iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by The Gibster

"Quercus" @quercus632511.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Earlier at #Reculver we came across an odd looking , large very mottled #Grasshopper I grabbed two quick shots, my son then found another "Dad this grasshoppers got Blue wings" which we saw displayed twice .When I got home and checking my two earlier shots..Bingo ! Blue-winged Grasshopper. #insects

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Finally managed to get away from work long enough to twitch Skye's first Laughing Gull, as found by Big Martin 3 days ago. It's been 21 yrs since my only other UK sighting of the species. An hour later I managed to add a very chatty LGRE to my Skye List, been almost as long since I last saw him! 😅

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Calling all witches, warlocks and necromancers: always remember your health and safety at work guidelines.

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Cimbex femoratus, Britain's largest sawfly by all accounts. Not one I've encountered before, what a complete brute it is!

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

New technique to halt the spread of Giant Hogweed... Keep it in an electrified enclosure. Flawless 😂

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Just a few of the Chequered Skippers present here on Skye yesterday. There are several of us attempting to establish the extent of this recently-discovered colony. It extends for at least a mile (east-west) and 300 metres (north-south) but could be a lot larger! 🤩

Chequered Skipper warming up on a grass blade

Chequered Skipper warming up on Bog Myrtle leaves

Chequered Skipper resting on a Bluebell head

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Stumbled into this mysterious (to me) plant in an Inverness alleyway today. This is Lathyrus vernus, the Spring Pea. Second record for Scotland, new to VC, new to me and new to the BSBI VC Recorder too! Happy days, gotta love a bit of slum botany!

Lathyrus vernus with its very broad leaves and cluster of purple flowers

Lathyrus vernus habitat shot in its overgrown alleyway home

The incredible blue, lilac and purple petals of Lathyrus vernus

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Uncropped and unaltered image of the pair of Golden Eagles that soared over me this afternoon. Living on Skye is simply FABULOUS!

Two Golden Eagles soaring in an azure blue sky, stunning birds!

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Saw my closest ever Humpback off Skye today, a full adult too! All others reported this winter have been youngsters. An expert is currently trying to match my iffy smudges with known Humpbacks on the picture database, see if he can find a match. Best of luck to him 😅

The nostrils are visible at the very front of this surfacing Humpback Whale

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Spring has officially arrived here on Skye. Freshly arrived migrant Highland Coo, resting up on the beach 😄

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Playing at the microscope whilst the rain comes down outside. These are from Sphagnum pools here on Skye

The desmid Micrasterias jenneri, seemingly quite common

The testate amoeba Nebela collaris. This is the test (case) in which it lives, mostly made up from fragments of diatoms.

The testate amoeba Planocarina carinata. This genus exhibits a distinctively shaped test (case).

Xanthidium armatum, a spiky ball of fun!

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Damn right! bsky.app/profile/brex...

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Looks as though Raasay's volcano is getting ready to blow 😄

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Fabulous display of the alga Trentepohlia iolithus here on Skye. Though I suspect the next door neighbour might choose to describe it otherwise...

Heavy reddish-brown streaking of Trentepohlia iolithus covering a large proportion of the front wall of a house. Note the recently painted frontage of the house next door.

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

Ninja-like field skills allowed me to sneak up on this ultra wary Hoodie. I don't think it even saw me....

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

I found a Black Spleenwort with suspicious looking brown patches yesterday. Taking a closer look revealed the culprit on the underside. This is Psychoides filicivora, which is the only Psychoides I've ever found here on Skye. Could P.verhuella here too? Be nice to find it someday if so! #teammoth

Larva of Psychoides filicivora on underside of a Black Spleenwort frond. The pale brown head and transparent prothoracic plate help distinguish it from Psychoides verhuella.

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Petrol prices have really fallen here on Skye 🤣

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Tipula pagana is currently the dominant cranefly on walls here at Greshornish, Skye. The females are readily identified thanks to their massively reduced wings, rendering them flightless. Coupled with their late flight season, this makes ID pretty simple.

Pair of Tipula pagana in cop. The male is fully winged but the female has very reduced wings

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

It's been very wet here on Skye lately. Tonight the rain stopped so I did an after dark safari around the walls. Two male Steatoda nobilis were a shock, I had no idea they were this far north! iRecord shows one other Skye record, mine will make it two 🙂

Male Steatoda nobilis (Noble False Widow) spotlit on a wall after dark. Second record for Skye, as far as I know.

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Went out hoping for a Yellow-browed Warbler, instead found Chilean Hard-fern (Blechnum cordatum) new to VC. Talk about shite birding skillz!

Young, under-developed frond of Chilean Hard-fern

Single mature frond of Chilean Hard-fern

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

If you happen to be located along the West coast of Britain, or in Ireland (anywhere with a Lobarion community), keep an eye open for the shiny green discs of Abrothallus welwitschii growing on the thallus of Sticta lichens. In the right light, the discs really shine out! Quite eye-catching really.

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Rather an unexpected addition to my PSL, there's a Peach tree (Prunus persica) growing in the dunes at Rock, Cornwall. Note the 'lumpy bits' on the petiole. These are extrafloral nectaries, thought to attract ants onto the plant and thus keep any potential pest species in check. All clever stuff!

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

The ridiculously cute and inquisitive St Piran's Crab, seen here at a Cornish rockpool. This may well be my all time favourite rockpool dweller, just look at those eyes!

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Heading back to Skye after a fabulous week in Cornwall. Popped in to Scout Scar nest Kendal this morning for Sorbus lancastriensis. Half a dozen leaves and no berries, but a new species for me. Will have to return in the summer!

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

I did a bad thing. I twitched a plant that I 'needed' for my PSL. Willow-leaved Pear (species 7242) duly ticked in a hedge. Then I noticed the brown scuzz on a number of the fruits. This is Venturia pyrina aka Pear Scab and species 7243 for me. A far more satisfying lifer than a twitched tree!

Willow-leaved Pear fruits. The brown band is the fungus Venturia pyrina, aka Pear Scab. Venturia inaequalis causes much the same symptoms on apples.

Willow-leaved Pear fruits. The brown patch is the fungus Venturia pyrina, aka Pear Scab. Venturia inaequalis causes much the same symptoms on apples.

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Stopped at a wooded site near Carrbridge with the intent of finally finding Shining Guest Ant on a Formica lugubris nest. Ten nests checked, zero Shining Guest Ants seen. Yet again. But I did fid two nests of Formica exsecta, very rare beast indeed! Species 7245 for my PSL

Formica exsecta - note the heart-shaped head, a unique feature amongst British Formica species

Formica exsecta - note the deep notch in the petiole leaf, another unique feature amongst British Formica species

Formica exsecta - smaller and noticeably paler than the Formica lugubris that are so widespread in the area

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The Gibster @thegibster.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Quit Skye for a cheeky overnighter onto the mainland. A random layby stop added the spectacular Gymnosporangium cornutum to my PSL (species 7244). Seen here infecting one Rowan sapling, situated amongst many seemingly untouched individuals. Who says microfungi are boring (not me!)

Eye-catching bright orange patches on the upperside of Rowan leaflets

And the spectacular fruiting bodies of Gymnosporangium cornutum on the underside

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Reposted by The Gibster

Kevin Thornton @lowcarbonkev.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

This is a must-read. "..(Insects') bodies are riddled with holes, called spiracles, that carry oxygen directly into the tissue. “They’re all surface area (says Wagner). Insects can’t hold water.” Even a brief drought lasting just a few days can wipe out millions of humidity-dependent insects.."

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