Nigel Raine

CV - Publications - Popular Science Articles - Press coverage - Interviews - Talks - Links - Contact me
Currently I am investigating the learning capabilities of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) with the aim of understanding how (and indeed if) the learning performance of these animals is adapted to their environment. When bees leave their nest to forage, they are faced with a hugely diverse and dynamic floral market. How foraging workers decide which flowers to visit, and how quickly they adapt to changes in the availability of these floral rewards, can have serious consequences on the success of their colony as a whole. Like honeybees, bumblebees are sensitive to the amount of rewards they collect from the flowers they visit, and can respond rapidly to changes in availability of pollen and nectar. But is the speed with which bees form learned associations, such as those between floral colour and reward, evolutionary optimal?
During my first postdoc, I worked on reproductive conflict over male production in honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies (with Francis Ratnieks). Worker honeybees can discriminate between male eggs laid by the queen or by other workers, and they prevent worker laid eggs developing by eating (policing) them. It is in the workers interests to do this because they are on average more closely related to the males produced by the queen than those produced by other workers. The interesting question is how worker and queen-laid male eggs differ: i.e. how workers tell them apart. Indeed workers in some unusual honeybee populations can lay eggs which are not eaten by other workers, and are therefore able to reproduce and contribute to colony reproduction. Why then do such egg-laying strategies evolve in other populations?
My doctoral thesis research used Acacia pollination as a model system to address how competitive interactions might facilitate niche partitioning at the community level. I examined how Acacia trees modify both spatial and temporal patterns of floral reward presentation with an emphasis on what impact such patterning might have both on pollinator behaviour and the overlap of pollinator guilds amongst tree species. I also became interested in the complex multispecies interactions between ant-acacias and their insect mutualists, particularly how the plant resolves the potential for conflict that exists between their aggressive Pseudomyrmex ant-guards and bee pollinators by using floral ant repellents. Social parasitism, and the maintenance of mutualisms, also interests me – especially since finding a new opportunist ant parasite of a Mexican ant-acacia. I have an ongoing collaboration with Graham Stone and Pat Willmer on all aspects of this work.

 

CV

 

2004 - present: Postdoctoral Researcher - Queen Mary, University of London with Prof. Lars Chittka.

2002 - 2003: Postdoctoral Researcher - University of Sheffield with Prof. Francis Ratnieks.

1997 - 2001: D.Phil in Pollination Ecology - University of Oxford with Dr. Graham Stone.

1994 - 1997: BA (Hons), Biological Sciences - University of Oxford.

 

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

In Press
29- Willmer PG, Nuttman CV, Raine NE, Stone GN, Pattrick JG, Henson K, Stillman P, Potts SG & Knudsen JT. 2009. Floral volatiles controlling ant behaviour. Functional Ecology: 23: 888-900. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2009.01632.x
28- Raine NE. 2009. Cognitive ecology: environmental dependence of the fitness costs of learning. Current Biology: 19: R486-R488. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.04.047
Published
27- Molet M, Chittka L & NE Raine. 2009. Potential application of the bumblebee foraging recruitment pheromone for commercial greenhouse pollination. Apidologie: 608-616. doi:10.1051/apido/2009034.

