William Bishop

Mutinus caninus. Dog Stinkhorn. Ashridge Herts. Yesterday. #fungi.

Here's Sir David Attenborough on why this huge, heart-shaped piece of the UK in Northumberland is so important. A chance like this to save massive space for nature won't come again. £11,000 donated yesterday, £1.37m still to go by the end of the month - the time is now! 💚 #conservation #ukwildlife

Cute little mushies growing up a dead twig. That is until you realise they are Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, Ash Dieback. The fungus destroying our Ash trees. Particularly abundant on old leaf stalks in a wood today. 😟. #fungi.

It’s Spindle time 🙂. One of the joys of the Autumn hedgerow.

One final sprint to save a landscape - £28m secured, £2m to go! Donation matching until the end of the month - the Wildlife Trusts are so close to buying the largest chunk of the UK offered for sale in 30 yrs. Landscape-scale protection, to hold a 40-mile wide nature corridor together for wildlife.

A walk around Rainham Marshes RSPB took us past the European Paper Wasps nesting in the railing. Beautiful and remarkable creatures. Well worth reading Endless Forms by Seiran Sumner to appreciate how amazing social wasps are. #wasps.

Fungi meeting today in Northaw Great Wood, Herts. Very very dry but we managed a few. Yesterday was #fungusday so pics of a few. Names in Alt. #fungi. Herts seems to have lacked much rain so far, things might improve if some decent rain comes before the end of the season.

Corizus hyoscyami. Cinnamon Bug. Northaw Gt Wood. Off a rhododendron whilst looking for the Rhododendron Leafhopper. #bugs

Couple of galls from Northaw Great Wood today. Janetia cerris on leaf of Turkey Oak, a gall midge. The other rather stunning gall in the stem of a Hornbeam is rather spectacular (unknown causer). #galls

Parasola auricoma, just emerging in Herts a few days ago for Fungus Day. #fungi #fungusday.

14 of 12 last night. Better than expected as cool and windy. Lovely capucina form of Green-brindled Crescent. #TeamMoth.

Much better than expected last night, with 24 species and a nice range of autumn moths. It felt cooler than the night before. #TeamMoth

41 of 14 last night. Temp down and big moon. But pleased with 4th garden record of Figure of Eight, last one was 2022. A declining species here. A beautiful moth. A late Mottled Rustic too. #TeamMoth.

The Government is asking for views about the good causes National Lottery funding should support. But in the 'call for evidence', nature is not included in the description of 'heritage' anymore. This is potentially BAD NEWS. You can help here:

114 of 35, 13/8, 56 were LgYU. 3rd garden records of Clifden nonpareil , Palpita vitrealis and Pinion-streaked Snout. Earliest record of Satellite too. Clancy’s Rustic in best of the rest. #TeamMoth.

Numbers very down last night, 119 of 24. 45 LgYU. Best a L-album Wainscot. Surprise guest appearance of a Denticulated Leatherbug nfg. Small Mottled Willows still reasonably abundant, 10. #TeamMoth.

In Panshanger Park last night with @rahtringbirder.bsky.social for ongoing survey. Autumn species (some of my favourite moths) starting now. Antler x3 was pleasing as not abundant in Herts. #TeamMoth.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 Geoffrey Kibby, Mario Tortelli, Felix Hampe & Claudi V. Soler In stock now! tr.ee/6Cofnc4KPO #mycology #genusrussula #mushroombooks #geoffreykibby #mushroomsandtoadstools

Panshanger Park last with @rahtringbirder.bsky.social and a good night. Currently at 137 species (over 1000 moths). Some nice site additions for the ongoing site survey. #TeamMoth.

Evergestis extimalis. Very few Herts records. Not on my expected list, so a nice garden addition. Last visible record was @rahtringbirder.bsky.social in 2020 #TeamMoth.

Tonight’s theme is ride the tiger. #TeamMoth.

Best of last night. Anania crocealis in Sherrardspark Wood for the Wood Wardens. And Vestal on the garden trap later, when home. #TeamMoth.

Delighted to find a superb Convolvulus Hawkmoth in the garden moth trap this morning. Only the 3rd one I've seen in Carinish, N Uist in over 13 years. Also nice that it's stopped raining for a couple of hours!

A really good night mothing in Essex for NT with @rahtringbirder.bsky.social @dcousins85.bsky.social and TG. 168 species without the yet to be added smalls. Some excellent moths and an impressive list for the time of year. #TeamMoth.

By 00:30 it looked disappointing and not many moths at 03:20 but this 🦈 at bottom of trap was a surprise and nfg. #TeamMoth.

Going out to empty the trap at 02:58 this morning. Inside the house on the door! Garden tick (769). All that Buddleja watching for nothing! At least it’s easy to get a good look at while still. #TeamMoth.

Wow - 249 species is an impressive total - more people should go and stay at @sandwichbirdobs.bsky.social - great accommodation with excellent moths!

Some of the rare plants we picked up during the last couple of days on our Machair in Bloom tour; with an honorary rare bee (Northern Colletes) making a guest appearance.

Euchromius ocellea. Just found it in the trap, flew before I could pot it. Only one previous Herts record (unless any others this year). Rubbish pic but great garden record 😃. #TeamMoth. Quail singing in field at end of road too.

Cydia amplana was nfg last night. Very pretty seen through a hand lens. Also, a Small Marbled that was right down at ground level so was almost missed. Cooler and fewer moths but still some migrants. #TeamMoth

‘Just when I thought it was safe to go back into the moth trap’. Trapping for Herts BNA last night. Top moths a Shark and Light Crimson Underwing. The latter nfm. The background music from Knebworth, over the road, was from The Darkness and Iron Maiden playing live. #TeamMoth

This is so outrageous. The Government wants to reclassify Coastguard Rescue Officers as "volunteers" so they can get out of paying them an hourly wage when they go out to save lives. Join me and sign the petition to demand the Government scrap plans to strip rescue heroes of their pay: 38d.gs/sh54

With @rahtringbirder.bsky.social doing a survey for NE in N Herts two days ago. We noticed larvae on the Black Mulleins and thought we’ve missed them. But 14 hours later when doing the traps in the 5th one an adult and another in the 7th final trap. Deep joy, 2 happy moth-ers. #TeamMoth

30 seconds of staring into those eyes and you may feel you want to give blood. Chrysops caecutiens. Splayed Deerfly.

Just two months remaining for the Wildlife Trusts to raise, crumbs, over £12M to purchase the vast Rothbury Estate in Northumberland. They've raised 59% of the purchase price but have scarcely added to the pot in June. Needs one obscenely rich donor to pay off the (extremely rich) seller. 1/2

Just starting to return to a normal sleep pattern after an intense weekend’s mothing in Kent with @wjrpb.bsky.social Lots of highlights but one real standout - Epiblema Graphana (Yarrow Root-borer), for which I can only see 2 previous UK records, trapped on Sandwich Beach Saturday night #teammoth

17/06, 144 of 56. First garden Marbled Brown and Epinotia abbreviana, the latter too lively for a clear pic. 4 nfg in 2 days was useful. Blastodacna hellerella is a more obliging micro and a nice looker. #TeamMoth

16/06, 134 of 61. Garden list went up by two, with Caloptilia stigmatella and Poplar Lutestring. Both with several records in the surrounding area so good to add them on. After Kent it seemed slow at first but picked up after midnight. #TeamMoth.