Judy Webb
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judywebb.bsky.social
Judy Webb
@judywebb.bsky.social
1K followers 270 following 390 posts
Ecologist, Palynologist (pollen expert) quite good at Botany, Entomology & Mycology. Conservationist. Ex School Teacher, Ex Forensic Scientist.
Posts Replies Media Videos
judywebb.bsky.social
Fascinating how some plants can have very long-lived seed like White Mullein and others have seed that is not even viable for one year, like quaking grass Briza media
bsbiscotland.bsky.social BSBI Scotland @bsbiscotland.bsky.social · 6h
Day 14 of my botanical #adventcalendar is this showy number from Stirling Castle Mound - White Mullein. This was recorded in Stirling in 1883, then not seen until 2024 - a gap of 141 years!

This nationally scarce plant has seeds that can remain viable for many years, but even so... #wildflowerhour
White Mullein (Verbascum lychnitis) plants growing on Ladies Rock in the Church of the Holy Rude cemetery on Stirling Castle Mound. The inflorescences are much branched and laden with broad, five-petalled white flowers, with yellow and red anthers and stigmas in the centre of each flower. The flowers form racemes along each side branch and the terminal spike. Below, bluntly triangular green leaves with a pale mid-rib run down the stem to a basal rosette. In the photo there are two flowering plants in the foreground, with another behind, several plants in bud, and multiple basal rosettes. They are growing around exposed basalt rocks next to a footpath up to the Ladies Rock viewpoint, which overlooks the Forth Valley. Behind, the is clouded grey, and a small section of the Stirling Castle wall (and visitor car park) can be seen between isolated trees A close up of the well-branched White Mullein (Verbascum lychnitis) inflorescence, showing the upside-down five petalled flowers (with the longest single petal pointing downwards) and their curious yellow and reddish central reproductive structures
December 14, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Judy Webb
rossmackenzie.bsky.social
Through the Lye Valley #Oxford
Wooden footbridge Onto the boardwalk Along the boardwalk Through the Lye Valley
December 13, 2025 at 5:16 PM
judywebb.bsky.social
Exciting toadstool confirmed by DNA, such a useful tool these days.
jeremybartlett.bsky.social Jeremy Bartlett @jeremybartlett.bsky.social · 1d
Norfolk Fungus Study Group DNA Team have now confirmed that this was indeed Echinoderma calcicola.

A lovely fungus, one of the best I've seen all year.

Only five records on FRDBI (The Fungal Records Database of Britain and Ireland).

#Fungi #FungiFriends
jeremybartlett.bsky.social Jeremy Bartlett @jeremybartlett.bsky.social · Oct 8
The beautifully shaggy Echinoderma calcicola.

Found in a damp woodland on rich calcareous soil in West Norfolk.

First Norfolk record since 1920.

Had a slightly fruity smell. White spores.

I'm drying a fruitbody for verification by our group's DNA team.

#Fungi #FungiFriends
December 13, 2025 at 10:48 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
Help Benji raise money by buying some of his cards and prints?
benjaminfallow.bsky.social Benjamin Fallow 💚 @benjaminfallow.bsky.social · 1d
Hi ☺️ it’s Benji here 👋 I hope people will see my artwork and remember to care for nature 💚 I’m trying to raise money for charity by selling cards and prints of my artwork. Every single card really makes a difference 🥰 Please share 🙏thanks so much ❤️ benjaminfallow.etsy.com
December 13, 2025 at 10:37 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
Need some uplifting? listen..
united24media.com UNITED24 Media @united24media.com · 7d
Watch the magical moment as a Ukrainian choir performs the famous Ukrainian carol in Austria’s Parliament.
December 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
judywebb.bsky.social
So many species still not discovered, biodiversity nowhere near fully documented. Absence of records is not absence of extinction..
race2extinct.bsky.social Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 7d
Most extinctions today are ‘dark extinctions’….species that vanish before they’re described, monitored, or counted.
No database can record what was never discovered.