26- Chittka L, Skorupski P & NE Raine. 2009. Speed-accuracy tradeoffs in animal decision making. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24: 400-407. doi 10.1016/j.tree.2009.02.010.
25- Ings TC, Raine NE & L Chittka. 2009. A population comparison of the strength and persistence of innate colour preference and learning speed in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 63: 1207-1218. doi:10.1007/s00265-009-0731-8.
24- Lopez-Vaamonde C, Raine NE, Koning JW, Brown RM, Pereboom JJM, Ings TC, Ramos-Rodríguez O, Jordan WC & AFG Bourke. 2009. Lifetime reproductive success and longevity of queens in an annual social insect. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22: 983-996. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01706.x. Supplementary material: Table S1, Table S2.
23- Alghamdi A*, Raine NE*, Rosato E & EB Mallon. 2009. No evidence for an evolutionary trade-off between learning and immunity in a social insect. Biology Letters 5: 55-57. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0514 (* indicates joint 1st authorship).
22- Molet M, Chittka L & NE Raine. 2009. How floral odours are learned inside the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) nest. Naturwissenschaften 96: 213-219. doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0465-x. Featured in Nature Research Highlights 456:144.
21- Raine NE, DK Rossmo & SC Le Comber. 2009. Geographic profiling applied to testing models of bumblebee foraging. Journal of the Royal Society Interface 6: 307-319. doi:10.1098/rsif.2008.0242.
20- Molet M, Chittka L, Stelzer RJ,  Streit S & NE Raine. 2008. Colony nutritional status modulates worker responses to foraging recruitment pheromone in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 62:1919–1926. doi:10.1007/s00265-008-0623-3. Supplementary material.
19- Raine NE & L Chittka. 2008. The correlation of learning speed and natural foraging success in bumble-bees. Proceedings of the Royal Society - Series B 275: 803-808. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1652. Supplementary material.
18- Raine NE & L Chittka. 2007. Nectar production rates of 75 bumblebee-visited flower species in a German flora (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus terrestris). Entomologia Generalis 30: 191-192.
17- Raine NE, Pierson AS & GN Stone. 2007. Plant-pollinator interactions in a Mexican Acacia community. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 1:101-117. doi:10.1007/s11829-007-9010-7. Supplementary material.
16- Raine NE & L Chittka. 2007. The adaptive significance of sensory bias in a foraging context: floral colour preferences in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. PLoS One 2: e556. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000556.
15- Raine NE & L Chittka. 2007. Pollen foraging: learning a complex motor skill by bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). Naturwissenschaften 94: 459-464. doi:10.1007/s00114-006-0184-0.
14- Raine NE & L Chittka. 2007. Flower constancy and memory dynamics in bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus). Entomologia Generalis 29: 179-199.
13- Raine NE, Ings TC, Dornhaus A, Saleh N & L Chittka. 2006. Adaptation, genetic drift, pleiotropy, and history in the evolution of bee foraging behavior. Advances in the Study of Behavior 36: 305-354. doi:10.1016/S0065-3454(06)36007-X.
12- Raine NE, Ings TC, Ramos-Rodriguez O & L Chittka. 2006. Intercolony variation in learning performance of a wild British bumblebee population (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus terrestris audax). Entomologia Generalis 28: 241-256.
11- Chittka L & Raine NE. 2006. Recognition of flowers by pollinators. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 9: 428-435. doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2006.05.002
10- Leadbeater E, Raine NE & L Chittka. 2006. Social learning: ants and the meaning of teaching. Current Biology 16: R323-R325.
9- Ings TC, Raine NE & L Chittka. 2005. Mating preference in the commercially imported Bumblebee species Bombus terrestris in Britain (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Entomologia Generalis 28: 233-238.

8- Raine NE & L Chittka. 2005. Colour preferences in relation to the foraging performance and fitness of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Uludag Bee Journal 5: 145-150.

7- Raine NE & L Chittka. 2005. Comparison of flower constancy and foraging performance in three bumblebee species (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus). Entomologia Generalis 28: 81-89.

6- Jensen AB, Palmer KA, Châline N, Raine NE , Tofilski A, Martin SJ, Pedersen BV, Boomsma JJ & FLW Ratnieks. 2005. Quantification of honey bee mating range and isolation in semi-isolated valleys in the Peak District National Park, England, as revealed by paternity analysis using DNA microsatellites. Conservation Genetics 6: 527-537. doi:10.1007/s10592-005-9007-7.

