Fay Newbery

Once again recommending these bug-noculars to anyone who likes looking at lichen, bugs, & small things...

Another plant fungus noted recently was this on Chenopodium album. I've not figured out what it is yet (Cercospora or Passalora dubia perhaps?)

Doassansiopsis hydrophila on Potamogeton on Monday - this is one of a group of fungi infecting aquatic plants, with large spore balls (~0.2mm) which presumably float to their next host. #FungiFriends #WildPlantDisease

Great to see The Lichenologist journal arrive on Bluesky with details of their latest publication.

The 5th iteration of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG V) classification has been published. It's #OpenAccess, so check it out here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Nectriopsis lecanodes, a lichenicolous fungus on Peltigera (in this case P. praetextata). #lichen #fungifriends

So much care and so many skills required. I'm in awe!

This little copse of skinny matchstick-like structures is Melanospora lagenaria, a mycoparasite occurring here on an old specimen of Birch Polypore, Fomitopsis betulina.

A huge loss. DrM fought so hard to help people to overcome plant blindness. So many botany students learnt from him. Few tutors teach by song but DrM certainly did!

Collemopsidium pelvetiae: extraordinary 3-part #lichen involving #fungus, #cyanobacterium and #seaweed! Vanishingly few records in Britain. I suspect it's not quite so rare: I found it on 3 of 6 beaches searched on summer holiday in Scotland. Grows only on channelled wrack (Pelvetia canaliculata).

Do you participate in nature-related citizen science – or would you like to?📱Take part in our survey: https://ow.ly/bIee50ZHB6o 🔗 More information: https://ow.ly/EqKX50ZHB6s #CitizenScience #ForestResearch

Praise for all the microorganisms that help to degrade dead plant material in aquatic ecosystems. These include #aquatichyphomycetes. microscopesandmonsters.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/a...

Beautiful!

I like the look of those, stickers @bernoid.bsky.social Have you thought about making a set available?

Great as always!

I'm not an insect lover (yet!), but these are cute.

I love to see people's plant pathogen finds. It shows me what to look out for. Thanks for sharing this one @bitheolaidhe.bsky.social

I've been driving but great to know that I can listen to at least part of this interview this evening.

📻 Monday 12:09 on channel P1 and online (mixed English & Swedish) Tune in to hear @zimingwang.bsky.social and I discuss #AquaticFungi with journalist Sara Sällström of #SverigesRadio! We hope people will be inspired to learn more! www.sverigesradio.se/vetenskap

Well done @sim-elliott.bsky.social for making opportunities available for people to find out about lichens and the importance of open parkland.

“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing”​ - Camille Pissarro

A useful conversation on location precision in biological records. What is fit for purpose in one biological group doesn't always work for other groups.

I'm not an earthworm fan but this video is really interesting. It reminds me of Grime's ecological triangle for plant growth strategies: ruderals, competitors and stress-tolerators.

A beautiful dialogue with the environment. This textile installation intricately mimics the growth patterns of moss and lichen, seamlessly blending fiber craft with the living bark of the tree. In memory of the brilliant artist Hannah Streefkerk (1973–2018). Artwork title: "Symbiosis"

An interesting leaf spot today: Jamesdicksonia dactylidis on Yorkshire Fog. It forms masses of dark brown spores in the mesophyll. This was apparently the first Irish record. #FungiFriends #WildPlantDisease

Puccinia modiolae ex Alcea rosea Duisburg-Homberg, NRW, Germany, 8.8.2026 #Puccinia #Pucciniamodiolae #Rostpilz #Rustfungus #Alcea #Alcearosea #Phytopathology #FungiFriends #Nature #FungiFriday

What can a pond tell you about the health of a city? More than you might think. Join Dr Rachel Walker on 15 Sept to explore urban pond conservation, indicator species, habitat management and practical monitoring techniques 🐸 🌍 🧪 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981358046... @barnescommon.bsky.social

A surprise on examining this ~4mm #gall on Agrostis stolonifera at Broughton Sanctuary; Skipton. Expecting maybe fungal spores, I found it to be full of nematodes up to ~1mm: Subanguina graminophila. Not often recorded. @ynuorg.bsky.social

Good coverage of spider recording in UK (lots of modern recording, particularly in England & Wales). Tetrad frequency roughly shows the most intensively recorded areas (unsurprisingly mostly centred on areas with high human population density). @britishspiders.bsky.social

Not something I often see in flower but maybe it likes the heat. Mind-your-own-business.

🦇 Do you want to learn how to lead a bat walk? We have a course coming up soon, over two evenings on the 19 and 26 August, online at 6:30pm. More information and how to book: www.bats.org.uk/our-work/tra...

A gall midge, Kiefferia pericarpiicola, galling the ovaries of wild carrot today at Killard #cecidomyiidae

Phacellium alborosellum, a commonish leaf spot on Cerastium. The large bundles of conidiophores are easily visible under the hand lens. #FungiFriends #WildPlantDisease

If you like graveyards (and who doesn't) this is worth downloading 'Understanding Scottish Graveyards' By Betty Willsher. Also relevant to the rest of Britain and places with Scottish immigration like USA and Canada www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress...

Another very exciting plant pathogen this afternoon! Hyalopsora adianti-capilli-veneris on Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris). Nice enough surprise to stumble across a gorgeous Palustriella tufa flush with lots of the fern. Been checking Adiantum in Britain for this rust for a long time!

Say hello to the botanists who started it all! We've added 300+ digitised historical titles to our website, from County Floras to periodicals to Herbals dating back to 1571. We're also bringing our digital archives home & unlocking vital plant history. Explore & support: bsbi.org/blog/2026/07...

The book 'Pezizomycetes of Europe' is now available to preorder for €80 #MycoBookClub #FungiFriends ascomycete.org/Book

Day 10: Placochela nigripes on Elder. ⭐️ lifer ⭐️ #PanSpeciesListing bsky.app/profile/mega...

I spent the last week in Toraigh, a Gaelic-speaking island community off the coast of Donegal. I found Physoderma negeri on Euphrasia there, a rarely recorded chytrid fungus that forms dark warts. I also danced and sang a lot. A welcome escape from the anglosphere! #FungiFriends #WildPlantDisease

Tardigrades: the microscopic animals with survival superpowers 🧬 Join this FREE webinar on 20th Oct with Witold Morek (from Wellcome Sanger Institute) to explore how “water bears” survive extreme conditions; and the genetics behind it 🌎 🧪 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1978418044... #tardigrades

Chromatomyia spinaciae mines are staring to appear on thistles They form long twisting yellow mines and if you turn the leaf over you can find the pale puparium. These are from the garden today

Leaf mine of Amauromyza verbasci (Agromyzidae) on Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) today in Kildavin, Co. Carlow.

Let's ensure fungi and lichens get included in this curriculum!