Richard Moyse
Kent-based naturalist, with a particular affection for plants, Orthopterans, aculeates, birds. Retired after a career in conservation. I'm here for wildlife, but can't promise not to repost the occasional political piece.
- Reposted by Richard MoyseThis week's column is about something that's arguably more important than anything in the news, crucial as some of the other issues are. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Bright example of Arocatus longiceps, found under loose bark on a local Plane tree yesterday. Appears to be a new hectad record whether treated as A. longiceps or A. roeselii (considered to probably be a single species). #KentNature #heteroptera
- Reposted by Richard MoyseThe Mysteries of the Metapleuron: ajcarthropoda.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-... #Bugs #Hemiptera #VC55 #Lygaeidae
- Spurge-laurel in flower this week, here on the North Kent Downs. #KentNature #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
- Is there a word for when you're watching a drama on film or TV, and some bird, plant or other species is so out of place or time that you can't think of anything else and the mood is ruined? Especially in a period drama when they appear to be trying make it look realistic?
- Galls formed by Myopites eximius/eximia on Golden Samphire. At the top of the shore at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey earlier this week. #plantgalls #KentNature @galling.bsky.social
- Reposted by Richard MoyseDiscover nature, sustainably. Where to Watch Wildlife in Britain (By Low-carbon Transport) guides you to the best spots while promoting eco-friendly travel and conservation awareness. Out next month and available to pre-order now! 🚞
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- Surprise find at Stodmarsh yesterday. Tho' female Lesne's & Short-winged Earwigs are hard to separate, this one's size (c10mm head-and-body length) & dark appendages say Short-winged. #earwigs #dermaptera #KentNature
- Also, is there something about the dark patches visible through the elytra? I have a vague recollection of something about this, and comparing photos suggests the pattern is different between the two species.
- A second local #NewYearPlantHunt today, on roadsides & across fields between Doddington & Kingsdown Church, with a gang of 10 people. 27 plants in flower, plus Lapwings & Golden Plovers in the open fields. Finished with lunch in the pub! @bsbibotany.bsky.social #KentNature
- New Year's Plant-hunting around the village this afternoon with @ponddipping.bsky.social, and a not unrespectable 15 species in flower. @bsbibotany.bsky.social #NYPH #KentNature
- Reposted by Richard MoyseMy Orthopteroid highlights for 2025 included four new species: Scaly Cricket at Marloes, Pembrokeshire; Tree Cricket at Dungeness; Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket and Short-winged Earwig, both at Wye NNR, Kent. The Scalies must rank as the best of them - what a thrill to see this rare creature.
- Rustyback is a scarce fern in Kent, but is well established on this roadside wall in Wychling on the #KentDowns. Only when walking (as today) or cycling past do I get a chance to stop and admire it. #ferns #KentNature
- Reposted by Richard MoyseCheck out this write-up on sound producing Grasshoppers in Europe, and their availability on XC www.researchgate.net/publication/... . #bioacoustics #grasshoppers #orthoptera
- Corky-fruited Water-dropwort in full flower on a roadside bank here on the Kent Downs. #KentNature #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
- Firecrest in a yew hedge in the village this morning. Why you should always carry binoculars while delivering Christmas cards. #KentNature #KentBirding
- Reposted by Richard MoyseDoctor Worm. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHli...
- Reposted by Richard MoyseToday is International Migrants Day. The immigration debate has become increasingly toxic - so we asked the public what they think. Watch and share if you agree 🔁
- Reposted by Richard MoyseThe mild weather in some parts of the UK means some #bats 🦇 may still be active and hunting insects. #DYK churches can offer important roosting places. Find out more about recently published research looking at this www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/10...
- Bats still active in Doddington (Kent) Church, judging from the appearance of new droppings over the last ten days. #bats #KentNature @kentbatgroup.org.uk
- Bats still active in Doddington (Kent) Church, judging from the appearance of new droppings over the last ten days. #bats #KentNature @kentbatgroup.org.uk
- Reposted by Richard Moyse
- What's the perfect last-minute Christmas present for the naturalist who has everything but my book about the amazing Ranscombe Farm Reserve? www.kentfieldclub.org.uk/ranscombe-st... #KentNature @plantlifeuk.bsky.social #NatureWriting #PleaseBuyMyBook
- A pleasant walk through Sharsted Wood and Doddington Place this morning - Mistle Thrush singing loudly in the park, Treecreeper and Bullfinch in the woodland. #KentNature
- Reposted by Richard MoyseLosses of specialist and expansion of thermophilic generalist macro-moths in nature reserves of Central Europe: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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- Reposted by Richard MoyseBTO's Acoustics Pipeline has identified Bush-crickets in ‘bat’ data collected for the Landscape-scale Species Monitoring of Agri-environment Schemes Project & assessed the effects of agri-environment management on these species➡️ www.bto.org/Bush-cricket... #bioacoustics @naturalengland.bsky.social
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- Reposted by Richard MoyseIt's been a long wait but an advance copy of 'Grasshoppers' has finally arrived. It's been worth the wait with excellent printing
- Reposted by Richard MoyseWas astonished to learn that most of the UK’s lynx bones are from small area in Yorkshire Dales; last until at least early medieval. Coexisted in complex habitat: upland wood pasture could be critical. youtu.be/rHTy2tJUamE?...
- Reposted by Richard MoyseGardens and parks may feel quieter now, but look closer and you’ll still spot invertebrates hiding in sheltered corners. If you’re tidying up, you might even find an earwig — fascinating little creatures with an unfair reputation (and no, they don’t want to live in your ears!). buff.ly/iT19NLY
- Reposted by Richard MoyseI've just finished reading the New Naturalist series 'Ponds, Pools and Puddles'. Brilliant. Up to date research. Evidence based information. And joy of joys, plenty of pre and post management monitoring! Add it to your Christmas present list.
