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Tim Worfolk

@timworfolk.bsky.social
921 followers 559 following 621 posts

Bird illustration, insect photography, getting more local (Topsham, Devon) every year. My photos are here www.flickr.com/photos/141833872@N05…

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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Found this running around on the pavement, thought it looked interesting so took some photos. I believe it's a female Variable Cockroach, a non-native sp. that seems to be spreading in Britain.
Variable Cockroach (Planuncus tingitanus s.l.) female. 13/9/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Looking forward to giving a talk on Westcountry Wildlife to the Mid Devon Natural History Society at Tiverton on 24th September 2026 non members welcome www.mdw.org.uk
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Fantastic. Looking forward to them getting to Devon!
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Southern Oak Bush Cricket new for garden. I've been expecting this sp. for a while now so nice to get in on the list. #orthoptera
Southern Oak Bush Cricket male (Meconema meridionale)
7 September 2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A real beast of a fly and one that until today had somehow eluded me in the UK. Thanks to @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social for the location info. Hornet Robberfly (Asilus crabroniformis) @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social #Diptera
Hornet Robber Fly female (Asilus crabroniformis) on dung. 27 August 2026 Bicton Common, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
A visit to the local bee/wasp bank produced the latest unexpected addition to the Topsham list: a lovely Heath Potter Wasp (Eumenes coarctatus). A female collecting from a hedge bank and pot-building just 2 metres away. #hymenoptera @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social @melcoate.bsky.social
Heath Potter Wasp female (Eumenes coarctatus) collecting building material from a sandy Devon bank. Topsham, Devon, 25 August 2026.Heath Potter Wasp female (Eumenes coarctatus) collecting building material from a sandy Devon bank. Topsham, Devon, 25 August 2026.Heath Potter Wasp female (Eumenes coarctatus) building nest. Topsham, Devon, 25 August 2026.Nest of Heath Potter Wasp (Eumenes coarctatus), entrance to one 'pot' visible on left, a second nest partially hidden, the female apparently constructing a third. Topsham, Devon, 25 August 2026.
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Portland Bird Observatory @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Also, some better photos of the Verge Cricket Eumodicogryllus bordigalensis caught last night by Nigel Jones and Mark Edgeller whilst they were moth-trapping at Freshwater Bay
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I can't remember the last time I saw so little water at Topsham BGM. Four Spoonbills, Seven Cattle Egrets and over 60 Little Egrets: the new normal or will this become the good old days?
Bowling Green Marsh RSPB reserve Topsham, Devon. Water very low with a few cattle, geese, spoonbills and herons.Four Spoonbills an two Little Egrets RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham, Devon.Part of a flock of over 60 Little Egrets RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham, Devon.Moulting adult Cattle Egret RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham, Devon.
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Graeme Lyons @graemelyons.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Here's the full story of what we believe to be the start of the colonisation of yet another new orthopteran to the British Isles.
analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com
Team cricket - how we found a cricket new to the British Isles
This following italicised sections were written by Matt Phelps, who first heard this unusual cricket...  I strolled over to Sussex Wildlif...
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Can't beat proper field sketches and these are wonderful!
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Bystock DWT Reserve this morning. Most of the best stuff on the ragwort as usual. No Hornet Robberfly but nice to find a Heath Potter Wasp. Names etc. in Alt Texts #DevonWildlifeTrust
Ceriagrion tenellum (Small Red Damselfly) female
22 July 2026 Bystock NR, DevonEctophasia crassipennis male (Tachinidae)
22 July 2026 Bystock NR, DevonEumenes coarctatus female (Heath Potter Wasp) Vespidae
22 July 2026 Bystock NR, DevonZygaena cf. trifolii (Five-spot Burnet) Zygaenidae
Impossible to rule out Z. lonicerae from appearance
22 July 2026 Bystock NR, Devon
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Blue Ground Beetle eating a Tree Slug. Once caught it injects digestive juices into the slug turning it into 'slug soup' then sucks up its insides. Dartmoor, Devon. I will be talking about the conservation of this amazing beetle at Coombeshead Farm Devon next weekend keepitwild.uk/if-not-now-w...
