Crucially, the bees we study most are not always those most central to pollination networks/communities.
The paper highlights where research effort should shift to better inform conservation and policy.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Using ~70,000 papers, @nesbit-sci.bsky.social shows that bee research is dominated by managed social bees -especially Apis and Bombus, while many wild, solitary, and ground‑nesting bees remain largely overlooked.
🐝 Are honeybees getting too much attention?
Do we really understand the global ecology of bees and how they respond to environmental change?
New research asks whether our evidence base is skewed. @nesbit-sci.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@davegoulson.bsky.social @richjgill.bsky.social
CABI is working with Imperial College London, on their new sustainable agriculture MSc. It will prepare future agricultural technologists, scientists, and sustainability professionals for careers in sustainable agriculture. blog.cabi.org/2026/02/17/d...
flyer for the masters in Sustainable Agriculture and Technology at Imperial College London with QR link to more details.
Get a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture and Technology @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social & delve into the environmental and technological frontiers of modern agriculture. Partnered with CABI, explore real-world farming systems with access to agritech innovators, research farms, and commercial ops.
🐝🦠 New paper: rdcu.be/eOf7A
Phages may drive microbial diversity, yet we often don’t even know how phages & bacteria correlate in nature. Our new study tackles this in the honeybee gut, thanks to the great work of PhD student @malickndiaye.bsky.social at @dmf-unil.bsky.social @fbm-unil.bsky.social
Come and join us at Silwood Park, Imperial College London @imperiallifesci.bsky.social Drop an email if you need any more info, its a short turnaround to fit within the funder schedule - deadline October 24th. Funding is available whether you're from the UK or internationally! 🌎🌍🌏🇬🇧🇺🇦🇺🇸🇨🇳🇮🇳🇿🇦🇨🇦🇯🇵🇩🇪🇷🇺🇮🇹🇵🇹 etc
PLEASE SHARE. PhD advert: Predicting Pollinator Health and Disease Through Molecular and Sensor-Based Surveillance. tinyurl.com/559hjsm4 Rare opportunity at the intersection of molecular ecology, disease surveillance, modelling and precision apiculture. DEADLINE 24th OCTOBER!
#microsky 🧫🧪
Delighted to announce the launch of the BBSRC-funded UK-wide microbiome innovation network Microbiome-Net.
I'm looking forward to representing and furthering the East Midlands Microbiome Research Network's contributions to research, innovation and policy.
www.liverpool.ac.uk/microbiome-i...
Monika Yordanova leads on this study exploring coexposure of pesticides & Enterococcus on the health of developing bee larvae 🐝. Often seen as a pathogen, small doses of the microbe may reduce some of the impacts of pesticide toxicity under some conditions.
doi.org/10.1093/fems...
Experimenting with AI to make accessible summaries of research. What are peoples thoughts? Here is a summary of a paper looking at the role of flowers in parasite transmission.
Parasites in bloom: flowers aid dispersal and transmission
youtu.be/sGGHzrW0Lmc
@royalsocietypublishing.org
🌿 Over 1000 signed up to join us at #OurImperial Silwood Park for Bugs, Birds & Beasts Day - our biggest turnout yet at this lively day of science, nature & family fun! From falconry to butterfly hunts, from an orchestra to 3D insects, this was a day out to remember! Thank you everyone! 🦅🐛💧
My 4th 'Bugs Day' at Imperial's Silwood campus. The boys (and I) had a wonderful time at an event that just gets better each year.
For Imperial team's interesting in public engagement with the natural world or environmental research, Bugs day is a wonderful resource to reach public audiences.
Glad to finally be able to share this paper! We found that epiphytes and their close relatives tend to have small range sizes, meaning a high proportion are likely to be at risk of extinction www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Red and green bromeliads growing epiphytically on a mossy tree trunk in a tropical forest.
Researcher wearing glasses and a cap points to a small epiphytic plant growing on a mossy tree trunk in a forest.
For over 100 years, epiphytes - plants that grow on other plants such as orchids & bromeliads - were believed to be widespread and resilient 🌿
But our new study in Nature Plants tells a very different story 👇
🪴 Epiphytic plants, including popular houseplants and orchids, may be at high risk of extinction across the globe, according to new research by scientists at Imperial College London and @rbgkew.bsky.social 🧵
📣 Imperial College Research Fellowships!
Prestigious 4yr fellowship
✔️ Salary from £48k
✔️ Up to £45k for research
✔️ A supportive, inclusive research environment
✔️ UK or international
✔️ <4 yrs post-PhD
Drop me a pm if you are interested in bee/microbe related research! tinyurl.com/mr3k5a93
Women at Imperial celebrates the achievements of our staff, students and alumni, and raises awareness of support and initiatives across the university. Join us for Women at Imperial Week from 10–14 March 2025 with a series of events and workshops.
www.imperial.ac.uk/women-at-imp...
Looking for a masters (MRes/Msci) in Ecological sciences? @imperiallifesci.bsky.social youtu.be/b9HAZsvBpm8?...
Please don't turn your lawn into plastic. Plastic grass reduces food & shelter for wildlife such as bees & butterflies; has a high carbon footprint; sheds micro-plastics which wash into our rivers and seas. Create a wildlife-friendly space instead. More bit.ly/3wE67P8 🐝
if interested, drop me a message before 10th of January 2025! thank you! #bees #phdchat #academia #phd #parasites
General info on funding and eligibility etc. Candidates must be UK nationals (EU candidates with settled status in the UK may be considered), International students are not eligible. www.findaphd.com/phds/program...
Funded PhD opportunity in the Graystock lab! If you are interested in pollinators, microbes, parasites and machine learning, please get in touch! - only a few days left to let me know! Whilst a project using the above is planned, im happy to adapt to the strengths of a candidate
"Ants solving a geometric problem and it's amazing."
This is a great example of 'emergent phenomenon':
- None of the ants understand the problem they're solving.
- None of them can see the whole shape.
- A series of small decisions or rules add up to something with a new layer of complexity.
Miles Nesbit stood in front of his poster on trait contributions to fomite mediated pathogen transmission
Charlotte Fryday stood in front of her award winning poster on the design and application of apparatus to monitor flower mediated pathogen transmission
Nice to catch up with everyone at the #IUSSI conference in London today. A good representation from the lab too with some excellent student posters! With @nesbit-sci.bsky.social, Charlotte and Monika - I think it's also safe to say my phone camera has seen better days!
PhD studentships now available in all areas of Life Sciences at Imperial College London
www.findaphd.com/phds/program...
Frosty lawn with white cables on the ground illustrating mycelium networks
White cables around a tree illustrating mycelium networks
Night time view of illuminated cables to show mycelium networks around a tree
This Edinburgh Botanics light show installation is designed to illustrate mycelium networks. It’s almost as impressive in daylight as when lit up!
Wondered how pollinator learning affects pollination for 🌺🌻🌼? More complex flowers 🌺🌻🌼 require more learning, and learning ⬆️pollen collection, but has NO effect on pollen transfer! New Behavioral Ecology pub from #RussellLab grad & undergrads; collab w/ Ashman Lab academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...
