Really enjoyed writing this blog post for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust about my resource supplementation work. It was surprisingly tricky but a really useful exercise in making my work more accessible. A huge thanks to the BCT for the opportunity and for sharing my research, check it out below!

Bumblebee Conservation Trust@bumblebeetrust.bsky.social · 16h ago

Most of the UK is farmland – and bumblebees are struggling to find enough food on it 🐝🍽️ New research from 20 English farms shows that pollen and nectar levels are far too low for bumblebees to thrive. Leo Fordham and Prof Elli Leadbeater tell us more in our guest blog: https://ow.ly/2coK50Zu6xA

Happy to share our horizon scan of European wild pollinators is out! We identified 10 priority issues for 10yrs, including, for the 1st time, legislation as an opportunity (NRR). However, political shifts may slow progress, while new pesticide tech presents opportunities. doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Horizon scanning for European wild pollinators identifies world-leading legislation as a key opportunity for pollinators - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Horizon scanning for European wild pollinators identifies world-leading legislation as a key opportunity for pollinators

doi.org

Happy to be home after a wonderful week at #ECCB2026. V exciting presenting the results of our pollinator e+airDNA (pollEnatAIR?) study for the first time, and thanks to all the incredible presenters and workshop hosts. How lovely is Leiden?? @eccb26leiden.bsky.social @scbeurope.bsky.social

Delighted to have given an invited talk yesterday on farmland bumblebee resource supplementation to the team @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social A fantastic charity and such an important interface for collaboration. The paper is here: bit.ly/41RtXaP and keep an eye out for a blog I'm writing for them too! 🧪

Resource supplementation later in the colony cycle improves real‐world bumblebee colony survival

Our findings suggest that B. terrestris colonies became food-limited towards the end of their colony cycle in early summer. We suggest ecological intensification through planting native wildflower sp...

bit.ly

🧪

Mark Brown@markjfbrown.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Here’s a great PhD opportunity in the crossover between humanities and natural history- please repost 🙏 www.ccc.cam.ac.uk/initiatives/...

Crucial new meta-analysis of pollinator requirements in agricultural landscapes shows that butterflies need a min of 37% of semi-natural habitat, whereas bees need 16-18% and hoverflies 6%. Where this is not possible greatly increasing habitat quality can help. natuurkennis.nl/wp-content/u...

Now officially out in the first JAE issue of 2026, read and share if you haven't already! 🧪

Journal of Applied Ecology@jappliedecology.bsky.social · 7mo ago

📖 Published! Resource supplementation later in the colony cycle improves real-world bumblebee colony survival - findings suggest that B. terrestris colonies became food-limited towards the end of their colony cycle in early summer🐝 🌷 Read more: buff.ly/zvYbE8i

Had an absolutely fantastic time at #BES2025 and a massive well done to all speakers and presenters. Really enjoyed displaying my poster and research, representing two great unis, and meeting so many great people and potential collaborators. Glad my title brought as much joy to others as it did me!!

I am absolutely thrilled to share my first chapter, published today in @jappliedecology.bsky.social! Results are summarised in the thread below, or you can read it OA here doi.org/10.1111/1365... @ellileadbeater.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social @ucl-pnl.bsky.social 1/7 🧪

Resource supplementation later in the colony cycle improves real‐world bumblebee colony survival

Our findings suggest that B. terrestris colonies became food-limited towards the end of their colony cycle in early summer. We suggest ecological intensification through planting native wildflower sp....

doi.org

Delighted to share this note on only the second British record of the #hoverfly Paragus quadrifasciatus, which @amaeda16.bsky.social, @ellileadbeater.bsky.social, and I found during a #pollinator survey of the @ucl-pnl.bsky.social garden lab. Read and share! 🧪 www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) A second British record of Paragus quadrifasciatus Meigen (Diptera, Syrphidae)