5- Chittka L, Ings TC & NE Raine. 2004. Chance and adaptation in the evolution of island bumblebee behaviour. Population Ecology 46: 243-251. doi:10.1007/s10144-004-0180-1.
4- Raine NE, Gammans N, MacFadyen IJ, Scrivner GK & GN Stone. 2004. Guards and thieves: antagonistic interactions between two ant species coexisting on the same ant-plant. Ecological Entomology 29: 345-352. doi:10.1111/j.0307-6946.2004.00608.x.
3- Châline N, Ratnieks FLW, Raine NE, Badcock NS & T Burke. 2004. Non-lethal sampling of the honeybee, Apis mellifera, DNA using wing tips. Apidologie 35: 311-318. doi:10.1051/apido:2004015.
2- Stone GN, Raine NE, Prescott M & PG Willmer. 2003. The pollination ecology of Acacias (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae). Australian Systematic Botany 16: 103-118. doi:10.1071/SB02024.
1- Raine NE, Stone GN & PG Willmer. 2002. Spatial structuring and floral avoidance behavior prevent ant-pollinator conflict in a Mexican ant-acacia. Ecology 83: 3086-3096.
 

Book Chapters

2- Raine NE & L Chittka. 2009. Measuring the adaptiveness of social insect foraging strategies - an empirical approach. pp. 9-28. In S. Jarau & M. Hrncir (eds). Food Exploitation by Social Insects: Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approaches. CRC Press.

1- Eltringham KS, Cooksey IA, Dixon WJB, Raine NE, Sheldrick CJ, McWilliam NM & MJ Packer. 1999. Large mammals of Mkomazi. pp. 485-504. In M Coe et al. (eds). Mkomazi: the ecology, diversity and conservation of a Tanzanian savanna. Royal Geographical Society.
 

Preprint Articles
Raine, Nigel E. and Chittka, Lars. Bumblebees gain fitness through learning. Available from Nature Precedings < http://hdl.nature.com/10101/npre.2007.1298.1 > (2007)
 
Book Reviews

3- Raine NE. 2007. Book Review of Practical Pollination Biology. Dafni A et al. (eds). Entomologia Generalis 29: 148.

2- Raine NE. 2005. Book Review of Arthropods of Tropical Forests. Basset Y et al. (eds). Animal Conservation 8: 347.
1- Raine NE. 2001. Book Review of Behaviour and Conservation. Morris-Gosling L & WJ Sutherland (eds). Animal Conservation 4: 89-90.

 

POPULAR SCIENCE ARTICLES

   
9- Raine NE. 2009. The buzz of the chase. Bee Craft, September 2009: pp. 12.
8- Raine NE. 2009. Bee smart, bee healthy. Bee Craft, July 2009: pp. 19.
7- Raine NE. 2009. Bumblebee foraging pheromones. Bee Craft, July 2009: pp. 20.
6- Raine NE. 2008. Bumblebees gain fitness through learning. Planet Earth, Winter 2008: pp. 16-17.
  5- Raine NE. 2008. The buzz of the chase. British Beekeeper's Association (BBKA) News 173: 15.
4- Raine NE. 2008. Fast learning bumblebees reap greater nectar rewards. Bee Craft, April 2008: pp. 9.
3- Raine NE. 2007. Bees hit a purple patch. Bee Craft, August 2007: pp. 19.
2- Raine NE. 2005. Ants in their plants. QMUL Science & Engineering Newsletter, 1: 4.
1- Raine NE. 2004. Ants in their plants. Planet Earth, Summer 2004: pp. 8.

 

PRESS COVERAGE FEATURING MY RESEARCH

 
  89- Gill V. 2009. Acacia plant controls ants with chemical. BBC News website, 27th December 2009: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8383577.stm
  88- Milius S. 2009. Killer bees aren't so smart. Science News, 18th November 2009: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/49697/title/Killer_bees_arent_so_smart
  87- Hanlon M. 2009. When bees go buzz-erk! Daily Mail, 19th May 2009: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1184369/When-bees-buzz-erk-As-British-tourists-attacked-angry-swarm-turns-humble-honey-bee-killer.html

86- O'Connell S. 2009. Might of the bumblebee. Daily Telegraph, 24 th March 2009: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/5039387/Might-of-the-bumblebee.html
  85- O'Connell S. 2009. High bee IQ. Science blog with the Independent: http://sanjidaoconnel.livejournal.com/
  84- Boffin makes bee-line to see how bees fight infection. East London Advertiser newspaper, 17 th November 2008: http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/advertiser/news/story.aspx?brand=ELAOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsela&itemid=WeED17%20Nov%202008%2023%3A30%3A27%3A250
 

