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I've got several used stereomicroscopes for sale. Nothing high end, and several of them bargain budget pieces. I've put them on by blog/website. Have a look. I had intended to bring them for sale at the AES Annual Exhibition this year. bugmanjones.com/2025/06/22/mic…

Yes. Rubbish picture. But there’s no mistaking the round, pink, spotty bottom of Gymnosoma rotundatum. North Downs near Maidstone today.

Cryptocephalus hypochaeridis doing what it does best — sitting in a bright yellow composite flower. North Downs near Maidstone today.

Fave leaf beetle of the day — Sermylassa halensis. North Downs near Maidstone today.

Zoropsis spinimana haunting the wheelie bins of East Dulwich. Photo sent by a neighbour. Such a handsome thing. Can it nip? I’ve not tested that hypothesis yet.

Halyzia sedecimguttata, the orange ladybird, used to be considered quite a local species, feeding on mildew on beech leaves in old woods. Now regarded as common and widespread. I wonder what changed?

How many legs does a butterfly have? Four. Plus two invisible feathery antennal brushes. If you’re a painted lady.

Hoplia philanthus. I can’t bring myself to call it a Welsh chafer until someone can explain how it came by the name.

This damsel bug nymph is an excellent ant mimic and well worthy of the name Himacerus mirmicoides. Does stand out a bit though, as there are no Formica wood ants at the Tower of London today.

Me being bitten by a ladybird. Last time it happened was during the Brighton ‘ladybird plague’ of 1976. When they land from flight a ladybird can taste whether a plant is being attacked somewhere by aphids by detecting the response chemicals, kairomones, in the plant sap.

Always photograph a common blue. Just to make sure it isn’t a brown Argus. Or in this case to confirm that it is a brown Argus. These two underside spots vertical. As usual I had to look that up.

The view from my office today claims I have arrived.

Rain?! Nope! Flying ants! Enough of them flying about to appear on weather radars this evening 🐜

Word of the day — meiofauna: animals 0.1-1.0mm. I occasionally visit this microscopic realm; to look at some of the smallest beetles in the family Ptiliidae. And a challenge: is this the shortest word in the English language to contain all five vowels?

Things forgotten for a long time until today. Long branch attraction.

Several of these still available. Have a look.

Muntjac droppings? Leyton.

Fave bug of the day. So far. Syromastus rhombeus rhombic leatherbug. Leyton, industrial urban brownfield site of course.

Bee ‘hotel’ in deepest industrial urban brownfield Leyton. Over half of the 8-mm holes seem fully occupied by leaf-cutters. And here’s a female taking a well earned rest from her labours.