Keith Balmer

@keithbalmer

Bedfordshire County Recorder for Butterflies UK insects, macro photography, UK wildlife conservation. Volunteer with @wildlifebcn.bsky.social &

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Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· 11d

The wonderful turbinate eyes of a male Cloeon dipterum that landing in my beating tray today.

Close-up view of head of the mayfly, Cloeon dipterum. This is a male - as well as having normal compound eyes on the side of the head it also has two giant bucket-shaped compound eyes on top of its head pointing upwards.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· 27d

@richardfoxbc.bsky.social what are your thoughts about the ID of this? Asking for a friend who has lost his confidence.

A white butterfly identified as a Large White (but probably isn't)

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jul 12

... I have recently found newly laid eggs, and seen laying.

A Painted Lady egg stuck on the side of a spike on a Spear Thistle flowerhead.

A close-up of a Painted Lady egg. It is pale green and shaped like a long tapered barrel with many ribs along the outside edge and a hole in the tip.

A Painted Lady butterfly in the act of laying an egg on a Spear Thistle flowerhead.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jul 12

A Painted Lady larva feeding on Spear Thistle, approaching maturity. My next challenge is to find a pupa in the wild...

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jul 10

East Anglia flooded with Holy Water according to Sky News' map news.sky.com/story/hosepi...

Map showing East Anglia as the "area covered by Anglican Water".

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jul 5

My first Wasp Spider of the year, at the @wildlifebcn.org Sharnbrook Summit nature reserve.

A large spider with abdomen coloured in bands of black, white and yellow, sitting in its web feeding on some prey that it caught which is wrapped up in silk.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jun 18

This is what happens when you order one dessert and five straws.

Five Water Measurers (Hydrometra stagnorum) gathered around what appears to be an insect's head. There is a tangle of legs and rostra as each tries to suck juices from the head.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· May 28

Just come home from volunteering at Flitwick Moor to find four Painted Ladies on my Verbena bonariensis. Plenty of records coming in, thanks - please keep them coming.

A Painted Lady butterfly feeding on a purple flower. The underside of the butterfly is showing an amazing mixture of patterns and colours.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· May 23

According to Anglian Water's email one minute of showering almost fills one bathtub? (350 bathtubs in 365 days). Really? @anglian-water.bsky.social

Image says "love every drop anglian water. Simple ways to save water this bank holiday."

Image says "Take a shorter shower. Shaving a minute off your shower each time could help you save over 28,000 litres of water and up to £100 in energy and water bills each year. That's around 350 full bathtubs"

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· May 7

Holly Blue laying on Hemlock. Is this already on its long list of known food-plants? I've tied a bit of string around the stem so that I can re-find it and will attempt to follow progress...

Holly Blue butterfly perched on the developing umbel of Hemlock. Her abdomen is curled under the plant in the act of egg-laying.

The whole umbel of Hemlock with the Holly Blue egg showing, about the size of a grain of table salt.

A close up of the Holly Blue egg. It is white, disc-shaped and with a complicated surface texture.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Apr 13

A nice encounter while walking my butterfly transect today. #ukbms #grasssnake

A grass snake basking in sunshine at noon.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Apr 9

Here's a summary of the Bedfordshire butterfly season so far. Thanks for all the records. They are mapped in iMap here: www.keithbalmer.com/bedsbutterfl... Click on a square to see its species list. Choose other mapping options from the drop-down list.

A table of weekly butterfly counts for each species. The totals for each species after the first 14 weeks of 2026 are :
760   Brimstone
220   Comma
56   Green-veined White
47   Holly Blue
7   Large White
96   Orange Tip
740   Peacock
42   Red Admiral
43   Small Tortoiseshell
77   Small White
16   Small/Green-veined White
83   Speckled Wood

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Mar 24

I've added a first-day and last-day phenology graph to each Bedfordshire butterfly species account on www.bedsbutterflies.org.uk with a trend line showing change since 1990. This is Comma's. Global warming effect at the local level...

Graphs of flight times, first and last day, and adult abundance for Comma butterfly. The first date is trending earlier and the last date later. Abundance is also rising.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Mar 18

Is there a better way to spend a spring day than lying flat on the ground photographing Green Tiger Beetles?

A Green Tiger Beetle. Green with cream spots, huge eyes and fearsome jaws. Long spikey legs for running fast.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Mar 18

One of my more successful stacks?!

A stacked photograph of a Green Tiger Beetle racing across the picture resulting in a ghostly monster with lots of legs and antennae!

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Mar 17

Sometimes I think the reason that I'm struggling to learn Spanish with Duolingo is because I don't understand the English. Is it just me? Can anyone translate this please?

Text says "Meaning: The people whose alarms ring at night stay here, and, since their alarms do work, they can go."

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jan 17

Does anyone recognise where this is please? It isn't Bedford but it looks a bit like it. It is being erroneously used to illustrate Bedford though at www.journey-alerts.com/updates/bedf... . Google and Co-pilot don't seem to know where it is. AI generated perhaps?

