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Hannah

@wilderhomestead.bsky.social
921 followers 883 following 1.4K posts

Creating a wilder smallholding in the Welsh borders. Mostly moths, sometimes butterflies, other inverts + wildflowers

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Reposted by Hannah
Guardian Environment @environment.theguardian.com · 15/09/2026
The incoming ‘super’ El Niño will create chaos around the world. And we are far from ready for it | Bill McGuire
theguardian.com
The incoming ‘super’ El Niño will create chaos around the world. And we are far from ready for it | Bill McGuire
One of the biggest upheavals in a millennium is on its way, strengthened by the climate crisis. We need leaders who make things better not worse, says climate professor Bill McGuire
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What a bonus moth on my first aid training course - Dewick’s Plusia @worcswt.bsky.social #TeamMoth
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Bat Conservation Trust @batconservation.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Want to help us win £1,000? All you have to do is nominate the Bat Conservation Trust here: movementforgood.com/draws/1000/?... All you have to do is add your contact details. Please share widely. As a thank you, here is a cute photo of a common pipistrelle (c) Hugh Clark
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Full moon on the river Wye for my second Waterways Bat Survey - lots of moths and a few Daubenton’s seen🦇 @batconservation.bsky.social #riverwye #herefordshire #bats
Full moon reflecting on the river Wye with tree silhouettes on the far bank
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 13/08/2026
Temperatures have now provisionally exceeded 37°C 🌡️ Before 2026, the UK had recorded 37°C or higher on only six occasions. This year alone, we've already reached that mark three times.
A table of top temperatures so far. The highest currently at 37.6°C at Charlwood.
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Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The Haywain 2026
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clancic.bsky.social @clancic.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
So pleased that the Heritage Lottery fund has awarded us a grant of £98,135 for our 'Investing in Incredible Invertebrates' Project!!!!!!
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
An exciting find in the moth trap this morning, Ancylosis oblitella Saltmarsh Knot-horn - would be first for the county I believe. We’re not inundated with salt marsh in the West Midlands! Retained for CMR #TeamMoth #Herefordshire
Ancylosis oblitella Saltmarsh Knot-horn. SO24 North Herefordshire
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Lin Hawthorne @haggewoods.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Torilis japonica, Upright Hedge Parsley Looking for the inverts that rely on this native annual as a larval host, I found 11 species. Each of them also use multiple other members of the family Apiaceae, highlighting the importance of the family for invertebrates. #WildflowerHour
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Creeping thistles providing a food source for pollinators and Painted Lady caterpillars 🤩@westmbms-99.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
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Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
#BigButterflyCount is here! Between now and the 9th August: - spend 15 mins in a sunny spot - count the butterflies you see - submit your sightings Find out more at bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org Happy counting folks! 🦋🦋🦋
Butterfly Conservation Big Butterfly Count

Get out for the count. Spend 15 minutes in a sunny spot and gather vital data to save butterflies and moths.

17 July to 9 August

Take part. Identify and record your sightings at bigbutterflycount.org or scan the QR code to download our free app.

Exclusive media partner BBC Gardeners' World magazine

#BigButterflyCount

Image: Peacock butterfly by Gundula Vogel
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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Had to delay going out into the garden this morning as I didn't want to interrupt this lunatic's frolicking #stoat #salopobs
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Going round in circles with this one - ObsID saying Satin Beauty, but could be Mottled or Willow - any help #TeamMoth Herefordshire
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
#TeamMoth
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Life’s been getting in the way of moth trapping unfortunately, but 40 species on Saturday night - my favourite had to be this smart little Pearl Grass-vaneer Catoptria pinella #TeamMoth North Herefordshire
Catoptria pinella Pearl Grass-vaneer SO24 Brilley
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Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
It was inevitable, wasn't it🙄 Of course the Telegraph would run with something like this👇 So let's remove some of the rose-tinted spectacles and also look at some of that data comparing 1976 with modern heat waves Because the 1976 nostalgia porn is wearing a bit thin at this stage 🧵1/23
Telegraph headiline:

