Sarah Arnold
@sejarnold.bsky.social
Entomologist, likes pollination, insect behaviour, IPM, horticulture and agriculture, sustainability, nature and especially wild bees. Works at Niab (UK). Views my own. she/her Neurodivergent, quirky, sometimes wrong but usually teachable.
The southern green shieldbug, Nezara viridula, fascinates me. It's going from strength to strength in UK. A lot of records appear to be associated with gardens & allotments, as it's partial to runner beans. As a crop pest, it's not really causing big problems in the UK yet (that I've heard). [1/]
Are wasps feeling the heat this summer? Be kind to wasps at your picnic this summer: share your meal & tell us what they're after. Is it Ham (protein-rich)? or Jam (sugary) @uclnews.bsky.social @theconversation.com @femi-benny.bsky.social @cintiaoi.bsky.social theconversation.com/where-have-a...
Where have all the wasps gone this summer?
And why you should let them share your picnic ham and jam.
theconversation.com
Japan has now joined Horizon Europe. Japan’s researchers can now partner with teams across the EU. Together, we will advance global research in health, digital technologies, and climate neutrality ↓ link.europa.eu/YP7MtB
Exciting new paper about gut contents metabarcoding - and how metabarcoding a big sample can get interesting if you also end up finding DNA from inside the guts of predators. Useful to know how long prey DNA stays detectable when assessing biocontrol in crops...
Francesco Martoni@cescomartons.bsky.social · 2w ago🧬 🎉 🐞 New Paper Published! 🐞🧬 🎉 "A feast of #aphids: assessing the detectability of prey aphid DNA inside ladybeetle predators using taxon-specific metabarcoding" A short 🧵
It would be great if "reviewer invitation" e-mails included a quick button for "I can't do it in the next 14 days but could do it by [other_date] - would that be acceptable?" Often am willing to do it, but need more than 2 weeks - but replying to automated e-mail saying this isn't always efficient.
When I was a kid we sometimes visited France and I have fond memories of being fascinated by firebugs in the gardens of gîtes. Now, the firebugs have come to me: they've colonised enough of Kent that this year, one has turned up in our garden! #Entomology #Hemiptera
Social media are great communication tools for naturalists, but you can't beat face-to-face. The Kent Wildlife Conference on 24 October is for anyone interested in the county's natural history. Book today www.tinyurl.com/WildConf2026.
Kent Wildlife Conference 2026
THE KENT WILDLIFE CONFERENCE SATURDAY 24th October 2026 Darwin Conference Suite, Darwin College, University of Kent The Kent Wildlife Conference is an opportunity for all those interested in the...
tinyurl.com
Chalk grassland today - a new species for me, Aphanus rolandri, a groundbug - and one I haven't seen for a while, Osmia bicolor, which nests in old snail shells. Both seem to be into the orange-and-black colour theme! #Entomology #Insects #ChalkGrassland
Excellent rainbow over @niab-uk.bsky.social East Malling site today! I really do get to work in a beautiful place.
I know you folks in eastern USA are still wrapped in your woollies (stay safe!), but here in the UK it is getting warmer and brighter and the first solitary bees are out! Andrena bicolor female today! #SolitaryBee #Entomology #FirstBeesOfSpring #Bee #Pollinator
Fun surprise this week - this delightful ladybird dropped out of a bush at work while beating some foliage. Having not met one before, I assumed it was a massive Scymnus, but no, it's Rhyzobius forestieri, an introduced species from Australia, just hanging out. Rather exciting! #Entomology #Ladybird
As the last few years have seen some serious yield challenges in West African cocoa, leading to global price volatility (and noticeable increases in the price of chocolate bars, changes in recipes, etc.), let's think about just one part of this system: pollination. A thread 🧵 [1/]
How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications. My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/ academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
Replication studies: a win-win for early-career training and behavioral ecology
Replicating previous research builds confidence that results are real and meaningful. But close replications are rare due to limitations in resources and d
academic.oup.com
Great meeting with tree fruit industry people! alt-text: (1) Ali Capper speaks to full meeting room of growers/industry; (2) Adam Walker (Niab) speaks in front of slide explaining woolly apple #aphid lifecycle; (3) Sarah Arnold (Niab) speaks with title slide on apple blossom #weevil. #orchard #ipm
Niab@niab-uk.bsky.social · 6mo agoToday was the BAPL/Niab Apple and Pear Technical Day at East Malling. Lots of Niab speakers, pictured here are Adam Walker explaining how to use earwigs to for control of wooly apple aphid and Sarah Arnold presenting novel approaches to control of apple blossom weevil.
