iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Andy Pym

Portland Bird Observatory @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Very happy with this: just minutes after being gripped off by news of @paulupwey.bsky.social's Maize Wainscot we find there's one in our moth-traps as well!

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ignore a gardener loading his van!

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Female Nigma walckenaeri spinning her specialised silk on an Ivy leaf near the doctors this morning. I'd never seen this before. I also found another female with a web & a male walking across a leaf. @britishspiders.bsky.social

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Does this look ok for Anyphaena numida? Would be new for me. Off Ivy in the lane behind the house in Filton, South Glos. @britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social @chalkspring.bsky.social

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Reposted by Andy Pym

James Lowen Wildlife @jameslowenwild.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Always stay alert… Walking past some ivy on a southeast London street. My subconscious discerns a micromoth fizzing. Turns out to be Clepsis dumicolana. Turns out there are a dozen. Relatively recent, ivy-feeding colonist. And new for me.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

'Intruders' list is up to 133 spp for the year now

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Another Scarce Silver-lines was the best moth from the trap y'day. 'Intruders' were better, with 2 new additions. After finding Tremulicerus vitreus in my neighbour's garden recently, it was nice to find one on the rain shield of the trap & Spotted-w Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) was in the trap.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

'Pretty in Pink'. This beautifully marked Vestal was 1 of 5 to my 20w actinic moth trap last night. A record count for the garden, and I've never seen one as pink as this before. #teammoth #mothsmatter

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Reposted by Andy Pym

Marburymoths @marburybirds.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Didn’t see much of the Ravens this morning so thought I see if they were around now, after 1/2 hr’s wait Chips came in with a call & a somersault followed by Gravy. See how Chips is almost falling asleep while Gravy is grooming him! MhNotice how they hear the distant shooting 😞

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This Scarce Silver-lines was a nice surprise last night. Stunning moth! Other than that, it was a bit disappointing. I did have 4 Oedemera femoralis on the walls of the house. I've definitely not seen that many together before, anywhere. #teammoth #mothsmatter

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Tremulicerus vitreus off Japanese Red Cedar in my neighbour's garden this a'noon. New for me. @britishbugs.bsky.social

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Reposted by Andy Pym

Lisa Williams @lisawilliams30.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

What a fly!! Cynomya mortuorum, only my 2nd ever and a 1st for #RSPBMiddletonLakes, 12/09/26 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Calliphoridae #Diptera

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Reposted by Andy Pym

Lin Hawthorne @haggewoods.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Should you wish to indulge your love of beetles (and why wouldn’t you) this brilliant and scholarly website will certainly help. It’s a work of art by a human. www.rosspiper.net/2020/01/10/s...

rosspiper.net

Saproxylic beetles - Dr. Ross Piper

This is an intro and visual guide to the extraordinary diversity of beetle species associated with dead and decaying wood in the UK. Numbering some 650 species, this habitat supports the greatest dive...

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Reposted by Andy Pym

James Emerson @norwichbirder.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

If you have Snapdragons in the garden or nearby, it is worth checking them for the attractively-marked bug Dicyphus escalerae. There are few Norfolk records, but I found it in my garden a few years ago and in my in-laws garden this week, so presumably it is being overlooked elsewhere.

A long, thin plant bug with various black speckling and markings. It is on the edge of a red pot top.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Heath Potter Wasps collecting clay for making their exquisite pots. Amazing! A superb day with Rog Musgrove & @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

What a superb day! A trip to south Devon with my mate Rog Musgrove to look for Heath Potter Wasp, and it was great to meet up with @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social in the a'noon. Thanks again, John, for the info and your expertise with these amazing insects!

Heath Potter Wasp (Eumenes coarctatus) taking off with clay collected for making it's pot.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This one was in the kitchen just after 5 this morning.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I think it's safe to assume that this year has been my best year ever for Spitting Spider Scytodes thoracica, incl. seeing 2 at the same time and my first juv. I've still only seen them in 2 locations - here & once in Bristol Museum when I worked there in the late 80s. @britishspiders.bsky.social

Spitting Spider Scytodes thoracica on a wall in the kitchen this morning.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Thank you. One day, hopefully.

