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Richard Fox

@richardfoxbc.bsky.social
2.2K followers 302 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 · 08/10/2026
😉
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Yep, there’s a third goody still to be posted about too. 43 species in all, which is pretty good for my garden in October.
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Another good moth from the garden on Tues night was this Tebenna micalis (Beautiful Twitcher). It’s very small but it’s got a lot going on! #teammoth #migrantmoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Yep was a good night!
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Thank you! It was very well behaved for the photoshoot - unlike the White-speck that also came in last night 🙄
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Yay!! My first ever Euchromius ocellea (Silver-spotted Veneer) in this morning’s garden moth trap. Been hoping for one for these for a few years now 😊🎉 #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
That’s weird, my copy looks like this
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Thanks Malcolm!
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Nice, sunny wander at Branscombe today with leafmines of Ectoedemia erythrogenella (Coast Dot) on Bramble, and Stigmella ulmivora (Barred Elm Dot) & S. viscerella (Plain Elm Dot) on elm. Plus bonus sighting (but no photo) of my first ever UK Long-tailed Blue butterfly. #teammoth
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Correct
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
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
This is the 3rd as far as I’m aware
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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 · 24/09/2026
Or a very early one
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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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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Brilliant! Well done Madeleine 👟👟🏅
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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
And interestingly the ObsIdentify app can’t cope with it at all. I guess because Anomalous doesn’t occur in the Netherlands where the app was developed and trained
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It is. It looks odd when it’s flying in too
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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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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Rob’s the expert but that looks bang on to me
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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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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Don’t think those are mines in the Alder, I’m afraid. H. resplendella has a gallery mine leading to a cut out (as in the attached image). Not sure what makes those semi-circular cuts, maybe a sawfly larva??
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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 · 05/09/2026
What a good boy
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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 · 27/08/2026
Wow that’s a stunner!
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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
Nice! Yeah you’re much closer to established populations than I am, but still a nice thing to get in your garden
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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 · 19/08/2026
Haha! There’s no shortage of oak down here either Les, but this species doesn’t seem very common - I’ve looked at many holes in oak leaves over the last few years but not seen anything that looked right until now. Hope all’s well with you - Rik/Richard as you see fit 😂
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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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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
You certainly did a lot better than I’ve been doing in Devon
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