Ashleigh Whiffin
@AshWhiffin
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Entomology Curator at @NtlMuseumsScot . 🔬🪲 Beetles 💚 #CommunityScience | #CarrionBeetles NRS Co-organiser @SilphidaeUk . She/Her. 🐞 Views my own.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Joined May 2013
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Pinned Tweet
I’m pleased to be able to finally share this NEW RESOURCE we have created!
‘Caring for entomology collections’ provides an introduction to the management of insect collections:
📌
Hopefully useful for students & citizen scientists, as well as museums 🪲
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With many trees down from
#StormEunice
, it’s time to spread the word about the importance of leaving some of these trees to nature.
Deadwood supports an incredible diversity of life, including ~650 species of British beetles! It is vital habitat. 🪲
📷Jeroen Helmer/
@ARKNatuur
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I’m going to keep banging this drum because this is a serious problem!
Many people that get fake grass don’t realise how damaging it is to the environment & our struggling wildlife. Please spread the word and sign the petition:
📷
@DowlingWildlife
113
2K
3K
If you can’t walk past a patch of Ragwort right now, without checking it for Cinnabar moth caterpillars (Tyria jacobaeae)…
You are my kind of person. 🌼🐛💚
#NatureNerds
#WildflowerHour
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I recently saw my first ever BEE ORCHIDS. ✅🌱🐝🌸
It’s the first time these incredible plants have been recorded in Midlothian, and they’ve popped up on a waste ground right around the corner from work.
I’ve honestly never BEEn so giddy over a plant.
#WildflowerHour
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BIG EXCITING NEWS! I am going to need a new name badge, because… This Assistant Curator is about to officially level-up to Curator 😁
All will be revealed very soon, but in the meantime… [1/2]
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Today, help me flood Twitter with images of BLUE INSECTS! Let’s re-claim
#BlueMonday
and share some of the beauty nature has to offer!
#BlueBugs
🦋
📷 Starting subtle with the underside view of a Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus)
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I feel incredibly honoured to be a recipient of the Marsh Award for
#Entomology
!! I can’t quite believe it! Thank you
@BritEntSoc
&
@MarshAwards
- it really means so much to have my voluntary work recognised in this way. 🥲
#Proud
#EntoOutreach
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“Too many thistles” they said.
“They’re weeds” they said.
Well, the flock of 16 goldfinch beg to differ…
#Wildflowers
#MakeSpaceForNature
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Well, this was special…
Today I met my first WILD Death’s-Head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos), a recent arrival in St. Andrews! 🏴😍
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If insects could talk, you know what they’d be yelling at us?
🦋🐝🪰🪲: THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “WEEDS”!
🌼🌱
#WeedAppreciationDay
#NMCCbiodiversity
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It’s my birthday today. Will you help me spread some love for
#CarrionBeetles
(Silphidae) & share your photos?
My favourite t-shirt features the beautiful Necrophila (Chrysosilpha) formosa, from South-east Asia. Probably the most glamorous beetle in the
#CarrionClub
💙
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This little one hopped right into my heart 💖
A stunning Common Field grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus). This species is super variable in colour. I finally set my eyes on a PINK one yesterday, and on my local patch (at work)! 🦗
#NMCCbiodiversity
#InsectWeek
#InsectWeek23
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I never thought I’d have my name on the cover of a book! Endless thanks go to my brilliant co-authors and to
@___BRC___
for the opportunity to spread the love for these fab beetles!
💚 Keep calm & carri-on recording!
#CarrionBeetles
#WorldBookDay
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Hey
@Tesco
, when are you going to stop selling fake outdoor plants? You are encouraging the horrendous plastic garden trend. Our struggling biodiversity can’t eat your plastic!
@Shitlawns
#PlasticPollution
#NoMowMay
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Yes, I just went outside in my PJs and wellies at 1AM, because it’s snowing. For 5 minutes it was just me and the local ‘stew’ of Oystercatchers chattering away & it was magic.
#CityNature
#Edinburgh
#Birds
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Didn’t expect to be on the cover of
@TheScotsman
yesterday! 😬
What an honour to contribute to this piece for
#WomensHistoryMonth
, sharing one of my entomological heroes… Alice Balfour 🦋 🧵[1/4]
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Super strange but very EXCITING to be holding a copy of our NEW BOOK! Proud to have worked with Steve & Colin on this project. Thank you to everyone that supported us & brought this atlas to life.
