Simon Norman

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@TvDidYouSee Dad got so carried away by the event he let us take the day off school to see the last episode. There's 8 year old me standing in the crowd on Pebble Mill Road.

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@gninwoDeoJ @RSPBCymru @waderquest Present at Gronant again this afternoon (22 Nov)

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@ViscountViktor @ElectionMapsUK N Shrops is slighly too far out to be commutable to B'ham/Manchester. So new houses bought by incomers looking for the 'good life': comfortably-off downshifters in their 50s and 60s. Lib Dem community politics appeals to them more than the previous high-handed Tory approach.

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@ViscountViktor @ElectionMapsUK My take as a local. N Shrops traditionally a huntin' and shootin' area with large landed estates run on semi-feudal lines. But in the last 20 yrs there's been massive housebuilding in what were small market towns. 1/2

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

Counted 120 spikes of Toothwort this weekend on Benthall Edge, Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire #wildflowerhour #woodlandplants

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

Enjoying this recent #LibDemBarChart posted through my door - apparently the "Can't win here" threshold is somewhere between 325 votes and 309 votes @LBarchart

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

Over 150 harlequins in Shrewsbury Cemetery this afternoon, with at least 8 showing signs of fungal infection #vc40ladybirds

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

Great to find two more sites for Horseshoe Ladybird Clitostethus arcuatus in Shropshire this afternoon #VC40Ladybirds

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

Autumn Gentian at Minera Quarry near Wrexham #gentianfamily #wildflowerhour

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

5-spot ladybird on River Teme near Knighton (but just in Shrophire) 13th July for my 26th species for 2024 #LadybirdYearList. Also found mines of Chromatomyia centaurii new to Herefordshire on the same day.

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

My #LadybirdYearList species number 18, a smart Water Ladybird swept from sedge tussocks this evening. But no luck finding the Spotted Marsh Ladybird that I wanted!

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

Not a very welcome discovery at @PrestonMontford this afternoon - Elm Zigzag Sawfly. But only 1 tree seemed to have been colonised so far.

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@vc40ladybirds Can I check whether these are OK for Horseshoe Ladybird larva? I spotted some greater celandine in a hedge near Pontesbury today, so thought that I would turn over a few leaves on the off chance

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

Fantastic display of harebells in the sand dunes at Formby yesterday #wildflowerhour #harebellchallenge

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

Greater Celandine in an alleyway in Shrewsbury, plus a bonus Horseshoe Ladybird feasting on the whitefly on the underside #UrbanFlora #wildflowerhour

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@rockwolf74 Is this OK for Orsillus depressus nymph? Beaten from Lawson cypress in Shrewsbury today (15 March 2023). I've never seen the nymph before so I'm not really sure. Thanks! ^Simon

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@Grindrod Our annual junior school trip in 1986 was to Stoke Garden Festival. The following year's trip was to New Street station.

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@richardosman BBC Spotlight - the regional news for Devon and Cornwall - were doing this in the mid 80s

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@AgromyzidaeRS Could I have found Melanagromyza galegae in Shropshire? Stem miner in goat's rue. 2 pupae present. It looks possible to me (posterior spiracles virtually adjoining, each with a central horn) but it's a long way west from the other records to date. Thanks, Simon

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@AgromyzidaeRS Fantastic news, thank you! Goat's rue is not a common plant in Shropshire, but it does sometimes pop up on derelict land around Birmingham and Wolverhampton. I might go and have a look!

[Simon Norman @Mr_foxall]

@AgromyzidaeRS Could I have found Melanagromyza galegae in Shropshire? Stem miner in goat's rue. 2 pupae present. It looks possible to me (posterior spiracles virtually adjoining, each with a central horn) but it's a long way west from the other records to date. Thanks, Simon