Anthony Speca | Aspen Ecology
@aspenecology.com
Lichen surveying, consultancy, training and education. County Lichen Recorder for Suffolk. Posts mainly about lichens, and occasionally other life-forms, especially if they're overlooked. Rocks now and then, too. Founder @anthonyspeca.bsky.social.
Pinned
Announcing another chance to learn #lichens online! My next 'Lichens for Beginners' course starts in January. Perfect for anyone just discovering these unique and beautiful life-forms. All you need to know to understand lichens and identify common species. Join me! aspenecology.com/lichens-for-...
Absolutely delighted to have introduced nearly 80 people to fascinating world of #lichens earlier this month, with @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social's 'Wildlife Live' webinars. Real-time poll revealed 90% had little or no previous exposure, so they were taking their first lichen steps with me. Brilliant!
November 24, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Absolutely delighted to have introduced nearly 80 people to fascinating world of #lichens earlier this month, with @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social's 'Wildlife Live' webinars. Real-time poll revealed 90% had little or no previous exposure, so they were taking their first lichen steps with me. Brilliant!
More end-of-summer #galls. Two #mites infect this alder: Acalitus brevitarsus, which causes leaf to blister (topside) and grow clusters of glassy 'hairs' (underside), and Eriophyes inangulis, which does same but in nooks at main vein joints. Larvae develop in these growths. Bungay, Suffolk, England.
November 16, 2025 at 4:44 PM
More end-of-summer #galls. Two #mites infect this alder: Acalitus brevitarsus, which causes leaf to blister (topside) and grow clusters of glassy 'hairs' (underside), and Eriophyes inangulis, which does same but in nooks at main vein joints. Larvae develop in these growths. Bungay, Suffolk, England.
Most coastal #lichens I saw last summer in Morar, Scotland, were growing on substantial outcrops of psammite #rock, which is dominant bedrock of that area. 'Psammite' is general term for metamorphosed sandstone comprising mostly quartz and feldspar. This example exposure is from Achaidh Mhoir beach.
November 16, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Most coastal #lichens I saw last summer in Morar, Scotland, were growing on substantial outcrops of psammite #rock, which is dominant bedrock of that area. 'Psammite' is general term for metamorphosed sandstone comprising mostly quartz and feldspar. This example exposure is from Achaidh Mhoir beach.
If there were contest for smartest-dressed #spider, this dapper Nigma walckenaeri would surely be contender. Hope his good looks proved lucky: he would've had to approach object of his love carefully in her tunnel-like lair to avoid being killed and eaten. In Bungay, Suffolk, at end of last summer.
November 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM
If there were contest for smartest-dressed #spider, this dapper Nigma walckenaeri would surely be contender. Hope his good looks proved lucky: he would've had to approach object of his love carefully in her tunnel-like lair to avoid being killed and eaten. In Bungay, Suffolk, at end of last summer.
Belated report from final #moth trap of last summer. Best of catch were these three stunners: enigmatic Chinese character (Cilix glaucata), bold latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrata) and scintillating Argyresthia goedartella. Last one so pretty I had to photograph it from two angles. Bungay, Suffolk.
November 15, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Belated report from final #moth trap of last summer. Best of catch were these three stunners: enigmatic Chinese character (Cilix glaucata), bold latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrata) and scintillating Argyresthia goedartella. Last one so pretty I had to photograph it from two angles. Bungay, Suffolk.
Couple of #harvestmen from end of last summer: Dicranopalpus ramosus sens lat and Opilio canestrinii. Found together on garden trug used to collect apples. Probably fell in from same apple tree! Both very common in Britain: they were probably around your house this past summer too. Bungay, Suffolk.
November 14, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Couple of #harvestmen from end of last summer: Dicranopalpus ramosus sens lat and Opilio canestrinii. Found together on garden trug used to collect apples. Probably fell in from same apple tree! Both very common in Britain: they were probably around your house this past summer too. Bungay, Suffolk.
#Lichens with #cyanobacteria rather than green #algae partners need greater hydration to photosynthesise. So they're found in damper habitats, and grow in ways that help hold water. This 'hair-tangle' Ephebe lanata on rock near Lochan Ropach, Scotland, provides good (if bit blurry) illustration.
November 14, 2025 at 3:25 PM
#Lichens with #cyanobacteria rather than green #algae partners need greater hydration to photosynthesise. So they're found in damper habitats, and grow in ways that help hold water. This 'hair-tangle' Ephebe lanata on rock near Lochan Ropach, Scotland, provides good (if bit blurry) illustration.
Another late post from summer observations: #galls of Aceria erinea, tiny mite parasitising walnut (Juglans regia). Maybe galls aren't world's prettiest things, but it's extraordinary how some animals and other creatures have evolved to co-opt plants directly into their life-cycles. Bungay, Suffolk.