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It’s pretty wild that over 10,000 of you are following my entomological babbling on here. Thanks for joining and spreading the insect love. 🪲
Virtual BEETLE HUGS for all, courtesy of this handsome Harlequin beetle.
#TeamBeetle
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Hi my name is Ashleigh and I’m taking part in the
#GlobalScienceShow
!
Today I’ll be discussing INSECT COLLECTIONS and explain why we still need to collect specimens for science. 🪲🔬
Be sure to check out
@drkirstyross
who is up next.
Ready for a big buggy thread? 🧵
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What’s even better than a bee? 🐝
A BEE BEETLE (Trichius fasciatus)!
This master of mimicry has been on my wishlist for a long time. I finally saw them at the recent Scottish Entomologists Gathering at
@VisitDundreggan
. Worth the wait 💚
#AmazingBeetles
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From Mon 27th I officially join colleagues & friends in the
#furloughed
club.
As
#entomology
= life, I want to reassure you all that I will continue to spread my passion for
#insects
here on my personal account (my posts just won’t be related to NMS).
#StayPositive
#StaySafe
🐞
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2021 was a tough one, but something good to come out of it was a new hobby… birding! 🦉🦅🦆
Happy New Year to you all! May 2022 be kind and full of discoveries.
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I was gifted this stunning book on my recent visit to Prague. It’s a Japanese children’s book depicting the life history of a
#BuryingBeetle
! The illustrations are so beautiful - worthy of a mention for
#inktober
🖊
#CarrionBeetles
#SciArt
#SciComm
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I’ve been dealing with anxiety since 2011. For 2 or 3 years it felt crippling. I let it spoil many good things in my life. Now I almost feel free of it. Sure, it creeps in occasionally but spending time in nature works wonders for me.
#WorldMentalHealthDay
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I really like being able to help people when they ask me for ID assistance, especially as
#CarrionBeetles
are my passion!
However, all too frequently an older male naturalist jumps in first or provides an ID when I’ve already given one, OR tries to correct me…
I’m fed up.
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Did you know that there are some moths in the U.K. with entirely AQUATIC CATERPILLARS?! I didn’t, until last year when I was introduced to the Brown China-mark (Elophila nymphaeata).
What a moth. 🤯🐛
#MothMonday
#MothsMatter
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UPDATE: After 7 weeks on
#furlough
, I’m happy to say I am now working again and museum content will resume! Still
#WFH
, but I’ll be doing my best to share some top-notch insect appreciation, museum style.
#MuseumFromHome
🐞
From Mon 27th I officially join colleagues & friends in the
#furloughed
club.
As
#entomology
= life, I want to reassure you all that I will continue to spread my passion for
#insects
here on my personal account (my posts just won’t be related to NMS).
#StayPositive
#StaySafe
🐞
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If you go down to the woods today, you might find… TREE SNOT!
Just kidding - it’s actually much more fascinating than that! They’re CADDISFLY LARVAE!! 😵 [1/2]
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First bumble of the year! A queen tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum), which I rescued from the shoreline today with
@Arty_Bestiola
. 🌳🐝
#Edinburgh
#InsectWatch
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THANK YOU! I’ve been blown away by all the lovely feedback & support, following my little appearance on
#Winterwatch
yesterday! 💚
Huge thanks go to Gillian & the
@BBCSpringwatch
crew, who put me right at ease. What a privilege to share this special place & these
#AmazingBeetles
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I have worked in Natural Sciences at
@NtlMuseumsScot
for 7+ years. This week was the first time I got to see this special specimen from the collection…
Do you know who she is?
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Forget
#BlueMonday
and make today all about the beauty of INSECTS! Let’s spread some joy & share our snaps of
#BlueBugs
🦋
One of my favourites: Blue Ground beetle (Carabus intricatus) 💙 More info on this species ⬇️
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Well this has made my week!! Today’s visitors made me a ‘thank you’
#cake
... in the form of a
#DungBeetle
!! Featuring rum truffle 💩 + edible soil! Love it! 😆💛🍰
#TeamBeetle
#Beetle
#EntoCake
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On vacation. Chasing tigers.
