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alba-mae.bsky.social
alba.bee
@alba-mae.bsky.social
140 followers 80 following 10 posts
Conservation Biology MRes | Interested in plant - pollinator interactions | solitary bee enthusiast | bumblebee lover | AuDHD | 🐝🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇦🇪
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Reposted by alba.bee
thedailytism.com
Graeme Hart, 57, believes autism is a horrific scourge on humanity – but that there’s no reason for you, an autistic person, to be so uncivil about it.
“We can disagree and stay friends” says man who thinks you should be eugenicsed out of existence
A man who believes you can disagree on politics and “still love each other” also believes scientists should find out what caused you so someone like you never happens again, and you, personally,…
thedailytism.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
bumblebeetrust.bsky.social
🚨 Climate & nature need action now. You can help decision-makers face the facts:

📢 Take 2 mins to ask your MP to attend the National Emergency Briefing at Westminster Central Hall on Nov 27: https://ow.ly/ZmoV50XrMHJ

National Emergency Briefing #NEB2025 #ClimateBriefing #IsYourMPAttending
National Emergency Briefing on climate & nature
An unfiltered assessment of the latest threats to UK food supply, health and national security from eight leading experts to an invitation-only audience - also covering positive solutions. Westminster Central Hall, 27 November.
ow.ly
November 15, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
grays.art
Bicolored striped sweat bee
(Agapostemon virescens)
/ pulling hyssop flower

#agapostemon #beePhoto #bees #SweatBee #BeesAndFlowers #beePhotography
November 13, 2024 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
mimmymum.bsky.social
It’s all connected…

A ‘rapists rights’ group that harasses rape victims, was invited to speak at Abertay University by Dr Stuart Waiton - who Chairs the “Scottish Union for Education” and took part in the right-wing faux ‘free speech’ “Battle of Ideas Festival” this year…
Daily Mail News EXCLUSIVE Rapists' rights group allowed to lecture at Scots university BATTLE of IDEAS FESTIVAL DR STUART WAITON senior lecturer, sociology and criminology, Abertay University; author, Scared of the Kids: curfews, crime and the regulation of young people; chair, Scottish Union for Education
November 1, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
draverbee.bsky.social
I cannot believe our work is finally out there and in @journal-evo.bsky.social ! This was an enormous group effort!

We provide an updated estimate of the number of buzz pollinated angiosperm species, genera, and families, look at consequences for diversification, number of transitions, and more!
Circular phylogeny showing the branching pattern of 30k plant species with lineages with poricidal and non poricidal taxa indicated. A small subset of poricidal taxa are illustrated around the phylogeny.
October 23, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
newphyt.bsky.social
#Viewpoint: Exploring the importance of aromatic #plants' extrafloral volatiles for #pollinator attraction

Kantsa et al. 👇

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#LatestIssue #PlantScience
Known and proposed ecological functions of aboveground aromatic emissions (i.e. constitutive volatile emissions from vegetative plant tissues) in mediating biotic interactions with arthropods, other plants, and microorganisms.
September 22, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
ketrinadrawsalot.bsky.social
Know your insect antennae!
#insects #bugs #antennae #entomology #education #art #SciArt
A chart of the different types of insect antennae First row: Setaceous (like a bristle) Filiform (like a thread) Moniliform (beaded) Serrate (toothy) Second row: Pectinate (comb-like) Bipectinate (double combs!) Clavate (club-like) Capitate (club-ended) Third row: Aristate (a nub with a hair stuck to it) Pilose (brushy) Plumose (feathery) Geniculate (bendy straw) Fourth row: Stylate (small and pointy) Flabellate (fan-shaped) Lamellate (stack of plates)
May 19, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
davegoulson.bsky.social
Our new research reveals one of the more surprising ways that climate change can impact on bumblebees:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Navigating a warming world: heatwave exposure during development affects responses to UV light in male bumble bees
Heatwaves can create adverse conditions that impact physiological and behavioural traits in insects. Although the ability to tolerate extreme temperat…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 29, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
rspb.bsky.social
Happy 99th birthday to the man who gave voice to the wild. 🎉

Sir David Attenborough, thank you for a lifetime dedicated to the natural world, and for sharing its story with wisdom, wonder, and grace.

