2026 Happy New Year!

Earlier on the expedition we found the most beautiful flower, and here, my friends, is the biggest: Rafflesia arnoldi seen in full bloom today in the Sumatran jungle. This is the largest flower on earth and one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.

Too warm to buzz? Check out our newest paper on how warming temperatures affect bee buzzes in the Arctic. Well done to Charlie and Guadalupe and other coauthors for this nice study in the Swedish Arctic! @hfspo.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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!

How many plant species are buzz pollinated? After more than six years in the making, our paper on the convergent evolution of buzz pollinated flowers is out in @journal-evo.bsky.social. Thanks @draverbee.bsky.social @roszenil.bsky.social and all co-authors for your hard work! doi.org/10.1093/evol...

I'm looking for PhD students to join the lab starting August 2026. We study the evolution of insect chemical signals so if you're interested in evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, molecular biology, behavior, or genetics, this could be a good fit for you! More info here: tinyurl.com/mrxchwfm

#Viewpoint: Exploring the importance of aromatic #plants' extrafloral volatiles for #pollinator attraction Kantsa et al. 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue #PlantScience

🐜 Ants on flowers A meta-analysis shows protective ants reduce flower visits, especially by bees, but usually do not harm plant reproduction. Effects depend on nectary location and visitor type. 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365... #SciComm 🧪 #Ecology #Pollination

"The fate of pollen in two morphologically contrasting buzz-pollinated Solanum flowers" by Vasquez-Castro et al. freshly published! doi.org/10.26786/192...

A new review gives us a deeper understanding of the evolution of plant-pollinator interactions! A brilliant critical review of the Grant–Stebbins model of how plants evolve by Kathleen Kay and Bruce Anderson just published. Read more about it here: jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/09/12/a...

See last article on "The cognitive side of communication in social insects", just published in @TrendsCognSci . Free access under this link! authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Spent hours being spellbound by Convolvulus Hawk Moths last night as they nectared on Nicotiana plants in my highland garden!. Up to 3 feeding at a time, their entire abdomens glowing red hot in the thermal from flight muscle use!! #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

The Department of Biology at Colorado State University is hiring an Assistant Professor in the area of plant-microbe interactions! Please spread the word! jobs.colostate.edu/postings/165...

Scott Loarie talks about #iNaturalust at #TED | The surprising power of your nature photos www.ted.com/talks/scott_... #Wildlife #CitizenScience #Conservation #Biodiversity

Is the Most Effective Pollinator Principle a zombie idea? How do plants adapted to one pollinator shift to another without traversing an adaptive valley? How should we measure fitness in pollinator selection studies? We explore these questions and more in a new review doi.org/10.1093/aob/...

🚨🚨 New tenure track position in #ConservationBiology @oberlincollege.bsky.social in the #Biology department--come join us, and contribute to our brand new Environmental Science major too! #biologyjobs #ecologyjobs jobs.oberlin.edu/postings/16671

Even more fascinating after reading ‘Birds and flowers’ book by @jeffollerton.bsky.social #BirdPollination #Generalists #Ecology

🐦🐝 In Banksia menziesii, excluding birds cut fruit set, seed viability, and genetic diversity, while inbreeding rose. Honeybees moved plenty of pollen but increased selfing. Birds proved the most effective pollinators, with genetic gains that may drive bird-pollinated flowers. bit.ly/4fuAz58

Are specializations evolutionary dead ends? Morrison et al. reveal that in bird carotenoid evolution, continuity and stability are two sides of the same coin. Read now ahead of print! www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

✨ Paper spotlight ✨ (🧵 1/3) Evolution of petal patterning: blooming floral diversity at the microscale nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Are you a PI in a biology field looking for postdocs? Here is a Starter Pack of early career biologists currently seeking postdoctoral positions! (Also if you are searching for a postdoc, let me know if you want to be added!) go.bsky.app/8zZNEGV

We have a unique opportunity for a junior researcher, PhD student or postdoc, to use a revolutionary technique for mineral nutrient imaging and tracing in plants. Please re-post! Interested candidates should apply through the portal at the link below: career5.successfactors.eu/career?compa...

Interested in a PhD connecting sensory ecology and evolutionary genetics? Applications are now open for a project on the Speciation Genomics of Eye Size Variation in Heliconius Butterflies in our lab at LMU Munich: www.evol.bio.lmu.de/research/mer... Please repost!

