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Linda Birkin

@ljbees.bsky.social
396 followers 440 following 340 posts

Freelance entomologist with many proverbial hats - especially ento outreach, citizen science & urban ecology, and wildlife gardening in small spaces. (She/her) linktr.ee/LJBees

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Reposted by Linda Birkin
Prof. Jeff Ollerton @jeffollerton.bsky.social · 7h
Want to conserve #birds, #mammals and other vertebrates? Then don’t forget their #insects. Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity paper explores the many ways vertebrates depend on insects — for food, shelter, protection and much more. I’ve written about it here: jeffollerton.co.uk/2026/09/30/w...
jeffollerton.co.uk
Want to conserve birds and mammals? Then conserve their insects – our new paper in Nature Reviews Biodiversity sets out the details
It’s sometimes easy to forget quite how much of the living world depends upon insects. That might seem an odd thing for someone who has spent much of his career studying insects and their relations…
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Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 25/09/2026
We're publishing new guidance to support trans people who do fieldwork (any work outside the office)! Now we need your help to get them seen so please share! inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk/trans/
a cartoon of three fieldworkers. One has a small trans flag. The logos of the university of leeds, research england, and canopy robin are shown, as well as the URL: InclusiveFieldwork (dot) Leeds (dot) AC (dot) UK (slash) trans
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Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 17h
Meet Backpack, your 2026 Fat Bear Week champion. Backpack is 20 years old, weighs about 1,000 pounds and got his nickname because, as a cub, he loved riding on his mom's back across the Brooks River.
akpub.io
Meet Backpack, Fat Bear Week’s chunky champ
Backpack went from hitching a ride on his mom’s back to cross the Brooks River to winning the hearts of fat bear fans around the world.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 9h
"Get instant AI summary whenever you open a document!1!" 1) No. 2) Bugger off. 3) This is a single page poster for a pumpkin day event; how much summarising could be done? Go to place, admire pumpkins. Hiss.
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Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD @prasad.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
5 potatoes cubed is still 5 potatoes because potatoes are root vegetables
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 23h
Editing a wildlife gardening document, and I left it at an interesting place...
Screenshot of a canva page, with the heading "Embrace death" followed by "what you can do this month"
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Found a lost pooter in the park, including a carabid. Anyone know who might have been sampling in #Wollaton Park recently? #nottingham
Clear plastic pot with a white top, with two holes for tubes. Inside is some dirt and a dead black ground beetle.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I think I have been forgiven for waltzing off to Cardiff.
A black and white cat, lying sleepily on a purple dressing gown leg.
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Jim Zub @jimzub.com · 08/09/2026
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period. The only AI I 'use' is shit foisted on me - summaries and slop vomited on my screen as part of internet browsing or injected into programs I work with until I turn those settings off or rip those parts out by the roots.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Entofashion day at #Ento26 😁 I think my vibe was 'entomology hobbit'.
A white women wearing a green skirt and pale waistcoat. The waistcost is covered in lots of metal pin bages of insects.
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Jordan Collver @jordancollver.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
If you're in the UK and don't like Palantir having its dystopian little tendrils in the whole of NHS data, I just learned you can at least opt-out of sharing your data here: www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-dat...
nhs.uk
Make your choice about sharing data from your health records
Choose if you want to share data from your health records for planning and research.
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Rob Carlyle @robcarlyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Grab a listen!! Sustainable & Nature Friendly Gardening - Episode 3 - Wilder Nottinghamshire Podcast on Podbean, check it out! www.podbean.com/ei/pb-2e6jv-... @gardenorganicuk.bsky.social @ljbees.bsky.social @nottsbag.bsky.social
podbean.com
Sustainable & Nature Friendly Gardening - Episode 3 - Wilder Nottinghamshire Podcast
Gardens cover at least four times the area of designated nature reserves in the UK and together offer huge potential to support nature recovery - as well as being great spaces for us to connect with n...
