The @pomscheme.bsky.social recording season ends for the year in one week (30 Sep)! Check the weather conditions where you are before spending 10 minutes watching flowers & insects. If you have ivy flowers in your garden, they are a fantastic target flower right now! ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts 🐝🧪

The sun is shining in South Oxfordshire, perfect weather for FIT Counts on the Ivy covering our hedgerows! Female Ivy bees busy collecting pollen, not many other insects today. FIT in 😉your last counts before the @pomscheme.bsky.social survey ends on 30 Sept 🐝

Well done to @whitmuir1.bsky.social for completing their fourth PoMS 1km square survey for 2025! It’s looking like a wet week ahead but still time to fit in final surveys before mid-September 🤞🐝

We're on track for our highest ever total of FIT Counts this year 👏🎉 - a huge thank you to everyone taking part 🙏 And there's still a month to go! All counts up to the end of September will add to the data for this year and help us monitor changes in #pollinator numbers.

The latest PoMS e-news went out yesterday, with updates on FIT Counts in 2025; news of a new UK butterfly; research on plants for pollinators; PoMS local projects; & some great forthcoming events. If you missed it you can read it at mailchi.mp/e73193cb8054... & subscribe at ukpoms.org.uk/subscribe

I do love this story - pollinators pathways and more green corridors make a huge difference. So much going on to get #rebuggingtheplanet www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Join us at the UKBMS 50th Anniversary Conference! We can't wait to celebrate this milestone yr 🎂 Join us for a day of butterfly science, celebrations and chatting with other butterfly enthusiasts. Book your free place - www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-butterf... Places are limited, book soon! #UKBMS50

Interesting paper using @ukbms.bsky.social data to examine extreme weather impacts on butterfly populations. Winter heatwaves and periods of high rainfall appear bad for many species. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🌍

Yesterday we were out catching and marking pollinators on three rooftops, two of them more than 10 stories high, to see if they were travelling between them! #PollinatingLT

What moths live on farmland? Despite covering 67% of England, farmland is a biodiversity “dark zone”. Discover how AI & citizen science are revealing its hidden moth life in our FREE webinar: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1496618569... @ukceh.bsky.social @abigaillowe.bsky.social @mjopocock.bsky.social

Do you do moth trapping in the UK? We'd love your help! 💡 At @ukceh.bsky.social we're training & testing AI to detect multiple moths in a single image. Send us top-down photos of multiple moths on egg trays to support this work. More info & form: forms.gle/e3HzBPEd7RVV... #mothsmatter #TeamMoth

Some #Speyside finds for #Wildflowerhour Including a few blooms with wee beasties for the #PollinatorPals challenge. @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social #Moray #VC95

The theme for yesterday's #WildFlowerHour was #PollinatorPals - check the tag for some great examples of pollinators in action, from @wildflowerhour.bsky.social, and if you've enjoyed watching pollinators have a go at counting them with a PoMS FIT Count ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts

Second of 2 examples from our brilliant volunteers, gathering structured data from habitats far and wide - thank you Mariko 🙏 and check out our Annual Reports for more information about how these data are used ukpoms.org.uk/reports

First of 2 examples of the fantastic contribution made by the PoMS volunteers - thank you Andrew 🙏 and I wonder what the total number of steps would be across all our sample squares? It could be the next fitness trend 🚶‍♂️🏃‍♀️

Congratulations to our colleagues and all the volunteers for the National Plant Monitoring Scheme 🎉👏

(Bee) Sex in the city: As part of a recent study led by Muzafar Sirohi, we explored how urban conditions might be influencing the timing of bee emergence and the sex ratios of different species. Read more about it here: jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/08/08/b... #pollinators #bees #biodiversity #ecology

This week’s challenge is #PollinatorPals! Find a flowering wild or naturalised plant with a pollinating visitor & snap away. Of course it’s not just about bees! Butterflies, moths, wasps, flies & beetles can all be #pollinators too! Share your pics for #Wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm!

