Abigail Lowe

Illustrations of grasshopper, cricket and earwig on the front cover of a book called Field Guide to the Grasshoppers and Allies of Great Britain and Ireland

🦗 This #WorldWildlifeDay, discover Britain's grasshoppers, crickets & allied species in a brilliant new field guide!

It's co-written by our former colleague Björn Beckmann with recording scheme coordinator Peter Sutton.

Allied species are earwigs, stick insects, mantids and cockroaches 🪳

🧪 1/

What Makes an Engaging Environment? Lessons Learnt From Co-Created Research With Diverse Community groups. | Published in Journal of Participatory Research Methods By Danielle Robinson, Heather Sugden & 4 more. This perspective piece describes practical experience in the co-creation of research with underrepresented communities and represents the experience and…

Did you know? 🤔
Co‑designed community science helps make environmental science more inclusive and accessible, leading to research with greater real-world impact.

Read more 👇
jprm.scholasticahq.com/article/1262...

#communityscience #citizenscience

New UKEOF guide to using DNA-based monitoring with citizen science | UKEOF We are delighted to announce the recent release of the first UKDNA-WG briefing note. This guide to DNA-based monitoring with citizen science was written by Lauren Cook (UK Centre for Ecology &…

NEW Guide to DNA-based monitoring with community science @ukdnawg.bsky.social

💧 CS x DNA examples
👩🏽‍🦰 Involving volunteers
🔢 Project design
💡 Future directions
✍️ Resources
👉 tinyurl.com/2cn9zdbx

@laurens-colours.bsky.social @lynseyrharper.bsky.social @ukeof.bsky.social @naturalengland.bsky.social

A stocky bee with brown hairs on thorax and abdomen and yellow hairs on the face. Sitting on deadgrass stems.

First male Hairy-footed Flower Bee of the year in the garden this morning. #KentNature #bees #hymenoptera

Close-up of a male European Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus) showing its red-brown antler-like mandibles, contrasting with the dark, textured head. Image credit: Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.app

Did you know? 🤔
Community science makes a huge contribution to biodiversity reporting, with over 70% of records used in England being submitted by volunteers

Read more 👇
naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/14/m...

#communityscience #citizenscience
Image credit: Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social

Getting to grips with iRecord 📱📝

New to iRecord or finding it tricky? Our iRecord 101 course takes you step-by-step from first record to confident user, with tips from recording specialist Keiron Brown. 🌍 🧪

Thu 2 Apr 2026
👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/irecord-10...

@ukceh.bsky.social

Thanks Deborah, I did expect some concern but hopefully I was clear what our aims are 😁 Definitely will always encourage recorders to keep doing what they’re doing & not out to replace anything!

Ah yeah @scotsguyinwales.bsky.social it has been something I’ve dipped in and out of for about 5 years 🫣 Couldn’t make any progress last year for various reasons, but going to work with some of the Welsh orgs this year to get it done properly & good standard. Will obv shout from rooftops when done!

Excited to be joining @bes-communitysci.bsky.social committee as Communications Officer 🥳
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Illustrations of insects representing Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, and Coleoptera with percentage reductions in abundance: 58%, 37%, 27%, 12% respectively.

First global analysis of its kind, led by UKCEH, has shown the impacts of invasive alien species on insects.

The study found the non-native animals & plants on average reduce abundance of terrestrial insects by 31% and species richness by 21%.

www.ceh.ac.uk/press/insect...

🧪 1/ #biodiversity

Can you identify UK bumblebees and/or butterflies to a species level in the field?

Or do you have strong botanical survey skills (equivalent to FISC Level 4 or higher) with the ability to recognise broad and priority habitats?

See great opportunity below & please share!

Innovative Moth Monitoring: Farmer Citizen Science Using AI Join Dr Abigail Lowe (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) to hear about how AI is being used to help farmers monitor moth diversity on farms.

It uses the Naturalis API which I believe is what’s behind ObsIdentify. In our pilot we assessed how accurate it was for different species - I’ll go into this in my @biologicalrecording.co.uk talk 😊

Not sure how much farmers get to sleep anymore with this crazy unpredictable weather anyway!!