"Heatwave hysterics wouldn't have lasted a day in 1976", overlaid with a bold “MONK DEBUNKED” stamp.
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Lovely fresh Ringlet on my walk this morning - North Herefordshire #Butterflies
Ringlet butterfly feeding on bramble
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Lunar Hornet moth to lure at Dorstone Chruch, Herefordshire @clancic.bsky.social
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Amazing encounter with a Purple Hairstreak this evening - they usually spend their time high up in oak trees! Brilley, North Herefordshire @savebutterflies.bsky.social @herefordshirewt.bsky.social
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Red-belted and Yellow-legged Clearwing in the garden over the last couple of days (MYO and VES lures), North Herefordshire SO24 #TeamMoth
Red-belted Clearwing Yellow-legged Clearwing
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Stunning sawfly found today at Ewyas Harold Common - I believe it’s a female Abia nitens? #Sawflies #Herefordshire @andymus.bsky.social
Abia nitensAbia nitens
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Having not trapped for a while 46 sp was a bit of a shock this morning - best was this lovely little micro Phtheochroa rugosana, larval food plant is white bryony #TeamMoth SO24 North Herefordshire
Phtheochroa rugosanaPhtheochroa rugosana
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
My #TinyPlants for this weeks #WildFlowerHour found at Moccas in Herefordshire - Heath Speedwell and Common Milkwort
Heath SpeedwellCommon Milkwort
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Great Fen @greatfen.org.uk · 16/05/2026
We met a giant at Holme Fen! The largest lowland birch woodland hosting our largest birch sawfly!
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Some great caterpillars around at the moment - nearly makes up for the awful trapping weather 🙈 Chunky Figure of 8 cat found on the school run yesterday #TeamMoth #Herefordshire
Final instar Figures of 8 caterpillar feeding on blackthorn Final instar Figures of 8 caterpillar feeding on blackthorn
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
This image really doesn’t do this little butterfly justice - met this rare beauty a few years ago and it was love ❤️ britainsfavouritebutterfly.co.uk/butterfly/wh... White-letter Hairstreak
britainsfavouritebutterfly.co.uk
White-letter Hairstreak - Britain’s Favourite Butterfly
The White-Letter Hairstreak is one of the 60 beautiful butterflies found across the UK. Will it be Britain's Favourite Butterfly?
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Nice to see both male and female Pale Tussock in the trap this morning, showing the size difference (female larger and plainer) #TeamMoth
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Prof. Ian Walker @ianwalker.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
You're probably wondering just how metric my socket set is
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The White Falcon @markgolley.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
GEOFF! A wander to a favourite spot to look for this mega micro - Alabonia geoffrella (Hedge Beauty) - paid off with our 1st of 2026 in some sunlit brambles, protected from the easterly breeze. Our earliest record ever, by 4 days. @linnetincley.bsky.social #cleymothobs #norfolkmoths #teammoth
Few micros (or macros!) are as snazzy and stunning as Alabonia geoffrella. Today's Hedge Beauty was our earliest-ever (the first time we've seen one when there's only single digits on the calendar for May). He wasn't around for long, managed a quick pic before he flicked...
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Plain Pollen-moth, Micropterix calthella, a tiny micro moth with functional jaws to feed on pollen - on an Early Purple Orchid, Herefordshire #TeamMoth
Two tiny Micropterix calthella micro moths on an early purple orchidTwo tiny Micropterix calthella micro moths on an early purple orchid
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Can’t beat a fresh Chocolate-tip, what a gorgeous moth 😍 A favourite from last nights 21/17, Brilley, North Herefordshire #TeamMoth
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Lovely to see a Small Copper in the meadow this morning 🧡 North Herefordshire #Butterflies
Small Copper butterfly sunning itself on a bramble leaf
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Beautiful Green-winged orchids up at the Birches Farm @herefordshirewt.bsky.social #WildflowerHour
Green-winged orchids growing in a meadow with an oak tree coming in to leaf behind. The Birches Farm Kington
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Team Diptera 🪰🔍🦟🌻 @teamdiptera.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The flies are almost upon us!!! #FlyWeek
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Love a parasitoid - this is Dinocampus coccinellae I think, a tiny endoparasitic wasp of ladybirds #Bugsky
Dinocampus coccinellae, an endoparasitoid wasp in a cocoon beneath a 7-spot ladybird. The dead ladybird helps protect the cocoon until the wasp hatched. Found on a nettle leaf.
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
What dreams are made of 😮🤩
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Another cold night and just 14/10 sp. Highlight had to be a Silver Cloud new for me (and NFG) #TeamMoth
