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alba.bee

@alba-mae.bsky.social
148 followers 79 following 10 posts

Conservation Biology MRes student | fond of plants and pollinators | solitary bee enthusiast | bumblebee lover | AuDHD | 🐝

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The Daily Tism @thedailytism.com · 08/10/2026
Organisers of a neurodiversity convention have been praised for offering a space for neurotypicals to retreat to when it all gets a bit too much, sources have reported.
thedailytism.com
Accommodating! Neurodivergent event offers neurotypical safe space
Organisers of a neurodiversity convention have been praised for offering a space for neurotypicals to retreat to when it all gets a bit too much, sources have reported.  The annual event hosts a…
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Butterfly @butterfly-project.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
🧵4/4 What seems like a quiet meadow may actually host a subtle dialogue of vibrations, signals and behavioural responses between plants and insects. 🔬 Research: acoustics.org/can-plants-h... 🔬 Project: goodvibes.tomsbiolab.com 🧪 Overview: www.popsci.com/environment/...
acoustics.org
Can Plants Hear Their Pollinators? #ASA188
Research suggests pollinator buzzing sounds lead plants to increase their nectar production.
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Butterfly @butterfly-project.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
🧵2/4 In controlled experiments, scientists played recordings of the buzzing of Rhodanthidium sticticum, a small solitary bee, near flowering plants. The result? The buzzing appeared to trigger an increase in both the sugar concentration and volume of nectar produced by the flowers.
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Jeremy Bartlett @jeremybartlett.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Lots of 7-Spot Ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) in the woods at Sheringham Park yesterday. #Ladybirds #UKWildlife
7-Spot Ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata). One out in the open, the others inside a fallen Beech mast (with a Common Earwig).7-Spot Ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) on Rhododendron buds.7-Spot Ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) on a wooden post on a chickenwire enclosure.
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iBartomeus @ibartomeus.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
IUCN updated Red List of Bees finally published: op.europa.eu/en/publicati...
op.europa.eu
European red list of bees - Publications Office of the EU
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JPE - Journal of Pollination Ecology @jpollecol.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Devlin et al. developed a novel method for detecting bees in time lapse images, called BeeSAM2. Figure it out in this new methodology paper: Detecting Bees in Cherry Flowers Using Timelapse Images and Foundational Models - doi.org/10.26786/192...
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The Bee Guy @thebeeguy.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
It’s #Friday folks! Have the best #weekend you can. You know the drill: Be #kind Be #gentle Be #true Be like #bees And be saddened and concerned by the language of media as they normalise the waging of unconscionable wars and the impersonalisation of mass murder and death.
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Ariadne Griffin @ariadnereviews.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
huge couple of weeks for hilarious photos of mortified men.
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Kaz Ohashi @kazohashilab.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Some flowers aren’t the flashiest, but they can still get a crowd. Our study shows less colourful flowers can attract as many pollinators as bright ones by getting early visitors—a floral “bandwagon effect” like a popular restaurant drawing the next wave of customers. bit.ly/4aq7WVL #Ecology #Bees
bit.ly
Bandwagon effects in a floral market: Early pollinator acquisition offsets colour disadvantages in less attractive flowers
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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Carlos M Herrera @cmhmaliani.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
I love these striking asymmetries in plant-animal interactions. Here you have one of the most widespread European plants (Erodium cicutarium) visited by Andrena (Avandrena) baldocki, a bee species known only from the southernmost Iberian Peninsula and whose females gather exclusively Erodium pollen
Pink flower of common stork's-bill with a tiny male bee, dark in color with many long whitish hairs
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British Beekeepers Association @bbka.org.uk · 27/01/2026
The findings found that managed stingless bees can “markedly enhance coffee production” www.gcrmag.com/brazilian-be...
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Butterfly Conservation Europe @europebutterfly.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
The latest European Grassland Butterfly Indicator is out. It shows that grassland butterflies have declined by 47% since 1991, indicating a huge loss of grassland biodiversity. The data come from 16,150 transects & 15,000 volunteers. We are calling for urgent action. www.bc-europe.eu/documents/69...
