Meg Skinner
megabunus.bsky.social
Meg Skinner
@megabunus.bsky.social
BAS Harvestmen Recording Scheme organiser/BAS press officer, invertebrate ecologist and overall bug nerd
I've been debating whether to share this but it's time to #endthestigma. Welcome to my brain. Working through 17 years of mental illness with a great therapist, critically evaluating thoughts (scientifically minded!). On the road to recovery and this week, we're doing another one with positivity.
November 26, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
A touch dry, but tonight we'll be searching the mossy trees for aboreal Opiliones like these 'amorous', Ramosus sp.
If you find these creatures fascinating, consider joining @megabunus.bsky.social et al, in a webinar on the 30th dec and learn more.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arboreal-h...
November 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Not long now! Book your place on my course: Arboreal Harvestmen (recording available after the event if booked/requested). Very excited for this one, we will be talking about legs and the physiology that harvestmen use for their arboreal lifestyle!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arboreal-h...
Arboreal Harvestmen
Learn about the harvestmen species of the UK found on vegetation with Meg Skinner.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Beautiful foggy day on the local patch
November 23, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Have you seen this harvestman? 🕷️ Platybunus pinetorum is a recent introduction to the UK, now spreading widely.

Join @megabunus.bsky.social on 5 Feb for our final entoLEARN on UK harvestmen, focusing on subterranean species.

🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1720584467...

@britishspiders.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 3:36 PM
A huge thanks to everyone that's supported me recently and helped me stay afloat. Plus those lovely folks posting harvestman pics, always a joy to see 😉
November 10, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Meet Phalangium opilio, one of the UK’s most common harvestmen! 🕷️

Males have striking horn-like chelicerae, as in the photo.

Join our UK Harvestmen webinar with @megabunus.bsky.social on 30th December 2025. 🌎 🧪

Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1502201859...

@britishspiders.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Very excited for this one - it's going to be all about those super long legs. Why so long? How do they work? How do these arboreal species live?
See you then!
🕷️ Meet the fork-palped harvestmen! 🕸️

Dicranopalpus ramosus & D. caudatus: UK newcomers with eerie tuning fork–shaped palps. Learn all about them in our next UK Harvestmen webinar with
@megabunus.bsky.social on 30th December.

👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1502201859...

@britishspiders.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 9:19 AM
We've had a few folks asking for the recording of this session - this is still available for those that have missed the event. A big focus on behaviour and reproduction so please get in touch if you'd like to see it! @biologicalrecording.co.uk

bsky.app/profile/biol...
🕷️ Meet Scotolemon doriae – Britain’s weirdest arachnid?

Bright orange, stumpy & newly arrived in the UK. Learn more with ‪‪ @megabunus.bsky.social at the entoLEARN webinar, 27 Oct (18:30–20:00). @britishspiders.bsky.social

Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/terrestria...
November 7, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Think it’s a spider? Think again! 🕷️

Opilio canestrini is a harvestman—one of the UK’s most visible urban arachnids.

Join @megabunus.bsky.social on 30 Dec 2025 (18:30–20:00) for a deep dive into arboreal harvestmen ecology.

🎟️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1502201859...

@britishspiders.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Beneath stones, soil & darkness... 🕷️

Discover the secret lives of Subterranean Harvestmen with @megabunus.bsky.social on 5th Feb 2026 (£12.50).

Learn about rare species, new discoveries & the value of ongoing field recording.

👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/subterrane...

@britishspiders.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
🕷️ Britain’s craziest creature? Meet Megabunus diadema — a harvestman with eyes on a spiky turret! Not a spider, but part of its own Order: Opiliones.

Learn more in our UK Harvestmen webinar on 5 Feb 2026:

🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1720584467...

@britishspiders.bsky.social @megabunus.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Thanks to those that attended the terrestrial harvestmen webinar! Lovely to speak to you and great questions asked. Tune in for the next one - arboreal harvestmen!
🕷️ Meet Scotolemon doriae – Britain’s weirdest arachnid?

Bright orange, stumpy & newly arrived in the UK. Learn more with ‪‪ @megabunus.bsky.social at the entoLEARN webinar, 27 Oct (18:30–20:00). @britishspiders.bsky.social

Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/terrestria...
October 29, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Garden wildlife. These Harvestmen (Opiliones) are quite active in the garden at night at the moment. Thanks to Esmond Brown @chalkspring.bsky.social for confirming the ID as Odiellus spinosus. @britishspiders.bsky.social #londonwildlife
October 3, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Out of the wind and into the microscopy - Critically Endangered in GB, Zora armillata has to be the species of the day.
October 4, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
🕷️ Meet Scotolemon doriae – Britain’s weirdest arachnid?

Bright orange, stumpy & newly arrived in the UK. Learn more with ‪‪ @megabunus.bsky.social at the entoLEARN webinar, 27 Oct (18:30–20:00). @britishspiders.bsky.social

Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/terrestria...
October 1, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Log-flipping season! 🍂 You’ll know the woodlice & centipedes under logs, but what about harvestmen? 🕷️ Discover the UK’s fascinating ground-dwelling species in our webinar with @megabunus.bsky.social, on 27 October.

👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1493393342...

@britishspiders.bsky.social
October 2, 2025 at 6:28 PM
The BENHS @britentsoc.bsky.social harvestman course is in full swing! @britishspiders.bsky.social
September 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Join me this Saturday for some harvestman ID time - we still have a few spaces left! @britishspiders.bsky.social #harvestmen #opilionee
Bookings are going well so don’t miss out on the BENHS Harvestman workshop with Meg Skinner and her new test British key to ID them . . .

To book: mail [email protected] providing a mobile contact number.
September 10, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
BENHS Dinton Pastures – October 4th 2025

An Introduction to the Identification of UK Spiders – Michael Davis and William Blumsom

Gain the knowledge to identify common spider families and species.

Book a place by mailing, with contact phone: [email protected]

Image: Steven Falk
August 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Do you do moth trapping in the UK? We'd love your help! 💡

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

Send us top-down photos of multiple moths on egg trays to support this work.

More info & form: forms.gle/e3HzBPEd7RVV...

#mothsmatter #TeamMoth
August 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Opilio canestrinii, another #harvestman disturbed by same garden tidy as Odiellus spinosus below. At just right angle to catch bright afternoon sunlight, highlighting long, whip-like, sensitive second leg pair with which this poor-sighted animal navigates its surroundings. Bungay, Suffolk, England.
August 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Tune in to Suffolk Radio - Gen X Radio to hear me harp on about spiders at around 10.20 tomorrow (Friday) morning if you've got nothing better to do ;)
It's house spider season so open to answer a myriad of questions too! share.google/9OQJ9pA8lGFu...
Suffolk Radio - Gen X Radio
Welcome to GenX Radio - Local Radio for and from Suffolk Summer 2025! Ways To Listen DAB+ Listen on DAB+ iOS Listen on Apple Devices Android Listen on Android Devices Alexa Listen on Alexa Devices Goo...
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August 28, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Meg Skinner
Eight legs, but not spiders! 🕷️

From giants with legs 11× their body length to species that gather by the hundred, UK harvestmen are full of surprises.

Discover them in our entoLEARN course, 27 Oct 2025:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1493393342...

@megabunus.bsky.social
@britishspiders.bsky.social
August 15, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Shout out to BENHS for another fab workshop - hoppers are absolutely fascinating! @britentsoc.bsky.social
August 13, 2025 at 6:09 AM