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Day out by train Topsham to Okehampton looking for shade in woods along East Okement River. Lovely walk and found a few good flies: Conops flavipes new for me; Megamerina dolium I've only ever seen once before: 16 years ago. Names in ALT Texts #diptera @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
Conops flavipes (Conopidae) female
16 July 2026 Okehampton, Devon.Machimus atricapillus (Asilidae) male
16 July 2026 Okehampton, Devon.Dexiosoma caninum  (Tachinidae) male
16 July 2026 Okehampton, Devon.Megamerina dolium (Megamerinidae) female
16 July 2026 Okehampton, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Just found another of the nationally scarce hoverfly Myolepta dubia. About 50 m away from and 2 yrs after the 1st Devon record. #diptera #hoverfly
Myolepta dubia female (Syrphidae) 10 July 2026 Topsham, Devon
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Mediterranean Spotted Chafer (Oxythyrea funesta). This is my fourth record from Topsham: 2019, 2020 (two) all in our garden. Found this about 1km away near Bowling Green Marsh. I think no other Devon records of this increasingly widespread sp. but possibly now established around here? #coleoptera
Oxythyrea funesta (Mediterranean Spotted Chafer) on a wild carrot umbel. 5 July 2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
I found this spectacular Musk Beetle in a bit of scrub near a new housing development. The larvae develop in willows and the upper Exe Estuary area seems the best place to find this sp. in Devon. #coleoptera
Musk Beetle Aromia moschata (Cerambycidae)
4 July 2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
This is exactly why we have Pride. Because a few years ago this would have just been a hateful fringe figure - but this is where our politics is heading with a Government that kertows. We will resist. And bring hope (*and* electing progressive politicians.) We will win. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Tommy Robinson - it's about seducing women and cutting off their dicks and breasts. It's not a protest. It's industrial scale child mutilation, chemical castration. Take your queer agenda and fuck right off mate, you weirdo.
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Willem Huiskamp @willemh.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
It's worth stressing that the *magnitude* by which some of these records are being broken is nothing short of astonishing
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
When trans people are under attack, "don't be political" is not an option. And we'll never be silent when a Labour Government are making life impossibly hard for trans people. We see you. And we stand with you. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
News from the local Wasp Bank: Beewolves very active now also two new spp. for the site: Orange-horned Nomad Bee (Nomada fulvicornis) and White-spotted Digger Wasp (Harpactus tumidus). This tiny spot just gets better and better! Details in ALT Texts. #hymenoptera
Bee Wolf male (Philanthus triangulum)
28 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.Orange-horned Nomad Bee female (Nomada fulvicornis)
28 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.White-spotted Digger Wasp (Harpactus tumidus)
28 June 2026 Topsham, Devon."Wasp Bank" Topsham, Devon. The end of a Devon hedge bank cut off to provide access to a new housing development. The area of exposed sand on the bank is about 7m by 3m. At least 20 species of hymenoptera are nesting in or using this bank.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Certainly beautiful and great photos!
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Good day for moths it seems. Names etc in ALT Texts though any ID help with first would be much appreciated. #teammoth
Coleophora sp.? on Lime tree Tilia sp.
26 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.Small Dusty Wave (Idaea seriata) on a notice board.
26 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.Four-spotted Footman caterpillar (Lithosia quadra) on Cherry Prunus sp.
26 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.Lime Hawk-moth caterpillar (Mimas tiliae), found on path, moved to safety.
26 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
35C forecast in Topsham this week so it's decided we go camping in South Devon. About 5 degrees cooler near the coast so not a bad idea. Pond campsite at Beeson held a few Brown-eyed Hawkers so everybody happy. @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawker male 23 June 2026 Beeson, Devon.
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I will be at Longmarsh, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5UH with Georgi Gilpin looking at moths and caterpillars this Sunday 21 June 2026 at 9.30 am. Free event with art materials available for producing your own 'moth art'.
