Lloyd Davies
@lloyd9632.bsky.social
50 years of study of invertebrates, trying to widen my interests!
Some more Pseudoscorpions from Crates Wood, Shaftesbury. Two Moss Neobisid, Neobisium carcinoides with springtail prey and two photos of a Riddish Two-eyed Chelifer, Roncus lubricus
October 31, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Some more Pseudoscorpions from Crates Wood, Shaftesbury. Two Moss Neobisid, Neobisium carcinoides with springtail prey and two photos of a Riddish Two-eyed Chelifer, Roncus lubricus
I went to Crates Wood near Shaftesbury which has lots of thick moss on the ground. I found lots of Pseudoscorpions mainly Moss Neobisid, Neosbisium carcinoides. Including one that spent a long time cleaning its palps and jaws, allowing a lucky shot showing the variable teeth on the fixed finger.
October 31, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I went to Crates Wood near Shaftesbury which has lots of thick moss on the ground. I found lots of Pseudoscorpions mainly Moss Neobisid, Neosbisium carcinoides. Including one that spent a long time cleaning its palps and jaws, allowing a lucky shot showing the variable teeth on the fixed finger.
A new Harvestman for the garden in Shaftesbury, this is a relatively new species in the UK . Dicranopalpus larvatus
October 21, 2025 at 7:11 PM
A new Harvestman for the garden in Shaftesbury, this is a relatively new species in the UK . Dicranopalpus larvatus
A garden find from Shaftesbury this week, I occasionally see these in the house (usually the kitchen) but this is the first outdoor one I've seen. This is a Wine Cellar Spider, Psilochorus simoni carrying her eggs. (I do have a small cellar but rarely any wine for very long)
October 16, 2025 at 7:36 AM
A garden find from Shaftesbury this week, I occasionally see these in the house (usually the kitchen) but this is the first outdoor one I've seen. This is a Wine Cellar Spider, Psilochorus simoni carrying her eggs. (I do have a small cellar but rarely any wine for very long)
A Pseudoscorpion from the garden in Shaftesbury last week, this one is the Reddish Two-eyed Chelifer, Roncus lubricus.
October 16, 2025 at 7:31 AM
A Pseudoscorpion from the garden in Shaftesbury last week, this one is the Reddish Two-eyed Chelifer, Roncus lubricus.
Chthonius ischnocheles with an Orbatid mite meal, in the garden in Shaftesbury. They seem to like these!
October 10, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Chthonius ischnocheles with an Orbatid mite meal, in the garden in Shaftesbury. They seem to like these!
A lovely trip down to Studland in Dorset, kept an eye out for Beavers but no luck, but did find some of my favourite spiders; Attulus saltator, Thomisus onustus, Rhysodromus histrio and Alopecosa barbipes (in almost Sandbear colours)
September 9, 2025 at 6:55 AM
A lovely trip down to Studland in Dorset, kept an eye out for Beavers but no luck, but did find some of my favourite spiders; Attulus saltator, Thomisus onustus, Rhysodromus histrio and Alopecosa barbipes (in almost Sandbear colours)
Tansy fun; I was photographing Colletes (similis?) and noticed a tiny Gall Midge, Ozirhincus hungaricus laying eggs in its florets, then coming along behind its parasitoid wasp Inostemma (reticulatum?) with an odd black pudding structure on its back housing a long ovipositor to parasitise them.
August 29, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Tansy fun; I was photographing Colletes (similis?) and noticed a tiny Gall Midge, Ozirhincus hungaricus laying eggs in its florets, then coming along behind its parasitoid wasp Inostemma (reticulatum?) with an odd black pudding structure on its back housing a long ovipositor to parasitise them.
The Brown One. Harvestman, Nelima gothica exploring the wall in the garden in Shaftesbury. #gardenfinds #harvestman #dorset
July 31, 2025 at 9:05 AM
The Brown One. Harvestman, Nelima gothica exploring the wall in the garden in Shaftesbury. #gardenfinds #harvestman #dorset
A dapper chap from the garden in Shaftesbury this week, no females seen yet. Ornate Tailed Digger Wasp - Cerceris rybyensis
July 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
A dapper chap from the garden in Shaftesbury this week, no females seen yet. Ornate Tailed Digger Wasp - Cerceris rybyensis
Seems to be lots of these in the garden in Shaftesbury at the moment. Never seen them before, enjoying the hot dry weather under the pine tree perhaps!
July 21, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Seems to be lots of these in the garden in Shaftesbury at the moment. Never seen them before, enjoying the hot dry weather under the pine tree perhaps!
A tiny Spitting Spider, Scytodes thoracica cropped up in the kitchen this morning, one of my favourites!
July 16, 2025 at 4:52 PM
A tiny Spitting Spider, Scytodes thoracica cropped up in the kitchen this morning, one of my favourites!
Just back from a holiday in Italy and if I could bring back two species to join UK wildlife they would be the European Rhinoceros Beetle, Oryctes nasicornis and its Mammoth Wasp parasite, Megascolia maculata #biginsects
July 16, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Just back from a holiday in Italy and if I could bring back two species to join UK wildlife they would be the European Rhinoceros Beetle, Oryctes nasicornis and its Mammoth Wasp parasite, Megascolia maculata #biginsects
A male Bee Grabber from Eype, this one is probably Thecophora atra
June 29, 2025 at 11:07 PM
A male Bee Grabber from Eype, this one is probably Thecophora atra
A new one for me from Eype on the South Dorset coast, a great place for new stuff. This is Micropeza corrigiolata a Stilt Legged Fly.
