iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

So excited to today start a NERC-funded visitation at @nerc-eof.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social! I'll be metabarcoding bumblebee-foraged pollen and nectar, aiming to uncover season-long forage choice in comparison to colony stage, floral diversity, and land-use. Decent place to be for a month!

The internal workings of a buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) colony, with a number of workers and the much larger queen visible, alongside full pollen pots and egg, larval, and pupal cells

Firth Court, a gorgeous Edwardian red-brick building that houses the University of Sheffield's School of Biosciences

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UCL Faculty of Life Sciences @ucllifesciences.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

A fantastic week at the Biodiversity Futures Summer School 🌍 Thank you to all our speakers, organisers and students who explored how science, technology and evidence can help protect biodiversity and planetary health. #BiodiversityFutures #PlanetaryHealth #UCLLifeSciences #UCL200

Group photograph of Biodiversity Futures Summer School participants standing beneath the Olympic Rings sculpture in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The colourful rings are framed against dramatic dark clouds, with trees and grassland surrounding the group.

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Really enjoyed writing this blog post for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust about my resource supplementation work. It was surprisingly tricky but a really useful exercise in making my work more accessible. A huge thanks to the BCT for the opportunity and for sharing my research, check it out below!

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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Happy to share our horizon scan of European wild pollinators is out! We identified 10 priority issues for 10yrs, including, for the 1st time, legislation as an opportunity (NRR). However, political shifts may slow progress, while new pesticide tech presents opportunities. doi.org/10.1038/s415...

doi.org

Horizon scanning for European wild pollinators identifies world-leading legislation as a key opportunity for pollinators - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Horizon scanning for European wild pollinators identifies world-leading legislation as a key opportunity for pollinators

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Can't forget a big thank you to the @britishecologicalsociety.org for facilitating attendance through a travel grant!

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Happy to be home after a wonderful week at #ECCB2026. V exciting presenting the results of our pollinator e+airDNA (pollEnatAIR?) study for the first time, and thanks to all the incredible presenters and workshop hosts. How lovely is Leiden?? @eccb26leiden.bsky.social @scbeurope.bsky.social

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Delighted to have given an invited talk yesterday on farmland bumblebee resource supplementation to the team @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social A fantastic charity and such an important interface for collaboration. The paper is here: bit.ly/41RtXaP and keep an eye out for a blog I'm writing for them too! 🧪

bit.ly

Resource supplementation later in the colony cycle improves real‐world bumblebee colony survival

Our findings suggest that B. terrestris colonies became food-limited towards the end of their colony cycle in early summer. We suggest ecological intensification through planting native wildflower sp...

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Butterfly Conservation Europe @europebutterfly.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Crucial new meta-analysis of pollinator requirements in agricultural landscapes shows that butterflies need a min of 37% of semi-natural habitat, whereas bees need 16-18% and hoverflies 6%. Where this is not possible greatly increasing habitat quality can help. natuurkennis.nl/wp-content/u...

Scarce Swallowtail, Iphiclides podalrius

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Now officially out in the first JAE issue of 2026, read and share if you haven't already! 🧪

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Had an absolutely fantastic time at #BES2025 and a massive well done to all speakers and presenters. Really enjoyed displaying my poster and research, representing two great unis, and meeting so many great people and potential collaborators. Glad my title brought as much joy to others as it did me!!

Me standing by my poster detailing research from my first chapter, titled 'Bees sir, can I have some more? Post-spring resource supplementation increases farmland bumblebee colony survival'

Group photo of postgrads from UCL East at the BES2025 poster session

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

it will be unsustainable for both farmers and the environment. 7/7

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

sustaining resource continuity and pollinator populations. These interventions include planting a greater diversity and abundance of #wildflowers as well as staggering mowing and grazing practices, and while they sound like simple solutions, they must be supported by governmental subsidies or 6/7

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Our results suggest that agricultural B. terrestris colonies face food limitation throughout the season but particularly towards the end of their colony cycle. Interventions that increase floral resources in early summer, particularly in heavily arable areas, may therefore be critical to 5/7

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

cereal-dominated areas failed sooner regardless of feeding treatment, worker production was also reduced in these landscapes, and reproductive output was minimal across all treatments. 4/7

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

colonies by placing 60 colonies on 20 farms and supplementing their food at different times. We quantified local land-use and tracked colony survival, worker number, and reproductive success, finding that May-June supplementation significantly improved colony survival. Colonies in more 3/7

A graph showing 3 survival curves for bumblebee colonies split by feeding treatment (early, late, and control), with experimental time in weeks on the x-axis and proportion of colonies surviving on the y-axis, with vertical red lines at weeks 0, 3, and 6 displaying the boundaries of the feeding treatments. For the first 3 weeks- during the early feeding treatment- survival for all three treatments is roughly similar, but over the next 3 weeks during the later feeding treatment, the late fed colonies perform similarly but the early and control colony survival drops significantly. After the later feeding period ends, the late fed colony survival drops significantly to match the performance of the other treatment.