83- Johnston I. 2008. Buzz off, we're taking it easy, bees tell scientists. The Independent on Sunday, 16 th November 2008 : http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/buzz-off-were-taking-it-easy-bees-tell-scientists-1020499.html

82- Kaplan M. 2008. Got the scent. Nature, Research Highlights (vol 456, p. 144), 13th November.
81- Gray R. 2008. How bumble-bees pass on the buzz about nectar. Sunday Telegraph, 9th November 2008: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3405259/Bumblebees-learn-to-sniff-out-the-best-flowers.html
  80- Hurrell P. 2008. The sweet smell of success. Planet Earth online, 3rd November 2008: http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=227
  79- Bee well smart. Metro newspaper Minicosm, 3rd November 2008.
  78- Bee smart, bee healthy. E! science news website, 30th October 2008: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/10/30/bee.smart.bee.healthy
  77- Bee smart, bee healthy. Physorg.com website, 30th October 2008: http://www.physorg.com/news144594209.html
  76- Bumblebee colonies which are fast learners are also better able to fight off infection. Science Daily website, 30th October 2008: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030110949.htm
  75- Bee road. Metro newspaper Minicosm, 27th October 2008.
  74- Bumblebees learn the sweet smell of foraging success. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News website, 27th October 2008: http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=44099099
  73- Bumblebees learn the sweet smell of foraging success. Physorg.com website, 27th October 2008: http://www.physorg.com/news144338509.html
  72- Bumblebees learn the sweet smell of foraging success. Science Daily website, 27th October 2008: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081024144101.htm
  71- Bumblebees learn the sweet smell of foraging success. Science Centric website, 26th October 2008: http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=08102611
  70- Bumblebees learn the sweet smell of foraging success. E! science news website, 24th October 2008: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/10/24/bumblebees.learn.sweet.smell.foraging.success
69- Botzenhardt T. 2008. Hummel Hummel, Mord Mord. Geo magazine, November 2008.
  68- Smells like bees' spirit. E! science news website, 13th August 2008: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/08/13/smells.bees.spirit
  67- Smells like bees' spirit: response to pheromone changes according to situation. Physorg.com website, 13th August 2008: http://www.physorg.com/news137852687.html
  66- Smells like bees' spirit: response to pheromone changes according to situation. Science Daily website, 13th August 2008: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080813114229.htm
 
65- Carpenter J. 2008. Bees join hunt for serial killers. BBC News website, 30th July 2008: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7530666.stm
 
64- Bees help police close in on serial killers. New Scientist website, 30th July 2008: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14423-bees-help-police-close-in-on-serial-killers.html
 
63- Highfield R. 2008. Bees help devise way to catch serial killers. Daily Telegraph, 30th July 2008: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/07/30/scibees130.xml
  62- Cressey D. 2008. What bees have in common with serial killers. The Great Beyond, Nature blog, 30th July 2008: http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2008/07/what_bees_have_in_common_with.html
 
61- Bees 'aid serial killer profiling'. Channel 4 website, 30th July 2008: http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/bees+aid+serial+killer+profiling/2366572
 
60- The buzz of the chase: scientists test technique used to catch serial killers...on bumblebees. Science Daily website, 30th July 2008: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080729234148.htm
 
59- Criminal beehaviour. Wellcome Trust website, 30th July 2008: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/News-archive/Browse-by-date/2008/News/WTX050011.htm
  58- The Buzz of the Chase. BBSRC website, 6th August 2008: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/releases/2008/080806_queen_mary_bees.html
  57- Carpenter J. 2008. Bees join hunt for serial killers. 3rd September 2008: http://www.newcriminologist.com/news.asp?nid=2089
 
56- Bees help police close in on serial killers. American Scientist website, 30th July 2008: https://www.americanscientist.org/science/pub/bees-help-police-close-in-on-serial-killers
 