My first Six Spotted Tiger Beetles (Cicindela sexguttata) 💚🪲🇺🇸
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Frozen ponds provided new views this weekend... COOT FEET! ❄️
#CityNature
#BirdsSeenIn2021
#Edinburgh
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🪰🏴 Fieldwork in Scotland…
How it looks Vs How it feels
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How precious is this?! A mother Parent Bug (Elasmucha grisea) standing guard over her eggs. She’s literally using her own body as a shield, to protect her offspring from predators. 🥺💚
Insects are incredible.
#NMCCbiodiversity
#InsectWeek
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Hey there new followers 👋 I’m Ash;
#museum
person, guardian of dead
#insects
, wearer of
#EntoFashion
,
#beetle
botherer (so also a poker of 💩+💀stuff). Here to share my work
@NtlMuseumsScot
& all the weird & wonderful things that fascinate me. 🔎🐞 Thanks for joining 😊
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Let’s turn
#BlueMonday
into a celebration of beautiful
#BlueBugs
🦋💙
Here’s Necrophila formosa (Silphidae) from SE Asia.
#TeamBeetle
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What’s in the box?
Big beautiful buprestids (Euchroma gigantea?) wrapped in weird old medical ads. 🗞
#CollectionCuriosities
#JewelBeetles
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@DingyShears
@DaveGoulson
@B_Strawbridge
@Kate_Bradbury
@ChrisGPackham
@Tesco
Makes you feel hopeless doesn’t it 😔
@Tesco
- Your stores are loaded up with insecticides, herbicides and nasty plastic plants. Have you not heard that we’re facing a biodiversity crisis?!
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Moth or tiny bat?
I’ve been playing with a moth trap during my time off. 😄💡 This male Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) is one of many firsts for me this week!
#MothMonday
#MothsMatter
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I post a lot of wildlife sightings & nice shots of the green/blue space in
#Edinburgh
, but do you want to know the truth?
The city is rife with littering, fly-tipping & too many people so disconnected from nature to give a damn. It hurts.
Thread ⬇️
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I wanted to be a
#CSI
. So studied
#forensics
🔎 On the course I learnt about
#ForensicEntomology
& caught ento fever! Then completed an
#Ento
🐞 MSc & met some very influential curators... the museum🏛 🌍beckoned! My path to being a
#curator
- I wouldn’t change it! 😁
#WhyMyScience
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It’s official, I now have my own binoculars! 🦅🐧🦆👀
Braced the wind yesterday and tested them at one of my local spots. LOVE THEM!
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This Monday could do with a bit of sparkle✨…
Enter Tropirhinus elegans - or as I’m calling it - GLITTER WEEVIL!
#BlueMonday
#BlueBugs
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Guess I’m a cover girl now… 😳
Good morning Scotland. Here is the Scotsman on Saturday front page
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Absolutely BUZZING! Today I was reunited with the insect collection AND found the sweetest gift from
@KellyMiddleham
on my desk - a mini me! She’s even wearing an
#insect
shirt &
@drmartens
🥰🦋
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#Museum30
Day 3 = Fragment
The stuff of NIGHTMARES for all
#entomology
curators… pest attacks that destroy specimens, leaving behind a mess of fragments and frass. 💔
This is why we’re so precious about quarantine & environmental control.
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If only we could summon specimen drawers like this FOR REAL...
#CuratorGoals
#InsectCollection
#ECN2020
@NtlMuseumsScot
@NatSciNMS
@EntCollNet
🧙♀️✨🐞
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All that glitters is not gold... sometimes it’s a weevil!
#WeevilWednesday
#TeamBeetle
#AmazingBeetles
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An icon of Spring, the Orange-tip butterfly. I met this exquisite male at the weekend. The underside is most definitely his best side, don’t you think?
Show me your Orange-tip photos! 📸
#Butterflies
#Springwatch
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Come on folks, let’s spread this one far and wide. Show your support for our friends at
@BBCSpringwatch
, for the biodiversity they champion and the masses they inspire. 🐞🦉🌿
PLEASE SIGN ➡️
#Autumnwatch
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Surely people that deem long grass as ‘messy’, just haven’t had a proper look at it. Get a little closer and you’ll see a variety of colour and beautiful little flowers. Good for many insects & good for us!
#NoMowMay
🌼👀
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Guess the *beetle* is out of the bag now…
I’ll be sharing one of my favourite
#Edinburgh
nature spots and some of its inhabitants for
#Winterwatch
🪲
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This is trash! Low A-level grades don’t really mean anything. I got a D in A-level Biology and failed my Chemistry AS (twice)! But found something applied that I loved & went on to get a First Class honours degree, then a Masters. It’s about maturity and finding your niche.
