David Bradley
@sciencebase.com
Award-winning science & nature writer and wildlife photographer, focusing on birds, moths & butterflies and the science of the natural world.
More about my writing, photography, music, and community projects: sciencebase.com
More about my writing, photography, music, and community projects: sciencebase.com
Always mothing #HolidayVestal #teamMoth
September 16, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Always mothing #HolidayVestal #teamMoth
Bit of an earache...olive oil spray until prescription came in did nothing, the actual medication contains acetic acid as an active ingredient...so I've basically been mixing salad dressing in my auditory canal. Didn't add mustard, that seemed like a recipe for disaster
September 14, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Bit of an earache...olive oil spray until prescription came in did nothing, the actual medication contains acetic acid as an active ingredient...so I've basically been mixing salad dressing in my auditory canal. Didn't add mustard, that seemed like a recipe for disaster
88 of 31 last night #teamMoth including NFM - Crocidosema plebejana, Tree-mallow Tortrix and a couple of NFY - Chestnut and Large Wainscot
September 14, 2026 at 10:12 AM
88 of 31 last night #teamMoth including NFM - Crocidosema plebejana, Tree-mallow Tortrix and a couple of NFY - Chestnut and Large Wainscot
Clif is in the house! Clifden Nonpareil, Catocala fraxini, one of 67 moths of 22 species to the lamp in wet Cottenham last night #teamMoth Only my second ever Clif in 9 seasons of mothing
September 13, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Clif is in the house! Clifden Nonpareil, Catocala fraxini, one of 67 moths of 22 species to the lamp in wet Cottenham last night #teamMoth Only my second ever Clif in 9 seasons of mothing
Just 93 of 20 last night, with 41 of those LYUs, their numbers have more than halved since peaking on the 7th at 89
Nice to see a Dark Spectacle, only the second one of the year so far. None of the autumnal NFYs I promised myself yesterday though #teamMoth
Nice to see a Dark Spectacle, only the second one of the year so far. None of the autumnal NFYs I promised myself yesterday though #teamMoth
September 11, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Just 93 of 20 last night, with 41 of those LYUs, their numbers have more than halved since peaking on the 7th at 89
Nice to see a Dark Spectacle, only the second one of the year so far. None of the autumnal NFYs I promised myself yesterday though #teamMoth
Nice to see a Dark Spectacle, only the second one of the year so far. None of the autumnal NFYs I promised myself yesterday though #teamMoth
The autumnal changing of the mothing guard. What to look out for this week if you're in #teamMoth (Archive photos, although I have had a lot of CBS already this season)
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
September 10, 2026 at 5:43 PM
The autumnal changing of the mothing guard. What to look out for this week if you're in #teamMoth (Archive photos, although I have had a lot of CBS already this season)
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
You can do a Follow All, or pick and choose. Meanwhile, I'm trying to work out how to hack* that graphic to show my mugshot, hahahah
*I'm not. Obvs.
*I'm not. Obvs.
Another shoutout for the BlueSky starter pack from the Association of British Science Writers. Trusted sources when it comes to science
bsky.app/starter-pack...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
September 9, 2026 at 9:28 AM
You can do a Follow All, or pick and choose. Meanwhile, I'm trying to work out how to hack* that graphic to show my mugshot, hahahah
*I'm not. Obvs.
*I'm not. Obvs.
142/27 last night, incl migrant Clouded Silver #teamMoth
LYU numbers fell, 89 to 74, so past the peak in Cambs? Thursday night forecast is warmer tho, so who knows?
I've written about the annual rise and fall of the LYU
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
LYU numbers fell, 89 to 74, so past the peak in Cambs? Thursday night forecast is warmer tho, so who knows?
I've written about the annual rise and fall of the LYU
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
September 9, 2026 at 9:09 AM
142/27 last night, incl migrant Clouded Silver #teamMoth
LYU numbers fell, 89 to 74, so past the peak in Cambs? Thursday night forecast is warmer tho, so who knows?
I've written about the annual rise and fall of the LYU
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
LYU numbers fell, 89 to 74, so past the peak in Cambs? Thursday night forecast is warmer tho, so who knows?
I've written about the annual rise and fall of the LYU
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
Another shoutout for the BlueSky starter pack from the Association of British Science Writers. Trusted sources when it comes to science
bsky.app/starter-pack...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
September 9, 2026 at 6:37 AM
Another shoutout for the BlueSky starter pack from the Association of British Science Writers. Trusted sources when it comes to science
bsky.app/starter-pack...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Ooh...I seem to be following 666 people now...of course 664 and 668 are the Neighbours of the Beast
September 8, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Ooh...I seem to be following 666 people now...of course 664 and 668 are the Neighbours of the Beast
Obviously, you should follow all of my fellow ABSW members! There are some fabulous writers on that list. I'm not sure how many of them are moth-ers though...