55- Killer bees. Metro newspaper Minicosm, 30th July 2008.
  54- Brooke M. 2008. Forensic profile tests help save rare bumblebee from extinction. East London Advertiser newspaper, 31st July 2008: http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/advertiser/news/story.aspx?brand=elaonline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsela&itemid=WeED29%20Jul%202008%2019%3A14%3A46%3A760
 
53- Barrett S. 2008. The buzz about serial killers. Popsci.com website, 30th July 2008: http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-07/buzz-about-serial-killers
 
52- Gache G. 2008. Bumblebees Behave Much like Serial Killers. Softpedia website, 30th July 2008: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Bumblebees-Behave-Much-Like-Serial-Killers-91059.shtml
 
51- Bees to help hunt down serial killers. Infoniac.com website, 30th July 2008: http://www.infoniac.com/science/bees-to-help-hunt-down-serial-killers.html
 
50- Bees join hunt for serial killers. Psychology and Crime news website, 30th July 2008: http://crimepsychblog.com/?p=1922
 
49- The buzz of the chase. Physorg.com website, 30th July 2008: http://www.physorg.com/news136632956.html
 
48- The buzz of the chase. Medical News Today website, 30th July 2008: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116659.php
 
47- Bees help police close in on serial killers. International News website, Pakistan, 31st July 2008: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=127253
 
46- Bees 'aid serial killer profiling'. msn website, 30th July 2008: http://tech.uk.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=9062909
 
45- Using bumble bees to catch serial killers. Scienceblog.com website, 30th July 2008: http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/using-bumble-bees-catch-serial-killers-17017.html
 

44- Benjamin A. 2008. Winged saviour. Guardian, 4th June 2008: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/04/wildlife.environment
 
43- Heath N. 2008. Scientists track bees with RFID. Silicon.com website, 28th February 2008: Photo story
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39170226-1,00.htm or article
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39170213,00.htm
 
42- Bees chipped for study. Royal Institute of Navigation website. 27th February 2008: http://www.rin.org.uk/sigs-branches/animal/animal-navigation-group/news/bees-chipped-study
 

41- Morelle B. 2008. Tiny tags track brainy bumblebees. BBC News website, 27th February 2008: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7258822.stm
 

40- Fast learning bees reap greater nectar rewards. Iran Daily, 14th February 2008: http://www.iran-daily.com/1386/3063/pdf/i4.pdf

 
39- Fast learning bumblebees reap greater nectar rewards. Science Daily website, 12th February 2008: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080205201117.htm
 
38- Brainy bees create research buzz. The Post Chronicle website, 17th January 2008:
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/science/article_212125188.shtml
 
37- Brainy bees create research buzz. Earthtimes.org website, 17th January 2008: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/174775,brainy-bees-create-research-buzz.html
 
36- Brainy bees create research buzz. United Press International website, 17th January 2008: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/01/17/brainy_bees_create_research_buzz/4044/
 

35- Fast learning bees reap greater nectar rewards. Physorg.com, 16th January 2008: http://www.physorg.com/news119711137.html
 

34- Osterkamp J. 2008. Denn sie wissen, was sie tun. Spektrumdireckt website, 16th January 2008:http://www.wissenschaft-online.de/artikel/939167
 
33- Johnston I. 2008. Why some of our bees get a buzz out of being brighter. The Scotsman newspaper, 16th January 2008: http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Why-some-of-our-bees.3675906.jp
 
32- Bee quick. Metro newspaper Minicosm, 16th January 2008.
 
31- 'Into the Hive' is an interactive classroom board game created in association with the Royal Entomological Society, September 2007: http://www.royensoc.co.uk/welcome_intothehive.shtml.
 
