iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Spotted my first Brown Argus at @staffswildlife.bsky.social headquarters the other week. What a cracker!

A Brown Argus butterfly on Devil's bit scabious.

David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Might this be Stelis phaeoptera? Spotted at Wolseley on Sunday it was investigating various holes in some wood. @lisawilliams30.bsky.social

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

My first Volucella zonaria of the year and in my garden as well. 😁

A large hornet mimicking hoverfly on a leaf. It is Volucella zonaria.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

The Wool Carder bees seem to have taken a fancy to the Purple Toadflax this year.

A female wool Carder bee nectaring on a Purple Toadflax.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Never had a Blueberry bush before but soon I'm going to have a few to eat from it. How exciting! 😲

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Nice surprise visitor in the garden. The Wasp beetle - Clytus arietis.

A longhorn beetle sat on a leaf. It is Clytus arietis also known as the wasp beetle.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

A lovely fresh Green Drake Mayfly in our garden and then the metallic green click beetle Ctenicera pectinicornis when doing a butterfly transect this afternoon.

A green drake Mayfly in a leaf in a garden.

A metallic green click beetle - Ctenicera pectinicornis on my hand.

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Reposted by David Coles

Vanna Bartlett @vannabartlett.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

After months of work my Norfolk Pseudoscorpion guide for @norfolknats.bsky.social is now on the website free to see/download. Covers 20 species recorded in Norfolk so hopefully useful for other areas of UK. norfolknaturalists.org.uk/wp/wp-conten...

Dendrochernes cyrneus, a large pseudoscorpion with robust shiny, blackish claws on a piece of tree bark.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Lovely little find at Shugborough Hall in a new garden we're building. Thanasimus formicarius also known as the Ant beetle, another species to add to the list there. We've planted many plants there in the past year and this spring the area is alive with insects compared to this time last year.

A colourful Thanasimus formicarius beetle sitting on a hand.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Great to spot Male Hairy footed flower bee trying to woo a female yesterday.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Lots of Bees and Hovers out today in Staffordshire.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

With the introduction of Beavers in the UK finding evidence of them adds another bit of joy to going for a walk.

A photo of a tree that has been felled by a beaver. Showing the point where they have gnawed through the trunk.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

My first Tiger eye pansy grown from seed.

A photo of a Tiger eye Pansy with a single bloom.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

First day of good weather this year and ticked off 4 species of Bumblebee .

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

As the days start to get longer at the start of the year I begin to do some local log turning. I think every single Cychrus caraboides I've seen has been beneath a log like this.

A Cychrus caraboides beetle in its hibernaculum beneath a log.

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Reposted by David Coles

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust @staffswildlife.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

At just 3mm long the riverwood riffle beetle is BIG news for environmentalists in Staffordshire. Why? Because it hasn't been recorded here for more than 150 years! Our incredibly knowledgeable volunteer David Coles discovered on his moth trap sheet late one summer evening.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Seems Regatta have made a breakthrough in imaging. It turns out bacteria look just like insects.

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Elizabeth Stokoe @lizstokoe.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

"it is striking how many of the key players we have looked into — the people who have gone out of their way to put up hundreds of flags — seem anything but ordinary." manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...

manchestermill.co.uk

The men who raised the flags

Nigel Farage says this summer’s movement was led by ‘ordinary people’ expressing their patriotism. That’s not what we found

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Two new species for me this weekend. Didea fasciata and Necrodes littoralis. 😁

A hoverfly of the species Didea fasciata sat on a brown leaf in bright sunshine.

Abeetle of the species Necrodes littoralis being held in a hand.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

This Carabus problematicus didn't seem to like me. Biting into my finger and vomiting on me at the same time.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

From last night my best arrival at the light trap this year Macronychus quadrituberculatus. Not recorded in Staffordshire since 1867. @colsocbi.bsky.social

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Reposted by David Coles

FungiJoJofromCanada @fungijojo.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

How true is this, naturalists and mushroom hunters - the sloths of the natural world! Mushroom month is fast approaching and I haven't had much luck in my area this Summer. What a wonderful world we live in ❤️

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Even a car park can look nice in the right light.

A wide angle photo of an almost car park surrounded by trees with a colourful orange and blue sky above it.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

In January 2017 I spotted this apparently male mallard on the right in the first image. I realised at the time it appeared to have a female bill and the colouring on its head was obviously different from a typical male.🧵

Two male mallards stood next to each other the bird on the right has an atypical bill colour and head pattern.

A male mallard with atypical bill colour and head patter . The same bird as in the first image but nearly 9 years later.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

The heritahe variety fruit trees in the orchard at Staffs Wildlife Trust headquarters are all heaving with fruit. Damsons and plums not ready just yet but still look tasty.

A damson tree branch heavy with purple fruits.

An apple tree branch heavy with small apples.

An apple tree branch heavy with large apples.

A plum tree branch heavy with green fruits.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Yum yum first lot of runner beans for dinner.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Sowed a few Crimson flax in the garden this year. The colour on them looks almost unreal. 🌺

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

The only rime I've found a book on Beetles in a charity shop. 😁

The cover of Common British Beetles by Rev. Charles.A.Hall.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Getting quite chunky feeding on a Figwort in my garden, moved from my Verbascum which I wanted to see the flowers on. Can't be long before it pupates.

