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petravergunst.bsky.social
Scottish Lichens
@petravergunst.bsky.social
120 followers 93 following 62 posts
Lichens and bryophytes and their ecology. Distance learning courses, guided walks, talks, writing, surveys, consultancy.

https://scottishlichens.co.uk/
https://scottishlichens.co.uk/distance-learning-courses/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/746046762602
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petravergunst.bsky.social
#Mosses along farmland tracks near Aberdeen. Barbula convoluta, Bryum argenteum, Syntrichia ruralis and Didymodon fallax. Their colours and shapes are amazing.

#scottishbryophytes #scottishlichens #noticing #biodiversity
November 21, 2025 at 10:19 AM
petravergunst.bsky.social
scottishlichens.co.uk/2025/11/13/l...

#scottishlichens #noticing #nature #lichens #trees #NTS #biodiversity
Lichens and the trees they grow on
On a cold winter’s day the veteran oak trees in the Old Wood of Drum (National Trust for Scotland) in Aberdeenshire look magnificent. Bared of all leaves, the lichens that cover trunks and branches…
scottishlichens.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 6:18 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
Come autumn, come #bryophytes. Climacium dendroides on the shore of Loch of Lintrathen. #scottishwildlifetrust #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes #riverwoods #biodiversity #noticing
November 17, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Scottish Lichens
scotwildlife.bsky.social
BREAKING NEWS!

The Scottish Wildlife Trust has acquired a 7,618ha estate in the Highlands.

Read the full story: buff.ly/3QD6hBu

#WorldWildlifeDay
March 3, 2025 at 8:30 AM
petravergunst.bsky.social
I am looking forward to the #hoverfly season starting again - in NE Scotland, that is. Like other #invertebrates, many species only have a limited flight period and following species coming and going from spring to autumn can be a great joy. #biodiversity
‘About time they got some credit’: why hoverflies are an underappreciated insect
Prof Dave Goulson is one of the world’s foremost experts on insects. But there’s a special place in his heart for hoverflies, one of the prettiest flies around. Here he explains why we should nominate...
www.theguardian.com
March 2, 2025 at 10:19 AM
petravergunst.bsky.social
Nice t have a good news story from Mar Lodge Estate! #biodiversity #noticing
Rare fly discovered at Mar Lodge Estate
The National Trust for Scotland team at Mar Lodge Estate is celebrating the discovery of the rare Arctic wave dancer fly at a high-altitude loch.
www.nts.org.uk
February 28, 2025 at 11:28 AM
petravergunst.bsky.social
I've been following #CemeteryWildlifeWatch for years and even though I have been recording lichens and mosses in churchyards I would never find any ladybirds. @persmiseth.bsky.social suggested to look under under overhangs and I found these two in my local graveyard. #scottishlichens #biodiversity
February 25, 2025 at 4:28 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
Metzgeria fruticulosa on a beech nearby. Note the gemmae at the leaf tips. This #liverwort seems to spread into NE Scotland as I am finding it more and more. #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes #biodiversity #epiphytes #noticing
February 24, 2025 at 6:01 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
The #liverwort Metzgeria furcata on a tree near Banchory. Abundant male reproductive feature (the globose features on the lobes) that I never noticed before. Have the environmental conditions changed and are new genetic makeups required? #scottishlichens #scottishbryophytes #biodiversity #epiphytes
February 24, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Scottish Lichens
asrainforest.bsky.social
Did you know that #ScotlandsRainforest is particularly important for bryophytes? This is an umbrella term for mosses, liverworts and hornworts, simple plants that are studied together because they have a lot in common. 📖 more ➡️ savingscotlandsrainforest.org.uk/wildlife/bry...
Mosses and liverworts of Scotland's rainforest — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest
You’ll find mosses and liverworts growing in lots of different locations, even in big cities. But it’s in the rainforest that these plants really come into their own.
savingscotlandsrainforest.org.uk
February 24, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Reposted by Scottish Lichens
helenbennett.bsky.social
Today I'm showcasing the beauty of Moths for #MacroMonday with this gorgeous Buff Ermine; Butterflies don't tend to be furry, but some moths are, just look at its fluffy cape!🤍

Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful new week🕊️ 📷 🌿

#Photography #Inverts #MothMonday #MothsMatter #UKWildlife #wildlife
A small buff coloured moth is resting on a cluster of white bramble flowers. It is in side profile showing veined wings with black dots that run in a diagonal row. It has a very fluffy head that continues down on to the wings looking like a furry cape. The moth has dark eyes and legs. Seen in July 2024 UK.
February 24, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Scottish Lichens
chriscant.bsky.social
There's always a wow moment when arriving on the west coast of Scotland as there's usually lots of Lobaria pulmonaria and Ricasolia virens to be found on trees, rocks and walls. #LichenGBI
Lobaria pulmonaria on a tree Lobaria pulmonaria on rock+moss Ricasolia virens on a hazel Large expanse of Ricasolia virens
February 22, 2025 at 9:09 AM
petravergunst.bsky.social
Lochside trees at Loch Insh NNR. Intrigued by hawthorn scrub in which the branches are a cloud of #lichens, while the trunks have a thick cover of #bryophytes. The loch provides humidity, with the trunks being most humid and the domain of mosses. #scottishlichens #riverwoods #lichenGBI #biodiversity
Hawthorn scrub on the edge of the loch with moss clad trunks and larger branches surrounded by smaller branches and twigs that were the domain of lichens. #microclimate at work. This pattern was clearly visible all around the loch. A close up of one of the larger branches. The mosses Hylocomium splendens and Hypnum jutlandicum with some of the lichen Parmelia sulcata woven through. An unexpected cover as this is a community of acidic bark and hawthorn tends to be nutrient-rich. A close up of a twig with a dense community of the lichens Evernia prinastri, Hypogymnia physodes, Parmelia sulcata and some Usnea woven through. Again, very much what I would have expected on acidic bark. Intrigued by the lochside trees that will sometimes be leaning in the water and sometimes be on dry land. There is a specific community of bryophytes that have specialised in this habitat.
February 20, 2025 at 4:56 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
Creag Meagaidh NNR, Scottish Highlands. Alnus glutinosa - Fraxinus excelsior - Lysimachia nemorum alderwood. Both the burn and the root nodules of #alder generate a degree of natural eutrophication that is reflected in the #bryophyte flora. #scottishlichens #riverwoods #biodiversity #bryophytes
February 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by Scottish Lichens
greenwingstours.bsky.social
It is nice to look back sometimes. This quartet of images come from 2014 & the launch year of our exclusive butterfly tour of the Eastern French Pyrenees. We can't wait to get back there with our guests again! 🦋

