Miles Binnie

Aspiring wildlife filmmaker specialising in filming invertebrates.

[Laura M Martinez-Ch @LMM_CH]

Happy to have been invited to present the results of my PhD at this year's #BCPC Pests and Beneficials review at NIAB.

Harper Adams University Entomology team was well represented by @ipm_tom , Nikoletta Foskolou, @tonks_aimee, @bugsnbrass and myself.

#Entomology #phdlife

[Dr Heather Campbell-Miles @scienceheather]

Honestly not sure if anyone is still here (on Twitter) but just in case I have a PhD opportunity on #insect #ethics and #welfare. Details below;
https://t.co/zNPrEfxwqF

[Miles Binnie @MilesBinnie]

New short out now on YouTube.

I'm experimenting with a different format. If you enjoy it please let me know by leaving a like! 😄

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

https://t.co/FminRr59ZB

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

There's a fly who flew all the way to Marion Island in Antarctic waters, making them the only known fly migrant in Antarctica!

My brother & I have reimagined @EvilScarecrowUK's Ballad of Brother Pain to tell the tale.
Here is... the Ballad of Brother Fly

https://t.co/K4kf1E7UqA

[Aimee Tonks @tonks_aimee]

We made it to Leicester for @AABiologists Biocontrol & IPM! Looking forward to two days exploring the themes of #biocontrol & #IPM in uncertain climatic and economic environments.

@CSV_Price @KeirFlower

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

I'm going to be telling stories all about the wonders of fly migration this weekend at @NHM_London !!

Sign up here: https://t.co/oY7ddfFudC

[Miles Binnie @MilesBinnie]

A mantid I encountered in Spain earlier this month. One of the first I’ve seen in the wild! I think this individual is a male Mediterranean mantis (Iris oratoria).

Does anyone know of any good resources for mantid identification?

[Miles Binnie @MilesBinnie]

It was an absolute pleasure to spend 9 days assisting @WillLeoHawkes with fieldwork in southern Spain.

Thank you so much for the opportunity.

I wish you all the best with your continuing research!

[Miles Binnie @MilesBinnie]

Its been a wonderful week at my first Wildscreen Festival!

I've learnt so much over the last few days and it's been a great pleasure to meet so many passionate people from across the industry.

Looking forward to 2026!
#WSF24

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

I think this is one of my favourite moth photos I have ever taken. A gorgeous Beautiful Yellow Underwing trapped on the southern Spanish coast with @dgcountryside, @MilesBinnie and John Girdley a couple of days ago.

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

Dave found a brand new moth for the whole of Europe last year! The paper has just been published, read here: https://t.co/OMuZ2gpoeV

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

Full of luck and very grateful to @FundacionMigres for allowing us to study insect migration here as part of @Birgen_Haest and @Vogelwarte_scie MoveInEurope project.

The radar we use is in the courtyard & the malaise trap is in the lower middle of the photo.

A beautiful place!

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

I am so excited to see this fly, he's a horse warble fly, Gasterophilus intestinalis. I have never seen a warble fly before!

They have the most wondrous, gruesome life history:

1) the female lays her eggs on a horse.

2) the horse must then lick the eggs, transferring them to the mouth

3) The larvae hatch and feed on the tongue

4) The larvae then are swallowed and move into the stomach where they live for 8-10 months

5) The flies escape the horse in horse poo

6) They then pupate in the soil for about a month

7) The adults hatch, find a mate, find a horse, and the cycle begins again!

I love them!
@flygirlNHM

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

While setting out moth traps with @dgcountryside at Punta Paloma here in Southern Spain, @MilesBinnie and I found some Mediterranean Chameleons!

Quite different colours between their daylight and nighttime camouflage.

[Miles Binnie @MilesBinnie]

Another delightful morning out moth trapping with @dgcountryside @WillLeoHawkes and John Girdley in Southern Spain. It's been wonderful seeing so many species for the first time!

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

Some of the beautiful moths trapped at Punta Paloma in S Spain with @dgcountryside @MilesBinnie and John Girdley.

The sanddune specialist, Agrotis graslini, long nosed Etiella zinkenella, fluffy Hoyosia codeti and a surprise Buff tip!

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

So proud to be the author of the migration chapter in this brilliant book by @RoyEntSoc !

Especially proud to detail how the flies are the most remarkable migrants of all. They number up to 90% of all migrants in some studies:
https://t.co/SGgmM8wccX
https://t.co/KzPxoIAubw

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

We're putting moth traps at Punta Paloma tonight! It's right on the coast and so hoping for migratory moths headed over the Straits of Gibraltar!

@dgcountryside @MilesBinnie and John.

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

This is a beautiful moorish gecko here in southern Spain. Geckos have tendons that allow their toes to be incredibly flexible.
Here I am very gently pushing on their feet to show this flexibility.

Gorgeous animal.

@MilesBinnie

[Dr Will Leo Hawkes @WillLeoHawkes]

The Thistle Mantis

We meet this gorgeous mantis every day on our #insectmigration transect. I believe she is a European dwarf mantis (Ameles spallanziana). She spends her day guarding this thistle, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting pollinators.