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Also learned that 'waspkeeping' is indeed a thing (for the larvae as food); which is very cool. www.ucl.ac.uk/research-inn...
ucl.ac.uk
The Role of Social Insects in Food Security
This interdisciplinary project explores the role of social insects, including bees, ants, wasps and termites, as sustainable food sources and cultural resources for Indigenous communities.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Talk about 'negative ecology' (roughly: why are things *not* in places where they seem like they'd be fine in). V.interesting. Tho the intro describing a valley where carrion crows don't seem to go sounds like the start of a cautionary fairytale...
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Wandering around Cardiff cos I vastly overestimated how long it would take me to get anywhere. Now approx. 1hr too early for pre-conference drinks; although have met one entirely unrelated-to-the-conference person who studied haemocyanin for their Masters. #Ento26
A large outdoor clock in a glass case so you can see the workings. There are brass monkeys climbing over it.An upside-down house woth a while roof, green walls and red door. Art installation?The back view of a copper statue of a victorian man with his hand outstretched . The photo is focusing on the large seagull standing on his head.A candlelit pint glass on a wooden table.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Heading over to Cardiff for #Ento26! Bag: over packed. Insect jewelery: excessive ADHD meds: bracing for impact. Let's goooo :D 🦋🐛🪲🐞🐝🐜
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
St Pancras currently contains some sort of Bee Obelisk. It has piped in bee sounds and Winnie the Pooh theming. It's advertising a fancy honey, which I don't really care about; but I do like to enter a Bee Obelisk 🐝 (Beebelisk.)
A 2 story high, teal coloured archway with bee decorations, sitting in the open space in a railway station concourse. Inside honeycomb patterns are visible.
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Reposted by Linda Birkin
Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A tetanus-diphtheria vaccine that doesn’t need a fridge has passed its first human trial. UK scientists reformulated a licensed shot using trehalose, the sugar that lets desert plants survive without water, keeping it stable for up to two years at 30°C. Gavi buff.ly/1kNIUHB #ShareGoodNewsToo
gavi.org
Fridge-free vaccine passes first human trial, raising hopes for the hardest-to-reach
Unreliable electricity makes it hard to keep vaccines at the right temperature – this development could change that.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The eternal question: Distant thunder roll - or nearby bin management?
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Finally got my trains and hotel booked for #Ento26 🪲🐜🦋
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
I've been asked a few times this summer why the wasps all seem to be on the small side (I assumed lack of prey, plus heat stress meaning producing workers ASAP to minimum size thresholds). Great article from @waspwoman.bsky.social going into detail on this: theconversation.com/where-have-a...
theconversation.com
Where have all the wasps gone this summer?
And why you should let them share your picnic ham and jam.
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British Dragonfly Society @britishdragonflies.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
A quick reminder that it's easy to submit records of your #dragonfly & #damselfly sightings online. We recommend irecord which has a special form for easy entry of multiple odonata sightings at the same spot. Your local dragonfly recorder will see it & if you include a photo they can help with ID.
irecord.org.uk
Home | iRecord
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Royal Entomological Society @royentsoc.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Time for a 15-minute butterfly break⏱️🌿 Butterfly Conservation’s annual #BigButterflyCount is well underway, and you can play your part in ensuring there is a future for butterflies and moths. Download the free Big Butterfly Count app & ID chart and get out for the count today!
bigbutterflycount.org
Big Butterfly Count
Research shows that counting butterflies can reduce anxiety by almost 10%, while also enhancing mental wellbeing. A win-win for us and for nature!
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Jim Higham @jimhigham.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Still time to do a 15 minute Big Butterfly Count. You can do as many as you like until 9 August. Details bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org @savebutterflies.bsky.social @kentwildlife.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @rspbengland.bsky.social
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Royal Entomological Society @royentsoc.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Looking for insect-themed activities this #InsectWeek? 🪰 Explore our free learning resources packed with ideas for families, schools and nature lovers 🔽
buff.ly
Free Insect Week Education Resources
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Anna Holmes @annabookwriter.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Okay, UKsters, the media is useless re: extreme heat, so let’s do this. I’m from Southern California, spent the last ten years living outside Seattle, which has a similar climate to Scotland, where I am now. Here’s what I know. 1. Heat exhaustion and sickness are no fucking joke. Do not tempt them.
