Luis Moliner Cachazo

You won't see a map like this very often on iNaturalist! the only record of 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘢 𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘢 (with its characteristic moustache) in the whole of the UK! non-biting midges (Chironomidae) are extremely underrecorded at species level! #taxonomy #chironomidae #biodiversity

Yesterday, I sampled #macroinvertebrates in the ponds in the #NHM gardens with students from #ImperialCollegeLondon We found several Water Scorpions (𝘕𝘦𝘱𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘢), this one didn't waste the time & pierced a small damselfly larva 😅 #freshwater #taxonomy

Muy interesante! otros impactos, además de la citada reducción en tamaño, es que las cadenas tróficas se hacen más simples y se pierde biodiversidad (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...)

you're right! it's a female chironomid

Open Access UCL Research: Agricultural pond restoration enhances species richness in non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae)
discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10...

No necesariamente, los quironómidos son ubicuos en cualquier tipo de masa de agua. Pero sí q la abundancia d ciertos géneros (Chironomus, Polypedilum, Glyptotendipes) podría indicar eutrofización (si se confirma tb con bajos números d otros invertebrados, cm el grupo EPT)

Yes, it is a male chironomid

also because half of Spain is in H, with its Mediterranean healthy diet and products

it ended with an inspirational talk by Olivier Leger, an amazing ocean wildlife artist who tells conservation stories through very intricate drawings, like the seagrass sea horse

I really enjoyed #BESAG2025 at ZSL. Very interesting mix of keynote & lightning talks. From the impacts of #climatechange, #cigarettebutts & #petfleatreatments on #aquatic systems, to #biogeochemical and microbial interactions, #carbonsequestration & subterranean invertebrates! all levels covered!

Earth's deepest ecosystem discovered six miles below the sea Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 30 July 2025

Latest from the Nature Pod 🔊 Earth's deepest ecosystem discovered six miles below the sea

go.nature.com/4m4iPje

Our Curator of Hemiptera, Diana, wants to show you her favourite bugs - and you’d better have some lovely things to say about them… 👁️🦗🐜

#Hemiptera #Bugs #NaturalHistory #BeNice #WeAreAlwaysWatching

Independent analysis has estimated that more than half of
Thames Water's 351 sewage treatment works are currently operating without sufficient capacity to treat the volumes of sewage they receive.🧵⬇️

Common picture wing (Rhyothemis variegata), very common in Thailand and Cambodia, stunning!

When #mites (𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘦) suck sap on the underneath of the leaves of Lime #trees (𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢 sp.) & release chemicals, they induce the trees to 'entrap' them inside red nail-shaped #galls, common at this time of the year

Credits: 2nd pic: Marty Jopson (Youtube), 3rd pic: Sciencephotolibrary

First national survey of terrestrial biodiversity using airborne eDNA - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - First national survey of terrestrial biodiversity using airborne eDNA

And then we surveyed a country.....

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#biodiversity #WomenInStem #AcademicSKY 🧪

If you're passionate about #ponds please check out our new Pond Restoration Training with Carl Sayer & Helen Greaves. This two-day course from 3-4 July is a perfect introduction to pond restoration science & best practice.
🐸 Interested? Find out more & book your place:
www.fba.org.uk/shop/p/pond-...

Yesterday, I volunteered for @thames21.bsky.social taking #water samples at 2 locations on the #river Brent. They want to compare the analysis of samples taken by #citizenscientists (measured with Hannah checkers) with lab results. It was fun! & I met one of their volunteers who lives very close 🧪💦

Fining polluters is good, but with #ThamesWater, a company with a £20 billion financial hole, that needed a rescue loan of £3 billion, that should have been nationalised ages ago, customers will probably pay the #fine with an increase in their bills. This is just another #scandal to add to the list!

Yesterday it was a very nice day out in the New Forest, sampling aquatic #macroinvertebrates with PhD students from the NERC-NHM #freshwater course. We sampled two streams and Hatchet Pond, where some of the rarest #macrophytes in the UK thrive (like Water Purslane, 𝘓𝘶𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘴)

🎤There’s no place like London
There’s no place at all
The east or the West End
You end up in the best end
☺️Take part in a FREE exciting walk, talk or webinar this #londonriversweek2025. Starts in Friday 30th May to Sunday 8th June 2025.
🖱️Register here: www.thames21.org.uk/events/categ...
#thames

London Rivers Week - River Brent WaterBlitz <p>Help us get a snapshot of water quality across the whole River Brent Catchment as part of London Rivers Week.</p><p><br></p><p>Join a team of Citizen Scientists to gather water quality samples at n...

Help us gather data on water quality across the River Brent as part of London Rivers Week 2025! 📊💦

🗓️ 28th May - online training session
🗓️ 6th June - sampling at numerous locations along the Brent and its tributaries.

book.plinth.org.uk/e/IVny4WFfDK...

#thames21 #lrw2025

I'm interested and will join!

A very interesting paper about the potential of #algae & #mussels to remove #psychopharmaceuticals from freshwaters. More research on this topic is needed, because some are pervasive (e.g. ibuprofen) & can't be removed in water treatment plants pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...

Two months ago, I took like 30-50 #waterfleas from a #pond and dropped them in our allotment pond. Thanks to the mild weather in the UK, the population has exploded! & they are doing a great job in clearing the water by feeding on the algae!

When you think you are about to film a Algae Case Chironomid Midge larva sticking it head out and.....you get the opposite!

@flygirlnhm.bsky.social #bugsky @riverflies.bsky.social @freshwaterscience.bsky.social @freshwaterhabitats.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social

Oxygen Levels in Earth's Lakes Are Plummeting, Study Reveals Earth's lakes are experiencing an alarming drop in oxygen levels, new research shows.

Alarming drops in oxygen found in 80% of 15,535 lakes examined worldwide since 2003.

Such drops across waterways have increased mass wildlife asphyxiations events, including deaths of thousands of eels in NZ, Murray cod in AU & mussels in EU in just the last few years #NatureWriting #WildOz 🧪 🌏 🦑

Visiting Osterley House today (West London), I found this big #freshwater #mussel in the pond, about 18 cm long. Probably 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘤𝘺𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘢 (Swan mussel) #taxonomy

This orange sphere is the infective larval stage (cystacanth) of an Acanthocephalan (thorny-headed worm), that has developed in the hemocoel of the Gammarus. The adult stages of these #parasites live in the intestine of the final host (fish and birds) #macroinvertebrate #taxonomy

The larva of 𝘌𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘺𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 (Scarce Black, Stratiomyidae), a rare species associated with ancient woodland. They live in small rot-holes in broadleaved trees, such as beech, ash & oak. I found this one on the Hamble Brook, a very nice chalk stream! #taxonomy #macroinvertebrates #chalkstream