David Bradley

@sciencebase
313 Followers
131 Following
82 Posts

Science writer & wildlife photographer by trade; musician at heart. After 18 years with my previous choir, I’ve helped launch a new community choir called Fen Edge Voices. I'm also to be found performing with various bands or running around trying to photograph flying things #moths #butterflies #birds

#Science #NatureMatters #UKBirding #TeamMoth #Music #Photography

Bloghttps://www.sciencebase.com
Socialshttps://www.sciencebase.com/socials
Photoshttps://imagingstorm.co.uk
Musichttps://sciencebase.com/music
Show threadDavid BradleyMar 26
@ELS see also the Nobel Prizes
Show threadDavid BradleyMar 26
@crispius it's very facebok
Show threadDavid BradleyMar 23
I've eschewed last year's Eyed Hawk-moth photo with its mere two eyes, for this four-eyed beauty
Show threadDavid BradleyMar 23
@Poindex76 @mattsheffield Ah, righto...I assume that would've been obvious if one were a gamer, hahahah
David BradleyMar 23

I had a very early Emperor in the garden last week. The fieldguides say flight period is April-May, but I usually put the lure out in late March and catch an outlier, but I saw 2-3 in the garden on the 17th. I will put the lure out earlier next year, as they're presumably emerging earlier these days.

https://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/moth-of-the-moment-the-royal-succession.html

Show threadDavid BradleyMar 22
@mattsheffield NPC?
Show threadDavid BradleyMar 22
@mattjhodgkinson fascism rising :-(
Show threadDavid BradleyMar 17
@ar387 Always great to see...and increasingly common to see overwintering specimens emerging when there's a warm winter's day in recent years.
Show threadDavid BradleyMar 17
Not to say that cancer patients are going to be fed something from caterpillar poo any time soon, these kinds of discovery are going on all the time and most never reach the clinic. But, a few do, so who knows. The team involved seem to have moved on to other metabolites in the 2025 paper from their lab, so they're pioneering and not necessarily propagating...I could be wrong. It's all fascinating and was the stuff I started out writing about back in the early 90s for New Scientist and Science!
David BradleyMar 17

I don't know if I missed this paper at the time, but apparently Swallowtail larval frass (poop) contains a metabolite from the plants the larvae eat that has anti-colon cancer activity.

https://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/swallowtail-frass-and-colon-cancer.html