James McCulloch
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jamesimcc.bsky.social
James McCulloch
@jamesimcc.bsky.social
560 followers 190 following 72 posts
PhD student in genomics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute/University of Cambridge. National recorder for springtails. Evolutionary biology, entomology, taxonomy, natural history...
https://www.sanger.ac.uk/person/mcculloch-james/
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jamesimcc.bsky.social
James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · Jan 21
Send me records: I am excited to be taking on the role of national springtail recorder. I have huge shoes to fill, but I hope to continue the progress Peter Shaw made in understanding the taxonomy and biology of the UK's #springtails.

www.brc.ac.uk/scheme/colle...
Orchesella flavescens, one of the UK's largest springtails. It's an elongate springtail, with long antennae, often with a differing number of segments on each antenna (but with a maximum of six). It can be identified by the pattern consisting of parallel longitudinal dark lines running the length of the abdomen, contrasting against a paler ground colour. This is a relatively scarce woodland species.
jamesimcc.bsky.social
366 days ago I started my PhD at the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social. No better time to publish my profile on the Sanger website ⬇️

www.sanger.ac.uk/person/mccul...

I tend to have my taxonomic hat on when posting here, but there is a bigger picture!
October 2, 2025 at 12:01 PM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
I've reached 100 British springtail species! This was helped by a recent glasshouse sampling trip, where I added these 4 species.

3 are now in the pipeline to have reference-quality genomes sequenced for the first time, by the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social. More info in the thread below! 🧵1/7
Sminthurinus bimaculatus. Sminthurinus igniceps. Seira domestica. Sminthurides bifidus.
August 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by James McCulloch
kamilsjaron.bsky.social
We are excited to attending #ESB2025 find …
@arf-mln.bsky.social to chat about beetle genomics
@jamesimcc.bsky.social about sedges or springtails evolution
Sam Ebdon about distr. of dominance
Myself about diptera comparative genomics

And all of us to chat about any whacky reproduction #obscuromics
A slightly outdated group photo of the obacuromics group, at the tree of life programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute - so you know spot us at ESEB
August 16, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Reposted by James McCulloch
josscarr.bsky.social
I'm doing an online talk on 16/09 about my MSc thesis, which was all about iNaturalist data for invertebrates in the UK, and the alarmingly high proportion of it which 'falls through the cracks' due to data quality concerns. Please join if interested!

Link: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/falling-th...
Falling through the Cracks: iNaturalist Invertebrate Records in the UK
Joss Carr discusses his MSc Research Project investigating the data quality of UK invertebrate records on iNaturalist.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
August 5, 2025 at 10:25 AM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
I'm so excited to share that this springtail, one that seems to have rapidly appeared in graveyards and gardens across the UK, now has a proper name: Entomobrya petri!

I hope this will be the first of many new species descriptions, allowing us to track our rapidly changing springtail fauna. 🧵⬇️
soilorganismsj.bsky.social Soil Organisms Journal @soilorganismsj.bsky.social · Jul 16
📢✨ONLINE FIRST✨ New #collembola species found in the UK!

James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social National Recorder of Sprintails, tells the world about Entomobrya petri! 💚

Please REPOST 📢🪱🌱

soil-organisms.org/index.php/SO...
July 16, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by James McCulloch
biologicalrecording.co.uk
James McCulloch (National Springtail Recorder) discusses the constantly increasing species list for UK Collembola.
British Springtails: How Many Species Really Are There?
James McCulloch (National Springtail Recorder) discusses the constantly increasing species list for UK Collembola.
biologicalrecording.co.uk
July 16, 2025 at 10:28 AM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
This coming Tuesday lunchtime!
I’m looking forward to talking springtails, speciation, and cryptic diversity.
Sign up! ⬇️
biologicalrecording.co.uk Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · Jul 4
🔬 Coming soon: British Springtails – How Many Species Are There?
Join @jamesimcc.bsky.social to explore how genomes & citizen science are reshaping UK biodiversity.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1359900281...

@royentsoc.bsky.social @fieldstudiesc.bsky.social @nbntrust.bsky.social @britentsoc.bsky.social
July 11, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Reposted by James McCulloch
frankashwood.bsky.social
Yesterday we had earthworm cocoons, today I bring you springtail spermatophores!

Springtails, like many soil invertebrates, reproduce by a male leaving these structures (sperm-rich fluid on a stalk), which the female will sniff out and collect to fertilise her eggs. Romantic!

#SoilBiodiversity 🧪
A photograph of a springtail spermatophore: a thin transparent stalk with a glob of clear fluid on the top.
July 10, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Reposted by James McCulloch
biologicalrecording.co.uk
British Springtails: How Many Species Are There?
Join @jamesimcc.bsky.social on 15 July as he reveals how genome data and citizen science are rewriting UK biodiversity.

🎟️ Book FREE: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1359900281...

@royentsoc.bsky.social @fieldstudiesc.bsky.social @nbntrust.bsky.social 🌱 🌍 🧪
British Springtails: How Many Species Really Are There?
James McCulloch (National Springtail Recorder) discusses the constantly increasing species list for UK Collembola.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
May 9, 2025 at 9:38 AM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
Good news! >6000 springtail records have been imported from iRecord and are now available on the NBN Atlas: species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNS...
Massive thanks to @duerden.bsky.social for his investment in verifying iRecord records.
Keep them coming!
A particularly luminous individual of Sminthurinus aureus (orange form)
April 21, 2025 at 9:51 AM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
New to Britain! These springtails are Dicyrtomina signata, a European species that's never previously been seen in the UK. I found these while out and about in Wanstead Park, London (with @josscarr.bsky.social, @nmaybury4.bsky.social).

