iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I've been trying to grow Weld in my garden this year. First slugs devoured them, then some Geometrid larvae, and now Small White larvae are shredding them. Although the sources I've looked at so far don't mention Weld, it is related to Mignonette which is a known food plant.

A photo of a rosette of Weld, with long green shiny leaves. A number of green larvae can be seen eating the leaves.

A close-up of a two larva eating a Weld leaf. The larvae are plain green with yellow spots in pairs along the side and a pale yellow dorsal stripe. Also present are two eggs - one is empty and translucent, the other is orange and yet to hatch.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

The wonderful turbinate eyes of a male Cloeon dipterum that landing in my beating tray today.

Close-up view of head of the mayfly, Cloeon dipterum. This is a male - as well as having normal compound eyes on the side of the head it also has two giant bucket-shaped compound eyes on top of its head pointing upwards.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

@savebutterflies.bsky.social Erm? In the Big Butterfly Count launch email. This is giving me a crisis of confidence!

A white butterfly with a questionable identification!

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

A Painted Lady larva feeding on Spear Thistle, approaching maturity. My next challenge is to find a pupa in the wild...

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

East Anglia flooded with Holy Water according to Sky News' map news.sky.com/story/hosepi...

Map showing East Anglia as the "area covered by Anglican Water".

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

My first Wasp Spider of the year, at the @wildlifebcn.org Sharnbrook Summit nature reserve.

A large spider with abdomen coloured in bands of black, white and yellow, sitting in its web feeding on some prey that it caught which is wrapped up in silk.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

This is what happens when you order one dessert and five straws.

Five Water Measurers (Hydrometra stagnorum) gathered around what appears to be an insect's head. There is a tangle of legs and rostra as each tries to suck juices from the head.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Goals 2, 3, 4 and 5 were each scored while I popped into my kitchen for a drink or a snack. We are 3-2 ahead now and I'm not leaving the sofa again!!!

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Just come home from volunteering at Flitwick Moor to find four Painted Ladies on my Verbena bonariensis. Plenty of records coming in, thanks - please keep them coming.

A Painted Lady butterfly feeding on a purple flower. The underside of the butterfly is showing an amazing mixture of patterns and colours.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

According to Anglian Water's email one minute of showering almost fills one bathtub? (350 bathtubs in 365 days). Really? @anglian-water.bsky.social

Image says "love every drop anglian water. Simple ways to save water this bank holiday."

Image says "Take a shorter shower. Shaving a minute off your shower each time could help you save over 28,000 litres of water and up to £100 in energy and water bills each year. That's around 350 full bathtubs"

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Holly Blue laying on Hemlock. Is this already on its long list of known food-plants? I've tied a bit of string around the stem so that I can re-find it and will attempt to follow progress...

Holly Blue butterfly perched on the developing umbel of Hemlock. Her abdomen is curled under the plant in the act of egg-laying.

The whole umbel of Hemlock with the Holly Blue egg showing, about the size of a grain of table salt.

A close up of the Holly Blue egg. It is white, disc-shaped and with a complicated surface texture.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

A nice encounter while walking my butterfly transect today. #ukbms #grasssnake

A grass snake basking in sunshine at noon.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Here's a summary of the Bedfordshire butterfly season so far. Thanks for all the records. They are mapped in iMap here: www.keithbalmer.com/bedsbutterfl... Click on a square to see its species list. Choose other mapping options from the drop-down list.

A table of weekly butterfly counts for each species. The totals for each species after the first 14 weeks of 2026 are :
760   Brimstone
220   Comma
56   Green-veined White
47   Holly Blue
7   Large White
96   Orange Tip
740   Peacock
42   Red Admiral
43   Small Tortoiseshell
77   Small White
16   Small/Green-veined White
83   Speckled Wood

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Reposted by Keith Balmer

Paul van der Meer @paulvandermeer.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

The 25th amendment exists for a reason. This post is the reason.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Can we put Trump, Netanyahu, Putin and Kim on Artemis III? Seeing Earth from lunar orbit may give them some perspective.

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Reposted by Keith Balmer

Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

This is an actual post. This is not funny. This is beyond desperate. This is a deeply unwell man who doesn’t belong anywhere near the levers of power. Every member of his cabinet and Congress is complicit in not demanding his removal now.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

I've added a first-day and last-day phenology graph to each Bedfordshire butterfly species account on www.bedsbutterflies.org.uk with a trend line showing change since 1990. This is Comma's. Global warming effect at the local level...

Graphs of flight times, first and last day, and adult abundance for Comma butterfly. The first date is trending earlier and the last date later. Abundance is also rising.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Is there a better way to spend a spring day than lying flat on the ground photographing Green Tiger Beetles?

A Green Tiger Beetle. Green with cream spots, huge eyes and fearsome jaws. Long spikey legs for running fast.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

One of my more successful stacks?!

A stacked photograph of a Green Tiger Beetle racing across the picture resulting in a ghostly monster with lots of legs and antennae!

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Sometimes I think the reason that I'm struggling to learn Spanish with Duolingo is because I don't understand the English. Is it just me? Can anyone translate this please?