A photo of a stone arched bridge over a river with buildings and a church spire in the background

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jan 1

Would you like to start the New Year with a quiz? Those familiar with Bedfordshire Wildlife Trust BCN nature reserves (@wildlifebcn.org) may like to have a go at solving these cryptic clues to their identities. @brianecambs.bsky.social

A set of cryptic clues to Bedfordshire Wildlife Trust reserves.
1. A dyslexic inhabitant from The Shire?
2. A Rosaceaen uprising
3. Arthur's knight is missing the Spanish grassland
4. Brief decline by a tit
5. Cautiously plead with black bird
6. Complexion issues?
7. Confused imp shaves one beard
8. Damon cooperates without having eaten first
9. Deranged Andrew hides in ancient burrow
10. Dibbler would include "me-own" in this reserve's name
11. Enthusiast has company at the race
12. Fly in, then leave vehicle at a club
13. Fly to soak up the extra? It sounds like it.
14. Hangs teacher on high ground
15. Look at superb art on gravel pitch
16. Lutra and Sterna are present in name only?
17. Pipes clot somehow
18. Priest's allotment run wild?
19. Punching below the belt(s)
20. Rockets procured covers
21. Turning off water supply from the south-east
22. Use XL foot to reach the top

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Dec 9

𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘦 are still readily found on my end-of-season 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘮 on Dec 9th. Despite being only 10 Celsius they are very alert and thus difficult to photograph. (The wind isn't helping either!) Many seem to have swollen abdomens suggesting gravid females?

A small insect with black and white markings, long legs and piercing mouthparts feeding on Antirrhinum leaves. The abdomen is swollen suggesting a gravid female.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Dec 6

No, don't!

A Tesco carrier bag folded so that its slogan Reuse Repeat reads as use peat, which we shouldn't.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Sep 29

Did my 24th, and final, walk of the year today. Missed one July walk due to eye surgery. Here's my summary for the Old Warden Tunnel transect.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jul 2

In the winter I sowed 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘮 (Snapdragons) specifically to try to attract 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘦. On 30th June I beat one, and today found two by direct inspection. @willgeorge.bsky.social‬ has confirmed as a new species for Bedfordshire.

A slender bug with black and white markings standing on an Antirrhinum.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jun 5

One of the female 𝘏𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘱. (Clegs) chewing into the back of my left hand. Chose photography over pain relief - I hope you appreciate that!

Close-up of the head and mouthparts of a fly biting into skin. The eyes carry a beautiful sequence zig-zag bands of several colours.

A large fly kneeling to bite into human skin. The eyes carry a beautiful sequence zig-zag bands of several colours. The bites feels like pin pricks.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jun 1

They look like round holes about 5mm diameter. If the larva sees you coming they drop down inside, but will creep back up if you wait patiently. I find them on footpaths where the sand is compacted.

A round hole in sand with the flat head of a Green Tiger Beetle larva visible inside.

A round hole in sand with a jaw of a Green Tiger Beetle larva just visible inside.

A round hole in sand filled with the flat head of a Green Tiger Beetle larva visible inside. There is a jaw visible, ready to catch passing prey.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Jun 1

Yesterday I heard of the existence of the rare weevil 𝘗𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘪 so went looking for it this afternoon. May have found it after 20 minutes, unless I have the wrong ID of course! Can anyone confirm please?

A shiny green weevil (a beetle with a long snout), feeding on a developing flower bud of Wild Liquorice.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· May 12

Is there on online set of reference photos for Ephemeroptera imagos and sub-imagos? I'd like to check my tentative IDs. (e.g. is this a male Centroptilum luteolum?). iRecord seems the best I've found so far, but wondered if someone had a gallery somewhere...?

A male mayfly with large red bucket-shaped eyes, and a clear body with a dark tip.

A close-up of the hindwing appears to have a small spine and a pointed tip, hopefully confirming the ID.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Mar 31

I always enjoy the challenge of trying to photograph Green Tiger Beetles, 𝘊𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘴. Here's my first attempt of the year, on Bedfordshire heathland.

A large green beetle with long, spine-covered, legs, and a ferocious pair of sharp jaws that can puncture human skin if handled. It is clambering through leaf litter.

A large green beetle with long, spine-covered, legs, and a ferocious pair of sharp jaws that can puncture human skin if handled. It is standing on a dead leaf, with heather in the background.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Mar 25

Here's an example of the camouflage in action. Its spot detracts from the disguise on this occasion.

A mass of green leaves with a Brimstone butterfly hanging from beneath one. The corners on the butterfly's wings mimic the drip tips on the leaves, and the colours are quite a good match too. There is a dark spot in the centre of the hindwing though that detracts from the camouflage.

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Mar 24

The first UK record for 2025 in iRecord of 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘴, Bordered Shieldbug, found today under some fallen bark.

A small rounded shield-bug that is black all over except for a narrow white border along its sides (corium).

Keith Balmer@keithbalmer· Mar 24

Taking a stacked photo while this female 𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘹 was clearing her front legs has produced an interesting result!