Dr Beth Nicholls
@bethbees.bsky.social
UKRI FLF at Sussex uni interested in the not-so-tiny minds of bees | Associate Ed. J. Pollination Ecology | 1st Gen | She/Her
And another paper out, which has just been covered by The Guardian! www.theguardian.com/environment/... original article: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... @bethbees.bsky.social @nicrodemo.bsky.social
‘Floral buzzing’ to collect pollen as exhausting for bees as flight take-off, study shows
Vibrating flowers uses huge amounts of energy, forcing bees to choose which plants to visit and affecting which ones are pollinated
theguardian.com
This. Took. Forever. So if you see a typo...no you didn't! In other news, very excited for our 2-day UK #UrbanAgriculture forum starting tomorrow and welcoming lots of amazing researchers, growers and policymakers to @sussex.ac.uk #FoodSecurity #FoodSystems #Diversity #Community #Governance
🍅Our new paper in @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social evaluating the effectiveness of #CitizenScience approach for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in urban food growing 🫛 @davegoulson.bsky.social @calacastellanos.bsky.social @leah-salm.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Understanding Pollination in Urban Food Production: The Importance of Data Validation and Participant Feedback for Citizen Science Project Design
Urban agriculture depends on insect pollination, but knowledge gaps persist due to difficulties accessing diverse growing spaces. We developed a citizen science approach for monitoring insect visits ...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
An article I wrote for @theconversation.com in response to #allotment sell-offs. Featuring evidence from myself and @davegoulson.bsky.social and the amazing work led by Jill Edmondson's team at Sheffield. #communitygardens #urbanbiodiversity #growyourown theconversation.com/allotments-a...
Allotments are vanishing when the UK urgently needs more of them
In praise of digging for potatoes.
theconversation.com
Applications for Winter 2025 conference attendance grants are trickling in, awarding up to £500 with a high success rate (if eligible). Deadline isn't until 1st October, but don't forget to get referee statements in by then too! All the info you need is here: www.asab.org/conference-g... @asab.org
ASAB Spring 2026@asab-meetings.bsky.social · last yr.ICYMI : #ASABWinter2025 will take place from December 15-16, once again in lovely Edinburgh! Registration is now open 🎉 Abstract submission deadline for posters and talks is August 29 🏃♀️🏃🏃♂️ More information here: asabwinter.github.io/2025/
Amid this weeks news about Labour's plans to sell off EIGHT allotment sites around the UK, what better time to get together and discuss research priorities around UK urban agriculture! Register here: lnkd.in/eq25UG3j
Dr Beth Nicholls@bethbees.bsky.social · last yr.🥕 Are you a UK researcher or practitioner working in urban agriculture? Please join us at 'Growing Together: A Transdisciplinary Forum on UK Urban Food Systems' 📅17-18th September 2025 📍University of Sussex ✍️Register by 31st Aug: lnkd.in/eQHbQxP2 ❓More info? Contact: e.nicholls@sussex.ac.uk
🥕 Are you a UK researcher or practitioner working in urban agriculture? Please join us at 'Growing Together: A Transdisciplinary Forum on UK Urban Food Systems' 📅17-18th September 2025 📍University of Sussex ✍️Register by 31st Aug: lnkd.in/eQHbQxP2 ❓More info? Contact: e.nicholls@sussex.ac.uk
Starring @idrisadams.bsky.social, on BBC Breakfast - PhD student @londonnercdtp.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social We are so proud of you Idris - a media natural spreading the #WaspLove! @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social
UCL Faculty of Life Sciences@ucllifesciences.bsky.social · last yr.Wasps on BBC Breakfast 🐝 Our expert joined BBC Breakfast to talk all things wasps - why they're essential, misunderstood, and worth celebrating. Discover the Grant Museum’s fascinating new exhibition on wasp diversity. 🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-coll... #UCL #GrantMuseum #BBCBreakfast #Wasps
I need help identifying a #bumblebee! I’m in the Peruvian Andes, cloud forest near Salkantay (and Machu Picchu). We spotted this monstrously big orange bumblebee, 3-4cm long (see picture. We actually spotted them twice, but only managed to photo once). My best ID so far is Bombus dahlbomii, but…
Please share! Competitively funded PhD project on the role of #bee foraging choices on plant-pollinator interactions and floral #evolution at Sussex Uni www.sussex.ac.uk/study/fees-f...
🚨 Our study from @bethbees.bsky.social lab is out in @royalsocietypublishing.org . We show that bumblebees taste some amino acids (valine), but not others (lysine). Bees might choose flowers not just by how sweet they taste! #bees 🐝 #taste 👅 #pollen #nectar 🌺 #protein 🥩 doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
Gustatory sensitivity to amino acids in bumblebee mouthparts | Royal Society Open Science
Bees rely on amino acids from nectar and pollen for essential physiological functions. While nectar typically contains low (less than 1 mM) amino acid concentrations, levels in pollen are higher but variable (10–200 mM). Behavioural studies suggest ...
doi.org
The Dartington Forest Garden is threatened with destruction by landlords the Dartington Trust. It took >30 years to grow, and is a wonderful example of a radically different approach to food & fibre production. Please sign the petition, and share. www.agroforestry.co.uk/save-darting...