Silver Cloud, in shades of brown with distinctive tufts on the thorax. A bit of a Herefordshire speciality! SO24 Brilley
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Morston Pond @morstonpond.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Morston Pond bus stop now has some informative biodiversity posters within, with some of the flora & fauna we've documented since we started our community pond project 3 years ago. See our blog www.morstonpondswamp.org/post/bus-sto... @carlsayer.bsky.social @bramblebotanist.bsky.social
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Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
1/ There's a system of ocean currents in the Atlantic that shapes Europe's #climate, drives monsoons, and keeps sea levels stable along the US coast. In the last 5 years, the scientific evidence that it could collapse has shifted dramatically. Most people have no idea. 🧵
Globe showing the Atlantic Ocean with arrows depicting the AMOC circulation: warm surface currents (pink/red) flowing northward from the tropics toward the Arctic, and cold deep return currents (blue/purple) flowing southward. The background shows sea surface temperature trends, with a prominent blue cold patch, the "cold blob", south of Greenland, contrasting with warming (orange/red) across the rest of the ocean.
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Cuckoo! Brilley, North Herefordshire
A screenshot of the Merlin app listing birds heard on the 17th April near Hereford including Cuckoo - the first for me this year
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
“One monthly flea treatment for a large dog contains enough imidacloprid to kill 25 million bees” - & whenever a treated dog has a dip it pollutes the river So it’s great news for nature that the Govt is planning to ban over-the-counter flea treatments: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Over-the-counter pet flea treatments could be banned under new UK rules
Exclusive: ministers consider restricting pesticide-based treatments, which can get into waterways and harm wildlife
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
A fabulously weird Myopa (M. pellucida?) Bee Grabber fly - an endoparasite of solitary bees. North Herefordshire
Myopa (M. pellucida?) side viewMyopa (M. pellucida?) from above
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Terry & Judy Wood @tandjwood.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Very pleased to find another Honeysuckle Sawfly in the garden. Impressive and burnished gold. We have lots of Honeysuckle and it's another great plant for wildlife.
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Hart’s-tongue Fern unfurling and Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage glowing in the sunshine between the showers. Brilley, North Herefordshire #WoodlandPlants #WildflowerHour
Hart’s-tongue FernOpposite-leaved golden saxifrage
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National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 11/04/2026
Nearly 1 in 6 UK species are threatened with extinction. We've lost 97% of our wildflower meadows since the 1930s. We have 73 million fewer birds than in the 1970s - a decline of almost a third. And yet some politicians still just see wildlife as a blocker to progress.
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Found two different rusts on Lesser Celandine today - Bitter Chocolate Rust, Uromyces ficariae and Celandine Cluster Cup, Uromyces dactylidis. North Herefordshire
Bitter Chocolate Rust, Uromyces ficariae on underside of lesser celandine leafBitter Chocolate Rust, Uromyces ficariae on upper side of lesser celandine leafCelandine Cluster Cup, Uromyces dactylidis on underside of Lesser Celandine leafCelandine Cluster Cup, Uromyces dactylidis on petiole of Lesser Celandine leaf
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
The rather lovely metallic Green Click Beetle, Selatosomus aeneus, found today at Herrock Hill near Kington, North Herefordshire. #UKWildlife #BugSky
Selatosomus aeneus, a large metallic green Click Beetle on short grazed upland grassland. UK
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Vic Brown @viccbrown.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Flies don't get much better than this. Nationally Scarce, a female Conops vesicularis in my S. Cambridgeshire garden this afternoon. An endoparasite that attacks Hornets & other social wasps. It jumps onto its hosts, opens the host's abdomen with a blade-like structure (2nd photo), & lays an egg.
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Hannah @wilderhomestead.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Ruby-tailed wasps were busy yesterday afternoon - what a little jewel of an insect! North Herefordshire #UKWildlife #BugSky
Ruby-tailed wasp, could be one of several species! Metallic blue/turquoise head/thorax, metallic red abdomen
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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
A little #CowslipChallenge science for #WildflowerHour. They're heterostyly -2 flower morphs: 🔹S (short-styled, stamens above) 🔹L (long-styled, stigma above) They only cross-pollinate, and healthy populations have both morphs in a 50:50 ratio—an indicator of genetic diversity and meadow health 🌿
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