Text says "Meaning: The people whose alarms ring at night stay here, and, since their alarms do work, they can go."

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Does anyone recognise where this is please? It isn't Bedford but it looks a bit like it. It is being erroneously used to illustrate Bedford though at www.journey-alerts.com/updates/bedf... . Google and Co-pilot don't seem to know where it is. AI generated perhaps?

A photo of a stone arched bridge over a river with buildings and a church spire in the background

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

I asked ChatGPT to explain why the latest sunrise date varies with latitude. It said " Moving north in the Northern Hemisphere: Latest sunrise occurs later in January Sunrise times change more slowly day to day Near the Arctic Circle, the latest sunrise can be weeks later than at mid-latitudes" 1/2

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Would you like to start the New Year with a quiz? Those familiar with Bedfordshire Wildlife Trust BCN nature reserves (@wildlifebcn.org) may like to have a go at solving these cryptic clues to their identities. @brianecambs.bsky.social

A set of cryptic clues to Bedfordshire Wildlife Trust reserves.
1. A dyslexic inhabitant from The Shire?
2. A Rosaceaen uprising
3. Arthur's knight is missing the Spanish grassland
4. Brief decline by a tit
5. Cautiously plead with black bird
6. Complexion issues?
7. Confused imp shaves one beard
8. Damon cooperates without having eaten first
9. Deranged Andrew hides in ancient burrow
10. Dibbler would include "me-own" in this reserve's name
11. Enthusiast has company at the race
12. Fly in, then leave vehicle at a club
13. Fly to soak up the extra? It sounds like it.
14. Hangs teacher on high ground
15. Look at superb art on gravel pitch
16. Lutra and Sterna are present in name only?
17. Pipes clot somehow
18. Priest's allotment run wild?
19. Punching below the belt(s)
20. Rockets procured covers
21. Turning off water supply from the south-east
22. Use XL foot to reach the top

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘦 are still readily found on my end-of-season 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘮 on Dec 9th. Despite being only 10 Celsius they are very alert and thus difficult to photograph. (The wind isn't helping either!) Many seem to have swollen abdomens suggesting gravid females?

A small insect with black and white markings, long legs and piercing mouthparts feeding on Antirrhinum leaves. The abdomen is swollen suggesting a gravid female.

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Reposted by Keith Balmer

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

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Reposted by Keith Balmer

Wildlife Trust BCN @wildlifebcn.org · 08/10/2025

Looking for a new challenge working on one of the UK's most ambitious conservation projects? We are at an exciting phase of our Great Fen vision with habitat creation and peatland rewetting funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Find out more and apply www.wildlifebcn.org/jobs/great-f...

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

In the winter I sowed 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘮 (Snapdragons) specifically to try to attract 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘦. On 30th June I beat one, and today found two by direct inspection. @willgeorge.bsky.social‬ has confirmed as a new species for Bedfordshire.

A slender bug with black and white markings standing on an Antirrhinum.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

One of the female 𝘏𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘱. (Clegs) chewing into the back of my left hand. Chose photography over pain relief - I hope you appreciate that!

Close-up of the head and mouthparts of a fly biting into skin. The eyes carry a beautiful sequence zig-zag bands of several colours.

A large fly kneeling to bite into human skin. The eyes carry a beautiful sequence zig-zag bands of several colours. The bites feels like pin pricks.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Yesterday I heard of the existence of the rare weevil 𝘗𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘪 so went looking for it this afternoon. May have found it after 20 minutes, unless I have the wrong ID of course! Can anyone confirm please?

A shiny green weevil (a beetle with a long snout), feeding on a developing flower bud of Wild Liquorice.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Is there on online set of reference photos for Ephemeroptera imagos and sub-imagos? I'd like to check my tentative IDs. (e.g. is this a male Centroptilum luteolum?). iRecord seems the best I've found so far, but wondered if someone had a gallery somewhere...?

A male mayfly with large red bucket-shaped eyes, and a clear body with a dark tip.

A close-up of the hindwing appears to have a small spine and a pointed tip, hopefully confirming the ID.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

I always enjoy the challenge of trying to photograph Green Tiger Beetles, 𝘊𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘴. Here's my first attempt of the year, on Bedfordshire heathland.

A large green beetle with long, spine-covered, legs, and a ferocious pair of sharp jaws that can puncture human skin if handled. It is clambering through leaf litter.

A large green beetle with long, spine-covered, legs, and a ferocious pair of sharp jaws that can puncture human skin if handled. It is standing on a dead leaf, with heather in the background.

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Reposted by Keith Balmer

Rosybeeplants @rosybeeplants.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

We are have updated our research into which garden plants attract the most pollinators. Our original research included 5 years of data. We then moved house so this is now 9 years of data over 2 different locations. www.rosybee.com/research-study

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

The first UK record for 2025 in iRecord of 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘴, Bordered Shieldbug, found today under some fallen bark.

A small rounded shield-bug that is black all over except for a narrow white border along its sides (corium).

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Taking a stacked photo while this female 𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘹 was clearing her front legs has produced an interesting result!

