iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Who cannot but love #TortoiseBeetles? ❤️ Such little gems! #entomology #beetles #Coleoptera doi.org/10.1007/s137...

A figure from the paper showing a grid of eighteen colourful tortoise beetles.

The title page of the paper “The Tortoise Beetles of an Atlantic Forest Mountain Range: Host Plants and Temporal Distribution”

Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I saw these at the National Museum of Wales. A whole drawer of beautifully pinned micro Lepidoptera… until I read the label and the full horror was revealed!

A whole entomology drawer of micro Lepidoptera (tiny brown moths). Beautifully arranged.

The label reads "BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA Unidentified"

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Ooh the first of this year’s #chili crop have dried! Var. ‘Big Devil’ ~2000 SHU they are described as jalapeno-like. I’ve tasted one and it is warm and smokey. Not many fruits this year but I’m going to try over wintering the plants to get ahead next year. Next pair in the greenhouse to dry.

Two dark red, dried chillies sit on my hand.

Two large chilled hang from the greenhouse roof to dry above Drosera binata.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The Boerhaave museum is worth a few hours of anyone’s time if you’re in Leiden. If you are a microscope nerd it is heaven. Apparently I gave a little squeak when I rounded a corner and came across a Leeuwenhoek. Stereo photo by me. Let your eyes drift to see it in 3D.

A small brass plate, single lens microscope. Made by Leeuwenhoek in ~1670.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

What was your first computer growing up? Zenith Z 171. First person on my BSc to have a PC in student accom. Still used it during my PhD. IBM compatible. Ran a pirate copy of ‘AsEasyAs 123’ spreadsheets. * booted from 5.25” floppy 256Kb RAM - 128Kb as virtual drive. (Not Gb, not Mb, that’s Kb!

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My Dad was a civil engineer and I can’t help myself… is the retaining wall of the pool about to fail?

A semicircular pool with a distinct apparent failure developing on one outer edge.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I don’t know if any #fungi folk can ID these little guys as they are not opened but they were all over a rotting log above Cheddar Gorge this week. Wee crusty little things! About 8mm across but you can see the scale from the moss. Maybe @lukaslarge.bsky.social would know?

A number of spherical cream-coloured fungi with a bumpy texture, emerging from a mossy bed on a rotting log.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Nearly #HamOrJam but we didn’t have ham in our cream tea… so just jam! I put some jam on the pot lid & held it in front of the wasp as she circled our plates. She followed it back to the tray. I think she’s Vespula vulgaris. Video of her enjoying the jam. #WaspLove @waspwoman.bsky.social

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Stopped for coffee on the motorway and was joined by a small #fly. Maybe 5mm long, covered in setae (hairs). I think that it is one of the #Psychodinae or drain #flies. It’s so fluffy! And look at those antennae. #diptera #entomology #insects iPhone photo so a bit blurred.

A small fly with hairy edges to its wings. Lovey hairy antennae.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Behind the scenes at the National Museum of Wales #entomology collections. I was impressed by a whole drawer of beautiful pinned micro #Lepidoptera… until I read the label and the full horror was revealed! #ento26 @royentsoc.bsky.social

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

A plenary from @corriemoreau.bsky.social on day 2 of #ento26. Outstanding research and a dozen papers to go and read in detail. @royentsoc.bsky.social

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Following @yamnin.bsky.social’s spectacular plenary at #ento26 @royentsoc.bsky.social I am now stuck with an unfortunate earworm due to #LoveAMaggot. In my head it is a constant “Baby fly, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo” Remarkable results of maggot therapy for patients with non-healing wounds.

My hand holds a ‘teabag’ containing young common green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata) larvae or maggots, used in medical treatment of non-healing wounds such as infected ulcers.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

That’s the #ento26 accommodation sorted! It turns out that there is a tiny campsite next to the University so I’m parked and snug!

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Seen on a #Goth ‘s car in #Whitby… if you see this, you know who you are! #neurodiversity #ADHD

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Stone arches behind stone arches in the ruined Abbey at #Whitby founded 657CE. Looking out for #Dracula as this town was the inspiration for Bram Stoker.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

The ‘Accidental #Fossil Collection’ at the National Museum of Scotland. Ammonite and belemnite (including phragmocone) in the floor of the main gallery.

An ammonite in cross section in limestone floor slabs. The chambers can clearly be seen.

A belemnite in cross section with the delicate phragmocone preserved in limestone floor slabs.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

In Scotland and not seeing many #ants about. Did see this fine CormorANT though!

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Myrmica ruginodis from earlier this year. Red #ants with a simple curve to the scape and fairly long spines. #macrophotograpy #entomology #insects #Canon 90D #Laowa 2x 100mm, Godox v350c and #Cygnustech diffuser

A small red ant stands warily looking g at the camera with its mandibles parted defensively.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

They’re pretty ants. Here are a couple of my pics from Dorset Uk this April. I didn’t know the Linnaeus fact, which is pretty cool!

A Formica fusca ant sits in shredded wood under a rotten log.

A Formica fusca ant carries some eggs in a nest under a rotten log.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I have accidentally ‘invented’ the #MalaiseTrap. Seven doors to paint. Undercoat plus two gloss coats… & this week we have had occasional showers which will ruin the finish. So a double ‘gibbet’, not for hanging pirates but for doors, with a rain cover. I’m having to rescue butterflies and bees!