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 23/06/2026
Begging news outlets to stop illustrating deadly heat waves with happy beach fun 🏖️😎 and life-saving vaccines with terrifying needle assaults 💉😭. Especially on social media (where many/most people get their news) the photo is the most prominent part of the story; these choices undermine it completely
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Disappointed that I've had to reschedule a session this week (since I really haven't sorted out enough things for National Insect Week, bah), but 35+ degree predicted temps (+SSRIs and their fun 'even worse at Hot' side effect) means I am genuinely conderned I will melt.
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UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme @pomscheme.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
It’s #InsectWeek! Join the @royentsoc.bsky.social at one of their fantastic 5 City Hubs for 2026, featuring hands-on science and insect discovery. Watch this space for more from @pomscheme.bsky.social later in the week!
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Paul Mitchener @thetweedmeister.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Signed - just *maybe* if enough people sign, something might be done about this transphobic piece of nonsense. Petition: Disapprove the draft Equality Act 2010 guidance laid on 21 May 2026 petition.parliament.uk/petitions/77...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Disapprove the draft Equality Act 2010 guidance laid on 21 May 2026
I want the House of Commons to disapprove the Equality Act 2010: Draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, 2026 laid on 21 May 2026.
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Royal Entomological Society @royentsoc.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Discover the insects on your doorstep 🦋 From wildlife walks to museum activities and family workshops, there are insect events taking place across the country. Looking for something to do this #InsectWeek? Find an event near you 🔽
buff.ly
🦋 Discover the fascinating insects living right on your doorstep
Celebrate the species that sustain life on Earth this Insect Week
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Chise @sailorrooscout.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Vaccines save lives. This is the FIRST time that ZERO cervical-cancer deaths have been recorded for this age group, and it’s thanks to the introduction of a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV). Yes, you read that correctly. ZERO.
ctvnews.ca
Cervical cancer deaths for vaccinated young women fall to zero in England: study
The HPV vaccine for cervical cancer has reduced the risk of dying from the disease before the age of 30 in England to almost zero, the first study of its kind showed Thursday.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Woo, first of the Scarlet Tigers spotted for this year! The caterpillars have been feasting on all the green alkanet, and adults starting to appear 🥰
A moth with black wings, spotted with yellow and white, with black-striped red underwing. Sitting on a green shirt with octopus patterns. An inset picture is of the caterpillar, yellow and black horozontal stripes.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 02/06/2026
Using generative AI for imagery is **directly harmful** to artists, graphic designers, photographers etc. This isn't a vague moral argument: this is just normal, standard theft, except at a completely new scale and social acceptability. We need to reverse that. www.instagram.com/reel/DY2L2-g...
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Lorna @florilegia.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
One for Bluepals here in the UK: have your say on which animals should be on our banknotes. On the topic of finding joy in small things, imagine booting Churchill off the money and replacing him with a puffin ♥️ www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/he...
bankofengland.co.uk
Help us celebrate the UK’s wildlife
Tell us which animals you would like to see on our next series of banknotes by 3 July 2026
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Jason Wise @jasonjourneyman.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Happy Pride Month besties! 🌈💚 💖 4 upcoming Queer Ecology Walks, link in thread. 🤩 including a collab hike with @nataliareagan.bsky.social! My Pride hike THIS Friday 6/5 is almost sold out, so jump on it friends! 👯 #pridemonth #queerecology #lgbtq #gaypride #natureisqueer
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Nottingham! I'm doing a Meanderer's bug hunt walk on the eve of #NationalInsectWeek; followed by a shared meal (and chat about how invertebrates helped produce the ingredients), and a bug badges art session with Ameila Daiz to round off with some #EntoFashion. www.meanderers.org/event-detail...
