iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Has the Jerry Hall problem become a new variant of the Monty Hall problem? @fryrsquared.bsky.social

John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I like to have a good look to see what's on ivy at this time of year. Here's a recent arrival to the UK that I found (again) on Saturday.

Paragus quadrifasciatus: A small mostly black hoverfly with some yellow markings

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Two countries separated by a common language.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Some strictly non-edible #fruits for #WildflowerHour . These were in the Brent River Park in West London.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Many years ago, my late mum said to me that a lot of old sheep farmers seemed to have a bit of a tremor, and reckoned that the compulsory sheep dipping (1976 - 1992) might have had something to do with it. None of them wore protective clothing.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This is quite nice for all things European Eristalis (just discovered it today). Matt mentions that "the wing is often suffused with a blackish cloud in the centre". www.inaturalist.org/projects/syr...

inaturalist.org

Identifying European Eristalis

Eristalis is one of the big beasts of hoverflies on iNat - *Nearly 20% of all European hoverfly observations are Eristalis!* I have a personal interest in this group, because when I joined iNat I saw ...

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

We took the catamaran over to France last summer, and it was a lovely way to travel. It was a calm day though, so the engines were turned on briefly in order not to be too far behind schedule.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Paragus quadrifasciatus (a "grass skimmer" hoverfly) is a recent arrival to the UK - after apparently travelling here by Eurostar. They now seem to be spreading further, as I saw this female at Warren Farm in West London today. #hoverflies #diptera

A tiny black with yellow stripes hoverfly on a blade of dry grass.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Potato and tomato plants are also pretty poisonous.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Hoverflies on a patch of Wild Angelica in Long Wood, West London, UK (15/08/26). Volucella pellucens Riponnensia splendens Cheilosia ruffipes Syritta pipiens Eristalis pertinax

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Will you be on this? bsky.app/profile/hele...

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I think you might have a Brown Argus there.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I think this one might be the commoner X. pedissequum.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

There are normally loads of V. inanis and V. zonaria around in West London, but I've only seen one inanis and not a single zonaria this hot dry summer. On my wanders today, most of the hovers I saw were on a small patch of Wild Angelica, with very few elsewhere.

Hoverflies on Wild Angelica in Long Wood (West London):
Volucella pellucens, Riponnensia splendens, Cheilosia ruffipes, Syritta pipiens and Eristalis pertinax.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I saw this among some Facebook replies and couldn't resist making a screen-shot.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

1066 is when the current British establishment gained control of England - which reform are reinforcing.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

This is what the flag-wavers should be flying.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

There seem to have been a lot of migratory butterflies (Painted Lady, Clouded Yellow) and moths (Hummingbird Hawk, Ni, and others) to the UK this year. On the other hand, there are fewer migratory hoverflies (Marmalade Hoverfly) making it here this year.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Eristalis intricaria hoverfly, I think. She's a female, so her eyes don't meet, whereas they touch in males. Eristalis have a characteristic loopy bit in one of their wing veins, which can be seen here. There are also different colour forms of this species. uk.inaturalist.org/observations...

uk.inaturalist.org

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

All part of the bee family. Cuckoo bumblebees behave similarly, but are still bumblebees.

A cuckoo bumblebee (not sure of exact species)

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Nomad bees are not the usual vegetarian pollinator types. They lay their eggs on other bee nests, where they eat the food stores and eggs. Cuckoo bumblebees do something similar.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Yes, certain bees do love it. If the ecology is healthy, then HB doesn't get a foot hold. The people of CURB have been planting natives in the areas where HB was dominating, which should be great for a wider range of pollinators.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

They are all bees. The wasp-like ones are probably the nomad bees. I did do a slightly spoof post for bee day where all the fuzzy "bees" were actually flies (some of them quite rare). uk.inaturalist.org/observations...

uk.inaturalist.org

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

The alt text in the final image should say "bedstraw" instead of "mantle".

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Finally, some more #WetlandPlants growing in a tributary of the North Petteril (Greystoke, Cumbria), which is flowing much better (and cleaner) than the main branch of the river. #WildFlowerHour

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

A stretch of the bridleway over Greystoke Moor is gorgeous. I hope the recently planted forestry spruces next to it will not shade it out too much. #WildFlowerHour

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

A couple of plants on the roadside between Berrier and Greystoke in Cumbria. #WildFlowerHour

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Slightly late, but here are some #WetlandPlants from he wetter parts of Eyecott Hill, which is run by @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social #WildFlowerHour

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I'll opt for 917 when the Treaty of Eamont Bridge was signed, and Cumberland was part of Strathclyde. Now much of Cumberland falls under the control of Westmorland council, and the St Andrews church in my old village in Cumberland has started flying the St George flag.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I'd only want "Don't Worry, Be Happy" played at my funeral if I'd died on the overnight ferry between Harwich and Hoek van Holland. Those who have taken it would understand.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I only completed this list a few days ago with his one in Cumbria.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Not a good year for them apparently.

Text from Roger Morris on the UK Hoverflies Facebook page about Marmalade Hoverflies being scarcer in hot years.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

This female hoverfly might, or might not, be Parasyrphus annulatus, which is not often recorded. I snapped this one a few days ago in a front garden in Cumbria (with a conifer plantation across the road). #hoverflies #diptera

Top down view of a black and yellow stripey hoverfly.

Top down(ish) view of the hoverfly, showing how the stripes meet the edges of the tergites, as well as a bit of the forehead

A view that shows hind legs with black rings on the hind femurs, and all yellow front and middle legs

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Ecologists that can find nothing are probably in much demand from developers.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Agreed. This looks a bit less Essex.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Looks like Essex Skippers might have made it to Keswick too. I think the underside of the antennae tips are black enough.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I'm currently in Greystoke, where I grew up. Saw a few Small Skippers today, while waiting for a bus at the A66 Mungrisedale road end. I'd never noticed them in the area before.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

It seems to be a good year for migrant butterflies in the UK. Many Clouded Yellows have been seen in West London over the last few days.

Clouded Yellow butterfly (Trumper's Field, Hanwell, London 18/07/26).

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Somebody needs to cap the price of boulangerie products. It would be a vote-winner.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

And those food crops are better for us and normally need pollinator services.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Milling wheat needs to have a certain amount of protein, which requires greater nitrogen inputs. This means the profit margin is higher for animal feed wheat, so varieties for feed are sown instead of those for human consumption.

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John Ashburner @johnashburner.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

The allotments have another open day today, but I could only visit for half an hour. In that time, I found another Brassy Longhorn.

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