It's the final weekend to get out for the #BigButterflyCount and help take nature's pulse 🦋 You don't need to be an expert to make a big difference for butterflies and moths. All you need is 15 mins, a spot of sunshine and patience! 👉 bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org 📷: Pallant Medical

NEW: Your PoMS Insights - if you sent in a FIT Count in 2024-25 you may have had an email from us with feedback on how your results compare to the overall totals, and to thank you for your participation - and hopefully encourage you to keep adding new counts! More info: ukpoms.org.uk/news/insights

🐝 Learn how to survey bees, butterflies & more! Join Prof @jeffollerton.bsky.social on 2 Oct for a practical webinar on pollinator monitoring. £12.50 | Online | All levels welcome Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1334343349... #Ecology #Pollinators #Webinar 🌍 🧪

Be on the lookout for Tigers! 🐯 The Jersey Tiger appears to be doing well in this year's #BigButterflyCount, with citizen scientists already having recorded 5,300 of these beautiful insects compared to a total of 3,496 for the whole of last summer’s Count.

NEW! The latest UKCEH Land Cover Map, describing the UK land surface in 2024, is now available 🏞️ 🌳 See what broad habitats—ranging from broadleaved woodland and arable land to freshwater and urban areas— there are and where in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. #LandCover #LCM 🧵🧪 1/

Scientists from the Royal Horticultural Society have reviewed and updated the RHS "Plants for Pollinators" list, and volunteers at RHS gardens are using PoMS FIT Counts to gather further data on insects visiting flowers www.rhs.org.uk/science/arti...

The latest JNCC newsletter features a wide range of research and conservation, and thanks for including PoMS - great to partner with JNCC and be part of #TogetherForNature @ukceh.bsky.social

Lovely lunchtime #FITcount on knapweed outside the office at @ukceh.bsky.social Wallingford. Good to see a brown argus butterfly land in my quadrat too! The wildflower diversity in our meadow has really held well despite the lack of rain. @pomscheme.bsky.social

A few spaces have become available on the 'Bee and butterfly guided walk' at #Mumbles 🦋🐝 Fri 1 August 10.00am – 12.00pm and 1.00pm – 3.00pm Meeting point: outside Forte's, Mumbles Road, Mumbles, #Swansea SA3 4JT What3words ///fields.sobered.sharpens 👉Booking required: www.trybooking.com/uk/EWZL

#WaspOfferings - they work. Top marks @nationaltrust.org.uk Help us BETTER undertsand what #WaspOffering to give: put out a plate of cooked ham along side the jar of jam... which do they prefer? And submit your data here! #HamOrJam #WaspPicnicSurvey tinyurl.com/HamOrJam

The Big Butterfly Count 2025 is here and butterflies need our help 🦋🚨 This isn't just a survey, it's a rescue mission, and we need everyone to get involved. No lab coats. No science degrees. Just 15 minutes of your time. ⏱️ Get out for the count 👉 bigbutterflycount.org

Want to help shape a more sustainable food system? Take our 20-minute survey and share your opinion on pollinator-friendly products. Your voice matters – support the bees and support science! 🔗 agreconlab.limesurvey.net/328536?lang=en #BeesNeedsWeek

For #BeesNeedsWeek2025, we delve into our Counting the Earth archives to learn more about planting for pollinators, and how citizen science is enhancing what we know about these vital insects... 🎧 Listen here: audioboom.com/posts/851752... #ThrowbackThursday #BeesNeeds @pomscheme.bsky.social

A great day at RHS Garden Rosemoor discovering #pollinators with RHS staff and volunteers. The rain held off for two fun #FITcount sessions, Scabious and Fennel buzzing with insects in the Cottage Garden! #BeesNeedsWeek2025

🐝 Want to help pollinators? Here are some easy actions: 🌸 Grow nectar-rich flowers 🌿 Let patches grow wild ✂️ Mow less 🛑 Leave insect nests alone 🚫 Avoid pesticides 📲 Count pollinators for @pomscheme.bsky.social Small changes = big impact. #BeesNeeds #Pollinators www.gov.uk/government/p...

