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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

TISSUE! Triphosa dubitata. The first of this season's adults have arrived in underground in Scotland. A moth I still get excited about each and every time I find one 😀 It was hanging out with "a wisdom" of Old Lady. Also very lovely. #HibernatingHeralds #MothsMatter

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

What an impressive insect! Urocerus gigas, Giant Woodwasp, a species I've long wanted to see and it didn't disappoint. Four females ovipositing on a logpile today, Berwickshire.

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

135 Rannoch Brindled Beauty on a fencepost-focused hike in Glen Prosen last weekend with @markcubitt.bsky.social About 100 more than we've recorded in the previous few years! 🧡🤍🖤 #MothsMatter #TeamMoth

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Enjoyed a quick poke around some magnificent old oaks this morning. Was rewarded by a single smart Phosphuga atrata. Hope to be back in search of some woody specialists soon. And moths, obvs. #DalkeithCountryPark

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

No anemones for me today, but I have finally remembered to post for #WildflowerHour! Primrose and Scurvy Grass blooming plentifully on some glorious Berwickshire coastline this afternoon.

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

m.youtube.com/watch?v=4mi2... To mark #IWD25 National Museums Scotland have produced this video of me and @ashwhiffin.bsky.social talking about insects, moths, recording and museums and the legacy of Alice Blanche Balfour (1850-1936). #MothsMatter @savebutterflies.bsky.social

m.youtube.com

Collecting moths: biodiversity in East Lothian

YouTube video by NationalMuseumsScotland

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

2 Oak Beauty in local woods yesterday - at least doubling the number ever recorded in E.Lothian. Also 📷 of Yellow Horned, Twin Spotted Quaker, Clouded Drab & Engrailed. Oak B is exciting by its rarity here, but a fresh Engrailed is hard to beat. #MothsMatter

Oak beauty and yellow horned moth side by side on a branch

Oak Beauty moth perched on my finger with woodland in the background.

Twin spotted quaker and clouded drab moths on the trunk of a birch tree.

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

A morning hanging around some veteran oak and beech in neglected parkland habitat, #EastLothian Lots of broken limbs, burrs, excrescences and decay. Vapourer eggs, Phosphuga atrata, Dicranopalpus ramosus agg. Segestria senoculata - just a few of the things discovered.

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Joanie McNaughton @joaniemcnaughton.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Counting hibernating Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix), 49 of them, in a cave in Roslin Glen. Also Cave Spider (Meta menardi) and her silken pearl-shaped egg sac suspended from an overhang. @scotwildlife.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @britishspiders.bsky.social

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William (Bill) Sutherland @billsutherland.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Review of the butterfly and moth research on actions shows most evidence covers butterfly conservation, focuses on community-level responses, originates from UK and USA, from studies using least robust designs, assesses actions about agriculture. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

link.springer.com

Butterfly and moth conservation: results from a global synopsis of evidence - Journal of Insect Conservation

Butterflies and moths face a range of anthropogenic threats with many of the best-studied populations in decline. In response, butterfly and moth conservation programmes are implementing a diverse set...

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Long overdue outing with @markcubitt.bsky.social checking up on his local #HibernatingHeralds and soaking up some misty winter tree vibes. Highlight = TWO (yes, 2!) Tissue - mega rare moth in Scotland this year. But mainly it was just good to be outside, in the toe-numbing dreichness. #MothsMatter

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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Tomorrow millions of flowers will be shared for #ValentinesDay & by end of month (sorry, party-pooper alert) they'll all be in the bin. If your beloved loves #wildflowers, why not give them the gift of BSBI membership, so they can support our wonderful wildflowers for a whole year! bsbi.org/join-us

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

#HibernatingHerald find of the day! In a Scottish copper mine. This is the first time I've seen a Herald engulfed in a candyfloss like beard of a fungi. Very different to the usual entomopathenogenic fungi we see on moths in caves. Anyone know what it might be? #fungi #mycelia #insect #cave #moth

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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

We're hiring! Could you help create a resilient future for the Botanical Society, working across our teams to support staff and volunteers? Apply to become our first ever Administration Officer: bsbi.org/vacancies/ad... Not applying yourself? Then please help us spread the word! Deadline: 2nd March

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Markus Wagner @wagnermarkus.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

There's a full-time position as Ecologist (with botanical skills) and Field survey co-ordinator advertised here at @ukceh.bsky.social. Full details here: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca...

