‘Like a moth to a flame’ 🔥 This strange insect behaviour is finally explained

Join us on the 24 Feb for our AGM followed by an exciting talk by Sam Fabian on his new findings. Members welcome for the talk. More info and booking here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/benhs-annual…

Pleasantly surprised by the number and diversity of moths in the trap last night at Wytham Woods despite the strong wind!

Any day now, BEE-FLIES will appear 😃💛, which means that #BeeFlyWatch is happening again, for the 9th year running. Take part by looking out for bee-flies and enjoying watching them, and then please 🙏 add your record to iRecord. Full info & ID guides at dipterists.org.uk/bee-fly-watch

This is an especially nice genome note as we were able to include a photo of the actual specimen sequenced alive in situ!

The genome sequence of the Emperor moth. Really pleased to see this one out after successfully rearing and overwintering a larva we found at Wytham Woods, the first site record for 35 years! wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/9-48/…

🎧 New podcast! You might have seen them in a hotel or starring in social media videos, but should we really be worried about bed bugs? 🐜 Liam Crowley tells us what to look out for and how to keep them at bay. 🔉pod.fo/e/221d7a Oxford Biology MPLSOxford Entocast

Despite our lack of knowledge about the precise nutritional needs of bees, there are ways we can help feed them. theconversation.com/wild-solitary-…

Join us to learn about the ecology and identification of social wasps in our upcoming webinar with Liam Crowley Monday 22nd April 7:30pm. Zoom. Book your place here: tickettailor.com/events/tanypte…

My mum thinks that this is supposed to be a dragonfly, but not with antennae like that! I reckon more like an ichneumon or a Nymphidae lacewing. What do you think?

Registration open for the BIFoR annual meeting, "Forests as communities, forests in communities". Free hybrid meeting with 2 days of talks and an evening poster session. To register go to birmingham.ac.uk/biforcom24

Fantastic to finally collect Land Caddis, Enoicyla pusilla yesterday for full genome sequencing with Darwin Tree of Life. The DNA of this bizarre terrestrial caddisfly will hopefully help us to understand aquatic-terrestrial transitions and derived winglessness.

Pls RT- JOB!! We are recruiting a senior #Bioinformatician in #evolutionary #genomics. UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research Natural History Museum Science Join Eyal Privman Gavin Broad Cintia Oi, me & 270+ #wasp genomes on Natural Environment Research Council project on evolutionary genomics of insect life-histories. ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/se…

Our Social Wasps Webinar with Liam Crowley is now available to view on our YouTube channel! youtube.com/watch?v=74kHpg…

So excited to be visiting Knepp Wilding with BENHS. Fell asleep last night to the sound of a nightingale and woke to the sound of a cuckoo!

Starting our Insect Week posts off with a very special insect with image captured by Liam Crowley. The Purbeck Mason Wasp is incredibly rare but back from the brink of extinction. It will have its genome sequenced by the team Wellcome Sanger Institute. #InsectWeek #LoveInsects

We asked you which insect you'd like featured for #InsectWeek and something from the family Membracidae was suggested. In the U.K., the horned treehopper is one of just two treehoppers here. We are sequencing its genome Wellcome Sanger Institute. Any more suggestions for Insect Week?

The beautiful burdock gall fly, Terellia tussilaginis, out in abundance today at Wytham Wytham Woods

Nice to find the tiny 'Sputnik Spider', Paidiscura pallens, on an oak leaf at Wytham today. The common name refers to the satellite-shaped egg sac! Wytham Woods

Wow wow wow. The insects of Kyoto have been amazing so far! #ICE2024