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Richard Fox

@richardfoxbc.bsky.social
2.2K followers 301 following 6.2K posts

Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation - moth & butterfly sightings, science & conservation. Honorary Prof at University of Exeter. (He/his)

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 14h
Stigmella lemniscella (Beautiful Elm Dot) mines and yellow caterpillar (which exited through the upper surface of the leaf) on elm this week, including mines that could be mistaken for those of S. viscerella. #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Mothing highlight of the autumn for me was this (rather worn but pretty rare) Banded Pine Carpet (Pungeleria capreolaria) in my garden moth trap this morning. 🎁 #teammoth
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Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Gene-editing a single species of butterfly to resist pesticides is #solutionism at its worst: ARIA's "moonshot" programme is truly detached from the reality of #PlanetaryBoundaries and the #NatureCrisis www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Pyralis farinalis (Meal Moth) was NFY last night - and what a smart micro it is! #teammoth
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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🐝 🪰 How can we track change across the UK's insect pollinators? A new paper from @pomscheme.bsky.social outlines how we're generating robust metrics to monitor pollinator trends at a national scale. Another key milestone for PoMS! besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... 🧪 1/
Collage of images featuring bee on flower, UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme logo, a person carrying out a FIT Count on flowers, and a landscape of moorland with a pan trap monitoring system in place.
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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Since 1900, over 50 moth species have been declared extinct in Britain, and total abundance has plummeted by 33% between 1968 and 2017. Help us give moths the recognition they deserve by creating the first official Red List for Britain’s macro-moths 👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/moths-matter
crowdfunder.co.uk
Moths Matter - Let's give them their moment
Will you help create a Red List for Britain’s macro-moths and give these overlooked species the recognition they deserve?
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Productive couple of hours leafmining after work. Stigmella regiella (Purple-shot Dot) & Paraswammerdamia nebulella (Hawthorn Drab) on same Hawthorn leaf, S. basiguttella (Shoulder-spot Dot) on oak, Lyonetia clerkella (Apple Leaf-miner) on Apple & S. speciosa (Beautiful Sycamore Dot) #teammoth
Stigmella regiella (Purple-shot Dot) gallery mine leading to blotch & tiny mine of Paraswammerdamia nebulella (Hawthorn Drab) (bottom left) on the same Hawthorn leafStigmella basiguttella (Shoulder-spot Dot) on oakLyonetia clerkella (Apple Leaf-miner) on Apple. Not sure I’ve ever seen the deeply-segmented larva of this common species beforeStigmella speciosa (Beautiful Sycamore Dot) on Sycamore
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
📣 New paper alert. Latest study by @mingrui-li.bsky.social as part of his PhD @uniexecec.bsky.social on the impact of public access to land on #CitizenScience butterfly recording. 🥾⛔️📋🦋 @savebutterflies.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Modelling spatial deficits in citizen science recording: a case study from UK butterflies - Journal of Insect Conservation
Abstract Citizen science data are increasingly used to infer species distributions and monitor biodiversity at large spatial scales. However, recording effort is often uneven across space, potentially...
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Nicely marked Small Mottled Willow (Spodoptera exigua) in the garden trap this morning. What a year this species has had in the UK! #teammoth
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Claire Carvell @clairecarvell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Ten days left to do a #FITcount in the 2026 @pomscheme.bsky.social survey season! Been watching lots of Ivy bees on the Ivy flowers on our garden fence. Not as many wasps as I remember from previous years. What’s visiting your Ivy? @waspwoman.bsky.social
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
A cool, wet and windy night on the north Cornwall coast meant few moths, but this lovely, fresh Radford’s Flame Shoulder was NFY for me and saved the day #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Big Butterfly Count results are out 📈 📊🦋 butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blo...
butterfly-conservation.org
Big Butterfly Count results 2026: Heatwaves help butterflies but could kill caterpillars
The results of Butterfly Conservation's 2026 Big Butterfly Count have revealed it was a great summer for butterflies, but what comes next could be dire.With the Met Office confirming it ‘increasingly ...
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Caterpillar excitement this morning when this chubby pink guy emerged from a couple of Hawthorn berries that were spun together. Looks good for Aspila janthinana (Hawthorn Piercer) 🐛 #teammoth
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Madeleine Fabušová @fabusovam.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Great North Run 2026! Yesterday I completed my first official half-marathon and raised over £300 for @savebutterflies.bsky.social 🦋 Huge thanks to everyone who donated! Now onto more PhD work to learn about our wonderful Lepidoptera!
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Very warm evening mothing on a local heathland reserve with Barry Henwood and some nice moths: Pink-barred Sallow, Anomalous & Heath Rustic #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Loxostege sticticalis (Mugwort Pearl) was the stand out moth from an evening of beach trapping in south Devon on Tues. A lifer for me! 📷 by Barry Henwood. Other nice species included Feathered Gothic, Lobesia littoralis (Shore Marble) & a single adult Dialectica scalariella (Echium Stilt) #teammoth
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UKBMS @ukbms.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Week 24 starts today! Do you need any pointers to help you enter your data? We have great videos and resources that walk you through it how to do it. You'll find them all on the UKBMS our website here: buff.ly/di3oDpJ
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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Do you participate in nature-related citizen science, or would you like to? 📱🌿 @forestresearchuk.bsky.social want to know what encourages people to get involved in nature recording and what challenges they may encounter. Take part in the survey 👉 defragroup.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
A person with a green backpack bends down in a field of tall, dry grass with scattered white flowers, examining something closely with a butterfly identification guide in their hand.