Glad to see the clear-wing hawkmoth (Cephonodes hylas) is back in our garden! The way they quickly and accurately find their food plants (Gardenia jasminoides) and lay eggs is simply mind-blowing. #Hawkmoths

A marmalade hoverfly on a multiflora-rose flower. I love photography as it constantly reminds me of the breathtaking beauty of the creatures that inhabit our world. #Hoverflies #NativeFliwers

In today's episode of the Night Science Podcast we talk with Martin Schwartz from Yale about the importance of stupidity in science: while learning science makes you feel smart, true scientific discovery often involves feeling stupid, because it means venturing into the unknown.

Super happy! Published teaching module: Understanding Natural Selection: Definitions, Historical Development, Mechanisms, and Usage in Contemporary Times qubeshub.org/publications... @juleyvc.bsky.social @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social @tyandresbray.bsky.social 🧪🧬👩‍🔬 #newPI #RIE2 #TeachingEvolution

I'm seeking graduate students interested in studying nectar evolutionary ecology. Masters or PhD. Sep 2025 or Jan 2026 start. Interested students encouraged to apply by May 5 to be eligible for additional scholarships. #gradschool #flower #evolution #nectar #pollination

A huge Gentiana zollingeri 😍 #NativePlants #Spring

Took a short walk around campus. Delighted to see a carpenter bee, a mason bee, a long-horned bee, and a mining bee! #Bees

Another understated bird, the male Black-crested Coquette hummingbird at @tapirvalley.bsky.social #CostaRica #birds #nature #hummingbirds 🌿

Here is the very first publication of the SCAPE joint special issue of JPE with @nordicjbotany.bsky.social (scheduled late 2025/early 2026) - an extremely well-thought editorial by James Thomson on how we should think about the pollination crisis: doi.org/10.26786/192...

Arisaema urashima has started blooming near my house. Its thread-like appendix serves as a ‘guiding path’ for fungus gnats walking through the leaf litter. #Pollination #Ecology See also: doi.org/10.1002/ecy....

Always happy to see newly emerged long-horned male Eucera bees in spring 🌸🌼🐝 #Bees

#Bee-flies are back—now it really feels like spring!

🚨 Lecturer in Animal Behaviour position @waikatouniversity.bsky.social. Fantastic opportunity for someone passionate about teaching & research in animal behaviour, preferably on birds, amphibians, reptiles or bats. 📍 Hamilton, NZ Closes: 4th May 2025 🔗 www.seek.co.nz/job/83279795...

It's published! The largest research work I've ever undertaken: Lords of the flies: dipteran migrants are diverse, abundant & ecologically important Published in Biological Reviews: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... Thanks so much to co-authors @koralwotton.bsky.social & Myles Menz 1/x

Very interesting … "variable constancy" 😄 enhances floral diversity … I recommend the plain language summary fesummaries.wordpress.com/2025/01/31/c... and the original paper besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#Bees actively adjust flower choice based on color and distance: Updating "flower constancy" beyond Darwin's theory www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #Ecology

PhD position on Evolution of Seasonal Camouflage in my group. Fully funded 4 year position in Stockholm University and SciLifeLab! :-) su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

LIVING EMERALDS Costasiella sea slugs showcase their brilliant green, plant-like appendages. Through these miniature marvels "steal" chloroplasts to perform photosynthesis. 📹 moodhumeehaa

I am excited to announce that @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social and I are co-editing a special collection in the journal Animal Cognition on "Cognition in the Wild". Submissions are due by June 15. We are excited to see the amazing work you have been doing! link.springer.com/collections/...

📢 Join our team: Are you interested in the synthesis of ecological data? We are offering a postdoctoral researcher position on the effects of collaborative agri-environment measures on multiple taxa and ecosystem services. 🐦🐝🪲 See #job advert www.uni-goettingen.de/en/research+...

I was puzzled at first, like, 'Is this #Asteraceae?' Then I slowly realized I was looking at a seed head, not a flower head—still amazing, though!

In a review led by Spanish researchers David Peris and Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente, we explored why a deep time perspective on insect pollination is relevant to our current understanding of plant-pollinator relationships. Read more here: jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/03/12/e... #pollinators #biodiversity

Good morning from Greece 🇬🇷 Collective noun for these? Hall of Mirrors I guess! Ophrys speculum - Mirror Orchid.

🆕 in Ecological Monographs: Summer-blooming plants in a hot setting cool their flower heads, creating a "refrigerated floral layer" that aids pollination 📄Flowers that cool themselves: Thermal ecology of summer-blooming thistles in hot Mediterranean environments tinyurl.com/mr2mkjrz