Save the Dartington Forest Garden - The Agroforestry Research Trust
agroforestry.co.uk
Flowers🌸 as infection🤧 hotspots for pollinators🐝: landscape and behaviour have an impact. New preprint from @cristinabotias.bsky.social, @bethbees.bsky.social, @nataliehempel.bsky.social and me doi.org/10.1101/2025...
A spatially explicit model of pollinator-plant-pathogen interactions
Flowers have long been suggested to be infection hotspots for pollinator diseases, as, during their brief lifespan, they are visited and handled by many individuals from a diverse range of species. Ev...
doi.org
Huge Frustration as UK Government pauses the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/frustra...
Frustration as UK Government pauses the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme | The Wildlife Trusts
Today the UK Government have paused all new applications from farmers to access England’s flagship green farming scheme.
wildlifetrusts.org
Our latest paper led by Kentaro Takagi was featured on the cover of Functional Ecology! 🎉👏🐝🌸 "Realized flower constancy in bumble bees: Optimal foraging strategy balancing cognitive and travel costs and its possible consequences for floral diversity" For full details: bit.ly/4bzIADN
Looking forward to participating in this session on Pathways to Sustainable Agriculture today at the University of Ghana in collaboration with @ids.ac.uk and @sussex.ac.uk
Applications to Soapbox Science Brighton 2025 are open! All female and non-binary scientists in STEM subjects are welcome to apply 🥼👩🔬🌼🐜🐭🐝🧪⚛️ Apply by March 2nd soapboxscience.org/apply-to-spe...
We're back with our next Future Leaders Course 📢 This is your opportunity to join our programme for young people (20 - 30 years) who want to make a difference – for #NationalParks, landscapes, nature and people. Applications close Sun 23 Feb ⏰ Learn more & apply 👉 www.cnp.org.uk/national-par...
Pruning tips to assist #CavityNesting insects and more from the excellent "Nesting & Overwintering Habitat for Pollinators and other Beneficial Insects" guide from @xercessociety.bsky.social - a Science-based invertebrate conservation nonprofit. #Bugsky PDF here: xerces.org/sites/defaul...
It is a messy unresolved issue on how eaters can be sure of what they are buying with regen.. Good @theconversation.com piece. Regeneratively farmed is the new buzz label on supermarket shelves – but what does it actually mean? theconversation.com/regenerative...
Regeneratively farmed is the new buzz label on supermarket shelves – but what does it actually mean?
While regenerative agriculture might seem like a pioneering new approach, this term isn’t new. Here’s how it differs from organic.
theconversation.com
Disappointing new study showing - once again - that women are leaving research careers at far higher levels than men If you're interested to read about strategies to reverse these types of curves, check out our recent #Cell perspective- link below ⤵️ #WomeninSTEM 👩🔬👩🏾🔬🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Loved this session and excited to try growing some dye plants this year (that are also #Pollinator friendly of course!) and dye my own wool
Sustainable Food Trust@susfoodtrust.bsky.social · 2y agoWe were delighted to welcome people to a wool skills workshop at #ORFC25 this morning. The session highlighted the wonders of wool and why it needs to be considered as more than just a byproduct.
Today at 2pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall #ORFC25 join us for a panel discussion on 'What might #InsectSentience mean for agroecology' with @natacharossi.bsky.social @vickihird.bsky.social. We will discuss what new research might mean for how we value #EcosystemServices and insect #Welfare
Today 4pm Ship St Lecture Theatre #ORFC25 come and hear about #Biodiversity in #Polycultures and our work on #Pollinators in #UrbanAgriculture using #CitizenScience @davegoulson.bsky.social @buzzclub.bsky.social
I forgot to include the all important #ORFC!
Dr Beth Nicholls@bethbees.bsky.social · 2y agoExcited to be attending my first Oxford Real Farming Conference in person this week and to participate in two sessions- 1) #biodiversity in #polycultures (Thurs) and 2) #insectsentience and #agroecology (Fri) with @natacharossi.bsky.social @vickihird.bsky.social - hope to see some of you there!
The Neural Systems & Behavior course at @mblscience.bsky.social is now open for applications (deadline 1st Feb 2025, tinyurl.com/329nbtzp). Students often describe this 8-week training course as a life-changing and eye-opening scientific experience. Apply and join us in magical Woods Hole 💫🐙🧠🔬
We’re still looking for applicants for this PhD position on bees and anthropogenic stressors 🐝
Harry Siviter@harrysiviter.bsky.social · 2y agoPhD position at Bristol in my research group. Please can people share with their networks 🐝 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Excited to be attending my first Oxford Real Farming Conference in person this week and to participate in two sessions- 1) #biodiversity in #polycultures (Thurs) and 2) #insectsentience and #agroecology (Fri) with @natacharossi.bsky.social @vickihird.bsky.social - hope to see some of you there!