Advert for the 'Bugs and Badges' walk. The image is of a museum drawer with bugs, food, beads and a picture of Linda in it. Text reads:
Walk and Insect ID with community entomologist Dr Linda Birkin. Eat 'Pollinator's Pasta' and learn more about insect collaborative foods. Make your own bug badge or beaded broach with artist Amelia Diaz'.
21.06.26, 11am - 3.30pm. The Carousel, NG1 1FH. £30+.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Yes rain, GET IN (my water butts)
View inside a green plastic water butt, now actually with water.
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British Dragonfly Society @britishdragonflies.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
🌿 Show us your pond 🌿 PondWatch is back! Whether you’ve just created a pond, are building one, or have wildlife sightings from an established pond, we’d love to hear from you. Share your photos & stories with us! british-dragonflies.org.uk/get-involved... #PondWatch #Dragonflies #WildlifeGarden
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
NOT trying to get a tan is very similar.
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Sarah Dempster @dempster2000.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
NORMALISE PARASOLS
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🌈 Dr Ross Brooks @rossbrooks.co.uk · 27/05/2024
I mustn't let May go by without a nod to my 2009 article on the discovery, during the 19th century, of same-sex copulation among Maybugs (also known as Maybeetles, cockchafers, doodlebugs). Do look out for them at it in your garden! 🌈🌳 #histsci #histbio 🗃️ www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3...
Drawing of two copulating male cockchafers. It's the first known pictorial representation of non-human same-sex copulation. Published in Henri Gadeau de Kerville, 'Perversion sexuelle chez des Coléoptères mâles,' Bulletin de la sociéte entomologique de France 4 (1896), 85-87.
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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 22/05/2026
Okay and just to piggyback on this, as a person with both chronic and occasionally acute disabilities, one of which got me a radar key from the NHS- you can just buy them online for a tenner. You should not need to be doing this, I hate that you are put in this position, but if you need one, lmk.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
I hate pricing things. Imposter syndrome full on battling with so many other bits of psyche; numbers become unreal and overblown so fast :(
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The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) @themerl.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Would you like some whimsy? We're sharing introductions to each of the rats in our Rat Trail by artist/maker Fong Scott. Watch now on our YouTube playlist! www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
The Evacuee from the Rat Trail.
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Maybe we should all get shirts that say “Scientists DO want you to know! AMA” 😂
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
A distinctive bum! #earwigs
Two brown prongs of an earwig's cerci (the appendages on the back sometimes called pinchers) peeping out of a cluster of bright green leaves. The cerci are straight, indicating this is a female.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Pay-as-you-feel Q&A webinar next tuesday - focusing on how to provide food / resources for garden birds without supplementary feeding. I'll be talking about bugs ofc; also POV of someone who'd only forget to clean feeders, so gardens for 'em instead! learn.wildlifegardenproject.com/talks/feedth...
learn.wildlifegardenproject.com
Learn How to Help Your Garden Birds | Wildlife Garden Project
Join our live Q&A to learn how to feed and support garden birds safely and naturally. Get expert tips on plants, seeds, and creating bird-friendly gardens.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
I'll be out on Saturday 25th April too, either near the Central Library or the Wild About #Sneinton event (based near the King Billy pub); chatting all things #CityNatureChallenge and about @inaturalist.bsky.social in general (and seeing what bugs are out & about too). Look for a garish bug shirt!
Picture of me, a white lady with short blonde hair, wearing a bright orange tshirt covered in colourful bug pictures and an explorer-style hat.
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Linda Birkin @ljbees.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
I'm doing a few free events for #Nottingham City Nature Challenge this weekend too! Bioblitz at the Nottingham Victoria Embankment Memorial Garden, where we shall enjoy sunshine and find ALL THE THINGS. 24th April 2026. 13.30 - 15.00. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/city-natur... #CityNatureChallenge
Advert for the bioblitz event, with nice wildlife images. 
Text: City Nature Challenge. 24th April. 13.30-15.00. Victoria Embankment Memorial Garden. Find and identify as many species as possible in 1h hour! Join us!  Free event.
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