Kieran Anderson
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andersonkieran.bsky.social
Kieran Anderson
@andersonkieran.bsky.social
260 followers 340 following 60 posts
Currently Misadventuring in Entomology.
Fascinated by soil dwelling invertebrates and the hymenoptera, mostly wasps. However, easily distracted by just about anything mycological, botanical or inverty.
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andersonkieran.bsky.social
It’s here! Starfinder 2E in the wild! Cannot wait to play this… #RPG #Starfinder
Most of the image is filled by a boom, Starfinder Second Edition Player Core, with another similarly coloured book partially visible on the left hand side, against a dark and blue background.
July 30, 2025 at 2:56 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Due to some technical issues, the plug broke, this is a bit delayed, but our first Light Trap at Portsmouth Natural History Musuem is away! #Entomology #Lepidoptera #Moths
Two blueish dots, the UV lights of two moth traps, against a dark to black background, of the garden of Portsmouth Natural History Museum
July 8, 2025 at 10:35 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Wooop! Finally, several years after planting, the Rose has lured in the absolutely awesome looking larvae of an Arge sp. sawfly. Will be collecting to rear through and see if we can get any Ctenopelmatinae wasps out of them! #Entomology #Wasps #Hymenoptera
The green leaves of a cultivated rose are against a white painted wall. There are three sawfly larvae on a nearly completely eaten leaf in the centre of the image, with another singular larvae on a stem on the lower right hand side. The sawfly larvae have a light green base colour speckled with yellow, white and black dots with an orange head capsule. The green leaves of a cultivated rose are against a white painted wall. There is a bright red rose petal out of focus in the backgrounds. A single sawfly larvae is eating a leaf in the centre of the image. The sawfly larvae have a light green base colour speckled with yellow, white and black dots with an orange head capsule.
July 8, 2025 at 1:42 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
While @dipteristsforum.bsky.social field meeting is in theory to collect flies, it’s proved to be a great trip for @carrionbeetlesuk.bsky.social! Along with Phosphuga atrata and Oiceoptoma thoracicum managed to find our first, hopefully, Nicrophorus vespilloides #entomology #diptera #coleoptera
A transparent glass tube is resting among bare soil and green plants. At the left side the tube is capped with a whiteish bung. In the middle is a largely black beetle, with four orange marks across its elytra.
June 20, 2025 at 11:26 AM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
The journey to the @dipteristsforum.bsky.social Summer Field Meeting continues, a beautiful, if wet morning in Glasgow before heading to Inverness and then onwards to Tomich!
On the left, is a statute of a man (The Duke of Wellington) on horse back, with a cone on traffic cone on its head. On the right is the Musuem of Modern art, a building with columns in front of it. There is a white rectangular container in the foreground.
June 14, 2025 at 7:57 AM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
And we’re off! On the Caledonia sleeper heading off to the @dipteristsforum.bsky.social Summer Field Meeting! To the, hopefully for a least sometimes, dryish highlands!
A train, which is mainly blue with a yellow front and red lights is waiting at a platform.
June 13, 2025 at 10:19 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Todays find, several sawfly larvae, I think possibility of Ash Sawfly, Tomostethus nigritus, on Narrow Leaved Ash, Tomostethus nigritus, feeding merrily along despite the pouring rain. #Entomology #Hymenoptera #Sawflies
A green leaf is against a black background. A light green with two yellow dorsal stripes sawfly larvae is perched on the leaf edge eating the leaf.
May 27, 2025 at 7:35 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Another highlight from today, these beautiful little pearl like eggs, no idea what might emerge, but possible Lepidopteran or Hemipteran, can just wait and see what hatches! #Entomolgy #Lepidoptera #Hemiptera
A patch of aprox. 50 pearlescent globular eggs laid on a green veined rose leave against a black background
May 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Gruesome, fascinating and charming all at once. No idea what these might be, can the cocoon suggest anything @gavinbroad.bsky.social @jasboparai.bsky.social? Found several of these possible wasp cocoons wearing their aphid victims as hats today on roses. #Entomology #Wasps #Hymenoptera
In the center is a pale white semi transparent remains of a aphid, petrified above a white silken cocoon, possibly of a parasitic wasp. Above is a brownish living aphid. The background is a green veined leaf, with some black artifacts of the microscope eye piece in the corners. A detailed view of a pale white semi transparent remains of a aphid with some dark patches on the legs, petrified above a white silken cocoon, possibly of a parasitic wasp. against a background of a green veined leaf, with some black artifacts of the microscope eye piece in the corners.
May 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
And yup, the little murderous eating machines emerged Monday. These #Coccinellidae already making rapid progress at clearing the garden of aphids. #Entomology #Coleoptera #Rearing
A early instar Ladybird, Coccinellidae, beetle eating an aphid, on a green - brown leaf. The ladybird larvae is black and grey in colour, the aphid is pale green. The image has been taken through a microscope of specimens in glass tube and is slightly soft or out of focus.
