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Steven Falk
@StevenFalk1
Naturalist with passion for invertebrates, trees, habitats etc. Author of #BestBeeBook. Consultant keen to help you help our pollinators. Cyclist!
Warwickshire
Joined May 2011
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    1. Struggling with identification of bees/pollinators and various other tricky insects groups? It has been my life's mission to make things easier, so check out this chain. Firstly, Steven Falk Flickr: flickr.com/photos/6307520…. It's a virtual museum and field adventure.
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    Hi @lisanandy. As a professional ecologist, can I remind you that 'brownfield land', 'scrubland' and 'wasteland' outside of the green belt are some of the most biodiverse areas left in lowland Britain. Can Labour be trusted with the environment & nature conservation?
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    Scorching here at @WythamWoods and not much action this afternoon but have just found a really nice Wasp Spider @BritishSpiders @Tone_Killick
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    Confirmed a new British wasp today - a species of Pemphredon that nests in 'cigar galls' of Lipara flies on Common Reed. Two valley mire sites in the New Forest where reedbeds have probably been growing for millenia. Don't panic, they can't sting you! Paper to follow #WaspFriday
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    British Bees on Flickr just updated: flickr.com/photos/6307520… Provides photos & species accounts for EVERY British bee species incl' about a dozen additions to my 2015 Field Guide. Just keep clicking & exploring (works best on a PC or laptop but can still act like a phone app).
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    My @WoodlandTrust-commissioned report on the pollinators associated with decaying wood, old trees and tree wounds in Great Britain can now be downloaded from Researchgate: researchgate.net/publication/34…. Covers over 320 spp including some of our most iconic beetles and hoverflies.
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    Discovered yesterday that a group of academics from Germany & China have used some of my bee images ‘privately’ to develop bee ID AI software. No attempt to gain permission. They now want permission to put them in the public domain. WTF! No appreciation that I need an income.
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    This tweet has had nearly 90,000 views but has apparently failed to make a jot of difference to @Keir_Starmer’s stance on biodiversity & nature conservation. So I’ll repost to support @TonyJuniper @NaturalEngland @Buzz_dont_tweet @savebutterflies @BumblebeeTrust @ChrisGPackham.
    Hi @lisanandy. As a professional ecologist, can I remind you that 'brownfield land', 'scrubland' and 'wasteland' outside of the green belt are some of the most biodiverse areas left in lowland Britain. Can Labour be trusted with the environment & nature conservation?
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    Two new bumblebee ID crib sheets now available as high res PDFs here: bwars.com/content/identi… bringing the total number to eight. They can all be printed off at A4 and laminated for field use. Coverage complements & sometimes improves what is in my field guide.
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    Two new bumblebee crib sheets to help you identify those pesky white-tails and male cuckoo bees. The truth is that many can't be done in the field at all but hope these sheets I clarify the where the limits lie. They can be downloaded here for laminating: flickr.com/photos/6307520…
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    A really simple hedge blossom sequence that can provide about 3 months of blossom from late Feb to late May: Cherry Plum > Goat Willow > Blackthorn > Hawthorn. Strengthen it with further willows, Wild Cherry, Apple, Pear, Wayfaring Tree, Field Maple, Dogwood, Elder, Gorse etc.
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    If you have any flowering Ivy near you and esp if you live in East Anglia, Cambs, Kent or Beds, keep an eye out for the gorgeous Golden Hoverfly Callicera spinolae. Is it really rare, or do we just need a bit of citizen science to detect it? Take a photo if you can.
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    Male wasps are becoming more evident on the ivy now. Very long antennae give them away (and they cannot sting you). Nice contrast here of male Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris and the much brighter male German Wasp V. germanica from today's Kenilworth foray.
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    Wow. Simply Wow. The new guide to Hoverflies of Britain & NW Europe (in English!) published by @BloomsburyBooks @chiffchat. Fully comprehensive (the Wildguides book only covers 2/3 of the British spp) with lots of near-continental spp that will probably soon arrive in UK😊👍👏🪰