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Reposted by Andy Pym

Esmond Brown @chalkspring.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

@britishspiders.bsky.social @tylanberry.bsky.social @cofnod.org.uk A quick stop-off in Wales, to find a spider that I've yet to see in England. It always surprises me just how well such a big spider can 'hide in plain sight' on bare stone Arctosa cinerea is always a sight to behold

A large spider camouflaged amongst stones revealed by reduced water levels on the river

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

One I've always wanted to see.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Acanthiophilus helianthi to the moth trap last night was a nice addition to the 'intruders' list. @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Freshly moulted Pyrochroa coccinea (Black-headed Cardinal Beetle) larva I found under bark on a log pile in Lord's Wood at the Bristol & District Moth Group field meeting last night.

Freshly moulted Pyrochroa coccinea (Black-headed Cardinal Beetle) larva found under bark.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Opilio saxatilis that I found fairly low down on the back wall of the house after I'd gone through the moth trap this morning. In fact, it's still there now.

Opilio saxatilis low down on the back wall of the house.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Playing catch-up. This Alloeotomus germanicus was a nice surprise in the moth trap on 3rd August. A great addition to the 'intruders' list. Thanks to @raybarnett.bsky.social for confirming as well. It was the same night I had the Mosaic Leafhopper Orientus ishidae. @britishbugs.bsky.social

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Reposted by Andy Pym

Graeme Lyons @graemelyons.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

This was an absolutely insanely good day, well done @hwitts.bsky.social on another epic find!

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Reposted by Andy Pym

Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

There have been convincing records in 2026 of Buff-tailed Villa (V. hottentotta) in Kent and Essex. Please check carefully if you find something that looks like Dune Villa (V. modesta) but in locations away from the dune habitats.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Asilus crabroniformis (Hornet Robberfly) a long overdue lifer for me y'day at a site just up the road in South Glos. We saw two. Photo of this splendid beast taken by my friend & neighbour Darrin McQuaid. @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

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Reposted by Andy Pym

John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Great to catch up with my favourite insect the Heath Potter Wasp Eumenes coarctatus in S Devon today. Looks like plenty of females are busy building pots as up to 6 wasps at the quarry - probably about 20 using it currently. Tracked one to its nesting site & returned later to see the finished pot.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I found this tiny juvenile Spitting Spider (Scytodes thoracica) on the kitchen ceiling this morning. I've never seen a juv before. I'm so glad my eyes still work! @britishspiders.bsky.social

Spitting Spider (Scytodes thoracica) - juvenile.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Just when I thought it wasn't hungry! Hopefully, on it's way to the Nicotiana.

Convolvulus Hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli)

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Last min decision to put my trap out has paid off already! #teammoth #mothsmatter

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Reposted by Andy Pym

Vanna Bartlett @vannabartlett.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Found this critter under bark of a dead branch on a willow tree at Watermill Broad, Cranwich, Norfolk yesterday. I think it may well be the larva of a snakefly. @applewildlife.bsky.social

A long thin creature with a multi-segmented body and three pairs of legs. The head and first segment are oblong and shiny black and it has a pair of short, thin antennae. The brown body segments (numbering around 12) are rather square except the first two which are longer and narrower. The creature is on a piece of brown bare wood, head uppermost. The paired legs are attached to the first three segments after the head.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I normally notice things like that myself, but I hadn't with this one.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Clifden Nonpareil from the trap this morning. My 3rd in the garden. I gotta be honest, I jumped a little when I turned over the egg tray. Two Catocala spp, as there was a Red Underwing on my neighbour's back wall as well. #teammoth #mothsmatter

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

This Horse Chestnut was also from last night.

Horse Chestnut (Pachycnemia hippocastanaria)

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Maple Prominent from my portable actinic trap that I put in my friend's garden on Exmoor last night. I was long overdue seeing the adult moth. I found a larva while looking for leaf miners with my old friend John Robbins, but that was 22+ yrs ago.

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Andy Pym @exmoormothman.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I wasn't expecting this Mosaic Leafhopper (Orientus ishidae) in the moth trap on Mon night. It's new to the Bristol region as far as I know. The 'intruders' list for the year now stands at 123 spp. @britishbugs.bsky.social

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