November 13, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Another late post from summer observations: #galls of Aceria erinea, tiny mite parasitising walnut (Juglans regia). Maybe galls aren't world's prettiest things, but it's extraordinary how some animals and other creatures have evolved to co-opt plants directly into their life-cycles. Bungay, Suffolk.
Still catching up on posts from summer. Second #moth trap from holidays on Loch Morar, Scotland, caught this hectad-first (and early) red-green carpet (Chloroclysta siterata). Also Acleris aspersana and A laterana: not rare, but nice to find as also not well-recorded in VC97 West Inverness-shire.
November 13, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Still catching up on posts from summer. Second #moth trap from holidays on Loch Morar, Scotland, caught this hectad-first (and early) red-green carpet (Chloroclysta siterata). Also Acleris aspersana and A laterana: not rare, but nice to find as also not well-recorded in VC97 West Inverness-shire.
Common brown #shrimp (Crangon crangon) of potted shrimp fame. Masterclass in camouflage: only saw this dashing fellow when light was right. Quick, too: darted away (almost) every time camera came near. Not like #rockpool shrimp below, which seek out your hand like buffet table! Morar Bay, Scotland
November 7, 2025 at 8:06 PM
#Lichens aren't only organisms that grow as crusts. I've mentioned encrusting #algae (below) and this bright specimen is encrusting #sponge. How unusual to find animal taking form of crust on rock! Perhaps common Hymeniacidon perlevis, but I really couldn't say. In tidal zone on Morar Bay, Scotland.
November 7, 2025 at 6:55 PM
#Lichens aren't only organisms that grow as crusts. I've mentioned encrusting #algae (below) and this bright specimen is encrusting #sponge. How unusual to find animal taking form of crust on rock! Perhaps common Hymeniacidon perlevis, but I really couldn't say. In tidal zone on Morar Bay, Scotland.
Female Dicranopalpus ramosus sens lat #harvestman at Bracora, on Loch Morar, Scotland. Seems from @britishspiders.bsky.social website potentially to be first record for VC97 West Inverness-shire! Even if true, it's hardly surprising find: they're common but under-recorded (and under-appreciated).
November 2, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Female Dicranopalpus ramosus sens lat #harvestman at Bracora, on Loch Morar, Scotland. Seems from @britishspiders.bsky.social website potentially to be first record for VC97 West Inverness-shire! Even if true, it's hardly surprising find: they're common but under-recorded (and under-appreciated).
Last #lichen (for now) that I see in Scotland but not East Anglia: Xanthoparmelia conspersa. This one at Morar Bay. Isidiate, not sorediate like similar X mougeotii. Interestingly, latter is regularly recorded in East Anglia, but former rarely. It seems X mougeotii tolerates drier conditions better.
November 2, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Last #lichen (for now) that I see in Scotland but not East Anglia: Xanthoparmelia conspersa. This one at Morar Bay. Isidiate, not sorediate like similar X mougeotii. Interestingly, latter is regularly recorded in East Anglia, but former rarely. It seems X mougeotii tolerates drier conditions better.
Beautiful but slightly sinister form of compass #jellyfish (Chrysaora hyoscella) lurking in shallow water at Portnaluchaig, near Arisaig, Morar, Scotland. Allegedly, fear of their sting is worse than actual experience: said to be no worse than nettle. I don't know myself: but if you do, reply below!
November 1, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Beautiful but slightly sinister form of compass #jellyfish (Chrysaora hyoscella) lurking in shallow water at Portnaluchaig, near Arisaig, Morar, Scotland. Allegedly, fear of their sting is worse than actual experience: said to be no worse than nettle. I don't know myself: but if you do, reply below!
1/2 Yet another #lichen I find in Scotland but not home in East Anglia: Pectenia (Degelia) cyanoloma. Its sister species P atlantica and P plumbea look similar, but former has isidia and not apothecia, and latter lacks scalloped depressions on its lobes. Britain has 'international responsibility'…
November 1, 2025 at 7:16 PM
1/2 Yet another #lichen I find in Scotland but not home in East Anglia: Pectenia (Degelia) cyanoloma. Its sister species P atlantica and P plumbea look similar, but former has isidia and not apothecia, and latter lacks scalloped depressions on its lobes. Britain has 'international responsibility'…
This jaunty little fellow sat rather obligingly for a #rockpool portrait this past summer. Who'd have guessed these tiny common hermit #crabs (Pagurus bernhardus) are genetically closer to huge king crabs than to typical shore crabs like in post below? At Portnaluchaig near Arisaig, Morar, Scotland.