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Great to see mothing legends Steve Palmer and Dave Shenton being shortlisted for awards!! 🤞🏻#teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Painted Ladies on the move - there’ve been half a dozen on our buddleia every day this week, stocking up before they head south 👋
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Damp evening trapping at a local and under-recorded heathland reserve. Some glorious fresh Sallows were NFY amid a not very exciting haul. #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Two Old Ladies were the best of last night’s garden moth trap - the first that I’ve seen this year. Impressively big insects! #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Grey Dagger caterpillar today at Fernworthy Reservoir, Dartmoor #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
If I was excited about yesterday’s first ever garden record of Oncocera semirubella (Rosy Knot-horn / Rhubarb & Custard), and I was, this morning’s second ever individual was a much more stunning one 😍 #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Oncocera semirubella (Rosy Knot-horn) aka Rhubarb & Custard was an exciting new species for my garden this morning - it’s not a widespread moth in Devon, given the scarcity of its preferred chalk and limestone habitats. #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Laburnum trees were riddled with mines of Leucoptera laburnella (Laburnum Leaf-miner) at NT Stourhead, Wilts when I visited this week. #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Great to see this when out and about in Bath today @savebutterflies.bsky.social @festofnature.bsky.social
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Really pleased to finally find mines of Heliozela sericiella (Oak Cutter) at Ashclyst Forest the other day. One that I’ve been looking for for quite a few years. #teammoth
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Emilie Ellis @e-ellis1.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
🦋 I’m recruiting a fully funded PhD student at the University of Helsinki: understanding how butterflies respond to climate change across Europe. Apply by 30 Sept: Full details: jobs.helsinki.fi/job-invite/5... Please share! #ecology #job #phd
jobs.helsinki.fi
Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) in Butterfly Ecology and Climate Change across Europe
Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) in Butterfly Ecology and Climate Change across Europe
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Amazing news! A second English population of Dark Bordered Beauty discovered by @savebutterflies.bsky.social #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Last night’s moths made up for an underwhelming eclipse. Particularly pleased to catch two Grey Chi (Antitype chi) with Margaret Mcloughlin in Leicestershire - the first time I’ve seen this species since 2004!! #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Nemophora minimella (Small Scabious Longhorn) was a new moth species for me at @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social Alners Gorse reserve last week. What a little beauty! Thanks to Jack Oughton for the tip off. #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
A stunning Small Purple-barred (Phytometra viridaria) moth from Folkestone Warren, Kent two weeks ago. Its caterpillars feed on milkworts in a range of habitats, so it’s a species that I also see on the acid heaths of Dartmoor #teammoth
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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The bad news: #BigButterflyCount is over for another year 😞 The good news: You can still submit the results of any counts done between 17 July and 9 August until the end of this month! 🙌 Submit any pending counts at 👉 butrfli.es/3SVFepj 📷: Brian Valentine
A Holly Blue butterfly looking inquisitively at the camera while resting on a leaf against a blurred, green background.
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Nice to get out in the field with some @savebutterflies.bsky.social colleagues in Dorset on Tues - mapping Marsh Fritillary caterpillar webs, taking part in #BigButterflyCount & moth trapping. A very fresh Small Elephant Hawk-moth was surprising in early Aug. #teammoth @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Some recent leaf-mine finds: Phyllonorycter scabiosella (Scabious Leaf-miner) & Ectoedemia spinosella (Least Blackthorn Dot) at Darland Banks, Stigmella zelleriella (Sandhill Dot) at Dungeness & Leucoptera malifoliella (Pear Leaf Blister Moth) in Devon, where there are only 7 prev records. #teammoth
Phyllonorycter scabiosella (Scabious Leaf-miner)Ectoedemia spinosella (Least Blackthorn Dot)Stigmella zelleriella (Sandhill Dot)Leucoptera malifoliella (Pear Leaf Blister Moth)
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Painted Lady was the star of my garden #bigbutterflycount this morning. This migrant species is having a good year - but just how good? Take part in @savebutterflies.bsky.social Big Butterfly Count this week to help us find out www.bigbutterflycount.org
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
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
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
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
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
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
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
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
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Come on Devon!!
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Butterfly Conservation Suffolk @bc-suffolk.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
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
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
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
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
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
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Three macro-moth lifers today during an afternoon at Dungeness: Rest Harrow, Pigmy Footman & Toadflax Brocade #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
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
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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
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 👉 butrfli.es/3SVFepj
Close-up of a Peacock butterfly feeding on purple buddleia flowers against a light pink and purple background. Large text at the top reads "Count me in". Logo for Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count at the bottom. Image by Gundula Vogal
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Mines of Bedellia somnulentella (Bindweed Sleeper) on Hedge Bindweed in my garden this week. #teammoth
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Rob Boyd @robboyd.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
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
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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...
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