30- Velasquez R. 2007. Me chupo todo lo morado. El Colombiano newspaper, 8th August 2007:
http://www.elcolombiano.com.co/BancoConocimiento/M/me_chupo_todo_lo_morado/me_chupo_todo_lo_morado.asp?CodSeccion=22
 
29- Violets are a bee's best friend. East End Life newspaper, 2nd July 2007.
  28- Beeline behaviour. BBC Focus magazine, 25th June 2007: http://www.focusmag.co.uk/newsread.asp?ID=31491
 

27- O'Hanlon L. 2007. Bees go wild over purple flowers. News in Science website, 25th June 2007: http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/1961099.htm
 

26- Bees Seem To Benefit From Having Favorite Colors. CCNews website, 25th June 2007: http://www.ccnmag.com/news.php?id=5422
 

25- Bees Seem To Benefit From Having Favorite Colors. Science Daily website, 25th June 2007: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070624141133.htm
 

24- Bees Seem To Benefit From Having Favorite Colors. Dental Plans.com website, 24th June 2007: http://www.dentalplans.com/articles/20364/

 
23- BBC News website, The Big Picture. 22nd June 2007: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/sci_nat_enl_1182527731/html/1.stm
 

22- Favourite colour aids bee food hunt. AOL website, go green, 21st June 2007: http://lifestyle.aol.co.uk/go-green/favourite-colour-aids-bee-food-hunt/article/20070619232409990002

 
21- Hill J. 2007. Studies Determine Why Bumblebees Prefer Purple Flowers. Associated content website, 21st June 2007: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/288105/studies_determine_why_bumblebees_prefer.html
 

20- Choi CQ. 2007. Bees Have Favorite Color. Yahoo news website, 20th June 2007: http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070620/sc_livescience/beeshavefavoritecolor

 

19- Bees hit a purple patch. Daily Science News website, 20th June 2007: http://www.sciencenewsdaily.org/story-101569354.html
 
18- Bees love the color purple. Scientificblogging.com website, 22nd June 2007: http://www.scientificblogging.com/news/bees_love_the_color_purple
 

17- Bees hit a purple patch. Physorg website, 20th June 2007: http://www.physorg.com/news101569354.html

 
16- Like colour to the bee. Science Worlds website, 20th June 2007: http://www.scienceworlds.co.uk/news.cfm?faarea1=theme1.contentItem_show_1&cit_id=4327
 

15- Like colour to the bee. Scenta website, 20th June 2007: http://www.scenta.co.uk/Nature/1700028/like-colour-to-the-bee.htm

 
14- Derbyshire D. 2007. The purple plants that give bumblebees a real buzz. Daily Mail, 20th June 2007 – print and online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=463195&in_page_id= 1965

13- Favourite colour boost for bees. Daily Telegraph In Brief, 20th June 2007.

12- Bees driven by favoured colour. The London Paper, 20th June 2007.
 

11- O'Hanlon L. 2007. Bees' violet preference makes sense. Discovery Channel News website. 20th June 2007: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/06/20/bumblebees_ani.html?category=animals&guid=20070620140000.
 

10- Choi CQ. 2007. Bees prefer violet flowers. Fox News website. 20th June 2007: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,284952,00.html
 

9- Choi CQ. 2007. Bees play favorites with flower colors. Msnbc website. 20th June 2007: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19331834/
 
8- Choi CQ. 2007. Bees have favorite color. LiveScience website. 20th June 2007: http://www.livescience.com/animals/070619_bee_favoritecolor.html
 

7- Colour important to bumblebees. Farmnews website. 20th June 2007: http://www.farmnews.co.nz/news/2007/june/826.shtml

 
6- Favourite colour aids bee food hunt. Channel 4 News website. 20th June 2007: http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/favourite+colour+aids+bee+food+hunt/566672
 

5- Bees hit a purple patch. Medical News Today website. 20th June 2007: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=74512

 
4- Bees have favourite colours. CBBC Newsround website. 20th June 2007: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6220000/newsid_6220900/6220970.stm
3- Watts G. 2006. Buzz of the chase. Times Higher Education Supplement, 9th November 2006.

2- Ravilious K. 2004. Natural defences. Guardian Life supplement, 19th August 2004.
 
1- Griffiths S. 2003. Science on a shoestring. Sunday Times, 8th June 2003.

 

RADIO AND TV APPEARANCES
 
July 2009: Bee declines in the UK.
 
32- CNN TV news: interview with Errol Barnett.
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/07/13/barnett.uk.bees.hotel.cnn?iref=24hours
 
 
May 2009: Co-evolutionary history of bees and flowering plants.
 