Phengaris teleius (Scarce Large Blue) in a French meadow. One of the 17 species in the European Grassland Butterfly Index. Photo: Martin Warren)
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Susan Howe @dancingsue.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
#fungifriends #mushrooms #mycology #nature #fungi #biology #photography Marasmius hudsonii (Holly parachutes) with raindrops yesterday, Herefordshire UK. The reflections are of the trellis behind!
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Carlos M Herrera @cmhmaliani.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
A nice thing about the dark spots of C. ladanifer is that in sunny windless days they are a little warmer than the white petal area. I bet it's not by chance that the spots are the preferred standing places for ectothermic pollinators such as these flies (Stomorhina lunata and Eristalinus taeniops).
White flower with dark spots. Two flies feeding on the pollen while they stand on one dark spot each
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Bumblebee Conservation Trust @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
🚨 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: ow.ly/ZmoV50XrMHJ National Emergency Briefing #NEB2025 #ClimateBriefing #IsYourMPAttending
ow.ly
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.
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Gray @grays.art · 13/11/2024
Bicolored striped sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens) / pulling hyssop flower #agapostemon #beePhoto #bees #SweatBee #BeesAndFlowers #beePhotography
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Avery Russell @draverbee.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
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.
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New Phytologist @newphyt.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
#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.
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KetrinaDrawsALot @ketrinadrawsalot.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
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)
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Dave Goulson @davegoulson.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Our new research reveals one of the more surprising ways that climate change can impact on bumblebees: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
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…
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RSPB @rspb.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
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.
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Dave Goulson @davegoulson.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Nice coverage of the pet flea treatments in bird's nests issue by @channel4news.bsky.social www.channel4.com/news/scienti...
channel4.com
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.
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Kaz Ohashi @kazohashilab.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
#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.
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Vanna Bartlett @vannabartlett.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
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.
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alba.bee @alba-mae.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Andrena flavipes #solitarybees #pollinators
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Vanna Bartlett @vannabartlett.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
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.
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Jeremy Bartlett @jeremybartlett.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
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.
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Kaz Ohashi @kazohashilab.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
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.
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Prof. Jeff Ollerton @jeffollerton.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
How urban spaces support #pollinators – a new study just published #ecology #bees #biodiversity jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/02/20/h...
jeffollerton.co.uk
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…
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Sarah Arnold @sejarnold.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
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.)
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Truthout @truthout.org · 09/01/2025
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.
truthout.org
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.
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Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
$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.
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🐝Jean Vernon🐝 @thegreenjeanie.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
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!
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Avery Russell @draverbee.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
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...
link.springer.com
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...
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beespeaker @loriweidenhammer.ca · 21/12/2024
Happy Solstice from Dusty and me! #artadventcalendar #bees
A dusty male bumble bee rests on my thumb.
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alba.bee @alba-mae.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Genus Rhodirphia Santa Lucia Cloud Reserve, Ecuador
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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 04/12/2024
🐝 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 🧪
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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....
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Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
"Bumblebee population increases 116 times over in 'remarkable' Scotland rewilding project." Read that again: **116** times. Why are we STILL having to argue the case for rewilding?? www.scotsman.com/hays-way/bum...
scotsman.com
Bumblebee population increases 116 times over in 'remarkable' Scotland project
‘The sound of traffic and a uniform sea of barley have been replaced by the most beautiful meadows, full of wildflowers, young saplings and the buzz of bees’
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alba.bee @alba-mae.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Anthophora quadrimaculata
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Dave Goulson @davegoulson.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Buzz Club Christmas Appeal youtu.be/lrDp8OiH2CA?... The Buzz Club needs your help. Without it we will fold in March 2025. Watch this video for information about what the Buzz Club does and how you can help us. Pls share & help today: alumni.sussex.ac.uk/Buzz_Club_Gi... Thank you!