- Darn! Missed #wildflowerhour last night! But here's my #Winter10 from last week - better late than never. Names in alt-text. All from @rspb.bsky.social's Dungeness reserve, except for the Butcher's-broom which is from a local hedgerow. @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #KentNature
- It would be nice to see some government action on this actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...
- Reposted by Richard Moyse“It isn’t people seeking sanctuary who are tearing our country apart. It’s toxic, racist narratives and the scapegoating of migrants for crises they did not cause.” Carla Denyer challenges the Home Secretary's new immigration reforms saying they just fuel far-right narratives.
- Reposted by Richard MoyseWith neonicotinoid pesticide ban, France’s birds make a tentative recovery - study
- Harder to find a #winter10 this week. But managed it, with some rural, some urban, some native, some naturalised. Names in alt text. #Wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #KentNature
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- I love #thewinter10 and the way it makes you get out and look. Definitely satisfying to get these together. Names in alt text. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
- The Tachinid Ectophasia crassipennis was a surprise visitor to the last remaining Ox-eye Daisy in the garden today. Apparently new to Britain in 2019, and now widespread in Kent according to the NBN atlas. #flies #diptera #KentNature
- Queen Tree Bumblebee, Bombus hypnorum, in the garden just now. #bees #bumblebees #hymenoptera #KentNature
- My morning constitutional took me through the parkland at Doddington Place. Heard my first Fieldfares of the autumn. Plus Redwing, Green & Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatch, Goldcrest, etc. Very pleasant. #KentNature #KentBirds
- Darn you, Bluesky - look what you've got me into! Delivery this morning from @fieldstudiesc.bsky.social. @vc40orthops.bsky.social @vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
- A couple of bugs tapped out of a cypress tree in Doddington Churchyard today: Juniper Shieldbug and the smart red-and-black Corizus hyoscyami. They were also accompanied by a Common Green Shieldbug and a Box Bug. #bugs #truebugs #hemiptera #KentNature @caringforgodsacre.bsky.social
- Interesting-looking fungus growing from moss atop a tombstone in Doddington churchyard. I took it for dead leaf at first. ObsIdentify says it's Arrhenia spathulata. #KentNature #fungus #fungi @caringforgodsacre.bsky.social
- Reposted by Richard MoyseWe agree - the climate & nature crises are linked & must be addressed together. ⚠️But again, there's a species-rich 'grassland gap' in vital government strategies! To deliver, the UK government must commit to developing a Grassland Action Plan 👉 loom.ly/IGb6j_Q
- Reposted by Richard MoyseDiscussing the conservation of arable plants at Plantlife’s wonderful reserve in Kent. youtu.be/bZaUAsvrHS0?...
- Reposted by Richard MoyseHow do you get to the nation’s favourite holiday destination, Spain, without flying? 🇪🇸 Our Director Anna has just come back from a holiday (ahem, research) in Malaga - just two days from London by train (three from most other UK destinations) 🚄
- Still the occasional final instar Spurge Bug (Dicranocephalus medius) nymph warming itself on the south-facing front wall of the house. #KentNature #TrueBugs #bugs #Hemiptera
- Well, that was a great day! Always so much useful networking going on at an event like this.
- Rounding off our conference - the wonderful @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social on urban flora - the subject of his latest book. #KentNature #urbanflora #urbanplants #botany @bsbibotany.bsky.social
- Reposted by Richard MoyseValuable synthesis - shows that where seed source is present, natural regeneration generally gives more complex structures and better biodiversity outcomes but can be helped by hybrid approaches and limited planting. #Rewilding #Biodiversity
- Reposted by Richard MoyseA long-held myth about a mosquito evolving in the London Underground has been debunked! 🦟 The insect gained notoriety in the Second World War, when it fed on Londoners seeking shelter in the rail tunnels during the Blitz. Discover its true origin story.👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
- Rhyparochromus vulgaris on the bedroom curtain this morning. We must have put a dozen of these out of the house over the last month or two - unless the same ones keep sneaking back in! #KentNature #bugs #Hemiptera @britishbugs.bsky.social
- OK - am I seeing things, or does this bird have pale margins to its feathers, giving a scaly appearance? Doesn't show in the photos, but the flanks clearly looked scaly to the naked eye. It was very tame, allowing me within a few feet. *Awaits reply saying 'It's a Blackbird, you nana.'*
- ... for the avoidance of doubt, I'm (very optimistically) trying to wrestle it into being a 1st-winter Ring Ouzel.😬
- Tawny Cockroach nymph, tapped from Ivy at the local churchyard this afternoon. Nice find - I haven't seen enough of these this year. #KentNature #Dictyoptera #Cockroach
- Reposted by Richard MoysePlanning and Infrastructure Bill: Nature at a Crossroads in the Lords www.hiwwt.org.uk/blog/debbie-...
- Nothing uncommon, but it's nice to see fungi appearing locally, including this False Deathcap Amanita citrina and Parrot Waxcap Gliophorus psittacinus. #fungi #waxcaps #KentNature
- Reposted by Richard MoyseLabour's war on nature intensifies. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Just heard my first Redwing of the autumn, over the house. #KentNature #KentBirds
- Reposted by Richard MoyseLast chance to book for the Kent Wildlife Conference on 25 October. tinyurl.com/kentwildconf
- Reposted by Richard MoyseIntensifying grassland management leads to massive loss of arthropod species. However, total arthropod numbers remain more or less stable. Many losers, few winners. doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...