April 30, 2025 at 11:13 AM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Okay, you win this round Gelis, but this isn’t over…. A simultaneously fascinating and frustrating group, determined to remain unidentified by any means…. Thanks to the brilliant @gavinbroad.bsky.social for arranging accesses today at the @nhm-london.bsky.social #Wasps #Ichneumons #Entomology
A wooden entomology tray filled with specimens is to the right of the image. To the left is a smaller white tray with pinned entomology specimens in it is sitting on a white bench top, behind is a smaller metal ball and a black cable.
April 28, 2025 at 5:14 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Wasps! Can you ever really have too many (well obviously not), but these chaps emerged today from a suspected spider egg sac. They have a braconid look to them, but will get a better look under the microscope when I have subdued a specimen or two….. #Hymenoptera #Entomology #Wasps
A test tube is setting on a cardboard box. In the bottom is a damp looking red granular material, Seramis. A browned stalk of grass with a silken orb on rest on top of the seramis. A number of small black wasps are moving around in e tube. The top of the tube is blocked by fine white netting tied on by a green and white stripped string and a brown tag is tied with string above that.
April 27, 2025 at 12:44 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
A rather brightly coloured Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria, I think, caterpillar found while out and about today. Among Hawthorne flowers. Potted in the hopes it’s been parasitised by something interesting. #Lepidoptera #Entomology #Hymenoptera
A caterpillar is sitting on the edge of green leaf, its body is arched up, like a bridge. The caterpillar is brownish with brighter yellow and orange patches along its length. In the background is some onto focus green plastic and red bricks.
April 26, 2025 at 9:39 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
So what do we recon to these, I think likely Lepidoptera eggs, found on Lime Tilia sp. last night while out caterpillar hunting. I've no idea, bur cannot wait to find out! #Entomology #Lepidoptera #Egg
A cluster of oval bright orange eggs are shown in the center, against a green leaf.
April 24, 2025 at 6:40 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Still early, they need more of a chance for the wasps to get at them! Will be checking in with these, I think Malacosoma neustria or Lackey, caterpillars until more mature, then take home to see what emerges! #Ichneumons #Hymenoptera #Lepidoptera
A mass of caterpillars are feeding on a leaf, which is full of many holes.The individual caterpillars have dark heads and bodies mostly green with lighter stripes, however it’s hard to make out individual cat pillars in the group. In the back ground is a white net and out of focus green leaves.
April 15, 2025 at 5:22 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Speeding away to the BMIG annual field meeting, Hertfordshire and its surround await! #BMIG #myriapods #isopods
A bright orange back pack and black bag, with various pieces of field kit poking out of its top, sit in a train luggage rack. Behind are windows showing greenery wizzing by. There is a row of train seats to the right and a train door to the left which is closed.
April 10, 2025 at 11:46 AM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Some of the first of this years specimens (victims) being reared, this Noctua pronuba (I think), has raced ahead of its cohort in size, no idea why? Here's hoping for something parasitic afoot. #lepidoptera #moths #hymenoptera #parasitica #ichenumon #wasps
A brownish caterpillar, possibly Noctua pronuba, against a white and green piece of kitchen roll, behind piece of transparent acrylic which is distorting the image slightly.
April 1, 2025 at 2:39 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Checking in on some of the overwintered pupa, hoping this year to manage at least one wasp instead of the present near 100% Lepidopteran or Diptera outcomes! Not that’s there anything wrong with Lepidoptera or Diptera, there just not wasps…. #hymenoptera #parasitica #ichenumon #wasp
A number of dark brown pupa or cocoons are placed in different partially transparent containers, some rectangular with a dark green lid, others glass tubes with a white lid. In the background there are various things including a bin, bicycle and net against a white wall.
April 1, 2025 at 1:07 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
And we are away! First Moth of the year in the garden, Orthosia cerasi Common Quaker, I think. Its always a pleasure to see what turns up, even in the very urban and coastal home garden. #moths #lepidoptera
A reddish brown moth, possibly Orthosia cerasi or Common Quaker, against a lighter brown background of a egg box.
April 1, 2025 at 11:31 AM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Sodding Acupalpus..... Apologies for bothering you @carabidaeuk.bsky.social, but is this possibly Acupalpus maculatus? 3.5mm long, mentum untoothed, sieved from wet plant litter in wet grazing marsh, aprox. 10 meters from water edge, last week VC 13 - West Sussex. #carabids #coleoptera
Dorsal view of a carded small carabid beetle, possibly Acupalpus maculatus. The beetle is reddish brown, paler at the edges and with paler legs. Dorsal view of a carded small carabid beetle, possibly Acupalpus maculatus. The beetle is reddish brown, paler at the edges and with paler legs. Detailed view of the elytra of a carded small carabid beetle, possibly Acupalpus maculatus. The brownish beetled is against a white paper background, with paler legs. Aedeagus of a carabid beetle, possibly Acupalpus maculatus. A amber coloured structure dissected from a beetle against a white background.
March 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
andersonkieran.bsky.social
Am pleased to have finally been able to add the excellent Bees of Sussex to the bookshelf! Hopefully the first of many modern county aculeate Hymenoptera atlases.
A photo showing the front cover of a hardback book, the bees of Sussex. The cover is largely green, with a bee sitting in a purple flower as the central image against the green background.
December 27, 2024 at 5:48 PM