Dr Ben Clunie
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drbclunie.bsky.social
Dr Ben Clunie
@drbclunie.bsky.social
400 followers 780 following 28 posts
Lecturer in Entomology, Harper Adams University. PhD in Control of Wireworm in Potato Crops. Entomologist with focus on IPM. Views own, of course. linktr.ee/bclunie
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I suspect the New York Times might be trivialising our field of study here but a nice puzzle to kick the day off #Entomology
Unknown wireworm help! The singular urogomphus is confusing myself and colleagues - can not for the life of me find an answer and it's seemingly not in 'Die Käffer Mitteleuropas: Larven 2' though my German is stodgy. Found in East, UK. Anyone point me in the right direction? @colsocbi.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Ben Clunie
An amazing day spent behind the scenes at the Natural History Museum looking at their Entomology collections! What a fantastic day! 🪲
And we're off - annual trip to the @nhm-london.bsky.social Entomology collections for BSc and MSc Entomology and IPM students @hau-entomology.bsky.social. As always thanks to @flygirlnhm.bsky.social for organisation and all of the curators for sharing their wealth of knowledge
I'll have to take your word on the spider - never a group I've given enough time to. Though a stack of spider-laden pitfall samples waiting for me this summer demand otherwise... But yes to the damselfly! Had the largest damselfly, smallest dragonfly side by side - missed the photo op.
Last but not least, the Lepidoptera - some excellent anecdotes about record-breaking proboscises and fenugreek smelling moths @hau-entomology.bsky.social
Of course we have @flygirlnhm.bsky.social taking us through the Diptera - from the cute and fluffy beeflies to the weird and wonderful stalk-eyed flies on to the (to the non-entomological populace anyway) macabre botflies @hau-entomology.bsky.social
'Small Orders' before lunch - inclusive of some other invertebrate intruders. Including a 'pasty spider' - my Cornish pride shining through here @hau-entomology.bsky.social
And to the most massive of all (in terms of size and species), the Coleoptera. Lots of Darwin and Wallace chat of course, and the joys of dung-baited pitfall trapping!
From the massive to the miniscule with the marvellous @gavinbroad.bsky.social talking (mainly wasps!) through the hymenoptera - @hau-entomology.bsky.social
And we're off - annual trip to the @nhm-london.bsky.social Entomology collections for BSc and MSc Entomology and IPM students @hau-entomology.bsky.social. As always thanks to @flygirlnhm.bsky.social for organisation and all of the curators for sharing their wealth of knowledge
And a great way for me to find some #wireworm that aren't Agriotes! Here's some Melanotus under bark on some felled trees
Thankful the weather has allowed for some surveying transects of the @harperadamsuni.bsky.social campus today with final year @hau-entomology.bsky.social students. A great way to see out the module and practice ID skills in the field
Great to be able to step in last minute and deliver the #YoungVerrall this year. Thoroughly enjoyed it and @hau-entomology.bsky.social had a great representation at #SISF2025 too!
Did you miss the #YoungVerrall at #SISF2025?

Discover the fascinating relationships between plants & insects in this talk for ages 7-11 with the brilliant @drbclunie.bsky.social - Thank you again for delivering the Lecture, Ben!

Watch on @amentsoc.bsky.social's YouTube:
youtu.be/xGtsES0xmWI?...
Young Verrall 2025 with Dr Ben Clunie
YouTube video by AES Channel
youtu.be
It was a genuine honour to step in and deliver the Young Verrall Lecture last minute. I may have been a substitute but a highlight for sure! Some excellent questions from a crowd of future entomologists @royentsoc.bsky.social @amentsoc.bsky.social @hau-entomology.bsky.social
Tomorrow! Join us at the Staffordshire Invertebrate Science Fair 🐞🕷️Sat 1st March, 10:30–4pm, Staffordshire University. Grab some freebies, hear the Young Verrall Lecture with Dr Ben Clunie, organised by us & @royentsoc.bsky.social, and cuddle a cockroach! #Entomology #BugLove #ScienceFair
Huge turnout for @hau-entomology.bsky.social at Shropshire Entomology Day today at #FSC Preston Montford. Biggest attendance yet with over 20 students and staff amongst local entomologists and national experts in their field. Photos and posts all day!
The new sign looks great but I'm now just about ready for the trap not to be on when leaving the office! Thankfully we've had the latest sunset for the year
The new noticeboard for our @rothamsted.bsky.social insect survey light trap is now up and visible to all foot traffic heading past our #Entomology lab!
The #Christmas Aphid is up on the tree. Bringing Christmas spirit, good cheer, and vectoring viruses straight into your Norwegian pine. Needles gone by Boxing Day. Christmas Aphid - Ho Ho Homoptera!
Always a good module to finish on before the winter break. A good test run for experiment problem solving before students undertake MSc projects
Last MSc module of the year - Insect Physiology! Students undertake their own mini projects culminating in presentations on Friday. Parasitism, predation, colour choice, geotaxis, olfactometry - we've got it all! #entomasters #entoeducation
Day 1 of the week-long @harperadamsuni.bsky.social postgraduate experimental design and analysis module today. Always an intensive week but good to meet students across course areas. New computer labs incoming thanks to efforts from @joe-roberts.bsky.social too! #rstats
Reposted by Dr Ben Clunie
Reposted by Dr Ben Clunie
🌱 Silicon soil treatments help protect cowpeas from aphids! Our study shows it boosts Lutembwe variety's natural defenses. Exciting implications for sustainable farming in Zambia 🇿🇲

Full paper here: doi.org/10.1007/s118...

#AgriScience #FoodSecurity​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Reposted by Dr Ben Clunie
We've now officially moved here as our main social media account! Thanks to those who have already made it, and we look forward to spreading the @harperadamsuni.bsky.social entomology word here from now on!

Find more of HAU's entomology group here: linktr.ee/hau_entomology
Entomology @ HAU | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree
Educating the next generation of entomologists at Harper Adams University
linktr.ee
Project titles:

1. Enhancing the efficacy of entomopathogenic control solutions with essential oils for insect pest management

2. Optimising cover crop strategies for integrated pest management of wireworm

Please get in contact for more info, details in bio.