PDF | In short note format, we report the second UK record and the first specimen for Paragus quadrifasciatus (Meigen, 1822), found in Stratford,... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ...

researchgate.net

Can anyone recommend any good online ecological #bioinformatics courses? Would appreciate guidance, I don't have buckets of time so the more direct and relevant the better. Thanks in advance! Picture for attention, copyright me

Wasp scientists are calling for your help in a very simple survey: the next time a wasp visits your picnic, if you mark down whether it goes for protein or sugar, you can help Prof Seirian Sumner @waspwoman.bsky.social and her @uclcber.bsky.social colleagues better understand the wasp life cycle

Ham or jam? Help scientists by recording wasp food preferences

The next time a wasp visits your picnic, if you make a note of whether it goes for protein or sugar, you can help UCL scientists better understand the wasp life cycle.

ucl.ac.uk

Whilst doing a pollinator survey, I have fortuitously discovered that taking 0.6x selfies with a marbled white (Melanargia galathea) on one's nose is a great joy of life- can wholeheartedly recommend #butterfly #ecology #biodiversity #nature 🧪

Fieldworking hard or hardly fieldworking?

Hive mind- never in doubt. The symposium was the perfect celebration of such a strong postgrad research department- well done to everyone, a privilege to be involved! 🐝🧪

Mark Brown@markjfbrown.bsky.social · last yr.

Very lucky to work with these wonderful researchers! Not only did they give amazing talks and posters at our Annual @rhulbiology.bsky.social PG Symposium, they won *all* the prizes 🏆 So proud 🐝❤️ @leofordham.bsky.social @alexisggk.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social @philstevenson.bsky.social

Had a wonderful time yesterday at the Bumblebee Working Group meeting in Cambridge and really enjoyed presenting the debut of my first chapter results! Thanks to all who came and listened, and to @sofiadartnell.bsky.social, Lynn Dicks, and @camzoology.bsky.social for hosting- great job

Glorious day and location to teach @alexisggk.bsky.social and @cminnaar.bsky.social the art of catching (bumblebee) queens- what a ridiculous and brilliant job this is (Caught with permission from Windsor Great Park)

What a great year it was to run a large scale bumblebee colony survival experiment! Hoping to publish the results very soon, but spoiler- it's not looking pretty

Bumblebee Conservation Trust@bumblebeetrust.bsky.social · last yr.

It’s official, 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees since records began🚨 The latest findings from #BeeWalk, our national bumblebee monitoring scheme, have revealed bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter (22.5%) across Great Britain💔 Read on: www.bumblebeeconservation.org/british-bumb...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARWIN!! Celebrating today with CEE Darwin's Birthday Debate at @nhm-london.bsky.social. Looking at 'How would Darwin do fieldwork today? Sharing science benefits equitably in ecology and evolution' #CEEDarwin2025

@iussi-nwes.bsky.social 2024 conference at QMUL off to a very strong start with a fascinating talk by Guillaume Chomicki on what ant-plant interactions can tell us about evolution #IUSSI #IUSSI24

Because there is still a lot of interest and the first pack is full, I made a second part to the behavioral ecology starter pack 🦅🐟🦧🐝🦎 go.bsky.app/2ZkeB2Z

Hannah Scharf@hannah-scharf.bsky.social · 2y ago

I haven't seen any starter packs made for behavioral ecology yet, so I decided to create one! If you are a behavioral ecologist (any career stage), please reply so I can add you to the list so we can more easily find each other. go.bsky.app/9mAuB6x

Seen lots of general and brilliant starter packs for bee/ento/invert researchers, but not yet one specifically for early career researchers- would there be interest in joining if I made one? Similarly if I've missed any then directions would be appreciated (pic for attention)

It seems to me that the debate over applying inheritance text to farmland has been v one sided. At the risk of making myself unpopular, a thread of observations follows: 1) For a couple leaving a farm to their descendants, the tax threshold is £3 million, not £1 million as widely stated.