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Had a GREAT moment yesterday...
Big shout-out to
@NtlMuseumsScot
for giving its staff another Well-being day. I spent it outdoors, with the birds. [Normal Ento behaviour to resume shortly.]
📷 Great tit (Parus major)
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All this fake grass is getting me down, so to counter balance today’s offerings...
Here’s a queen bumblebee taking a nap in a dandelion 💚
🌼🐝💤 (Bombus terrestris)
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Guess who’s gone for a SECOND PRINT RUN!? 🥳
To all you wonderful beetle lovers who have bought a copy… thank you SO much!
Keep calm & carrion recording! 😝
#CarrionClub
#TeamBeetle
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Providing food for our early spring pollinators, and a splash of colour to our grey streets - how could anyone not love dandelions?! 🌼 🐝
#PavementPlants
#MoreThanWeeds
#WildflowerHour
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I’m really not fussed about diamonds, but this ring…
I’d say YES for this ring! 💍 🪲
@verdantisleOR
@NHM_Digitise
The ring features the entimine weevil Tetrabothynus regalis from Hispaniola, and dates to the late 1700s, possibly formerly belonged to Sir Hans Sloane, founder of the British Museum. The inscription is from Virgil about the wonder of tiny things
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I seem to have annoyed a few of the older know-it-all blokes on Facebook… simply by creating a couple of new common names for the beetles I work on. Oh dear! 😏
Perhaps when they run a recording scheme or write a book about their group, they can chose the names!
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MY PRECIOUS!! 😍
I am now the very proud owner of this stunning original by
@CNahaboo
. I think you can see why I had to have it…
#CarrionBeetles
#CarrionClub
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This afternoon something INCREDIBLE happened... crossed something off my bucket list... I HELD an AMERICAN BURYING BEETLE (Nicrophorus americanus)!!!
A million thanks to the fantastic staff at
@stlzoo
for this special visit. Christmas came early. 😁
#ABB
#TeamBeetle
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🐞 My own contribution for
#MuseumFromHome
is more of a
#MuseumAtHome
thing! 🔎📚
(I’ve not done a video before, please be kind)
#BetterLateThanNever
#NaturalHistory
#StayHome
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Hi, my name's Ash and I am taking part in the
#GlobalScienceShow
!
I'll be discussing my favourite insects,
#CarrionBeetles
! Follow along with the whole show using
@GlobalSciShow
, and check out
@DunkyJim
who is up next!
@SilphidaeUk
#TeamBeetle
#ScienceFromHome
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Unexpectedly finding a moth (Green-brindled Crescent) on the pavement…
What I see. What they see.
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In honour of
#YearOfTheFly
& as today is the last Friday of the year, I’m sharing my favourite
#fly
find of 2019:
The deer warble fly (Hypoderma diana) I collected in Cazorla NP, Spain. Once you see the monkey face, it cannot be unseen! 🙈
#FlyFriday
🦟
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This is the result of just ONE discarded plastic bottle: 3 dead field voles, and HUNDREDS of dead
#insects
(including
#CarrionBeetles
& blow flies)! ☠️
When you drop litter, you kill our wildlife.
RECYCLE your cans & bottles.
🐞🌳♻️🥤
#WorldRecyclingDay
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Today it’s
#ColeopteristsDay
today - the gathering of many British Coleopterists
@morethanadodo
. Expect many beetle tweets!! 🐞
#TeamBeetle
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“It's a dangerous business... going out your door....” - J.R.R. Tolkien
7 years ago, battling
#anxiety
, I was terrified of leaving the house. Councillors, a variety of meds, time & the support of loved ones helped me through. Nature is my medicine now.
#mentalhealthawareness
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For International Women & Girls in Science day, I wanted to share something a bit deeper than “happy
#WomenInScience
day!”…
I’ve been inspired & supported by some incredible women in entomology, and I always aim to pay that forward, but… 🧵 [1/7]
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Our
#insect
collection is used by several
#artists
each year - young & old, from well established to just starting out...
#ArtistsDay
🎨🖌🖊
#Inktober
#SciArt
#Entomology
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Regardless of what animal team you’re on, when it comes to
#BiodiversityLoss
we are all on the same side. Any discussions should be respectful. When an ecologist refers to an insect as “some buzzing thing”, to me that’s a red flag.