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WildDartmoor @tonydartmoor.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Fake news is putting Dartmoor’s ponies at risk. New deep dive by me into the current furore around Dartmoor's ponies. www.dartmoornature.org.uk/post/ponies-...
dartmoornature.org.uk
Ponies, Dartmoor and fake news
There’s been a deluge of misinformation recently about ponies on Dartmoor. Dartmoor Nature Alliance’s Tony Whitehead looks at the origins and potential impacts of the current “pony campaigning". He st...
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
More a wasp bank than a bee bank: a 3m section of exposed Devon hedge bank with a marvellous diversity of hymenopteran life. Just a small selection here, names in ALT texts. Topsham, Devon. @melcoate.bsky.social #hymenoptera
Agenioideus cinctellus (Pompilidae) female. 8 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.Myrmosa atra (Mutiliidae) male. 8 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.Ammophila sabulosa (Sphecidae) female. 8 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.Cerceris arenaria (Crabronidae) male. 8 June 2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Moth ID help please. I suspect this may be Aethes deaurana, rare immigrant but may be becoming established? any thoughts? 5/6/2026 Topsham, Devon. #TeamMoth
Possible Aethes deaurana 5/6/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Yesterday morning I found this tiny beauty on a gate while walking through Topsham. It looked smart and I didn't recognise it. Turned out to be a new one for me and apparently rare in Devon: Chrysoclista linneella - Lime Flame. #Lepidoptera #teammoth
Chrysoclista linneella (Lime Flame) a tiny orange and black moth with silver spots. Found on a gate 3/6/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
A new species for me and appears to be another county first: Agrilus biguttatus (Buprestidae). No records for south west on NBN and no Devon records in Martin Luff's 2021 list. Topsham, Devon. #Coleoptera
Agrilus biguttatus (Buprestidae). Sometimes known as Two-spotted Oak Borer. A jewel beetle with a pair of distinctive white spots on the elytra plus white spots on the sides of the abdomen. 20/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
If you are interested in learning to identify the UKs ground beetles there are free guides to download on my website johnwalters.co.uk/publications...
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
A few days visiting friends in Surrey, a few hours pottering around lanes, heaths and garden, a few really nice finds. Names etc. in Alt Texts.
Conops vesicularis female (Conopidae); a monster of a Conopid that attacks Hornets. 12/5/2026 Elstead, Surrey.Miris striatus (Miridae). A beautifully marked bug that's apparently common but until now has eluded me. 12/5/2026 Elstead, Surrey.Chrysopilus laetus male (Rhagionidae). A nationally rare snipefly, but now known to be more common and widespread in SE England at least. 13/5/2026 Elstead, Surrey.Tachina ursina female (Tachinidae). A large and shaggy Tachinid which usually appears earlier in Spring, this one looking worn and near the end of it's working life. 12/5/2026 Elstead, Surrey.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Just found my 2nd a couple of days later! Same species this time in Surrey.
Atlantoraphidia maculicollis (Raphidiidae) 12/5/2026 Elstead, Surrey.
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
I am giving an online talk this evening(Tuesday 12 May 2026) 7 pm on the wildlife of Dartmoors' temperate rainforests including the slug munching Blue Ground Beetle, the weird Hazel Gloves fungus and Redstarts www.dartmoor.gov.uk/enjoy-dartmo...
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Definitely one of my favourite groups. Thanks Will.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Guess who just found their first Snakefly? I been wanting to find one of these beasts for years and when I saw this sat on a leaf I knew immediately what it was. Luckily it's a species that can be identified on forewing venation: Atlantoraphidia maculicollis, Pine Snakefly.
Atlantoraphidia maculicollis female (Pine Snakefly). Identified on wing venation: forewing pterostigma extending beyond distal vein of cell 1.
10/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
I am giving a talk at the Wild Gardens Conference, Totnes this afternoon (9th May 2026) tips on attracting insects to your garden including these cob brick bee hotels for Hairy-footed Flower bees www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-garde...