Read our new Special Issue, Sensory Perception in a Changing World, guest edited by Almut Kelber, Kathleen Gilmour and Sanjay Sane, featuring Reviews & Commentaries discussing the impact of environmental change on how animals perceive their surroundings tinyurl.com/5t3mkrny
New PhD alert! We'll be applying animal welfare ideas to look at how stress affects bees, looking at the effect on bee brains with @lenariab.bsky.social, and working with @sensibee.bsky.social developing new monitoring methods. Please spread the word! #bees #PhD 🧪 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
The effect of stress on pollinator behaviour at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - The effect of stress on pollinator behaviour at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
findaphd.com
Do agricultural diversification practices pay off in the long run? Our new paper synthesizes 100+ years of evidence showing that diversification practices become more profitable over time and delivers growing benefits for soils, biodiversity, and carbon. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Long-term agricultural diversification increases financial profitability, biodiversity, and ecosystem services: a second-order meta-analysis - Nature Communications
Feeding a growing population while protecting the environment is a major global challenge. This study suggests that agricultural diversification enhances long-term profitability, biodiversity, soil he...
nature.com
Steven Hammer, one of our regular collection users, co-developed a new #insect pinning block, with staff and volunteers from the museum. It’s 3D-printed and open source, so you can try it for yourself: cults3d.com/en/3d-model/... #ECN2025
Entoblock step
An improved pinning block for entomological collections. It has five steps at different heights for quick and accurate label setting. The steps are visible from both sides, making it suitable for lef...
cults3d.com
I am teaching a GIS class this semester for undergrads. First time I’m teaching it and it’s all done in R. I’m super excited! I was wondering if you have any recs on papers that link GIS and geospatial science with ecology. I want to include readings and discussions for the lecture part. 🧪🌎#ratats
Plenty of Bombus terrestris workers active near Tower Hill station in London today - chilly but not bitter, and almost warm in the sun, so I guess they were making the most of the big flowering Choisya while conditions were good. Workers were collecting pollen, so active winter nest. #Pollinators
Christmas day walk flowers: scentless mayweed, daisy, annual mercury, common mallow, black nightshade, marigold garden escape, red deadnettle, shepherd's purse, some sort of sowthistle? Nice to have flowers still cheering things up. #WildflowerHour
Has anyone found an Android app that genuinely, really: 1. Provides translation of voice/speech 2. Between English and Brazilian Portuguese 3. And does this in offline mode?
Really brilliant day visiting fruit farms in São Paulo state. Lots to think about, comparing Brazilian v. UK strawberry cultivation - diff substrates, diff pests (though did see an SWD!) & very different pollinators! Super-cute seeing strawberry flowers pollinated by stingless bees! #Horticulture
In Brazil to network around future collaborative projects and dynamic agroforestry. More about that later. For now...found an impressive (sadly deceased) Ascalapha odorata aka black witch moth aka duppy bat in my hotel. Amazing. #TropicalEntomology #Lepidoptera
Ditto with final talk #AAB_IPPM by @sejarnold.bsky.social NIAB surveying parasitoid wasp diversity on aphids from strawberry crops in Kent. 4 main species found plus hyperparasitoids. eDNA barcoding showed more. Little relationship to local vegetation. Sadly missed rest or risk missing train.
Day 2 of #AAB_IPPM meeting and today is more entomological (but not entirely!). Lots of good talks on the schedule. #IntegratedPestManagement #IPPM #SustainableAgriculture #HorticulturalEntomology
#AAB_IPPM meeting kicking off with excellent talk from Martin Lines @nffn.bsky.social - he has found that introducing flower-rich margins on his farm as habitat for beneficial biodiversity reduces pest damage significantly and much reduces need for synthetic inputs. #NaturalEnemies #IPM
On my way to AAB Advances in Integrated Pest and Pathogen Management meeting - looking forward to a couple of days hearing about what's happening in applied IPPM research. www.aab.org.uk/event/advanc... #IPM #IntegratedPestManagement #Biocontrol #Parasitoids #Aphids #AppliedEntomology
aab.org.uk
