Hummingbird hawk larva on the bank outside my house, Malvern. That's at least three of the past five years there's been caterpillars there!
@richardcomont.bsky.social
A new favourite line from a paper: '[bumblebees] are well recorded because they are large, colourful and conspicuous, and active under similar conditions to field biologists' nhm.openrepository.com/handle/10141...
nhm.openrepository.com
PREORDERS ARE OUT TODAY FOR MY NEWEST FIELD GUIDE, "WIDOW SPIDERS OF THE WORLD"!!!! www.owlflyllc.com/publishing
Many thanks to the visitors who cleared up the remains of a BBQ at #TrenchWood before we got there. We shouldn’t have to remind everyone that fires and barbecues are not allowed on our nature reserves. Please take all rubbish home as discarded items, especially glass bottles, can ignite 🔥
Heatwaves are in the news again. Across the country, butterflies are basking, lizards are lounging, but bumblebees are cool-weather creatures. Data from BeeWalk, the @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social long-running citizen science program is bad c-js.uk/4ytSjqp
Heatwaves and bumblebees: lessons from BeeWalk
c-js.uk
New BeeWalk data shows that extreme temperatures can cause bumblebee colonies to decline and populations to shrink the following spring. With more intense heatwaves on the horizon, some of our most cherished species could be pushed to the brink. Read more: https://ow.ly/JMNs50ZqHir
Bumblebees are struggling in UK heatwaves - but you can help them: UK bumblebees face a serious threat from climate change-induced heatwaves, according to new data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's BeeWalk monitoring scheme, shared exclusively with the BBC. The… https://ranked.news/1157298?u=b
Purbeck Mason Wasps are one of the most endangered invertebrates in Britain. New blog at: vitrealis.blogspot.com/2026/06/purb... #naturewriting #inverts #wasps #heathlands
Important article on the bond between pollinators and human health www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Pollinators in peril: scientists reveal the hidden human health costs of the world’s disappearing bees
Crops and flowers rely on them for survival, but wild bees are declining – and crucial nutrients will go missing from our diets as a result
theguardian.com
The Scottish Government Bee Health Team have issued a notice for #beekeepers across #Scotland to inform of an outbreak of American Foulbrood #AFB in Kincardineshire. Please can all beekeepers remind themselves with the symptoms of foulbrood diseases www.gov.scot/publications...
Ready for today's training session. It looks like someone was waiting for a while!
Quite a successful moth trap last night! Striped Hawk for the third night in a row, plus Poplar, Elephant, and Pine Hawks (Pine flew off pre-photo!)
Also, on Thursday 11th June, I'm giving a tutorial in the beautiful gardens of Mothecombe, South Devon 10.30 - 3pm Details and tickets (£12.50) here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bumblebees... Shares hugely appreciated! 🙏
Bumblebees and the Others
A day of learning about bumblebees & solitary bees followed by a bee-hunt round Mothecombe , RHS S.West Partner Garden of the Year 2025
eventbrite.co.uk
30C when I got into the office this morning. Bodes well for when it heats up later...
I've invented a weed translocation service. Here's what that means. insectrambles.blogspot.com/2026/05/we-n...
Insect rambles
We need… your weeds? The definition of a weed is a plant in the wrong place. What if we moved them to the right place? Red Dead-nettle ( L...
insectrambles.blogspot.com
A few days of warm weather and suddenly the moth trap looks a lot more spring-like! Lime Hawk, White Ermine, and Maybug all new for the year this morning
Lovely to see Brown-banded Carder back on the allotment, examining the compost heap and nectaring on Red Dead-nettle
You know it's spring when the bee-flies are out! First Bombylius major of the year here today (file pic), plus queen Early and Buff-tailed bumblebees flic.kr/p/bJ6Upk
Bombylius major Radley Lakes 01042012 242 (2)
The Major bee-fly, Bombylius major - a fly species which mimics mining bees in order to get close to their nest burrows - it hovers outside the burrow, flicking its eggs into the hole
flic.kr
@andymus.bsky.social Sounds like there might be a case for the consultant's portal being resurrected? nbn.org.uk/news/how-doe...
How does the Consultants Portal work and who’s involved - National Biodiversity Network
Find out more about the Consultants Portal, how it works and who's involved.
nbn.org.uk
Must be spring if the Hairy-footers are out and about! This one visited my office this afternoon
Moths starting to appear in the milder weather - Oak Beauty and Dotted Chestnut in Malvern this morning
Well, looks like the moths think it's spring! Or possibly have all been flooded out. Hebrew Character and Pale Brindled Beauty (x6) this morning
🦋🌿Hiring 12 x Botanists or Entomologists for 2026 field surveys in England! 4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September. Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk. Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪
Bombus terrestris workers (3+) out and active in Malvern today, busily collecting pollen and nectaring on Mahonia
Found this Bombardier Beetle (Brachinus crepitans) in a spiderweb in the garden this morning - bet the spider got a bit of a shock!
National Allotment Week felt like as good a time as any to restart blogging, with a piece I wrote earlier about the value of allotments for bumblebees: insectrambles.blogspot.com/2025/08/bees...
Bees and Allotments
[I wrote this for my local allotment newsletter, and it felt like as good a place as any to restart blogging!] I joined the allotmenteering ...
insectrambles.blogspot.com
Out in Monmouthshire today running bumblebee ID training for the Wye Valley National Landscapes team and volunteers. One of the highlights was this striking yellow-tailed male Forest Cuckoo bumblebee Bombus sylvestris - very early!