A double wooden frame allowing doors to be painted both sides at once. Under a clear tarpaulin cover.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Rather like the 1976 Allegro!

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

“Describe your research with a YouTube thumbnail” It’s not quite my topic but I generally have coffee on hand, so it could yet come to pass!

A YouTube thumbnail states “Ants drink coffee”

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

New iPhone 17 Pro, the old 14 needs a new motherboard apparently & that would cost £££, so upgraded. New cameras seem very good indeed. Not sure what species of #hoverfly this is but it’s one of the smallest we get in the garden (~10mm) On Verbena bonariensis. #hoverflies #Syrphidae #diptera

A tiny hoverfly 10mm long hovers over a cluster of purple flowers.

A tiny hoverfly 10mm long feeds on a tiny purple flower.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Drought… and now the Sun has gone. It’s the End Of The World! #eclipse

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Song to my neighbours: 🎶 “Your cat’s poo brings all the flies to my yard” 🎶 Little shining jewels of loveliness! #diptera

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

So long as it isn’t American chocolate! 🤮

A molecule of butyric acid, the molecule that gives human vomit its distinctive smell and commonly found in US chocolate!

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I said to the woman sitting next to me “Sit still, there’s a fly in your hair”. Which meant “I’m just grabbing my phone to take a pic of the large venomous predator in your hair”! What a beauty! #Robberflies #Asilidae

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

My son has sent me a photo of him sitting at Varna airport in #Bulgaria eating a banitsa or banitza. Filo pasty stuffed with feta cheese. Now I really want one for my breakfast!

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

In 2022 these woods near us weren’t so dry as they are now. So the complete 🤬 who did this just burned a small patch. Complete ban is the way forward!

Two disposable BBQs lit on deciduous leaf litter sit in a burned area 1m to 2m across.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

If you crave roundabout excitement, there is always the ‘Magic Roundabout’ at Hemel Hempstead where you can circulate clockwise OR anticlockwise, depending which gets you to your exit more quickly (only clockwise around each of the six mini roundabouts though).

A large hexagonal roundabout made up of six mini roundabouts. Traffic circulates in both directions.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

It’s not a new one but we seem pretty close to the final category at this stage.

A climate change timeline that runs:
From “Climate change isn’t real”
To ”OK climate change is real, we’re just not convinced it’s caused by humans”
To “ Oops”
To “F**k”

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

See you on the other side Robin. Just remember how many people love you and turned out to fill the woods in the Cosmic Shambles Forest! Alt text: A model of a planet sits suspended from the pine trees at midnight, as silence blankets the Cosmic Shambles Forest. @cosmicshambles.com

A model of a planet sits suspended from the pine trees at midnight, as silence blankets the Cosmic Shambles Forest.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I would go if passing but it’s a helluva way from anywhere!

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

While camping at #LatitudeFestival I was washing up and noticed a few drowned alete #ants in the water. Dips in pocket for tube of EtOH and bagged them in for examination at home. #entomology

A 2ml tube of alcohol contains examples of both male and queen flying ants

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

My Happy Place at #Latitude is the @cosmicshambles.com tent (tents plural this year!). @robinince.bsky.social I have a tiny gift for you if I see you this weekend.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Doorbell: “It’s nearly midnight and there’s a stranger at the door” Me: “Nah, you’re alright… she lives here!” #spiders #UrbanWildlife

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

A Sea Mouse (Aphrodita aculeata) - actually a #polychaete worm. I think the hairs can be irritating but this one was not alive. The amazing iridescent colours are structural colouration due to the shapes of fibres refracting the light. Three Cliffs Bay, Gower Peninsula, Wales.

My hand (taking my chances with the irritating hairs) holds a Sea Mouse so that the ventral side can be seen.

Placed back in a rock pool the iridescent colours shine at the sides of the worm.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

My favourite #moth! The Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) seen this week on Caldey Island off Tenby in #Wales. Fast & accurate fliers they use their long proboscis to feed from deep flowers while on the wing. #HummingbirdHawkMoth #Lepidoptera #entomology

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Most men: “Let’s go to the beach and look at people in their swimwear” Me: “Ooh look, #barnacles, #serpulids _and_ #bryozoa on a single specimen!

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Tonight I will mostly be drinking #GowerGold on the #Gower Peninsula. Our annual boys field trip in the #campervan (with housemate from back in the day when we did our PhDs).

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Early coffee in the garden this morning. As the sun rose I could see that the #molluscs had been partying during the night. #slugs #snails

Small slime trails make crazy patterns on our patio.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Hoping to do some behavioural research while at @unirdgento.bsky.social but to do that I need #ants. Lasius niger is the D. melanogaster of ants. Been looking out for ‘flying ant day’ for weeks. Indoors building oak stairs, I only just caught them this evening! Now each to go in a tube nest!

My hand holds two collecting bottles containing mated black ants. Now each will be placed in a tube to start a colony.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

🤔 … well how about that?

My iPhone battery health shows exactly 81%

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Despite my concerns about the heat in the greenhouse, it would seem that the Eurasian Robin (Erithacus rubecula) eggs have hatched successfully. Now it is down to the parents to get them enough juicy insects to keep them alive until they can fledge. #GardenBirds #GardenWildlife #ornithology #birds

Two newly hatched Robin chicks in a mossy nest in an old flowerpot.

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Steve @stevetypesstuff.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I did try this once when our whole clan (loads of cousins) met at a hotel and I really wanted to see one so I ordered a chocolate cream egg…

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