Great to see so many new followers these last couple of days, many of whom have arrived via the ABSW science writer BlueSky starter pack:
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Be warned, I'm mostly about moths here...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Be warned, I'm mostly about moths here...
September 8, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Obviously, you should follow all of my fellow ABSW members! There are some fabulous writers on that list. I'm not sure how many of them are moth-ers though...
Great to see so many new followers these last couple of days, many of whom have arrived via the ABSW science writer BlueSky starter pack:
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Be warned, I'm mostly about moths here...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Be warned, I'm mostly about moths here...
September 8, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Great to see so many new followers these last couple of days, many of whom have arrived via the ABSW science writer BlueSky starter pack:
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Be warned, I'm mostly about moths here...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Be warned, I'm mostly about moths here...
September 8, 2026 at 2:23 PM
The rain didn't deter the Large Yellow Underwings, although they may have come home to roost on the eggtrays and sheet before it started, all 88 of them! #teamMoth
186 moths in total just 28 species
186 moths in total just 28 species
September 8, 2026 at 9:59 AM
The rain didn't deter the Large Yellow Underwings, although they may have come home to roost on the eggtrays and sheet before it started, all 88 of them! #teamMoth
186 moths in total just 28 species
186 moths in total just 28 species
My header photo shows a Goat Moth, a chonky beast that turned up in my garden in May '25. Its larvae feed in tree trunks for 3 to 5 years before pupating and emerging as adults.
The larvae smell of goat wee, pig poo, rotten fish, and puke #NotSoCute #teamMoth
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
The larvae smell of goat wee, pig poo, rotten fish, and puke #NotSoCute #teamMoth
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
Moth of the moment – Getting my Goat Moth – David Bradley's Nature Matters
www.sciencebase.com
September 8, 2026 at 8:49 AM
My header photo shows a Goat Moth, a chonky beast that turned up in my garden in May '25. Its larvae feed in tree trunks for 3 to 5 years before pupating and emerging as adults.
The larvae smell of goat wee, pig poo, rotten fish, and puke #NotSoCute #teamMoth
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
The larvae smell of goat wee, pig poo, rotten fish, and puke #NotSoCute #teamMoth
www.sciencebase.com/science-blog...
If you're after a science writer, the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) has a Bluesky starter pack just for you
go.bsky.app/F6bdkUY
go.bsky.app/F6bdkUY
Association of British Science Writers members
Join the conversation
go.bsky.app
September 8, 2026 at 8:09 AM
If you're after a science writer, the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) has a Bluesky starter pack just for you
go.bsky.app/F6bdkUY
go.bsky.app/F6bdkUY
A sudden uplift, well over 200 moths of 44 species last night in Cambs to synergetic #teamMoth Included my first Satellite with white spots, they've previously been the orange form here. A tattered Old Lady and at least 68 Large YU, Frosted Orange, Maiden's Blush at al.
September 7, 2026 at 10:38 AM
A sudden uplift, well over 200 moths of 44 species last night in Cambs to synergetic #teamMoth Included my first Satellite with white spots, they've previously been the orange form here. A tattered Old Lady and at least 68 Large YU, Frosted Orange, Maiden's Blush at al.
Polygraphs? What is it, a 1950s B-movie?
September 5, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Polygraphs? What is it, a 1950s B-movie?
I think this is an aberration of Golden Twin-spot, it was NFM last night in Cambs #teamMoth one of 107 moths of 26 species. @mothiduk.bsky.social
Can't see it mentioned on the Cam moths site nor in our county Google Group...is it a county first, I wonder
Can't see it mentioned on the Cam moths site nor in our county Google Group...is it a county first, I wonder
September 5, 2026 at 9:49 AM
I think this is an aberration of Golden Twin-spot, it was NFM last night in Cambs #teamMoth one of 107 moths of 26 species. @mothiduk.bsky.social
Can't see it mentioned on the Cam moths site nor in our county Google Group...is it a county first, I wonder
Can't see it mentioned on the Cam moths site nor in our county Google Group...is it a county first, I wonder
Here's an early-morning Flamingo on the Lesvos coast at Skala Kallonis, getting a bit more shuteye before a busy day of hoovering up crustaceans begins #BirdOfTheDay #BirdNaps
September 4, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Here's an early-morning Flamingo on the Lesvos coast at Skala Kallonis, getting a bit more shuteye before a busy day of hoovering up crustaceans begins #BirdOfTheDay #BirdNaps