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The Coleopterists Society @coleopsoc.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

#LiteratureNotice Zoltán et al. Relationships Between Saproxylic Beetle Microhabitat Occurrences and Forest State Indicators doi.org/10.3390/f160... #Beetle #Beetles #Biodiversity

Figure 2. Characteristics and potential species pool of the 10 pre-defined tree-related microhabitat (TreM) types. Abbreviations have been used in the names of the types (e.g., Lacon-type cavity = Lacon querceus-type cavity) so that they can be considered species-specific microhabitats (with the exception of Protaetia and Ampedus spp.).

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

Dancing over duckweed at dusk! #WorldWetlandDay Small China-mark (Cataclysta lemnata) is a moth with aquatic larvae. I saw my first last year, at Bawsinch SWT Edinburgh. We had close-up views in light traps in the morning, but even better was watching them doing their thing at dusk 🤍 #MothsMatter

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Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Really nice to see the Dataset's Dream taking flight again at the @ukceh.bsky.social offices today. There are plans to take it out on location later in the year, and in the meantime find out more at www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/...

Colourful illuminated glass cases visualise a dreaming dataset: "The Dataset's Dream is a curious, sorrow-full, hope-full, data-full installation by artist Bryony Benge-Abbott and poet Thomas Sharp, created in collaboration with scientists at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Poetic narrative and illuminated glass ‘cocoon-caskets' guide us on a journey into the world of big data, exploring the importance of both cataloging the natural world and of touching it with our imaginations. What is lost and what is gained when we turn nature into data?"

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Agree. Mark and Roy's book, The Larger Moths of Scotland highly recommended 👌 🦋🐛 #TeamMoth

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Graeme Davis @gremlingraeme.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

A very interesting Moth recorders conference today. light pollution big topic Give DarkSky (sustainable lighting) we need a DarkSky policy in the Stroud District? @minchchloe.bsky.social @cllrgillthomas.bsky.social @simonforstroud.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @darkskyintl.bsky.social

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

For #BlueBugs Monday it has to be the lovely Clifden Nonpareil. I'm lucky this big, furry, flappy moth has taken up residence in nearby woods. Those wings! Memories of sharing these blue (&grey &black) beauties with good friends brings a smile to my face. 100% joy! 😊 💙 🦋 #MothsMatter #MothMonday

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Kevin Watts @watts-km.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Final wrap-up webinar for the UK_Treescapes project 'TreE PlaNat': Creating woodland through natural processes 🌳🌳 Monday 20th January 2025 at 12.30-2pm. Click events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b36709... to sign up. Further info, blogs, webinars, factsheets @ www.naturalcolonisation.co.uk

events.teams.microsoft.com

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

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Fiona Mathews @fionamathews.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Calling researchers of tree-dwelling European mammals (bats, dormice, squirrels..). Let's collaborate! Planning a workshop at Eur Mammal Congress on forest management, #wildfires and interventions (veteranisation, boxes etc) for future paper and actions. www.ecm9.com Pls share. 🌍🌳🦇🐿🐭 #conservation

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Looking forward to sharing some mothy adventures in a talk to Yorkshire BC branch later this month. Expect HH, plus lots of photos to remind us of warmer times of year! Free, online & all welcome. Check out the other upcoming talks too 🦋 #MothsMatter #TeamMoth www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meetings-w...

eventbrite.co.uk

"Meetings with Moths: adventures of a moth recorder in Scotland"

Join Katty Baird on a whistle-stop moth tour of Scotland. From moorland fence posts to sandy coasts.

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Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Many thanks to @neilmoths.bsky.social for compiling an excellent ID guide to nocturnal ichneumon #wasps and making it available via the Buckinghamshire Invertebrate Group website sites.google.com/site/bucksin... #MothTrapIntruders

Screenshot of the Bucks Invertebrate Group website: BIG news
NEW: Nocturnal Ichneumons – An Introduction
This guide by Neil Fletcher provides an excellent introduction to the range of ichneumon wasps that are frequently seen in moth traps.

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

New spider book!🕷 @rlewington2.bsky.social has produced this beautiful guide to some of our UK species. A while ago I provided 'models' of cave-dwelling sps. V. happy to get a copy of the finished book as thanks😊 Buy it. And make 2025 the year you get into spiders! @britishspiders.bsky.social

Front cover of a new book on British spiders by Richard Lewington. It has an illustration of a Wasp Spider. Published by Bloomsbury.

Meta menardi in a cave. A glossy dark brown spider. It is resting on white spherical egg sac hanging from the ceiling.

Metallina merianae, in a culvert. This is the more unusual var. celata, with a broad cream stripe down the dark brown abdomen.

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Herald, Scoliopteryx libatrix, overwintering in a Scottish cave. A widespread moth that can be discovered throughout the winter, whatever the weather. All you need is a torch 🔦and a dark place. #HibernatingHeralds #MothsMatter #MothMonday

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

I've been researching the work of Alice Balfour (1850-1936) but there are other women with impressive lepidopteran legacies at National Museums Scotland. Dorothy Jackson (1892-1973) began her ento career young & on moths. She left AMAZING records & paintings! A research idea for '25?🤞#MothsMatter

Painting of Emperor Moths and their caterpillars on heather, by Dorothy Jackson when she was around 16 yrs old

Painting of Lead Belle moths, caterpillars and pupae with their foodplant Petty Whin. By Dorothy Jean Jackson in early 1900s.

Paintings of the eggs of various moths. Coloured in red, yellow, green, black on a plain white paper background. By Dorothy Jean Jackson.

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

I'd recommend this read! I wasn't sure if I'd like it - not my 'usual' fare - but it was really good and the characters have stayed with me more than a year (or 2) on. =Impressive for my ageing brain!!

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Ento collections are a really useful resource for current research & conservation AND give a glimpse into insects (&entomologists) of the past. Endlessly fascinating! Here is some of what FR has been up to recently, curating all their specimens 👇 👏

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Some of today's fun in highland Perthshire: ❄ Hair ice (I found some at last!) 🏔 lots of searching rock crevices... 🦋 ...eventually a single Herald in a small tunnel. 📚 Meetings with Moths on sale

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Les Evans-Hill @lesevanshill.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

After 18 years of dedicated service, I'm retiring from my role as Butterfly Conservation's Senior Data Officer at the end of 2024. It's been a privilege working alongside passionate, dedicated people and being entrusted to build and manage the National Moth Recording Scheme database. >>> #TeamMoth

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Trawling photos for an upcoming talk, I 'rediscovered' this Herald from Feb 2023. During 8 years of the #HibernatingHerald survey I have seen (& counted) 12,000+ Heralds. This the only one patterned differently. (See photo of 'normal' moth to compare) #MothMonday #MothsMatter #TeamMoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

All welcome at Butterfly Conservation’s free online UK Moth Recorders' Meeting (Saturday 25 January 2025 on Zoom). Reserve your place now bit.ly/3Z2MOzc There’s a fab line-up of speakers: bit.ly/3Z2MxfE #TeamMoth please repost to spread the word!

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Ash Whiffin @ashwhiffin.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Sometimes an insect specimen will have me thinking: HOW ARE YOU EVEN REAL?! Today, that was the Oleander Hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) #Museums #Invertebrates 🧪

Specimen of an Oleander Hawk-moth careful on held in my hand, by the pin, showing its hypnotic dark green and brown wing pattern.

Selfie taken with an Oleander Hawk-moth specimen carefully held in my hand, by the pin, its hypnotic wing pattern facing the camera.

Another view of some Oleander Hawk-moth specimens.

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

For #InsectWeek24 I was part of a panel event at National Museums Scotland, celebrating women in entomology. Bringing together science, history & art; moths & moth recording, past & present - recording available here!👇 youtu.be/xgpV3Sn0uNI?... @savebutterflies.bsky.social @ashwhiffin.bsky.social

youtu.be

Women in Entomology Panel | Insect Week

YouTube video by Butterfly Conservation

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British Nature Guide @britishnatureguide.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Look out for this moth, the Herald, overwintering in your garage, shed or outbuildings. They will find a dark dry spot to hide. Can be seen almost all year round in the UK. #moths

The Herald, scientific name Scoliopteryx libatrix. Has a very ornately patterned rear wing edge

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

The #HibernatingHerald season continues, collecting annual counts from sites across SE Scotland. Today a lengthy lunch break to treat a lucky friend to a spot of culvert crawling. 19 Heralds counted and then coffee and chat in the sunshine. Perfect. #MothsMatter

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Beautiful moth; fantastic museum resource; brilliant entomologists - hopefully Kentish Glory populations can be helped to recover 🦋

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Joanie McNaughton @joaniemcnaughton.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Rare in Scotland, Mistletoe (Viscum album) grows very near where I stay in Edinburgh, but also in a cemetery in the city, growing here on Lime (Tilia). Recorded on iRecord at #CemeteryWildlifeWatch activity. @persmiseth.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social @naturelark.bsky.social

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

An after-dark woodland stroll with a torch is worth it at any time of year. 🔦 Last night on some #EastLothian Sycamores: 🤍mating Winter Moths 🐞hibernating Orange Ladybirds 🕷hunting Drapetisca socialis. Plus harvestmen, woodlice, earwig, slugs, snails, flies, owl... Try it!

Winter Moth mating on a tree trunk.in the dark. The grey female has no wings and is facing upwards. The male has his pale brown wings held closed like a triangle sail above his body. He is facing downwards. The tips of their abdomens are joined.

3 orange ladybirds with white spots huddled in a small group on a textured trunk.

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Fay Newbery @fayrnhawk.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Enter the British Lichen Society's photo competition! The categories this year are: 'Close encounters' and 'Lichenscapes'. Two free entries per person. Full details: britishlichensociety.org.uk/the-society/...

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Thank you @ashwhiffin.bsky.social 💚 & love this photo of me and @markcubitt.bsky.social doing some moth nerding together 🤓 Happy days!

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Alex Morss 🦇🏴‍☠️ @alexmorss.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Get paid to count butterflies & moths! Is there a better job?! A 12-month traineeship in Argyll & the Inner Hebrides - as part of Scotland’s Species on the Edge conservation project. butterflyconservation.livevacancies.co.uk#/job/details... #BiologicalRecording #ButterflyConservation #TeamMoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

📢 NEW PhD opportunity: Peatlands, plants, and pollinators. This exciting project will use population genetics & landscape info to inform conservation management strategies for the endangered Large Heath butterfly across Scotland's peatlands. 👇🏼 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

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Katty Baird @kattyponder.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Let's make my first post here a #HibernatingHerald post! A few Heralds from recent culvert crawlings, as I do my annual counts. I've now spent the past 8 winters sloshing through tunnels and crouching in caves in search of moths... not bored yet! #MothsMatter #TeamMoth #MeetingsWithMoths

A brown and orange Herald moth clinging to a spherical white egg sac of a cave spider hanging from the ceiling of a dark tunnel.

Two herald moths side by side, lit by torchlight, on the rocky ceiling of a small tunnel.

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