Biology is not accounting, and absence of paperwork is not absence of extinction.
news.arizona.edu/news/extinct...
Extinction rates have slowed across many plant and animal groups, study shows
The first analysis of recent extinctions across plants and animals finds that, contrary to previous studies, the rate at which many groups of organisms have gone extinct has declined over the last 100...
news.arizona.edu
December 7, 2025 at 9:16 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
Winter in an old oakwood. Collared earthstar, winter #moth & mast yr - many acorns germinating - already some roots very long. Taking a few away to grow on as they have little chance to survive growing right under parent tree. Why huge size & shape variation in acorns? @thekentacorn.bsky.social
December 7, 2025 at 9:13 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
#Fungi can be very weird
mattrjones.bsky.social mattrjones.bsky.social @mattrjones.bsky.social · 8d
WOW! This was as surreal and spectacular to see in person as I'd hoped 😍
Aseroe rubra (Anenome/Starfish Stinkhorn).
December 6, 2025 at 11:28 PM
judywebb.bsky.social
I signed, peat needs to stay in the ground!
jackwallington.com Jack Wallington @jackwallington.com · 9d
If you have a big following, please share this petition to get the word back out there - we are so close but need to help raise awareness with the new set of MPs in Government actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal... @peatfree.bsky.social
December 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Judy Webb
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Slightly ethereal feel to the Valley this morning, as the low winter sun caught the mist rising from the fen. Totally magical!
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration
@judywebb.bsky.social
In the foreground a gently sloping fen with piles of cut reed, whilst in the background a number of trees with a band of thin mist in front of them. The sky is blue with a few wispy white clouds.
December 3, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Judy Webb
westenglandbylines.co.uk
As Oxford grapples with rising flood risks and strained green spaces, nature-based solutions offer a way to strengthen the city’s resilience | Steve Dawe
Nature-based solutions for Oxford
As Oxford grapples with rising flood risks and strained green spaces, nature-based solutions offer a way to strengthen the city’s resilience
westenglandbylines.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 7:39 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
I see this all the time. SSSIs declining through lack of management and no power to reverse the decline.
rspb.bsky.social RSPB @rspb.bsky.social · 10d
England’s most important nature sites are being failed.❌

Protected sites can and should be driving nature’s recovery.

But today’s OEP report exposes the real problem: years of weak delivery, underfunding and political drift have left them unable to do the job the law intended.
A lush green woodland with moss-covered boulders, low ferns and a scatter of bluebells beneath twisting old trees. Sunlight filters softly through the canopy. Landscapes like this should be central to nature’s recovery but without proper support and clear targets, protected sites can’t deliver what they’re supposed to.
December 4, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Judy Webb
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
On this day four years ago, we were treated to this fabulous sunset in the Lye Valley. Sadly we've not seen anything like it since!
#OxfordshireFens #AltoCumulousClouds #PhotoHour #Landscape #EastCoastKin @judywebb.bsky.social
The upper part of the photo shows blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds. Low down and to the right the sun is setting, with visible rays coming from it. The rest of the scene is a shallow valley with a boardwalk running from the foreground into the distance. There are trees on either side, and low green vegetation either side of the boardwalk.
December 2, 2025 at 8:05 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
Fascinating historic fungal illustrations..
rbgkew.bsky.social Kew Gardens @rbgkew.bsky.social · 12d
Ever seen fungal illustrations? 🍄 Our Fungarium Sequencing Project Team is thrilled to show some of the original illustrations that were created when the species were first described as new to science. In some cases, this is the only visual reference material of the original fungus that we have! 🧵👇
Hand-drawn botanical illustration of red-capped mushrooms labeled Amanitopsis pulchella, with additional dried mushroom specimens and handwritten notes on a beige paper background.
December 2, 2025 at 11:16 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
Old grassland can be botanically common place but may hide rare #fungi, if only you could look at it at the right few days in autumn. Here two tiny brown caps of the New To Britain (by DNA at Kew) Pulverulina praticola on 23.10.2025. In Oxford on mown grassland on calc. clay. #fungifriends
December 1, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Reposted by Judy Webb
nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social
Pet parasiticides are entering soils and waterways, harming the very ecosystems we depend on. Ministers must act on the evidence and reduce this chemical load on nature.

#EnvironmentalProtection #NatureRecovery
A small tan dog stands on a veterinary examination table while a person gently holds its front legs. Over the image is a Green Party graphic with the headline “Environmental Impact of Pet Parasiticides.” Below it is a quote asking what action the government has taken to reduce the environmental impact of pet parasiticides, especially fipronil and imidacloprid. A small circular photo of Natalie Bennett appears with the caption “Green Party Peer,” and the Green Party logo is at the bottom.
December 1, 2025 at 9:01 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
Want to see a fantastic beetle? I always do....
royentsoc.bsky.social Royal Entomological Society @royentsoc.bsky.social · 13d
🎄 It's time for #InsectAdvent, and for Day 1, we're celebrating the world of beetles 🪲