One to look out for!
April 13, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by James McCulloch
jaiiiiiii1.bsky.social
And that's my 4th record of Entomobrya nr. imitabilis (See below), this time right from the garden! Beautiful little species, waiting anxiously for updates...
An Entomobrya nr. intermedia springtail on the underside of a rock. It has a slender body, with an intricately patterned abdomen of beige, tan, and brown colours.
March 31, 2025 at 4:25 PM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
In 1924, Womersley referred to Orchesella flavescens as "the most magnificent spring-tail". Today, 101 years later, the first reference genome for this species has been assembled and published, from a specimen I collected at Wytham Woods!

wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-...
March 18, 2025 at 1:27 PM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
Let’s see if we can give it a name before too long!
A specimen of Entomobrya near imitabilis on its side
February 28, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by James McCulloch
jstgerlach.bsky.social
Everything is ready for this year's @peterhousecam.bsky.social Biology Symposium. It looks like being another set of exceptionally interesting presentations.
🧪
February 13, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by James McCulloch
kamilsjaron.bsky.social
🚨Registration open🚨 1st - 6th of June, me, Katie Jenike, @rayanchikhi.bsky.social and Gene Myers will run a week long workshop on k-mers for biodiversity genomics organised by @connectingscience.bsky.social at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social. Join us & get equipped to wrestle large genomic datasets!
https://coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/event/k-mer-workshop-for-biodiversity-genomics-20250601/
January 31, 2025 at 3:17 PM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
A rainy afternoon looking for Smews near St Ives (Cambs) was sadly smewless. But this was somewhat compensated by us (specifically @joeparham19.bsky.social) finding this first-winter drake Lesser Scaup (right). A vagrant from North America and a new sp. for me!

+ some drake goldeneyes! 🪶
A male tufted duck (left) and a first-winter male lesser scaup (right). The lesser scaup can be distinguished from a greater scaup by the "peak" on the crown of the head (not smoothly rounded) and the very similar size to the tufted duck. This might be the same bird as was at Ouse Fen RSPB earlier in the winter. A drake goldeneye flanked by two coots. One drake goldeneye
January 26, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by James McCulloch
kitenet.bsky.social
Excellent news - thanks for taking this on James and look forward to seeing how things develop. The late Peter Shaw would have been delighted to see the scheme continue in good hands.
jamesimcc.bsky.social James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · Jan 21
Send me records: I am excited to be taking on the role of national springtail recorder. I have huge shoes to fill, but I hope to continue the progress Peter Shaw made in understanding the taxonomy and biology of the UK's #springtails.

www.brc.ac.uk/scheme/colle...
Orchesella flavescens, one of the UK's largest springtails. It's an elongate springtail, with long antennae, often with a differing number of segments on each antenna (but with a maximum of six). It can be identified by the pattern consisting of parallel longitudinal dark lines running the length of the abdomen, contrasting against a paler ground colour. This is a relatively scarce woodland species.
January 21, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by James McCulloch
willgeorge.bsky.social
Some very good news. Time to go out and find some more springtails to record 😀
jamesimcc.bsky.social James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · Jan 21
Send me records: I am excited to be taking on the role of national springtail recorder. I have huge shoes to fill, but I hope to continue the progress Peter Shaw made in understanding the taxonomy and biology of the UK's #springtails.

www.brc.ac.uk/scheme/colle...
Orchesella flavescens, one of the UK's largest springtails. It's an elongate springtail, with long antennae, often with a differing number of segments on each antenna (but with a maximum of six). It can be identified by the pattern consisting of parallel longitudinal dark lines running the length of the abdomen, contrasting against a paler ground colour. This is a relatively scarce woodland species.
January 21, 2025 at 12:37 PM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
Send me records: I am excited to be taking on the role of national springtail recorder. I have huge shoes to fill, but I hope to continue the progress Peter Shaw made in understanding the taxonomy and biology of the UK's #springtails.

www.brc.ac.uk/scheme/colle...
Orchesella flavescens, one of the UK's largest springtails. It's an elongate springtail, with long antennae, often with a differing number of segments on each antenna (but with a maximum of six). It can be identified by the pattern consisting of parallel longitudinal dark lines running the length of the abdomen, contrasting against a paler ground colour. This is a relatively scarce woodland species.
January 21, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by James McCulloch
frankashwood.bsky.social
We're halfway through the Bug of the Year '25 contest, and the Giant Springtail is still in the lead! BUT there's still four weeks of voting left, so get on it!

Vote here, and please share with your friends and family: bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20...

#TeamGiantSpringtail #Invertebrate 🧪
A photograph of a giant springtail walking on a mass-covered log. The springtail has soft blue skin and is covered in many soft yellow spines.
January 21, 2025 at 9:19 AM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
Today was a day for skulking reedbed birds: two Bitterns and three Water Rails at @wwtworldwide.bsky.social's London Wetland Centre in the winter sun ☀️🪶
January 11, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by James McCulloch
annadewar.bsky.social
Our review is out in Nature Reviews Genetics! rdcu.be/d5AY2

We show how phylogeny-based methods can resolve the problem of non-independence in genomic datasets.

These methods must be considered an essential part of the comparative genomics toolkit.

@lauriebelch.bsky.social @stuwest.bsky.social
A phylogenetic approach to comparative genomics
Nature Reviews Genetics - Controlling for phylogeny is essential in comparative genomics studies, because species, genomes and genes are not independent data points within statistical tests. The...
rdcu.be
January 8, 2025 at 1:19 PM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
This may look like an amorphous blob, but it’s an exciting one (and new for me)! This is the <1mm springtail Neelus murinus. The second photo gives a sense of scale in comparison to my gloved finger.

Let’s hope we can sequence its genome, and reveal what secrets it’s hiding #springtails
January 8, 2025 at 4:50 PM