youtu.be
Buzz Club Christmas Appeal
YouTube video by Dave Goulson
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Harriet Lambert @hcslambert.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
🌟 Throwback to my 2020 research published in @science.org 🌼🐝 We showed how bumble bees actively shape their environment—making plants flower earlier to meet their needs. Nature’s engineers in action! 🧪🌏 Sharing this for anyone who missed it—let’s dive in! [1/17] 👇
Graphical abstract of science paper 'bumble bee damage plant leaves and accelerate flower production' with a list of the authors on a grey background. On the left is a watercolour illustration of a bumble bee damaging a plant leaf with the description 'when hungry for pollen, bumble bees use their mouthparts and mandibles to damage plant leaves'. this illustration is connected by a orange arrow to a watercolour drawing of a flowering yellow black mustard plant with a bumble bee. This has the description: 2) the damage inflicted by bees causes plants to flower earlier than paired control plants.
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Markus Wagner @wagnermarkus.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
This new study suggests that high-quality old grassland may be particularly good at supporting pollinators because diverse food sources provided by such grassland provide additional health benefits. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... | Pornon et al. @funecology.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Species‐rich old grasslands have beneficial effects on the health and gut microbiome of bumblebees
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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Gray @grays.art · 23/11/2024
Female eastern bumblebee extending her long tongue / Mexican sunflower (Bombus impatiens / tithonia) Taken September 2024 in back of my home. #bumblebee #bees #nativeBees #macro #photography #macroPhotography #gardens #pollinators #insects #bugs #flowers 🐝
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The Daily Tism @thedailytism.com · 25/11/2024
“I’m pretty sure my manager will appreciate the effort, despite it being at the expense of all my other tasks. Including 51 other unanswered emails.” thedailytism.com/productive-a...
thedailytism.com
Productive! Autistic woman spends entire work day perfecting email sign-off
An autistic woman has spent the best part of six-and-a-half hours drafting a work email - and is reportedly still at it, sources have claimed. Beth Hapworth, 29, from Barnsley, has concluded the way t...
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Javier Martín @txaverius.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Una hembra de Heriades rechaza a un macho levantando las patas traseras (quizá también retorciendo el "abdomen"). ¿Esta forma de rechazo es tan común como parece o solo es propia de algunos géneros, @curromolina.bsky.social?
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alba.bee @alba-mae.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
*screams into the void*
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Javier Martín @txaverius.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Se acabó la temporada de abejas silvestres para mí, pero ahora tengo una masa de más de 30.000 fotos de 2024, en su mayoría de polinizadores, que tengo que filtrar y organizar. Solo al Botánico han sido más de 60 visitas y falta mucho, pero mucho, para que me aburra de ir.
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Gray @grays.art · 14/11/2024
Ligated furrow bee (Halictus ligatus) 3/3 Thursday, November 14th, 2024 #halictus #bees #beePhoto #insectPhotography #macro #macroPhotography
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Wildlife Tours East Devon and Mid Somerset 🦡🦊🦦🦎🐍🐛🦟🦋🕷️🐦🇪🇺 @wildlifetoursed.bsky.social · 30/10/2024
1 /2 When people think of bees, most will think of honeybees, which are not even native to the UK. But we have about 277 different bee species in the UK! One of my favourite ones is the Green-eyed Flower Bee , Anthophora bimaculata.
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MPBirds @mpbirds.bsky.social · 21/04/2024
Al final las Rhodanthidium sticticum, que me quejaba de que no se estaban quietas para la foto, llevan la temporada de mayor presencia desde que tengo plantas. Y ya han llegado los Anthidium manicatum y están volando por las mismas plantas. Curiosamente no les he visto pegarse entre ellos.
Anthidium manicatum macho en mi campo, 21 de abril de 2024.Rodhanthidium sticticum macho en mi campo, 21 de abril de 2024.
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