You've inspired generations to fall in love with nature.
This photograph captures Sir David Attenborough seated outdoors on the rugged terrain of Skomer Island. Behind him, the ocean and coastal cliffs form a scenic backdrop under a clear sky. Sir David, dressed in a khaki jacket and light trousers, looks towards the camera with a gentle expression, exuding a sense of warmth, calm, and wisdom. Around him, puffins can be seen flying and perched on the rocky ground, illuminated in rays of golden sunlight as the sun sets behind the cliffs.
May 8, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
davegoulson.bsky.social
Nice coverage of the pet flea treatments in bird's nests issue by @channel4news.bsky.social www.channel4.com/news/scienti...
Scientists warn chemicals in pet flea treatments are killing wildlife
The government says it's time to look again at the sale of pet flea treatments after scientists warned the chemicals in them kill wildlife including songbirds.
www.channel4.com
April 16, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
kazohashilab.bsky.social
#Bee-flies are back—now it really feels like spring!
Two bee-fly-like insects with fuzzy brown and yellow bodies are mating on a rough asphalt surface. Their wings are outstretched, and one insect is perched directly behind the other in alignment. A close-up side profile of two bee-fly-like insects mating on a textured ground. Their long proboscises are visible, and their fuzzy bodies and transparent wings are highlighted against the low-angle background.
April 7, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
vannabartlett.bsky.social
Starting to see a few more #Solitarybees in the garden this week with the warmer weather. Female Andrena tibialis on Mirabelle Plum and female Andrena nitida on Amelanchier.
#Pollinators
A female solitary bee taking nectar from the white flower of a Mirabelle Plum tree. The bee's thorax has brown hairs on the top and paler ones on the sides and the abdomen also has pale hairs. The pollen collecting hairs on the hind leg are pale orange. A solitary bee with a black haired head and chestnut haired thorax on the white flowers of an Amelanchier. The shiny black abdomen has white hair patches on the sides of the 2nd and 3rd segments.
April 3, 2025 at 7:09 PM
alba-mae.bsky.social
Andrena flavipes

#solitarybees #pollinators
April 3, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
vannabartlett.bsky.social
A very nice male Andrena trimmerana posing for the camera, showing off his fine genal spine. Earlham Cemetery, Norwich.
#SolitaryBees #Pollinators
A rather dark solitary bee sitting on a pale green leaf, facing right. The bee's abdomen is almost black, shiny and with sparse pale hairs fringes on the segments. The thorax is dark but dull with pale hairs. The mandibles are rather long. The striking feature of this bee is the long thin genal spine that projects downwards from the bees head next to the base of the mandibles.
March 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
jeremybartlett.bsky.social
A male Andrena trimmerana (Trimmer's Mining Bee) sunning himself on a Cherry Laurel leaf.

Yesterday afternoon in Norwich.

www.flickr.com/photos/63075...
A male Andrena trimmerana sitting on a shiny Cherry Laurel leaf. His abdomen is dark and shiny with sparse pale hairs fringes on the segments. His thorax is dark but dull with pale hairs and he has rather long mandibles. He has a long thin genal spine projecting downwards from his head by the base of his mandibles. A male Andrena trimmerana sitting on a shiny Cherry Laurel leaf. His abdomen is dark and shiny with sparse pale hairs fringes on the segments. His thorax is dark but dull with pale hairs and he has rather long mandibles. He has a long thin genal spine projecting downwards from his head by the base of his mandibles. A male Andrena trimmerana sitting on a shiny Cherry Laurel leaf. His abdomen is dark and shiny with sparse pale hairs fringes on the segments. His thorax is dark but dull with pale hairs and he has rather long mandibles. He has a long thin genal spine projecting downwards from his head by the base of his mandibles. A male Andrena trimmerana lifting off from a shiny Cherry Laurel leaf. His abdomen is dark and shiny with sparse pale hairs fringes on the segments. His thorax is dark but dull with pale hairs and he has rather long mandibles. He has a long thin genal spine projecting downwards from his head by the base of his mandibles.
March 29, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
kazohashilab.bsky.social
Flower constancy helps pollinators avoid the cost of switching search images or handling skills. But in nature, where flowers grow in clusters, could it also increase travel costs? If you've ever wondered about this, check out our latest paper in @funecology.bsky.social #Ecology