Names on photos, other than the first, which is the unmistakable Violet Copper.
Violet Copper in 2014, from the unique and exclusive Greenwings butterfly tour of the Eastern French Pyrenees. Spanish Festoon in 2014, from the unique and exclusive Greenwings butterfly tour of the Eastern French Pyrenees. Spanis Fritillary in 2014, from the unique and exclusive Greenwings butterfly tour of the Eastern French Pyrenees. Provence Orange-tips in 2014, from the unique and exclusive Greenwings butterfly tour of the Eastern French Pyrenees.
February 18, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Scottish Lichens
mothman60.bsky.social
Baeomyces rufus is common beside our moorland streams here in VC62.
Baeomyces rufus .
February 16, 2025 at 9:19 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
An interesting online talk by Becky Yahr, former president of the British Lichen Society and research scientist at the RBGE. #scottishlichens #lichenGBI #lichen #fungi #biodiversity
Diversity and conservation of lichens
Appreciating lichens and their importance in habitat management and conservation.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
February 15, 2025 at 2:34 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
Within birch and pine woodland, aspen provides welcome #lichen diversity as its bark is basic rather than acidic. Ramalina species are common, but there was also some nice Physconia and a crustose Lecanora species covered in the black dots of a lichenicolous lichen. #scottishlichens #lichenGBI
February 10, 2025 at 7:58 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
This group in Cumbria is among the most active lichen and bryophyte groups in Britain. I am deeply impressed by the amount of species they're recording and the number of less common species they find. #lichenGBI #scottishlichens #biodiversity
onloughrigg.bsky.social Pete Martin @onloughrigg.bsky.social · Feb 9
Great to be out again with Cumbria Lichen and Bryophyte group (after a gap of several months). Seatoller woods: mostly acid bark stuff including Ochrolechia tartarea and more Hypotrachyna taylorensis than I've ever seen before. Also Pyrenula acutispora: new to me. #LichenGBI
February 9, 2025 at 10:33 AM
petravergunst.bsky.social
This is the recording of the talk on the importance of archaeological and historical monuments for #lichens and #bryophytes I did for the #ScottishWildlifeTrust. Always happy to collaborate on this theme.
#scottishlichens #lichenGBI #archaeology #geology #scottishbryophytes #historicscotland
Archaeological and historical monuments as habitat for lichens and mosses
YouTube video by Scottish Wildlife Trust
www.youtube.com
January 31, 2025 at 12:33 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
This is inspiring work by Craig and the BLS Strathclyde Lichen Group. Depending on the habitat 30 lichen species for a monad can be quite a challenge. Reedbeds and grassland are usually not where one would look for lichens first.
craigpnature.bsky.social Craig Postlethwaite @craigpnature.bsky.social · Jan 30
BLS Strathclyde Lichen Group were at RSPB Lochwinnoch on Tuesday. I was on note taking duties so few photos. We will end up with over 60 species across 3 monads that are mostly water, reedbeds or “improved” grassland. Each monad now with 30 or more species recorded rather than none.
#lichengbi
Stan Campbell beside an alder that is covered in Graphis scripta s. lat.
January 30, 2025 at 7:36 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
Pinhead #lichens on a conifer snag in Maryculter Woods - most likely Chaenotheca brunneola (pale) and Calicium viride (greenish). These tend to be dead wood specialists that are more commonly found in central and eastern Scotland. #scottishlichens #lichenGBI #deadwood #biodiversity
January 30, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Scottish Lichens
cairngormsconnect.bsky.social
Over the last five years the team at WildLand Cairngorms has tracked the movements of raptors in this landscape.

They can see that these birds have travelled extensively – with some Golden Eagles being tracked as far as the Inner Hebrides!

bit.ly/TreasureAndC...
@cairngormsnews.bsky.social
A close up map showing most of Scotland, with blue, red, green, and brown lines zigzagging across the map - mainly overlapping over the Cairngorms.
January 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
petravergunst.bsky.social
The Cetraria sepincola in Maryculter Woods is still hanging on. Quite literally, as this #lichen species prefers to grow on the most brittle of birch twigs that often snap when you try to have a look at it. Not finding the species that often. #scottishlichens #lichenGBI #biodiversity
January 28, 2025 at 4:58 PM