The Meadow Brown was the second most counted butterfly in last year’s #BigButterflyCount with 177,844 sightings 🦋👀 You don't have to be an expert to help butterflies and moths! Get ready to count from this Friday 18 July to Sunday 10 August. 📷: Miles Attenborough

Job Opportunity: Peatland Project Officer. An opportunity to help reverse the decline of some of the UK's rarest butterflies like Large Heath and Dark-bordered Beauty by restoring their habitats. Full time, fixed-term contract for 2 years 7 months). Closing 29 July butterfly-conservation.org/jobs

Lots of #pollinator discussion and a chance for visitors to meet some insects up close at today's @kewgardens.bsky.social event for #BeesNeedsWeek with colleagues from Defra and @uniofreading.bsky.social #BeesNeedsWeek2025

We already know that climate change, habitat loss and pesticides are contributing to the decline of pollinators. But a wave of new threats is adding further pressure! Listen to Professor Simon Potts explain what is posing serious new risks. #BeesNeedsWeek 🔗 rdg.ac/3SLwuic

Looking forward to joining colleagues at @rbgkew.bsky.social tomorrow for #BeesNeedsWeek2025 - find out about #bees & other #pollinators + have a go at a Flower-Insect Timed Count to help monitor what's happening #BeesNeedsWeek. See details on the Kew website at www.kew.org/kew-gardens/...

Solitary Bee Identification Workshop at Grantown-on-Spey in Highland on Thurs 7th Aug 2025. #solitarybees #hymenoptera

Thanks to everyone who came to see us in the @ukceh.bsky.social stand or #Biodiversity Bimble at #Groundswell. Lots of inspiring chat on insect monitoring within regenerative farming systems, plus a #FITCount on white clover in the showground 🐝😍☀️

Busiest ever #FITcount with 42 insects visiting this gorgeous Euphorbia seguieriana in my garden! Lovely to see so many tiny white-faced Hylaeus bees, ruby-tailed wasps and others, wasn’t sure what to do when a social wasp started preying on the small flies I had just counted @pomscheme.bsky.social

Lots of #InsectWeek activities at the @royentsoc.bsky.social garden at Stratford Cross, East London today! Can you spot any of the #PoMS target flowers for a #FITcount?

Last week we held a workshop at Oxford Island Nature Reserve on the shores of Lough Neagh with @daera-ni.gov.uk staff, volunteers, placement students and the All-Ireland #Pollinator Plan team discussing all things PoMS! Species rich meadows provided a great opportunity for #FITCounts too #Insectweek

It’s #insectweek! 🐝 Bees are among our most important & best-loved #pollinators. We have ~280 species in the UK including the honeybee & bumblebees which generally have a queen & workers, but the vast majority are solitary bees where females collect pollen & nectar to provision their own nests 🌸🐝

Are you passionate about #InsectScience and looking to build a career in the field? You're in luck! We've got a list of UK and Ireland institutions offering entomological courses. Explore your options today 🔽 buff.ly/RFnYfHB 📸 Green bottle fly Lucilia sp. (c) Flynn Thaitanunde-Lobb

🌼🐝 Join the Buzz with #FITCounts! Could you spend 10 peaceful minutes watching flowers and counting the insects that visit? Join @biologicalrecording.co.uk 2nd July 6.30pm – 9pm to learn how to plan and undertake FIT counts to monitor pollinators: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/flower-ins...

A stunning celebration of Scottish hoverflies from @scottshanks.bsky.social 😊👏#InsectWeek @royentsoc.bsky.social

PoMS is funded by @ukceh.bsky.social & @jncc.bsky.social Our partners are @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social Buglife @nhm-london.bsky.social @uniofreading.bsky.social @universityofleeds.bsky.social @daera-ni.gov.uk The RHS 7/ #InsectWeek #pollinators

Over 8 years of monitoring, Ivy and Hogweed are ahead in FIT Count data for highest average number of insect visits per count 🥇 Other popular plants: 🐝 Enjoyed by bees (all kinds) Bramble Knapweeds Buddleja Lavender 🪰 Great for hoverflies and other flies Ragwort Thistles 5/ #InsectWeek

We’re thrilled to welcome The RHS as a PoMS partner. FIT Counts in RHS gardens are being used to improve the evidence behind Plants for Pollinators lists 🐝🦋🪲🌼 Read more in the report in an article by Helen Bostock from The RHS: ukpoms.org.uk/reports 4/ #InsectWeek #pollinators