Paul Williams
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paulwilliamsnhm.bsky.social
Paul Williams
@paulwilliamsnhm.bsky.social
Bumblebee taxonomy / evolution / biogeography - at NHM London:
guides to the species of the Himalaya, Sichuan, North China, &
North America
working with genes & morphology

pic: Yuzhu Mt, Kunlun range
Pinned
BUMBLEBEES OF THE HIMALAYA -
pdf now available from ResearchGate - keys and 337 colour-pattern diagrams, designed for precision IDs in the lab, this is not a field guide (a lockdown project so no opportunities for pics of live bees or characters)
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Reposted by Paul Williams
When @omearabrian.bsky.social saw the manuscript, he described it as: ‘What if this figure could be an entire paper?’

I choose to interpret that as high praise.

Now accepted at AmNat: The geometry of macroevolution (with Dan Rabosky). www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
January 17, 2026 at 3:58 PM
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Good morning!
January 7, 2026 at 2:49 PM
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Disheartening to learn that after 18 years, founder Ken-ichi Ueda has left iNaturalist, citing irreconcilable differences in the direction of the company.

kueda.net/blog/2026/01...

He has a Patreon while he figures out his next move: www.patreon.com/cw/kueda
Why I Left iNaturalist
After almost 18 years, I left iNaturalist, the product and organization I helped create. I left because I don’t believe the current Leadership team is pointing the product in the right direction, and ...
kueda.net
January 7, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Paul Williams
Wishing everyone a strong start to 2026! 🎆

Quick note: the Imperiled Bombus Conservation Task Force 🐝 (part of Pollinator Partnership) is accepting research proposals ➡️ graduate students and postdocs encouraged to apply. Deadline 🗓️ is January 31.

More info 🔗
www.pollinator.org/nappc/imperi...
Imperiled Bombus Conservation Task Force | Pollinator.org
Pollinator Partnership is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and the largest in the world dedicated exclusively to the protection and promotion of ...
www.pollinator.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:42 PM
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Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all my followers
December 25, 2025 at 8:31 AM
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I must admit, I have not seen many specimens of #Bombus variabilis, this #cuckoo #bumblebee was collected in Florida in 1984. @paulwilliamsnhm.bsky.social
December 23, 2025 at 9:48 PM
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Buff-tailed Bumblebee worker foraging at Mahonia in Calverley Grounds today
December 13, 2025 at 9:10 PM
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Bombus Consobrinus, Norway 2022.
This bee has the longest tongue of all scandinavian bees.
It is specialised on Monkshood flowers with deep corolla's.
Lovely, very fast, quite large bees 😘
December 8, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Reposted by Paul Williams
Check out our review/perspective piece on phylogenetic diversification analysis, intended for the 75th anniversary of
@systbiol.bsky.social. I had the privilege of working with great coauthors, @fhenaodiaz.bsky.social, @tvasconcelos.bsky.social and @roszenil.bsky.social!
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
December 5, 2025 at 7:34 PM
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One of my favourites, it took two vacations in the French alps to find these beauties. Bombus Brodmannicus, a specialized bumblebee dependend on Cerinthe. This was 2023 July.
Mind: running on a slope diving low to shoot the bees hanging under low flowers being very shy 😍 Very Mindful activity.
December 4, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Paul Williams
Reposted by Paul Williams
Male Redtailed bumblebee (B. Lapidarius) foraging, Sweden spring 2024. Typical: long antennae and moustache, I love the colours. Verge of a grey gravelroad.
November 28, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by Paul Williams
Weekend starter 😊 A male Red Shanked Carderbee (B. Ruderarius) foraging on Greater Knapweed, Sweden spring 2025.
November 28, 2025 at 5:10 PM
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Foraging worker with full pollen-baskets and queen of Buff-tailed Bumblebee in Calverley Grounds today
November 25, 2025 at 10:33 PM
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Dorothy Hodges' remarkable book 'The Pollen Loads of the Honeybee' (1952) has seasonal colour charts to identify which flowers the pollen comes from
November 19, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Christmas comes early to the sunny southeast
November 19, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Paul Williams
For #EntSoc2025 folks interested in insect responses to extreme weather, Neal Williams and I are hosting a session, "Hot Bees" in D133/134. We'll focus the methods and tools we can use to understand how heat waves impact wild pollinators across ecological scales. Join us! 🌡️🐝💨🌼
November 8, 2025 at 10:13 PM
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South Sweden summer 2024, lucky shot having two bumblebees sharp at once. Tree bumblebee and a white tailed bumblebee.
November 6, 2025 at 9:04 PM
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Today the 2025 State of the Cryosphere report was published by over 50 leading cryosphere scientists.
An urgent warning about the global consequences of the meltdown of ice, including the risk of shutdown of the Atlantic Ocean current system #AMOC. 🌊
iccinet.org/statecryo25/
November 6, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Bombus terrestris queens and pollen-collecting workers on Fatsia in the garden today despite early November
November 5, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Reposted by Paul Williams
#EntSoc25 Curious about the future of bee taxonomy? Join our workshop to explore its current state, identify research gaps, and discover innovative solutions shaping the field. Wednesday at 1:30 PM in C25 @entsocamerica.bsky.social 🐝🧬🔬 @isabellamanning.bsky.social @mmlopezu.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 7:01 PM