Richard Fox | Lightnews

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 4h

I think this is just because they currently have lapidella covered under their Luffia ferchaultella entry.

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 4h

Yes it is a strategy used by other insects, notably aphids but also some bees and wasps etc. Also a few vertebrates

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 5h

Two larval cases of the moth Luffia lapidella
(Ramshorn Bagworm) on a patch of lichen on a village wall today. Almost all UK populations of this species are parthengenetic, having only females which reproduce asexually #teammoth

Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 1d

It's happening! The first butterfly sightings of 2026 are in 🦋

The first Red Admiral in the UK was spotted on the wing in Swansea on 2 January.

Which species are you looking forward to seeing most this year?

📷: Iain H Leach

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 3d

Moth trap and aurora in south Devon #teammoth

Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 3d

Forget 'Blue' Monday! Today we're celebrating #BlueBugs with the stunning Small Blue (Cupido minimus) 💙🦋

With a wingspan up to 30mm, it is the UK's smallest resident butterfly.

This friendly individual was filmed by Species on the Edge Officer Tracy Munro.

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 6d

Depends on location doesn’t it. I don’t think I’d get anything in my garden tonight. Early next week looks a bit more promising. Good luck to you though

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 6d

Not me

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 9d

😍 Floof fest in the garden moth trap. Never get tired of December Moths but they must be right at the end of their flight period now. #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 10d

Thanks for raising this Martin. I wasn’t aware but have now flagged it with our Recording and Monitoring team

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 10d

Nice to be starting 2026 with our new paper with @sei.org on making #CitizenScience biological recording more inclusive @savebutterflies.bsky.social doi.org/10.5334/cstp...

Increasing Inclusivity in Biological Recording in the United Kingdom: Progress to Date and Future Priorities | Citizen Science: Theory and Practice

doi.org

UKBMS @ukbms.bsky.social · 13d

UKBMS data feeds into UK government statistics to measure biodiversity. Each year, @jncc publish Biodiversity Indicators - giving a snapshot of how our biodiveristy is faring

buff.ly/Cw71ZAY

You can view the latest Biodiversity Indicators here - buff.ly/cyuIo2G

UK biodiversity continues to decline, 2025 bioindicators show

Wallingford scientists contributed to the 2025 indicators with analysis of animal and plant trends.

www.bbc.co.uk

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 14d

Off the mark for 2026 with my first garden moth trap of the year last night. 6 December Moth and 2 Winter Moth. A selection of December Moths for your delight #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 16d

New study using @gardenmothscheme.bsky.social data shows that 125w & 80w bulbs attract more moths than any actinics, and that Robinson and Skinner traps retain more moths that Heath traps #teammoth doi.org/10.1111/icad...

Effect of bulb type on moth trap catch and composition in UK gardens

We analyse 10 years of records Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) to estimate the effect of bulb and trap type on the number of moths caught by moth traps. We find that brighter, higher wattage bulbs collect ...

doi.org

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 21d

Many thanks. For you too!

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 21d

Yes absolutely still plenty of mothing and yes that would be great. My main mothing focus will be trying to find some new species for me, so probably a few trips out of the West Country

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 21d

Many thanks. Really glad to have succeeded in the 1000 moth challenge but looking forward to less pressured mothing this year 😂

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 21d

Huge thanks to everyone who helped my mothing in 2025, esp Tony Davis, @barryhenwood.bsky.social, James Symonds, @mammalmark.bsky.social, @dartfordtrapper.bsky.social, Rebecca Levey, @warrenbirding.bsky.social, @footprintecology.bsky.social, Guy Meredith, @gmtord.bsky.social & Paul Butter

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 21d

Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2026 brings lots of great mothing. My final stats for 2025 are 1,038 species recorded (excluding aggs), all in England, by far my best ever total. It included 114 lifers. 243 species recorded as early stages (mostly leaf mines). #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 22d

🏆My Moth Oscars 2025 - Best Migrant. Not many contenders but the winner was Diasemiopsis ramburialis (Migrant Sable)🥇 a lifer caught in the New Forest with Tony Davis. Shortlist = Porter’s Rustic, also a lifer, & Palpita vitrealis (Olive-tree Pearl) for the sheer number around this year. #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 23d

🏆My Moth Oscars 2025 - Best Immature stage. Shortlist (cont.) = Coleophora kuehnella (Cloaked Case-bearer), Acrobasis consociella (Grey Oak Knot-horn), Ectoedemia arcuatella (Strawberry Dot), C. albicans (Wormwood Case-bearer) & C. violacea (White-tipped Case-bearer). 3/3 #teammoth

Coleophora kuehnella (Cloaked Case-bearer) case on oak at Chudleigh Knighton Heath near Newton Abbot. A very rarely recorded species in Devon and a spectacular case that I’d never seen before. A close second place for the Oscar this year

Acrobasis consociella (Grey Oak Knot-horn) larva found in a spinning on a young oak sapling on the east Devon heaths.

Ectoedemia arcuatella (Strawberry Dot) mine and larva at Leckhampton Hill, Glos

Coleophora albicans (Wormwood Case-bearer) case on the Norfolk coast. A rare species and a lifer for me

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 23d

🏆My Moth Oscars 2025 - Best Immature stage. Shortlist (cont.) = Bucculatrix maritima (Saltern Tuft), Agonopterix assimilella (Speckled Broom Buff), Nothris congressariella (Cornish Snout)… 2/3 #teammoth

Bucculatrix maritima (Saltern Tuft) larva in mine on the Teign Estuary near Newton Abbot

Bucculatrix maritima (Saltern Tuft) adult reared from mine on the Teign Estuary near Newton Abbot

Agonopterix assimilella (Speckled Broom Buff) larva on Dartmoor

Nothris congressariella (Cornish Snout) larva on the north Cornwall coast

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 23d

🏆My Moth Oscars 2025 - Best Immature stage. The most tightly contested category. Winner = Scarce Pug larva🥇- a lifer & very rare species that I didn’t expect to find due to the early season. Shortlist = Selania leplastriana (Coast Piercer), Caryocolum viscariella (Campion Groundling)… 1/3 #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 24d

🏆My Moth Oscars 2025 - Best Supporting (unexpected) Micro shortlist cont. Ethmia quadrillella (Comfrey Ermine), Phaulernis dentella (Dusky Ridge-back), Duponchelia fovealis (European Pepper Moth), Aglossa pinguinalis (Large Tabby), Luquetia lobella (Tufted Blackthorn Moth) 2/2 #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 24d

🏆My Moth Oscars 2025 - Best Supporting (unexpected) Micro. Winner = Cosmopterix lienigiella (Pale Reed Beauty), Hackney Marshes on the River Teign. A rare species in Devon with only a handful of records, all from the Exe. Shortlist = Pammene rhediella (Fruitlet Mining Tortrix)…1/2 #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 24d

And a Happy New Year to you too Les!

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 25d

Thanks and well done to you too

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 25d

🏆My Moth Oscars 2025 - Best Supporting (unexpected) Macro shortlist (continued): Dark Umber in garden trap (2nd for Devon), White Satin at Dawlish Warren (my 2nd ever), Lead Belle & Small Clouded Brindle (both long overdue lifers that turned up in my garden) 2/2 #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 25d

🏆My Moth Oscars 2025 - Best Supporting (unexpected) Macro. The winner is Dusky-lemon Sallow🥇, a lifer for me and a species with only a handful of previous Devon records, caught on a cold October night at the edge of the local marshes. Shortlist: Saltern Ear (my second ever)…1/2 #teammoth

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 26d

Many thanks

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