It was buzzing at the #BeesNeedsWeek Science Festival at RHS Wisley. Visitors discovered how easy it is to support pollinator science by spending 10 minutes counting pollinating insects on flowers 🐝🌼 Take time in nature with your own FIT Count for @pomscheme.bsky.social ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts

Our lab website is updated with a new postdoc opening! This is a 2-year, in-person position looking at the relationships between climate change, pandemic risk, and policy choices over the 21st century. Please reach out (not on here)! www.carlsonlab.bio/join

Masters by Research at @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful Cornwall ecologyconservation.exeter.ac.uk/masteer-coho... these are *funded* - covering home tuition fees, a research/training support grant and a prog of cohort activities. Lots of projects available (including one w/ me!) - pls share!

Study: “rewilding” with large mammals increases insect diversity, especially that of Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers) and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps).

There's a persistent fantasy that maybe some other nice countries will start mass-hiring US scientists. That's not going to happen. A few high-profile, big name researchers will get poached, sure. But most countries, including some very nice ones, are underemploying their own scientists already.

🦟 Unlocking the black box of virus transmission @merklinglab.bsky.social leads the new Insect Infection and Immunity G5. Her team uses advanced imaging & AI to reveal how viruses spread inside mosquitoes — key to stopping disease transmission. 🔗 www.pasteur.fr/en/research-... #VectorBiology

In full sincerity, we shouldn't be give a hoot about the number of pubs as long as it is nonzero and there is a substantial contribution to science. We have been designing experiments based around maximixing the number of MPUs and this makes our science worse. (MPU = minimum publishable unit)

The University of Liverpool recently hosted the largest UK Vector-Borne Diseases conference to date, bringing together more than 200 researchers, policymakers and public health leaders for the most comprehensive national meeting yet focused on vector-borne threats. 🔗 bit.ly/4d6ZMTv #TeamLivUni

Two PhD positions in ancient pathogen genomics are available through the ERC project EpidemioCene. Interested applicants can apply by May 7th. Details: https://www.eva.mpg.de/press/news/article/reconstructing-the-long-term-dynamics-of-human-infectious-diseases/. #phd

Excellent news for the @openuniversity.bsky.social

📢 Work with us! Want to join the team at the Royal Entomological Society? We have two fantastic positions available:  🦋 Conservation Project Officer - Closing date: 21 April  🪲 Consultancy Development Lead - Closing date: 27 April  Apply now 🔽

Ministers unveil latest regions to receive innovation funding Open University-led Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor project among seven areas gaining up to £20 million. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Even @theguardian.com knows that it's #YearOfTheMoth! Forget birdwatching, I’m into moth-watching: they’re fascinating and misunderstood insects | Helen Pilcher | The Guardian www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

read some actual good news for a change - this could quietly prevent a bunch of cascading agricultural issues

Introducing the #MRes in Infectious & Tropical Diseases LSHTM’s exciting new #postgraduate degree putting you at the heart of our world-leading research: → Learn from the experts → Build your network → Study in a unique environment Applications now open 👉 www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/course...

New outreach project as part of a NERC @ukri.org grant on the ecological and evolutionary drivers of viromes in #moths at @uniexecec.bsky.social ecec.bsky.social w @savebutterflies.bsky.social More on the science ➡️ benlongdon.com/uk-moth-viro... Artists ➡️ thentrythis.org/notes/2026/0... (or ⬇️)

Natural History Museum overtakes British Museum as UK's top tourist attraction. 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fascinated by insects? Discover exciting opportunities in #entomology 🦋 Visit our site for the latest job openings and secure your dream role today 🔽 buff.ly/LoEA44H If you have an #insect-related job #opportunity, please send us the details [email protected]

🕰️ The countdown begins! #Ento26 gathers researchers, students & insect enthusiasts for a major moment in the entomology calendar. Whether you’re presenting, networking or learning, this is the conference to join. 📅 8-10 Sept, @cardiffunilib.bsky.social ✨ #WhatsOn at #Ento26 🔽

Funding U-turn will cost UK trust and leadership, partners say. Senior European physicists say country’s status as “reliable partner” damaged by withdrawal of pledged investment. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

New modelling suggests chikungunya transmission in Europe may be possible at lower temperatures than previously thought—expanding the seasonal and geographic risk as the Asian tiger mosquito spreads north with warming climate. : royalsocietypublishing.org/rsif/article...

Our new paper is now out on "Temperature-sensitive incubation, transmissibility and risk of Aedes albopictus-borne chikungunya virus in Europe". Chikungunya has a lower thermal threshold for transmission than previously thought, carrying a higher risk of outbreaks across Europe. lnkd.in/g79PzgqJ

Could life have begun with simpler molecules than we once thought? A new paper in @science.org by @edogia.bsky.social shows that a tiny RNA catalyst can self-replicate itself, suggesting that life may have been easier to emerge than expected. Getting closer. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Extremely impressive results from large-scale in Singapore - release of Wolbachia-infected male Aedes reduces Dengue risk by 72% Dengue Suppression by Male Wolbachia-Infected Mosquitoes | New England Journal of Medicine share.google/Xrtk9L6emyhx...

Thank you to Chris Smith & the The Naked Scientists team for inviting me & other colleagues to take part in this podcast discussing #mosquitoes, their biology and behaviour, role in disease transmission & innovative strategies for #vector control www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/nak...