A large Mullein moth caterpillar feeding on Common Figwort.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Checking some plans that were stood in trays of water, because of the weather, and found this fab Carabus granulatus. Nice unexpected find.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Fab to spot this small frog I my half barrel pond today only about 30 to 40mm so one of last years I imagine.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

My wife happens to be Coeliac and is always glad if there's a scone she can have when we visit a @nationaltrust.bsky.social site. But I think she did ha e a bit ofscone envy today at Tatton Park. Her scone is on the right.

2 scones and jam. A large cherry scone on the left and a smaller gluten free fruit scone on the right.

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Reposted by David Coles

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Oligarchs buying elections with million dollar giveaways. Hopefully people in Wisconsin won’t allow the South African to purchase a seat on your Supreme Court just like he bought the US federal government.

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Reposted by David Coles

Celia Richardson @celiarichardson.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

National Trust membership for a family costs £14.05 a month. A Telegraph subscription costs £104 a month. And don’t get me started on the quality of the product.

telegraph.co.uk

National Trust raises fees to £3,000 for family life memberships

Charity squeezes an extra 25pc from members over three years

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Bumblebees on Crocuses must mean spring is almost here.

Buff tailed Bumblebee on a yellow crocus in my garden.

Buff tailed Bumblebee on a white crocus at Shugborough Hall.

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Reposted by David Coles

Dave Goulson @davegoulson.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Hurray! Some good news for bees at last. Our new government has followed the science, and refused the application by sugar beet farmers to use banned neonicotinoid pesticides.

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

The annual Staffordshire invertebrate science is at Staffordshire University again on 1st March 2025.

A poster for Staffordshire invertebrate science fair at the catalyst, Staffordshire University on 1st March 2025.

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Reposted by David Coles

Celia Richardson @celiarichardson.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Red Squirrel Appreciation Day is tomorrow! 21 Jan. You’re welcome.

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Reposted by David Coles

Common Sense @cmmnsensedspnsr.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Too important not to share more regularly.

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Reposted by David Coles

Jake Dalzell @bitheolaidhe.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

I can't believe it's that time of the year again but Lesser Celandine is coming up everywhere! Here are some of the fungal and oomycetous pathogens to look out for on its leaves. #fungifriends #plantpathogens

an illustration showing rounded leaves of Lesser Celandine infected with various diseases: blackish-brown blisters of Urocystis ficariae, a yellowed leaf with brown on the underside infected with Peronospora ficariae, a leaf with white spots of Entyloma ficariae, a leaf with small brown dots which are the telia of Uromyces ficariae, and a leaf with swollen orange pustules of Aecidium ficariae

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David Coles @wild-dave.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Best beetle of the year for me was Pterostichus quadrifoveolatus. A new ground beetle for me and a species that is nationally scarce in the UK. I knew there was a chance of finding it on Cannock chase and was so amazed when I found not one but three of them within 3 metres of each other.

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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

The adorable Omophron americanum, with its snippy little mandibles. Texas.

Close up photograph of a small, rounded, orange and metallic green beetle in front/side view. The insect has large eyes and small sharp mandibles

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Reposted by David Coles

NHM Library and Archives @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

We're checking the traps, we're checking them twice, gonna find a beetle or a couple of book lice! We monitor our insect traps regularly to keep the collections safe. Today we find we have the wrong type of 'pest' stuck in there! #ElfOnTheShelf #NaturalHistoryMuseum #IntergratedPestManagement #IPM

A red and white elf toy hangs by one foot from the bottom shelf of a bookcase, the rest of him lies on the floor. On one arm and both feet are folded cardboard insect traps.

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Reposted by David Coles

Brigit Strawbridge @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

When temperatures fall, life becomes hard for insects. Athayde Tonhasca explores some of the strategies, including diapause, that insects adopt to survive... scottishpollinators.wordpress.com/2021/11/02/s... #pollinators #insects #nature 🌿

scottishpollinators.wordpress.com

So long, see you next year

By Athayde Tonhasca The woods are lovely, dark and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep. Robert Frost When temperatures begin to fall, life…

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Reposted by David Coles

Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

2024 Highlights #2. Brachycarenus tigrinus (Rhopalidae). I found this neat little bug on the wall of our house in May. First recorded in Britain in 2003: an introduction? This appears to be the first record for Devon and the south west. #UKWildLife #Hemiptera #Bugs

Brachycarenus tigrinus (Rhopalidae). A beautifully marked slightly greenish bug found in the garden 6 May 2024 Topsham, Devon. I read that adults and nymphs feed on flowers and seeds of crucifers.

Brachycarenus tigrinus (Rhopalidae). A beautifully marked slightly greenish bug found in the garden; still there the next day 7 May 2024 Topsham, Devon.

Map of all records of Brachycarenus tigrinus from NBN Atlas. Widely recorded around London and Thames Estuary, also South East England and East Anglia but previously only as far west as Oxfordshire. This may not show all records of course.

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Reposted by David Coles

ukladybirds.bsky.social @ukladybirds.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

I have enjoyed many entomological highlights through the year - seeing the exquisite 13-spot ladybird, Hippodamia tredecimpunctata, for the first time was utter joy #RSPBPulborough (Photo of 13-spot by Gilles San Martin)

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