Come on people - we must do better!
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NEW FAVOURITE T-SHIRT!
It features one of my favourite
#CarrionBeetles
- the beautiful Necrophila (Chrysosilpha) formosa, found in SE Asia.
#EntoFashion
#TeamBeetle
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@lwhemmings
@johntree1981
@NickMorphet
@ArbAssociation
@keeper_of_books
@GregPackman
@FavColour_Green
@WTJohnTucker
@JohnWeirFC
@KateTobinFC
@TheStreetTree
This is great! 👏
For anyone that feels that same way about this horrid outdoor carpet, please sign the petition ⬇️
I’m going to keep banging this drum because this is a serious problem!
Many people that get fake grass don’t realise how damaging it is to the environment & our struggling wildlife. Please spread the word and sign the petition:
📷
@DowlingWildlife
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3K
0
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223
#30DaysWild
🐞 I started my
#NatureJournal
by summarising some of the inverts I found in my home during
#lockdown
🕷📝
#EntoAtHome
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Today is a big scary birthday, so I’m clinging onto my youth by sharing a very early photo... me unintentionally dressed as a
#Ladybird
🐞
#WhoWoreItBest
#BornToBeetle
#InsectsMatter
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#Museum30
Day 2 - Who am I?
Officially, I’m an entomologist & museum curator. In my own words, I’m a beetle obsessed nature nerd, and poker of dead things. 💀
I organise the dead. 🪲 🪰
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#BlueMonday
occurring on my birthday - I don’t think so! Help me turn today into a celebration of
#BlueBugs
💙
I’m kicking things off with the blue ground beetle, Carabus intricatus (from Prague last year).
#TeamBeetle
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Another happy beetle moment from my trip… meeting an Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus). 👀🫰🪲
WHAT A FLIPPING STUNNER!
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The sunny yellow flowers of Colt’s-foot (Tussilago farfara) are now in full bloom. 🌼
Take a closer look at these spring wildflowers and I bet you’ll find some Pollen beetles. Just a few… 🔍👀
#WildflowerHour
#NMCCbiodiversity
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Edinburgh was feeling a bit chilly again today, we even had a bit of hail! There was still some GREAT moments...
📽️ Fed a Great Tit 👍
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10 YEARS on and I'm still into
#CarrionBeetles
... that's true love for you! Happy Valentines Day to my 6-legged loves.
#ValentinesDay2022
#TeamBeetle
🎬🎶 Paramore - Still into You
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What a WILD week. From appearing on
#Winterwatch
to seeing my first Bohemian Waxwings! To round it off, yesterday was my birthday & my wish was to see the
#otters
again 🦦
RESULT! I was gifted a stunning sky & some magic moments with them on my own, as they sniffed at me… [1/2]
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Well
#spring
has officially sprung now… I HAVE RECORDED MY FIRST BEE-FLY OF THE YEAR! 🤩
A Dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major), spotted today on our grounds at work. Yes, I’m a little bit excited.
#BeeFlyWatch
#NMCCbiodiversity
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Spotted a Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) at my bus stop this morning. Moved it to a safer location!
#MothsMatter
#BusStopBugs
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Apparently this is my "I FOUND A BEETLE!" face 😆 Taken a few years back when on a hike around
#LochLomond
. Who doesn't love a Woodland Dor beetle (Anoplotrupes stercorosus)? 💩
#TeamBeetle
#ThrowbackThursday
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This
#WorldWildlifeDay
let’s hear it for the INSECTS… the LITTLE THINGS that run the world! 🪲🌎
From the divine decomposers and pretty pollinators, to the professional predators & parasitoids. They are all blooming amazing & deserve our respect & support. 💚
#WWD2022
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Forget
#BlueMonday
& let’s make today all about the beauty of INSECTS! Help me spread some joy & your snaps of
#BlueBugs
🦋
I’m re-sharing my ultimate favourite this year: A
#CarrionBeetle
from South-east Asia, Necrophila formosa… 💙 [1/3]
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Today I smiled so much that my cheeks ached and I gave myself a headache. Can confirm I love puffins.
Thank you
@SeabirdCentre
! 🧡
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Delighted to find 4 of these fabulous little fakers, Endomychus coccineus, AKA the False Ladybird. 🐞
Nice try beetle, but you don’t fool me.
#AmazingBeetles
#Winterwatch
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