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Agricultural expansion has diminished much foraging habitat for bees, but the impacts of nutritional stress caused by temporal gaps in food availability can be hard to isolate from other agricultural stressors. We assessed whether food availability constrains #bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) 2/7

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Great, thanks! I'll have a look

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Can anyone recommend any good online ecological #bioinformatics courses? Would appreciate guidance, I don't have buckets of time so the more direct and relevant the better. Thanks in advance! Picture for attention, copyright me

A side-on view of an orange large skipper butterfly (Ochlodes sylvanus) perching on a verdant blade of grass with its wings closed

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UCL News @uclnews.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Wasp scientists are calling for your help in a very simple survey: the next time a wasp visits your picnic, if you mark down whether it goes for protein or sugar, you can help Prof Seirian Sumner @waspwoman.bsky.social and her @uclcber.bsky.social colleagues better understand the wasp life cycle

ucl.ac.uk

Ham or jam? Help scientists by recording wasp food preferences

The next time a wasp visits your picnic, if you make a note of whether it goes for protein or sugar, you can help UCL scientists better understand the wasp life cycle.

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Wow! Hell of a photo, awesome insects

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

It cracked the code for low-emission travel!!

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Whilst doing a pollinator survey, I have fortuitously discovered that taking 0.6x selfies with a marbled white (Melanargia galathea) on one's nose is a great joy of life- can wholeheartedly recommend #butterfly #ecology #biodiversity #nature 🧪

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Fieldworking hard or hardly fieldworking?

Picture taken during fieldwork, with calcareous grassland under a cloudless sky in the background and the book Count Belisarius in the foreground

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Hive mind- never in doubt. The symposium was the perfect celebration of such a strong postgrad research department- well done to everyone, a privilege to be involved! 🐝🧪

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Had a wonderful time yesterday at the Bumblebee Working Group meeting in Cambridge and really enjoyed presenting the debut of my first chapter results! Thanks to all who came and listened, and to @sofiadartnell.bsky.social, Lynn Dicks, and @camzoology.bsky.social for hosting- great job

Title slide of a presentation I gave at the 2025 Bumblebee Working Group in Cambridge: Summer but not spring resource supplementation increases bumblebee colony survival

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

There is hope! Easier said than done though I'm sure...

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Glorious day and location to teach @alexisggk.bsky.social and @cminnaar.bsky.social the art of catching (bumblebee) queens- what a ridiculous and brilliant job this is (Caught with permission from Windsor Great Park)

A captured buff-tailed bumblebee queen in the foreground with researchers diligently capturing more in the background

A sea of flowering heather (Calluna sp) in Windsor Great Park

A bad close up of a buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) queen foraging on heather

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

What a great year it was to run a large scale bumblebee colony survival experiment! Hoping to publish the results very soon, but spoiler- it's not looking pretty

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Great and really interesting evening, massive thanks to all involved!

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ceevol.bsky.social @ceevol.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARWIN!! Celebrating today with CEE Darwin's Birthday Debate at @nhm-london.bsky.social. Looking at 'How would Darwin do fieldwork today? Sharing science benefits equitably in ecology and evolution' #CEEDarwin2025

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

If seabirds ever got into a war, herring gulls would continue to tend their gardens despite the bombs and bullets whilst grumbling about the mild inconvenience of it all

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Sorry Maria, just seen this pop up again and not sure whether I was added or not- would you mind double checking if there's still space? No worries if not, sorry if it's a pain!

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Hi, could I be added if there's still space please? Thanks in advance!

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

@iussi-nwes.bsky.social 2024 conference at QMUL off to a very strong start with a fascinating talk by Guillaume Chomicki on what ant-plant interactions can tell us about evolution #IUSSI #IUSSI24

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Yes please if there's still space and it's not too late, thanks!

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Hannah Scharf @hannah-scharf.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Because there is still a lot of interest and the first pack is full, I made a second part to the behavioral ecology starter pack 🦅🐟🦧🐝🦎 go.bsky.app/2ZkeB2Z

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Please, if there's still space!

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Leo Fordham @leofordham.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Hi, lovely job keeping up with the replies! Second year PhD student looking at pollinator foraging ecology and behaviour, also worked on gulls, otters, and caterpillars. ORCID and Google scholar below: orcid.org/0000-0002-79... scholar.google.co.uk/citations?us...

orcid.org

ORCID

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