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Dawlish Warren Recording Group @warrenbirding.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Warm and cloudy with sunny spells - ideal conditions for finding co-operative insects. Today's sightings and more images on the blog dawlishwarren.blogspot.com/2026/05/tues...
Coastal Silver-stiletto Acrosathe annulataOrange-tipSwollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
From the garden today, Topsham, Devon. Names in Alt texts.
Grammoptera ruficornis (Cerambycidae) 2/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.Phasia pusilla (Tachinidae) 2/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.Tetrops praeustus (Cerambycidae) 2/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui (Nymphalidae) 2/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
A few beetles from a morning walk by the Exe in Topsham. Local specialities and the now ubiquitous Alder Leaf Beetles: once unknown in these parts, now they're everywhere I look. #coleoptera
Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni (Chrysomelidae) 1/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.Water Ladybird Anisosticta novemdecimpunctata (Coccinellidae) 1/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.Demetrias imperialis (Carabidae) 1/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.Galerucella sagittariae (Chrysomelidae) 1/5/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Richard Allen @richardallenart.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Back here after a break, spent a couple of hours sketching Stone Curlews from a safe distance yesterday, fascinating birds #essexbirding
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Bill Coulson @devonshirenature.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Triungulins, larvae of the Violet Oil Beetle on L. Celandine. 3-clawed feet used to attach themselves to female bees, probably mining bees. Once in the bee's nest they will eat the bee's food store and larvae, after pupating they will emerge in spring as Violet Oil Beetles Meloe violaceus (pic 3)
Triungulins of Violet Oil BeetleTriungulins of Violet Oil BeetleViolet Oil Beetle  Meloe violaceus
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British Arachnological Society @britishspiders.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Our new Atlas of UK spider, harvestmen and pseudoscorpion records is now online at britishspiders.org.uk/atlas. It gives access to 1.6 million records and is constantly updated with data submitted and verified via irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-records.
GB hectad distribution map for Argiope bruennichi from the new SRS AtlasGB hectad distribution map for Erigone welchi from the new SRS Atlas
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
As they're in the garden I tend to notice (and photograph) the first emerging LR Damsels and they've been getting steadily earlier over at least the last ten years. My 1st in 2016 was on 12 May; my 1st of 2025 was 7 April. Not a rigorous study but I think I can see a pattern. . .
Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) female. Newly emerged by garden pond. 11/4/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Richard Herring @herring1967.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
It says a lot about the state of humanity that we didn't all dress up in ape costumes for the return of Artemis II.
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Short-necked Oil Beetle Meloe brevicollis on the south Devon coast yesterday - seems to be a good year for them with 4 found during a short search.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Spent a few hours pottering about the top end of Topsham today; much noise from M5 but a good range of insects in the hedges and scrub. Names in Alt texts
Hazel Leaf-roller Weevil (Apoderus coryli) 6/4/2026 Topsham, Devon.Gymnocheta viridis a spectacular metallic green Tachinid. 6/4/2026 Topsham, Devon.Dark Bush-cricket nymph (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) the first of the year for me. 6/4/2026 Topsham, Devon.Bronze Shieldbug (Troilus luridus). 6/4/2026 Topsham, Devon.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
I can see this being useful although I usually photograph everything and check IDs later.
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British Arachnological Society @britishspiders.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Keep an eye open now for Agalenatea redii, the Gorse Orb Weaver. Gorse is a good place to find it but it can also be found in other bushes, heather, grass, and on fences etc. Like many others in the family Araneidae, A. redii is variable in appearance, and has several strikingly different forms.
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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Surprised to find this female Black Oil Beetle across the road from us today. First I've ever seen in Topsham, now just need to get one for the garden list. #coleoptera
Black Oil Beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus). A female wandering across a gravestone in Topsham Cemetery.
4/4/2026.
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AJCann @ajcann.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
BSky I need your help. Suggest scale objects for tiny (1-3mm) insects? £1 coin is too big. #Insects #Entomology #macrophotography #macro #NaturePhotography
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