New funding to boost nature recovery in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

In Pembrokeshire the landowners are involved in the Naturally Connected www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/news/new-fun... and in the Chilterns most were very wildlife friendly with regen practices. Would be great to engage those more intensive farms!

I just love that most of these people would never have considered going out to buy their own moth trap, and now they're hooked!

Engaging farmers in moth monitoring to support biodiversity UKCEH has recently been working with farmers to monitor biodiversity on their land using innovative equipment and simple recording methods to make moth trapping accessible to all. What started in the ...

We've been engaging farmers with moth monitoring from the Chilterns to Pembrokeshire. Using portable bucket traps and an AI based app - farmers love uncovering hidden biodiversity!

Read my blog here:
www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...

@ukceh.bsky.social @mjopocock.bsky.social

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth

Did my undergrad in Southampton so any excuse to go back to the New Forest 🎉

Great! I'm based in Reading so north Hants would be great - and have a friend in Whitchurch I could stay with for further south :)

Let me know where/when and depending which part of Hants I could be keen :)

Photo of me behind the table selling cakes at UKCEH Wallingford for Macmillan Coffee Morning

Big thanks to my colleagues at UKCEH for supporting yesterday's #MacmillanCoffeeMorning in memory of my Dad.

Together we raised over £650, edging me closer to my new target of £3000. Ready for Cardiff Half next weekend!

www.justgiving.com/page/mighty-... 💚

Another resource you may find helpful is the UKCEH What's Flying Tonight app - connect-apps.ceh.ac.uk/whats_flying... which shows you which moths are likely to be in your area on that date.

Twin-spotted Quaker (Anorthoa munda) resting on a white surface. The moth has pale brownish-grey forewings with two distinct pairs of black spots near the outer edge, and a slightly furry thorax.

Twin-spotted Quaker (Anorthoa munda), Carms 2022.
Welsh name Crynwr Dau Smotyn - meaning two spot quaker.

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth

Dusky Brocade (Apamea remissa) resting on a person’s fingers. The forewings are dark brownish-grey with mottled markings.

Dusky Brocade (Apamea remissa), Carms 2020.
Welsh name Brithyn Llwydolau - meaning dusky speckled one.

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth

I went back and forth on this! Llwydfelen comes from llwyd (grey) and melyn (yellow) but translated means beige, buff, all sorts! Direct translations are hard 😅

Buff Arches (Habrosyne pyritoides) resting on an egg carton. The forewings are patterned with creamy-white arched bands and intricate brown markings, creating a marbled, stone-like appearance.

Buff Arches (Habrosyne pyritoides), Carms 2021.
Welsh name Gwyfyn Bwâu Llwydfelyn - meaning beige arches moth.

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth

Have photos of multiple moths on egg trays from the UK?

At @ukceh.bsky.social we're training & testing AI to detect multiple moths in a single image

Reply with your images to help us reach our goal - make sure most moths are roughly identifiable

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth

Terms tinyurl.com/5xrjbv3r

Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) resting on a green egg carton, showing its dark forewings marked with a distinct black and pale white pattern.

Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum), Bucks 2025.
Welsh name Clai Lloerol - meaning lunar clay.

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth

The Vestal (Rhodometra sacraria) resting on a textured surface, showing its pale cream wings crossed by a distinctive diagonal pink stripe.

The Vestal (Rhodometra sacraria), Bucks 2025.
Welsh name Llinell Goch - meaning red line.

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth

Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina) resting on a vertical dry grass stem. The moth's light brown and grey tones blend with the stem, providing excellent camouflage. Its distinctive pointed forewings and slightly upturned resting posture are visible.

Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina), Bucks 2025.
Welsh name Crwbach Gwelw - meaning pale hunchback.

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth

Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria) resting on a white container, showing its bright yellow thorax, orange-brown patterned wings, and feathery antennae.

Canary Shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria), Bucks 2025.
Welsh name Carpiog Gwar Melyn - meaning yellow nape ragged.

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth