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Sam Thomas

@sjthomasbotany.bsky.social

970 followers 380 following 700 posts

Naturalist, botanist and entomologist. He/him. England Officer @bsbibotany.bsky.social views my own

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Aug 23

However you arrive in the UK you are welcome. People who are 'concerned about immigration' are racist. The government is at fault for poverty. Stop punching down.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · 15h

I'm speaking on #Chloropidae, trying to make a difficult and neglected group a little more accessible via a group-sourced Flickr photo library. Also looking forward to hearing the other speakers.

www.flickr.com/groups/chlor...

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · 1d

I'm currently updating and making corrections to the Ephydridae key prepared for the @dipteristsforum.bsky.social workshop. Please let me know if you've noticed any errors or anything that might need updating. Comments, DM or email to sjthomasbotanyATgmail.com please.

#Diptera #entomology

Cover page of keys to the British Ephydridae with lateral macro images of two small ephydrid flies

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Reposted by Sam Thomas

BSBI Botany @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 4d

New #GBRedList for vascular plants is published today by a team led by @bsbibotany.bsky.social with partners @naturalengland.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social @natreswales.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social @plantlifeintl.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social @thebotanics.bsky.social

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · 14d

Empis digramma female #Empididae. A distinctive pale yellow species with short bristles and two stripes on the scutum. Frequent in the north of the UK.

#Diptera #Entomology #insectphotography #inverts #bugsky #macro

Lateral macro of the head and thorax of a fly. Mostly pale yellow/brown with long dark antennae. Very long mouthparts.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · 15d

The very small #Chloropidae Pseudopachychaeta ruficeps swept this spring from alpine sedge flushes, Beinn Ghlas, Ben Lawers NNR. This species develops in the inflorescences of Eriophorum (Cottongrass) species.

#Diptera #Entomology @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Lateral macro of a small, reddish-brown fly with paler markings on the face and pleurae

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · 21d

Gonatherus planiceps female #Scathophagidae. A uncommonly collected, spring-flying, species of upland flushes and other wet habitats in the mountains. This one from Beinn Ghlas in the Ben Lawers NNR this May.

#Diptera #Entomology @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Lateral macro of a small dark grey fly with brown shaded wings, yellow legs and a pale yellow lower half of the head

Lateral macro the head and thorax of a small dark grey fly with a pale yellow lower half of the head

Dorsal macro the head and thorax of a small dark grey fly with yellow frons

Head-on macro the head of a small dark grey fly showing the geniculate arista and pale whiteish yellow face

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Reposted by Sam Thomas

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · Aug 24

It's not asylum seekers who jack up rents, undermine the NHS, hold down wages and keep people insecure.
It's capital.
The role of the far right is to shift the blame for decades of economic attacks by the rich and powerful onto powerless people who have only just arrived here.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Aug 23

However you arrive in the UK you are welcome. People who are 'concerned about immigration' are racist. The government is at fault for poverty. Stop punching down.

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Reposted by Sam Thomas

Alex Prendergast @bramblebotanist.bsky.social · Aug 1

Ranunculus x levenensis with parent spp R. reptans Creeping Spearwort & R. flammula Lesser Spearwort on a Cumbrian lake shore. The hybrid has larger flowers & broader lamina than reptans with linear leaves. R. reptans has few GB locations, often ephemeral being introduced from the arctic by birds

Family portrait: Ranunculus reptans (L), R. x levenensis (C) & R. flammula (R)

Rooting at nodes - all in reptans & most in the hybrid

With scale. R. reptans has flowers less than 5mm across

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jul 27

Rock sea-lavenders from the Afon Crigyll Estuary Ynys Môn: Limonium recurvum subsp. crigyllensis (with rough scape) described in 2022 by Ivor Rees and only know from this site where it grows with the more widespread L. procerum (smooth scape). @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

Alt text - Limonium recurvum subsp. crigyllensis - A small, multi-stemmed plant with lilac flowers growing among a carpet of red and green vegetation

Alt text - Limonium procerum subsp. procerum - A small, multi-stemmed plant with lilac flowers growing among a carpet of red and green vegetation

Alt text - A composite image showing a individual plant of Limonium recurvum subsp. crigyllensis against a grey background with a zoomed in section of the scape showing the rough texture

Alt text - A composite image showing a individual plant of Limonium procerum subsp. procerum against a grey background with a zoomed in section of the scape showing the smooth texture

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jul 10

Hypopitys monotropa (Yellow Bird’s-nest) from an evening woodland walk. This is subspecies hypophegea which is completely glabrous, often delicate, yellowish with fewer flowers. Now is the time to check the subsp. ID of your local populations with Fred Rumsey's
@bsbibotany.bsky.social News key.

Four buffy-yellowish-brown stems of a small achlorophyllous plant with drooping, off-white flowers growing amongst leaf litter.

Side on view of a clump of buffy-yellowish-brown stems of a small achlorophyllous plant with drooping, off-white flowers growing amongst leaf litter.

Lateral macro of the flower of a buffy-yellowish-brown achlorophyllous plant. Some petals and sepals removed to show the ovary, stigma and other internal parts.

A screen shot of a key to the British and Irish taxa of Hypopitys monotropa (Yellow Bird’s-nest) from a recent BSBI News article by Fred Rumsey.
Text:
1 Floral parts glabrous subsp. hypophegea
1 Floral parts with some hairs 2
2 Stem and external surfaces of flower finely pubescent var. tomentosa*
2 Stem and external surfaces of flower glabrous 3
3 Inner petal surfaces, style and ovary conspicuously prickly hairy, ovary taller than wide, style
equalling to exceeding ovary, flower narrowly urceolate, petals usually 11–13 mm subsp. monotropa
3 Inner petal surfaces and other floral parts with scattered prickly hairs, showing various
combinations of the characters given above but not all, flower shorter and more campanulate,
petals usually 10 mm or less ‘intermediate’ [? sub-var piligera]

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jun 22

Thanks Tristan

Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jun 22

A final stop on Rannoch Moor before the long drive south rounded things off nicely with Scheuchzeria palustris (Rannoch-rush) and Nuphar pumila (Least Water-lily). The latter out in a loch and impossible to photograph properly. 5/5

Scheuchzeria palustris. Small, upright plant with narrow, sharp leaves and large brown fruits.

Nuphar pumila. Floating lily-pad leaves and small, yellow flowers in a loch.

Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jun 22

In a steep gully near the summit were three very rare small plants with white flowers: Cerastium cerastoides (Starwort Mouse-ear), Saxifraga cespitosa (Tufted Saxifrage) and Saxifraga rivularis (Highland Saxifrage) 4/5

Cerastium cerastoides. A small creeping plant with white flowers against a background of scree.

Saxifraga cespitosa. A small, upright plant with cup-shaped white flowers against a background of moss

Saxifraga rivularis. A small, upright plant with white flowers and lobed leaves.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jun 22

Then the big 14 hour day on Ben Nevis with many amazing alpines including: Veronica alpina (Alpine Speedwell), Poa flexuosa (Wavy Meadow-grass) and Carex lachenalii (Hare's-foot Sedge) around Coire na Ciste 3/5

Veronica alpina. A clump of delicate upright small plants topped by deep blue flowers.

Poa flexuosa. A clump of grass with drooping flower heads amongst scree

Carex lachenalii. Macro of yellowish brown 'cone-like' spiky flower heads on a grass-like stalk.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jun 22

Between Mallaig and Fort William I dropped in on two very rare sedges: Carex buxbaumii (Club Sedge) and Carex salina (Saltmarsh Sedge). The latter only discovered in the UK in 2004. 2/5

Carex buxbaumii. Several 'catkin-like' or 'cone-like' green and dark brown seed heads

Carex salina. An upright grass-like plant with 'catkin-like' or 'cone-like' green and red brown seed heads and papery old male flowers at the top.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jun 22

Scotland trip started on Skye: Koenigia islandica (Iceland-purslane) only just germinating and the weather too bad for Arabis alpina on the Cuillins. However, Ligusticum scoticum (Scots Lovage) was looking lovely at Armadale. 1/5

@bsbiscotland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

Koenigia islandica. Macro of a very small seedling with oval green and reddish leaves against a background of gravel.

Ligusticum scoticum. A small plant with reddish stems and umbels of small white flowers against a grassy background.

Ligusticum scoticum. An umbel of small white flowers against a black background.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Jun 21

Just back from a mostly productive botany trip around western Scotland, still need to edit the plant photos so here's a delightful male Snow Bunting singing on the summit of Ben Nevis in the evening sunshine.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · May 8

Thanks Jen

Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · May 8

Received the pdf of my paper adding Philotelma parvum to the UK list in the upcoming issue of Dipterists Digest. A rather obscure little Ephydridae (shore fly) collected from the New Forest, emphasising again the importance of New Forest mires for rare Diptera
drive.google.com/file/d/1FCwH...

Composite image of the title and introduction of the paper with one of the figures showing the head from above.
Text: Philotelma parvum (Kramer) a shore fly (Diptera, Ephydridae) new to Britain from the New Forest National Park
SAM J. THOMAS Hayling Island, Hampshire; sjthomasbotany@gmail.com Summary Philotelma parvum (Kramer, 1917) (Diptera, Ephydridae) is recorded for the first time from the British Isles, based on one specimen taken in June 2023 from the New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England. The identification and distribution of P. parvum are discussed.
Introduction A single male Philotelma was swept by the author from the margin of Hatchet Pond in the New Forest National Park in June 2023. The specimen keyed to Philotelma parvum (Kramer, 1917) based on the revision of the genus by Mathis et al. (2009). This identification was confirmed by examination of the male genitalia. A review of published distributional data (Mathis et al. 2009; Zatwarnicki 2011), the most recent update to the checklist of the Diptera of the British Isles (Chandler 2024) and consultation with UK experts (Martin Drake and Tony Irwin, both 2024 pers. comm.) shows this specimen to represent the first record of P. parvum in the British Isles.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · May 2

Very unexpected & rare: Anticheta obliviosa female #Sciomyzidae from saltmarsh on Hayling Island, Hampshire. Previously known in the UK from fens around Huntingdon and singles from Cheshire and Yorkshire - all inland. Nice find for a quick evening sweep
#ento #diptera @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Anterolateral macro of a mostly blackish fly with patches of silvery dusting, orange hind legs and orange areas on the head

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · May 1

Glenanthe sp. female from Hayling Island the other day. A very small saltmarsh #Ephydridae with distinctively 'upside down pear' shaped eyes. Likely G. ripicola but can't rule out G. fuscinervis without a male.
#Diptera #ento #macro @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Lateral macro of a very small brown-grey fly with green eyes

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Apr 30

Almost forgot #WorldRobberFlyDay but luckily reminded by @flygirlnhm.bsky.social. Here's the puparium of Laphria flava (Bumblebee Robberfly) collected from a pine log in Abernethy Forest a few years back. @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #diptera #ento #macro

Lateral macro of the empty puparium of a large robber fly. A elongated papery structure with large horns at the front and rings of spikes towards the rear.

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Apr 21

Chlorops varsoviensis a pNationally Scarce #Chloropidae of upland marshy areas.
Now added to the (slowly) growing Chloropidae UK Flickr group. Please add any relevant identified photos or message me and I can help add them www.flickr.com/groups/14873...
#diptera #ento @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

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Sam Thomas @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social · Apr 19

Rhamphomyia maculipennis, a costal #Empididae with two dark marks on the wing in females, from Hayling Island today.
#diptera #ento @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Lateral macro of a grey fly with elongate mouthparts

Macro of a fly wing showing venation and dark markings

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