October 31, 2025 at 2:48 PM
This jaunty little fellow sat rather obligingly for a #rockpool portrait this past summer. Who'd have guessed these tiny common hermit #crabs (Pagurus bernhardus) are genetically closer to huge king crabs than to typical shore crabs like in post below? At Portnaluchaig near Arisaig, Morar, Scotland.
Grateful to @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social Carlton Marshes for inviting me back to deliver a second public #lichen event earlier this month. And to the participants too, for their lovely feedback! Looking forward to returning this spring for a full-day lichen workshop. aspenecology.com/discovering-...
October 31, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Grateful to @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social Carlton Marshes for inviting me back to deliver a second public #lichen event earlier this month. And to the participants too, for their lovely feedback! Looking forward to returning this spring for a full-day lichen workshop. aspenecology.com/discovering-...
This striking and rather handsome #seaweed is Polyides rotunda, a type of forkweed. It's a red #alga, so taxonomically a plant. Easily the loveliest and most elegant of the seaweeds I saw on holidays in Scotland this past summer. This one in a #rockpool on the beach at Achaidh Mhoir, near Morar.
October 30, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Just posted: #lichen factsheet and galleries for Dermatocarpon miniatum. Most widespread of its genus in Britain. Likes damp conditions, or at least intermittently flushed rock (e.g. seepages, rain tracks). More common in wetter west: this one from Argyll, Scotland. aspenecology.com/dermatocarpo...
October 30, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Just posted: #lichen factsheet and galleries for Dermatocarpon miniatum. Most widespread of its genus in Britain. Likes damp conditions, or at least intermittently flushed rock (e.g. seepages, rain tracks). More common in wetter west: this one from Argyll, Scotland. aspenecology.com/dermatocarpo...
Grey dagger (Acronicta psi) and dark dagger (A tridens) #moths can't be reliably separated without dissection. But their caterpillars can, and this colourful fellow with the shark-fin is grey dagger. Bracora on Loch Morar, Scotland. First record for hectad, but that's due to under-recording there.
October 29, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Grey dagger (Acronicta psi) and dark dagger (A tridens) #moths can't be reliably separated without dissection. But their caterpillars can, and this colourful fellow with the shark-fin is grey dagger. Bracora on Loch Morar, Scotland. First record for hectad, but that's due to under-recording there.
1/2 Like other living things, #lichens can become ill. This normally bright yellow-green Rhizocarpon geographicum appears to be suffering badly from disease. Could be infected with lichenicolous #fungus: symptoms look similar to reaction of R geographicum to Endococcus macrosporus infection. But no…
October 29, 2025 at 4:45 PM
1/2 Like other living things, #lichens can become ill. This normally bright yellow-green Rhizocarpon geographicum appears to be suffering badly from disease. Could be infected with lichenicolous #fungus: symptoms look similar to reaction of R geographicum to Endococcus macrosporus infection. But no…
More #seaweeds observed on holiday in Scotland this past summer. This luxurious sward is pepper dulse (Osmundea pinnatifida). Red #alga (so plant), but variable in colour: these fronds are bleaching yellow and white in sun. Apparently it has peppery, truffly flavour! Achaidh Mhoir beach near Morar.
October 28, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Continuing with #lichens I see in Scotland, but not home in East Anglia: this is Sphaerophorus globosus. One of two Sphaerophorus species in Britain. Like coral on land! Separated from S fragilis by less neatly 'cushioned' appearance, due to branches of variable breadth. At Bracorina on Loch Morar.
October 28, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Continuing with #lichens I see in Scotland, but not home in East Anglia: this is Sphaerophorus globosus. One of two Sphaerophorus species in Britain. Like coral on land! Separated from S fragilis by less neatly 'cushioned' appearance, due to branches of variable breadth. At Bracorina on Loch Morar.
Sights of last summer: silk-button #gall (Neuroterus numismalis) and spangle gall (Neuroterus quercusbaccorum) on leaves of oak felled by Storm Floris. Extraordinary plant 'tumors' caused by two different species of tiny cynipid #wasps whose larvae develop within. Bracorina on Loch Morar, Scotland.
October 27, 2025 at 7:45 PM
1/2 Another #lichen I see in Scotland but not East Anglia: Umbilicaria torrefacta. This one above Loch Morar. Type of 'rock tripe' considered edible as starvation food. (Though some Indigenous peoples of North America would eat it regularly, and in Japan, U esculenta or 'iwatake' is eaten in salads…
October 27, 2025 at 6:54 PM
1/2 Another #lichen I see in Scotland but not East Anglia: Umbilicaria torrefacta. This one above Loch Morar. Type of 'rock tripe' considered edible as starvation food. (Though some Indigenous peoples of North America would eat it regularly, and in Japan, U esculenta or 'iwatake' is eaten in salads…