With around 350k known species worldwide (4k in the UK), #Coleoptera is the largest order of insects & one of the most diverse on Earth - Some glow, some dive, some fly, some roll dung!
Coleoptera
📸 Wallace’s Cyriopalus beetle (Cyriopalus wallacei) (c) Dr Tim Cockerill 2014
buff.ly
December 1, 2025 at 10:17 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
Terrible news for wildlife...
November 30, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Judy Webb
davegoulson.bsky.social
Watch my most recent talk at your leisure here:
wsrt.org.uk/news/insect-...
Insect Declines, Pesticides and Pet Parasiticides with Dave Goulson
wsrt.org.uk
November 27, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Judy Webb
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
A very cold and frosty morning for our volunteers today, but at least we had sunshine!
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 @judywebb.bsky.social
A landscape view down a shallow valley. Almost everything is covered with frost. Starting at the bottom right corner and snaking the full length of the valley is a boardwalk. Near bottom right a man in a hi-vis jacket and carrying a dark rucksack is walking away from the camera. At upper right and in the distance are a number of trees, some of which still have autumn coloured leaves. Low sunshine is hitting the right hand side and middle distance of the view. The sky is blue with a few low white clouds.
November 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Judy Webb
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
It's remarkable how much #FenRestoration (and other #conservation work) comes down to the repetition of these two simple tasks. Scything and raking. Maybe not glamorous (especially the raking!), but vital to controlling rank vegetation and letting other plants thrive.
#OxfordshireFens #GreenSpaces 🌍
Roughly in the centre of the photo a man with wellies, light coloured trousers and shirt with a darker anorak is raking a large pile of cut reed down a slope towards him. In the background a large stand of reed waiting to be cut. Roughly in the centre of the photo a man facing to the left with dark trousers and wellies with a blue checked shirt is using a scythe to cut the reed in front of him. In the foreground a heap of material he has already cut, while on the left of the photo an area waiting to be cut. In the background is a mostly featureless area of short mostly greenish vegetation.
November 25, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Judy Webb
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Autumn in the Lye Valley.
Our scything team have done a great job in cutting large parts of both the east and west SSSI. Lots still to do though, and we've now got a huge backlog of cut material waiting to be taken off the fen.
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 🌍
A view looking south down a shallow valley. In the foreground scattered brownish cut material. Large parts of the Valley have short green vegetation, though some areas still have longer brown vegetation. On the right of the photo starting at the centre point and old Willow pollard with thin branches growing up. A brown boardwalk snakes through the centre of the Valley, while in the background are a number of trees, mostly without leaves, though a few have yellowish leaves still. The sky is grey with some darker clouds present.
November 20, 2025 at 8:35 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
I do love a slimy toadstool..
damontighe.bsky.social Damon Tighe @damontighe.bsky.social · 21d
Cortinarius vanduzerensis
The most impressive slime veil of any mushroom that I am familiar with in California. Why invest so much energy in a slimy cap? Could be the ability to trap arthropods attempting to eat the gills or just a way to deal with rain.
#mushrooms #fungi #mendocino #california
November 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
judywebb.bsky.social
The stripyest of pretty little fungus gnats! Flies that breed mostly in fungi, harmless - don't bite (they may not even have mouth parts or feed, correct me if I'm wrong). I've reared lots of sorts from fungi. Important in recycling, vital food for insectivores @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
bertonemyia.bsky.social Matt Bertone @bertonemyia.bsky.social · 21d
Legs, wings, spines abound!
Fungus gnat fornication.
Making more lil' flies.

#Mycetophilidae
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
A pair of fungus gnats sitting on a pale gray wall. One above the other, end to end, paired up and wings spread. They have bold dark bands on the body and wings, contrasting yellow bands. A pair of fungus gnats sitting on a pale gray wall. One above the other, end to end, paired up and wings spread. They have bold dark bands on the body and wings, contrasting yellow bands.
November 23, 2025 at 7:17 AM
judywebb.bsky.social
Fungi aren't always beautiful! Ugly, grey-black, scaly, bruises red - but I just love the weirdness! #fungifriends
mattrjones.bsky.social mattrjones.bsky.social @mattrjones.bsky.social · 22d
Waxcap 40 - Blushing Waxcap (Neohygrocybe ovina). This one's my favourite! A chunky species, often early fruiting and restricted to the best sites. Cap is grey to black and often splitting, resembling cowpats. The gills and stipe are a beautiful grey and the gills bruise red!!
November 22, 2025 at 11:11 PM