widely used to study species' distributions. Using butterfly observations from South-West England, we sought to better understand what shapes the spatial footprint of re...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

A couple of lovely Jersey Tigers on my #BigButterflyCount this morning in the garden. 16 Gatekeepers was a new record and two constantly fighting Speckled Woods made it a lively 15 mins. Have your own butterfly adventure at www.bigbutterflycount.org @savebutterflies.bsky.social

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

#BigButterflyCount is here! Between now and the 9th August: - spend 15 mins in a sunny spot - count the butterflies you see - submit your sightings Find out more at bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org Happy counting folks! 🦋🦋🦋

Recurvaria leucatella (White-barred Apple Moth) in the garden moth trap - an uncommon species in Devon with no records in the last two years. #teammoth

📣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...

🦋 The International Symposium Ecology and Conservation of Butterflies and Moths (ECBM 2027) is officially open! 🌍 Join the international butterfly and moth conservation community 📅 6–10 April 2027 📍 Girona, Spain

Mompha langiella (White-spot Mompha) was a lifer for me recently when this adult emerged from an occupied mine I’d found locally on Great Willowherb. #teammoth

This rather worn Large Twin-spot Carpet was a notable species for me trapping in the Midlands last week. Assuming I’ve got the ID correct, it is my 1400th UK moth species. #teammoth

Tonight I am mostly doing an experiment (but also listening to the England match) #teammoth

Ordered some of the fabulous new moth stamps with @rlewington2.bsky.social amazing artwork. Our Christmas cards are going to have a lovely mothy vibe this year! #teammoth

Agonopterix liturosa (Purple-shaded Brown) emerged from a larva found with @gmtord.bsky.social in Gloucestershire in May. First time I’ve ever seen this moth - what a stunner! #teammoth

An excellent Friday night trapping session on Dartmoor (VC3) with @richardfoxbc.bsky.social. Over 140 species with some cracking local species and always great to catch a shark! #teammoth

Any thoughts welcome please on this Depressaria from a flower-rich Dartmoor meadow - all photos of the same moth in different lights #teammoth

Migrant Hawker (I think - corrections welcome!) in the garden moth trap this morning. Only the second time ever that I’ve had a large dragonfly in the trap. #teammoth

Agonopterix nanatella (Carline Buff) emerged from a larvae found on Carline Thistle in Glos with @gmtord.bsky.social in May. #teammoth

A 2019 paper that is often used as evidence of the flawed 'windscreen phenomenon' has been retracted. I cited this paper a few years ago in explainers about why this particular anecdote cannot be used as evidence of insect decline. See thread below 👇 retractionwatch.com/2026/06/23/a...

A prolific evolutionary biologist caught faking data decades ago notches a new retraction

A study claiming a tenfold decrease in bugs splattered on evolutionary biologist Anders Møller’s windshield over two decades has been retracted. shanecotee / iStock Anders Møller, an influential ev…

retractionwatch.com

The core survey season of the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey starts tomorrow. Recorders will be visiting their 1km squares in July and August to survey butterflies. This survey provides valuable info on how butterflies are doing across the UK. Get involved ukbms.org/wider-countr...