We need to talk about drought. Yes, that's right, drought! Our weather is experiencing extremes – from flooding to drought – so on the next episode of Counting the Earth, we'll be delving deeper into this whiplash weather. 🎧 Subscribe now and never miss an episode: www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...

New PhD Opportunity. We are advertising for a modeller to model the impacts of mosquito-borne disease in the Americas. The project is funded by The Leverhulme Trust via University of Glasgow, and supervised by Christina Cobbold, Dom Brass and myself. Deadline 6th March 2026. t.ly/Z-tqt

Really looking forward to this - a great opportunity to present new findings from our @mosquitoscotland.bsky.social and hear about the latest developments in vector-borne disease research in the UK. Please share 🦟

📢 Vacancy Extended: Editor-in-Chief, deadline: 31 January We're seeking an Editor-in-Chief - If you have editorial experience, a strong publication record, and a passion for advancing #InsectScience, we’d love to hear from you. 🔗 Find out more & apply:

🚀 New Launch: #VBD Hub Forum on Vector-Borne Diseases - a new space for researchers, public health professionals, clinicians, policymakers, and practitioners to connect and collaborate on #vector-borne diseases in the UK. 🦟🪰🕷️ 👉 Join the conversation and introduce yourself: forum.vbdhub.org

🦟 New project | Mosquitoes, their viruses and associated disease risk in NI MosquitoNI will be co-led by a multi-institutional team including @UofGlasgow's CVR (@emipondeville), @QUBelfast & @UK_CEH. www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

I have a postdoc position in metagenomic exploration available in my group. Candidates with documented experience in phylo & metagenomics and preferably with petabase-scale data mining and GLM workflows are encouraged to apply. Come join us! 🧬🦠💻 Please repost Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...

Scarce research funding is becoming more economically costly than the actual investment, especially when it’s a drop in the bucket for profoundly stupid fad topics like “GenAI to solve Africa’s problems.” This piece is SO important: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Wildlife disease data, especially negative data, are one of the last types of data that ecologists just... don't share. We built a place for them to archive it - and now, journals are encouraging people to use it! Big congrats to @danjbecker.bsky.social on this push ❤️

The long-held belief that only female mosquitoes bite may not be true after all. Very excited to have had the opportunity to contribute to this study showing that male mosquitoes can also bite and feed on blood. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

To reform universities, first tackle global rankings www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🧐 Looking for a #PhD? University of Glasgow @glasgow.ac.uk @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk is offering two fully funded PhD positions within the new VectorGrid-Africa network!🦟 More details: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl... 📆Application deadline: 12 January 2026.

Excellent - many thanks for sharing @stoviesplz.bsky.social Definietely a mosquito. It is not uncommon to find a few inside houses at this time of year, when they move in to avoid cold weather. Roughly what area of Scotland are you in?

Yesterday, we sent this message to the @viralemergence.org team, bringing a (hopefully temporary) end to our project three years into what started as a decade of planned work. /1

Demodex mites live in your facial pores and have lost some of the genes that respond to daylight. They cannot make their own melatonin, so they use the melatonin your skin releases at night as a cue to crawl out and mate on your face. You're never truly alone. ❤️ 🧪 #entomology #invert 🪲🪳

please share this postdoc job alert! come join the budding Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative as a postdoc or senior postdoc at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social working closely with @arnausebe.bsky.social and me to make progress on what we cover in this paper www.nature.com/articles/s41...

What makes bird flu spill over to humans? 4y funded PhD in the genomics and molecular virology behind zoonosis of avian influenza A virus, working with @tompeacock.bsky.social and others between Liverpool, Pirbright, and Uppsala! open to applications until next week!

If you missed our open event on 26th November, or are looking for information more targeted at returning learners, join us for a virtual Q&A on 3rd December @ 7-8 pm. sign up @ www.ilesla.ox.ac.uk Videos of yesterday's presentations will be available from 28th Nov for you to watch beforehand.

Just came across this neat looking pre-print by @maxfarrell.bsky.social et al "Experimental infections reveal unexceptional viral tolerance in bats" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... - meta analysis across 54 viruses, 85 host species, >5600 individuals

Time to publish responsibly: DAFNEE, a database of academia-friendly journals in ecology and evolutionary biology url: academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...

Universities in Need. Ivory Tower: a telethon charity appeal for higher education and research, under threat of extinction. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

Join us at ECE 2026 in Tours, France (29 June - 3 July 2026), focusing on evolutionary biology. Early bird registration and abstract submission close on 15 December 2025. Stay updated: www.ece2026.org. #conference

First electric cars and buses, now trucks: in the past we were often told that electric trucks would not be feasible. But the market is picking up speed and electric trucks have become a reality. Expectations are for significant market expansion in the coming years.

final week to apply for @sangerinstitute.bsky.social PhD programme (due Nov 27th) -- free to apply, open to anyone anywhere, and a superb training opportunity for students interested in genomic approaches applied to biodiversity, pathogens, vectors, and of course us pesky humans.

Interested in working on #metagenomics for #arbovirus and #mosquito #surveillance and #discovery 🧬? Apply to the @ilesla.bsky.social doctoral training program👇 Deadline: 8th of January 12pm UK time.