Prof. Jeff Ollerton

Sloe gin is traditionally made after the first frosts have 'bletted' the fruit, but we pick them earlier and put them in the freezer. Some recipes suggest adding sugar but we prefer it without.

It's easier to ferment first, which softens the flesh and makes it much easier for the stones to be removed. But you could take out the stones and it should still work.

It's been a great year for sloes, the hedgerows are packed with them. But you can make so much more than sloe gin with these wild fruit!

Just opened my first batch of salt-fermented sloes for this year. Follow this link for the #recipe: jeffollerton.co.uk/2020/10/03/r...?
#wildfood #foraging

Surveying For Pollinators Learn how to survey and monitor pollinators in this webinar — tools, tips, and techniques for all skill levels.

I've had inquiries about this evening's "Surveying for Pollinators" webinar, from people who can't make the live event. If you register you'll have access to the recording & reading list after it finishes. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/surveying-...
#bees #pollinators #ecology #biodiversity

?

I have no idea what you are talking about.

BBC Radio 4 - Rare Earth, Trains on Trial Is train travel part of a green future, not just our industrial past?

To mark the 200th anniversary of the first passenger rail trip yesterday, the BBCR4 series Rare Earth looked at #sustainability of #rail travel. It was great to hear my #SYMBIOSIS project collaborator Neil Strong discussing #biodiversity on the Network Rail estate!

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Well, it's not a solution, but at least the results are pointing to the fact that a 10% threshold is not nearly enough.

I will consider forgiving all the Oirish nonsense in “House of Guinness” if it includes a two-episode mini-arc entirely about William Sealy Gosset and the origin of the t-test.

Calamari anyone?

The conundrum we find everywhere.

Far too little for for the insects, but far too much for the farm lobby (the EU tried to go for 7%, paid for with subsidies, but has now pretty much abolished it, as did the UK as soon as it Brexited).

Pollinators aren’t just bees & butterflies—wasps, flies & beetles matter too! 🌼🐝🪲

Learn how to record them all in our entoLEARN webinar with Prof @jeffollerton.bsky.social.

Date: 2nd October
Tickets £12.50
Sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1334343349...

4. Pollinators like wild bees, butterflies and hoverflies are in trouble all across the planet. A new study published in Science looks at the impacts of farmland:

Pollinators need more space and 10% habitat is not enough says a new study just published in Science Pollinators such as wild bees, butterflies, and hoverflies are in trouble worldwide. A major new study, published in Science and led by Gabriella Bishop and other scientists at Wageningen Universit…

Pollinators such as wild #bees, #butterflies, and #hoverflies are in trouble worldwide. A major new study, published in Science, shows that the oft-quoted figure of 10% semi-natural habitat in farmland landscapes is far too little to safeguard pollinators

jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/09/26/p...

🌸🐝 What do pollinators really need beyond flowers?

Find out with Prof @jeffollerton.bsky.social in Gardening for Pollinators: It’s About More Than Just Flowers!

Join us on 14 Jan 2026 on this Online Symposium.

Check it out here:
👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1419239717...

Surveying for Pollinators: join me for an online live webinar on 4th October! On Thursday, October 2 at 6:30pm, I’m running an online webinar on the theme of Surveying for Pollinators. Follow that link for more details and to book a ticket. Here’s an overview of …

On Thursday, October 2 at 6:30pm, I’m running an online webinar on the theme of Surveying for Pollinators for the Biological Recording Company as part of their Skills for Ecology series. Follow this link for more details:

jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/09/19/s...

#biodiversity #bees #butterflies #ecology

A new review gives us a deeper understanding of the evolution of plant-pollinator interactions If you’ve read my book Birds & Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship, you’ll know that I spend a few pages discussing the long-standing paradigm of how interactions betw…

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...

Scientist who works on #bees here, Mark: the short answer is, no, bees are not getting bigger. But bees do vary hugely in size, depending on the species, from just a few millimetres to several centimetres - see this graph from my book 'Pollinators & Pollination: Nature and Society' @rileyrouth.com

Join me for a “Birds & Flowers” talk in Cambridge on the 12th September! If you are in or around Cambridge next week, I’m giving a talk on Friday 12th September at the Cambridgeshire Bird Club about my recent book Birds & Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year R…

If you are in or around Cambridge next week, I’m giving a talk on Friday 12th September at the Cambridgeshire Bird Club about my recent book 'Birds & Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship'. More details here:

jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/09/04/j...

Thanks Martin - I have been away for a couple of days so I'll reply on the blog.

Why are there large gaps in the British distribution of Common Elder? Back in mid-April, Karin and I spent a long weekend in the New Forest, exploring the walking trails around the village of Brockenhurst and watching the bird life of the coastal wetlands near Lyming…

Are the gaps in the UK distribution of Common Elder real or an artifact of under-recording? That's the topic that I explore in my latest blog post - read it here:

jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/08/30/w...

#botany #biodiversity #trees #NatureWriting #ecology

Book front cover featuring plant, butterflies and a chrysalis (?). Title, author and publisher info are presented toward the bottom in black type within a white box. The picture presents an oblique view of the spine. Book front cover featuring plant, butterflies and a chrysalis (?). Title, author and publisher info are presented toward the bottom in black type within a white box. The picture presents an oblique view of the spine.

A book cover, the primary image of which is a leafy plant with a caterpillar crawling up the stem, and a purplish butterfly in the upper right corner. The title is written vertically down the right edge in green text. The author's name is presented in brown text across the bottom.

There is a new book about the artist forthcoming on Sept 1 -

Maria Sibylla Merian
by Catherine Powell-Warren

@lhartbooks.bsky.social, www.lundhumphries.com/collections/...

Getty Publications, shop.getty.edu/products/mar...

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

Urban habitats may not be supporting as many female #bees...

"Since females are the ones responsible for nest-building and and potentially #pollination, as they visit more flowers, this imbalance could have long-term effects on bee populations and the pollination services they provide."

#nature

(Bee) Sex in the city: a new study shows how urban life skews pollinator populations Bees are among the most important pollinators in the natural world, quietly sustaining ecosystems and food production. While honeybees often steal the spotlight, a vast number of solitary and primi…

(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

🐝 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 🌍 🧪

🧵1/4

🐛🔍 Join us for a new Wednesday series on amazing pollinators that benefit and inspire us. Are you curious? Of course you are! 😄 ⬇️🧵

#AmazingPollinators

#ProjectButterfly #ButterflyEffect #NatureIsConnected #Pollinators #PlantsForPollinators #SaveTheBees #ScienceForAll #BiodiversityMatters

You are most welcome!

The Intersection of Art and Biology as Seen Through the Legacy of Maria Sibylla Merian Botanical illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian’s lasting impact on visual culture, scientific observation, and women's contributions to both

Maria Sibylla Merian was the first person to describe "bird-eating" #spiders, although it was dismissed as fantasy until a man confirmed it! It's a story I discuss in my book "Birds & Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship"

www.mutualart.com/Article/The-...?

#Ornithology #Biodiversity

"Hørren stod i blomster. Den har sådanne dejlige blå blomster så bløde som vingerne på et møl og endnu meget finere."

("The flax was in full bloom; it had pretty little blue flowers as delicate as the wings of a moth, or even more so.")

(1849 fairy tale "The Flax" by Hans Christian Andersen)