31- BBC Radio 4, Material World : live interview with Quentin Cooper and Doug Soltis.
 
 
December 2008: Role of learning and communication in bee foraging
MP3
30- Radio New Zealand, This Way Up: interview with Simon Morton.
November 2008: How bumblebees pass on the buzz about nectar
MP3
29- BBC World Service, The World Today: live radio interview with Max Pearson.
MP3
28- BBC Radio Five Live, Weekend News: live radio interview with John Pienaar and Leslie Ashmall.
July 2008: Buzz of the chase
27- BBC Breakfast : live TV interview with Bill Turnbull and Sian Williams.
MP3
26- BBC Radio 4, Today : live interview with Nick Robison.
25- BBC News Channel: live TV interview.
24- BBC World News: live TV interview with David Eades.
MP3
23- BBC Radio Scotland, Good Morning Scotland : interview with Gillian Marles.
22- BBC World service: interview.
21- British Satellite News: TV interview with Ron Branscombe.
MP3
20- Newstalk Radio 882 6PR, Australia: live interview with Graham Mabury.
19- BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: live interview with Antonia Brickell.
18- BBC Radio Wales: live interview with Felicity Evans.
MP3
17- BBC Three Counties radio: live interview with Ernie Almond. 31st Jul.
16- Newstalk Irish radio: interview with Gerry O'Sullivan.
15- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio One, As it Happens : interview with Helen Mann.
July 2008: Bee declines in the UK.
14- BBC Radio 4, Material World: live interview with Quentin Cooper and Alison Benjamin.
June 2008: Introducing nature novices to bumblebees.

13- BBC One Wales, Not in My Nature (episode 3): Iolo Williams and volunteers assist me with a bumblebee foraging experiment.
April 2008: Bee declines in the UK.
12- BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: live interview with Antonia Brickell.
February 2008: Tiny tags track brainy bumblebees.
11- 666 ABC Canberra Australian Radio, Breakfast: live interview with Ross Solly.
MP3
10- BBC Radio Five Live Drive: live interview with Anita Anand and Simon Jack.
MP3
9- BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: live interview with Graham Hughes
8- Newsround, BBC  TV: Bumblebee RFID research featured on children's news programme.
June 2007: Bees prefer violet flowers.
MP3
7- Newstalk Irish radio: live interview with Adel King.
MP3
6- BBC Radio Scotland Newsdrive: live interview.
September 2006: The buzz of the chase: bees and geographic profiling.
MP3
5- BBC Radio 4 Leading Edge: Steve Le Comber interviewed by Geoff Watts.
August 2005: Bees responses to van Gogh's Sunflowers paintings.
4- BBC 1'o'clock TV news: interviewed by Christine McGourty.
3- BBC News 24: live TV interview.
2- ABC TV News: interviewed by Nick Watt for breakfast show piece.
MP3
1- BBC Radio Leeds: live interview with Darrah Corcoran.

 

TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS

36- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket. University of the 3rd Age (U3A), Nonsuch High School for Girls, Cheam: October 2009.

35- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket: bumblebees gain fitness through learning. Research seminar, CNRS Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse: September 2009.

34- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket: bumblebees gain fitness through learning. Research seminar, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen: August 2009.

33- The importance of innate and learned floral preferences for the evolution of plant-pollinator interactions. Systematics 2009 (Evolution of plant-pollinator interactions symposium) - 1st meeting of Biosyst EU, Leiden: August 2009.

32- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket: bumblebees gain fitness through learning. 5th Ecology & Behaviour meeting of the Société Écologique à Responsabilité Limitée (SERL), Lyon: April 2009. Invited plenary speaker.

31- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket. Surrey Beekeepers Association, annual bee day: April 2009.

30- RFID technology facilitates intensive behavioural studies of social insects. 1st International Workshop on Distributed Sensing and Collective Intelligence in Biodiversity Monitoring (BioDivGrid), CWI Amsterdam: December 2008. Invited plenary speaker.

29- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket. Department of Biology seminar, University of Sussex: November 2008.

28- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket. 3rd European Conference of Apidology (EURBEE 3), Belfast: September 2008.

27- Colony nutritional status modulates worker responses to foraging recruitment pheromone in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris . 3rd European Conference of Apidology (EURBEE 3), Belfast: September 2008.

26- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket. Reigate Beekeepers Association, evening lecture: February 2008.

25- Bumblebees gains fitness through learning. Royal Entomological Society insect ecology special interest group meeting, Rothamsted Research: December 2007.

24- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket. Central Association of Beekeepers, evening lecture: October 2007.

23- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket. Hampshire Beekeepers Association, Autumn convention: October 2007.

22- Bumblebees gain fitness through learning. Royal Entomological Society National Meeting (ENTO 07), Edinburgh: July 2007.

21- Is commercial trade in bumblebee pollinators threatening the diversity of Bombus terrestris. Commercial bumblebee producers meeting, Syngenta Crop Protection UK: June 2007.

20- Evolutionary and ecological consequences of learning in bumblebees. IUSSI International Congress XV, Washington DC: August 2006.

19- The adaptive value of bee flower colour choices. Zoology department seminar, University of Oxford: April 2006.

18- The adaptive value of bee flower colour choices. Seminar, Queen Mary University of London: April 2006.

17- Learning to forage in the floral supermarket. Medway Beekeepers Association, annual open lecture: March 2006.

16- The adaptive value of bee flower colour choices. Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour “Sensory Ecology” winter meeting, Zoological Society of London: December 2005.

15- The evolution of learning: Bumblebees as a model. London Evolutionary Research Network meeting, Natural History Museum, London: September 2005.

14- The evolution of learning: Bumblebees as a model. British Ecological Society annual meeting, University of Hertfordshire: September 2005.

13- The evolution of learning: Bumblebees as a model. International Ethological Conference, Budapest: August 2005.

12- Resolving potential conflicts: avoiding antagonistic interactions in an ant-plant mutualism. Research seminar, CEH Dorset: March 2005.

11- Co-operation and conflict in ant-plants and their mutualists. Undergraduate lecture, University of Sheffield: February 2005.

10- Guards and thieves: antagonistic interactions between two ant species coexisting on the same ant-plant. Invited speaker at Royal Entomological Society, London: October 2004.

9- Guards and thieves: antagonistic interactions between two ant species coexisting on the same ant-plant. Seminar Queen Mary University of London: September 2004.

8- Spatial structuring and floral repellence prevent ant-pollinator conflict in a Mexican ant-acacia. Invited speaker at the British Ecological Society/ Association of Tropical Biology special pollination symposium “Biotic Interactions in the Tropics”, Aberdeen: July 2003.

7- Guards and thieves: antagonistic interactions between two ant species coexisting on the same ant-plant. Poster presentation at ESF LESC Exploratory Workshop, “The evolution of co-operating and cheating in nature”, Montpellier: May 2003 .

6- Co-operation and conflict in ant-plants and their mutualists. Undergraduate lecture, University of Sheffield: February 2003.

5- Resolving potential ant-pollinator conflict in a Mexican ant-acacia. Evolution and Behaviour Group Seminar, University of Sheffield: February 2003.

4- Resolving potential ant-pollinator conflict in a Mexican ant-acacia. IUSSI, British Section winter meeting, London: December 2002.

3- Spatial structuring and floral repellence prevent ant-pollinator conflict in a Mexican ant-acacia. Invited speaker at Royal Entomological Society, London: October 2002.

2- Pollination Ecology of a Mexican Acacia community. University of Oxford Entomology Society: February 2000.

1- Shiny bees and spiny trees: the pollination ecology of Mexican acacias. Integrative Physiological Ecology Research group seminar, University of Oxford: January 2000.
Links

British Ecological Society

Campaign for Science & Engineering (formerly the Save British Science Society)

International Bee Research Association (IBRA)

International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI)

Journal of Zoology

Linnean Society of London

PLoS One

Pollination Biology of Acacias – Graham Stone's research group (University of Edinburgh)

Royal Entomological Society
 
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