A large hoverfly sitting on a leaf. The photo is a combination of about 10 photos. The front legs are a blur because the fly was actively cleaning them, but the rest of the insect was perfectly stationary and is sharp.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

Seven species of butterfly have been reported so far in 2025 in Bedfordshire. Small White and Large White are the only "hatchings" so far, the others were overwintered adults. The interactive iMap can be interrogated at www.keithbalmer.com/bedsbutterfl...

A map of Bedfordshire showing which 1km squares have butterfly record(s) for 2025. The map can be interrogated via the link in the post.

A table of data showing how many adults of each butterfly species have been reported in each week of 2025, so far. The totals for the year so far are Brimstone - 362, Comma - 191, Large White - 2, Peacock - 101, Red Admiral - 21, Small Tortoiseshell - 14, Small White 1.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

𝘓𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 larvae grazing together on lichen and using it within their protective case.

Three larvae in parallel with a ruler alongside showing them to be about 3mm long.

A bent cone-shaped protective case made small-grained material including lichens. The legs and head of the larva within can be seen projecting from the wide end, and it is walking upon dead wood.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Delighted to find my first Small Tortoiseshell of 2025 today, near Bedford. Let's hope it can found another one as they are so scarce these days.

A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly basking on the ground in weak sunshine.

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Reposted by Keith Balmer

Stephen Plummer @stephenplummer.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Thrum-eyed Primrose on the left, with the anthers located well above the stigma; Pin-eyed Primrose on the right, with the stigma on a long style located well above the anthers….great for encouraging cross-pollination!😃

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

"It's dark down here, has anyone got a light?"

The last seven segments of a glow-worm larva bent into an arch shape. The first few segments and the head can't be seen as they are pushed inside an old beetle hole in a thick piece of fallen conifer bark, where the larva is presumably looking for, or has found, a snail to eat. The larva wasn't moving and was underneath the fallen bark when I picked it up. It is a rather contorted shape if it was only resting/hibernating?

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Rummaging around under dead wood today I found a pseudoscorpion, 𝘊𝘩𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴, and a larva of a glow-worm 𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘢.

A glow worm larva under a piece of bark. The larva is long and black with nine obvious segments, plus a black head shaped like a semi-circle. The corner of each segment is tipped with pink colour.

A pseudoscorpion. It has eight real legs, plus a pair out in front with long pincers for catching prey. Unlike real scorpions it has no tail or sting.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Butterfly reports pouring in for today in Bedfordshire. 20 so far... iMap (www.keithbalmer.com/bedsbutterfl...) has been updated with all this year's records from online sources.

Screenshot from iMap, an interactive tool showing all the 1km squares in Bedfordshire. Each square can be interrogated to list what species have been recorded. The selection shown is of all locations where species have been reported so far in 2025.

A screenshot showing how many butterflies of each species have been reported each week in 2025 so far. This week there have been 16 Brimstones, 6 Commas, 7 Peacocks and 8 Red Admirals. Also shown is a list of all today's sightings.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Three Commas seen this afternoon, all successfully survived the rigours of winter pretending to be dead leaves.

A Comma butterfly basking in sunshine. This species is notable for ragged wing edges which help with camouflage. The ground colour is a deep orange, and there are black and lighter-orange markings on all the wings.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

On the first day of meteorological spring, my first butterfly of 2025, a Peacock, recently emerged from hibernation.

A Peacock butterfly basking on a log in full sunshine.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

"Big Bud" gall on Hazel caused by the mite 𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘦. Easy to spot on the terminal buds of affected Hazel branches.

An enlarged bud on Hazel cut open to reveal the mites inside.

An enlarged bud on Hazel cut open to reveal the mites inside. They are tiny, pale, translucent and worm-like. There are probably hundreds inside the gall.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

This week I have been mostly: 1) Completing the first draft of the 2024 butterfly report. 2) Doing habitat management on a nature reserve. 3) Volunteering at my local museum. 4) Attending a conference on wildlife conservation. 5) Laughing at Trump and Musk. P.S. I'm retired, so I can't be fired!

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Found this Ringlet(?) larva in an autumn-cut haystack on a nature reserve today. I was just curious to see what inverts might be in the stack. Need to investigate further when there isn't a cold wind blowing right through me...

A caterpillar, about 6mm long, with longitudinal stripes of various shades of brown along its length. Its head capsule is also brown. There are long hairs (many backward pointing) along the entire length, including the head.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

I thought a chart derived from an analysis of records might help me to understand the 2024 butterfly season in Bedfordshire. #Bedfordshire #butterflies

Chart showing each Bedfordshire species' flight period coloured according to each brood's success in 2024. There is considerable variation between species and even between broods within one species. It was a complicated season in Bedfordshire.

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Keith Balmer @keithbalmer.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

This web was showing well in today's mist. I remembered seeing a drawing in Richard Lewington's new "Pocket Guide to British Spiders" of a web with a missing segment and thought, thanks Richard, I may now know what made it! Hope you don't mind the extract @rlewington2.bsky.social?

A spider's web covered in droplets of water on a misty day. There are some segments missing in the top right hand corner which may indicate the species.

A section of a page from Richard Lewington's new "Pocket Guide to British Spiders" showing a web with missing segments matching the other posted photo of a real web.

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