bit.ly/3QtUVzK

(🧵)
The title of the paper published in Functional Ecology, "Realized flower constancy in bumble bees: Optimal foraging strategy balancing cognitive and travel costs and its possible consequences for floral diversity," authored by Kentaro Takagi and Kazuharu Ohashi.
February 22, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
jeffollerton.bsky.social
How urban spaces support #pollinators – a new study just published
#ecology #bees #biodiversity
jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/02/20/h...
How urban spaces support pollinators – a new study just published
Bees play a vital role in pollination, supporting both natural ecosystems and our food supply. However, their numbers are declining globally due to multiple threats—including urbanisation. As citie…
jeffollerton.co.uk
February 20, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
sejarnold.bsky.social
A reminder that we'll start seeing the first Anthophora plumipes of the new spring in the next couple of weeks if we're lucky. Adorable, busy, charismatic little bees visiting all the long-tubed spring flowers they can find.

(What crop flowers have you seen them using? I've seen them on haskap.)
thatonecreature.bsky.social BIRD!! (Comms closed!) @thatonecreature.bsky.social · Feb 4
A female hairy footed flower bee, Anthophora plumipes. One of the few digger bee species we have in the UK and personally one of my favourite bee species.

Male bees are a brownish-orange colour with long hairs on the middle pair of legs.

#entomology #insects #bugs #bees
A close up of the hing leg of a female hairy footed flower bee. She had orange hairs on it. A female hairy footed flower bee. She is mostly black asides from the back legs which have orange hairs on them.
February 4, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
truthout.org
If you've noted the massive failure to mention climate change in mainstream coverage about the LA fires, here is a piece that specifically discusses how climate change has exacerbated wildfires in California in the last decade. The current fires will likely go down as among the most destructive.
15 of the Most Destructive 20 Wildfires in California Have Occurred in the Past Decade
The effects of the climate crisis appear to be making California wildfires more destructive.
truthout.org
January 9, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
darrigomelanie.bsky.social
$1,131,794,901

That's how much Big Oil has spent over the last 30 years paying off Congress to look the other way on climate action while the planet burns.

Well, the planet is burning.
Don't let them look away.
January 9, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
thegreenjeanie.bsky.social
I am missing my buzzy bee pals. This little beauty is a patchwork #leafcutterbee. She’s collecting #pollen from a cosmos flower into the brush (scopa) under her abdomen. #solitarybees. Right now her babies are tucked up inside little leafy cells waiting for spring!
January 2, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
draverbee.bsky.social
Can 🌸visitation records be used to figure out whether a bee is a pollen diet specialist? New open access pub in Oecologia led by Colleen Smith & Katja Seltmann & w/ my Missouri State University #RussellLab undergrad team!

And the answer is... yes! Check it out 😇 ⬇️

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Pollen specialist bee species are accurately predicted from visitation, occurrence and phylogenetic data - Oecologia
An animal’s diet breadth is a central aspect of its life history, yet the factors determining why some species have narrow dietary breadths (specialists) and others have broad dietary breadths (genera...
link.springer.com
December 19, 2024 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by alba.bee
loriweidenhammer.ca
Happy Solstice from Dusty and me! #artadventcalendar #bees
A dusty male bumble bee rests on my thumb.
December 21, 2024 at 6:56 PM
alba-mae.bsky.social
Genus Rhodirphia
Santa Lucia Cloud Reserve, Ecuador
December 21, 2024 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by alba.bee
samillingworth.com
🐝 Limestone Quarries & Wild Bees

A study from @britishecolsoc.bsky.social finds abandoned quarries can be vital habitats for 114 bee species, including 35 endangered ones, when managed well. Connectivity & floral diversity are key.

🔗 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#SciComm 🧪
Landscape diversity, habitat connectivity, age and size determine the conservation value of limestone quarries for diverse wild bee communities
Observed negative effects of high woody vegetation cover on bee communities highlight the importance of local management to reduce shrub encroachment and reset successional processes in limestone qua....
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 4, 2024 at 5:56 PM