June 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
A new one for me from Eype on the South Dorset coast, a great place for new stuff. This is Micropeza corrigiolata a Stilt Legged Fly.
I have seen the non-native Wall Lizards, Podarcis muralis on the Purbeck coast of Dorset before but on a sunny day this week I got to take some photos for the first time. So beautiful!
June 15, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I have seen the non-native Wall Lizards, Podarcis muralis on the Purbeck coast of Dorset before but on a sunny day this week I got to take some photos for the first time. So beautiful!
Really excited and surprised to find this one in the garden in Shaftesbury today. A female Scarce Chaser, Libellula fulva. I think she must have flown miles to the hill top here from her slow flowing river and dyke habitat!
June 2, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Really excited and surprised to find this one in the garden in Shaftesbury today. A female Scarce Chaser, Libellula fulva. I think she must have flown miles to the hill top here from her slow flowing river and dyke habitat!
Another bright visitor to the garden in Shaftesbury, this one is a Handsome Fungus Beetle, Endomychus coccineus, sometimes called a False Ladybird. #gardenfinds #beetles
March 26, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Another bright visitor to the garden in Shaftesbury, this one is a Handsome Fungus Beetle, Endomychus coccineus, sometimes called a False Ladybird. #gardenfinds #beetles
Some harvestmen from the garden in Shaftesbury, who stopped to pose for portraits. This is fairly normal for the three pictures of Rilaena triangularis but I was pleased to find a still Nemastoma bimaculatum, as these are usually always on the go! #gardenfinds #harvestman
March 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Some harvestmen from the garden in Shaftesbury, who stopped to pose for portraits. This is fairly normal for the three pictures of Rilaena triangularis but I was pleased to find a still Nemastoma bimaculatum, as these are usually always on the go! #gardenfinds #harvestman
Despite the cold weather yesterday, a bit of sunshine brought out a smart little spider at Higher Hyde Heath. This is a subadult male Euophrys pretensis, he’ll look even more striking next month! #spiders #heathfinds
March 14, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Despite the cold weather yesterday, a bit of sunshine brought out a smart little spider at Higher Hyde Heath. This is a subadult male Euophrys pretensis, he’ll look even more striking next month! #spiders #heathfinds
One of my favorite spiders, from Great Ovens Heath in Dorset, the Sand Bear Spider, Arctosa perita. Because of its wonderful camouflage it will occasionally freeze, which is a great help to the photographer! #spiders
March 13, 2025 at 9:07 AM
One of my favorite spiders, from Great Ovens Heath in Dorset, the Sand Bear Spider, Arctosa perita. Because of its wonderful camouflage it will occasionally freeze, which is a great help to the photographer! #spiders
One of my favourite spiky Harvestmen, found at Fontmell Down, Dorset, Homalenotus quadridentatus.
February 27, 2025 at 5:39 PM
One of my favourite spiky Harvestmen, found at Fontmell Down, Dorset, Homalenotus quadridentatus.
One that popped up in my bedroom yesterday, the Twenty-plume Moth, Alucita hexadactyla. #gardenfinds #moths # feathers
February 14, 2025 at 10:37 PM
One that popped up in my bedroom yesterday, the Twenty-plume Moth, Alucita hexadactyla. #gardenfinds #moths # feathers
Some finds from the garden in Shaftesbury yesterday. #gardenfinds #invertebrates
These are
1. A woodlouse-like fly larva, Lonchoptera species,
2. A centipede-like Symphylan, Symphylella species probably vulgaris
3. A Springtail, Kalaphorura burmeisteri
& 4. A Rosy Woodlouse, Androniscus dentiger
These are
1. A woodlouse-like fly larva, Lonchoptera species,
2. A centipede-like Symphylan, Symphylella species probably vulgaris
3. A Springtail, Kalaphorura burmeisteri
& 4. A Rosy Woodlouse, Androniscus dentiger
February 7, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Some finds from the garden in Shaftesbury yesterday. #gardenfinds #invertebrates
These are
1. A woodlouse-like fly larva, Lonchoptera species,
2. A centipede-like Symphylan, Symphylella species probably vulgaris
3. A Springtail, Kalaphorura burmeisteri
& 4. A Rosy Woodlouse, Androniscus dentiger
These are
1. A woodlouse-like fly larva, Lonchoptera species,
2. A centipede-like Symphylan, Symphylella species probably vulgaris
3. A Springtail, Kalaphorura burmeisteri
& 4. A Rosy Woodlouse, Androniscus dentiger
A bit of clear weather and I have been able to find a pseudoscorpion that I've not found in the garden in Shaftesbury before. The Reddish Two-Eyed Chelifer, Roncus lubricus. #gardenfinds
January 31, 2025 at 11:18 PM
A bit of clear weather and I have been able to find a pseudoscorpion that I've not found in the garden in Shaftesbury before. The Reddish Two-Eyed Chelifer, Roncus lubricus. #gardenfinds