There's less than a month until the start of the 2026 FIT Count season on 1 April! The Flower-Insect Timed Count survey asks you to spend 10 minutes counting all insects that land on a patch of flowers, to help monitor abundance of #pollinators. 🪰🦋🌻🪲🐝 More info at ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts
Did you know? Every part of the daffodil is poisonous to humans? However they also contain galantamine, a compound used in drugs that slow the progression of Alzheimers disease.
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The Narcissus bulb fly (Merodon equestris) is a bumblebee mimicking hoverfly that can be a pest of flowers like daffodils. This is as larvae, the adults don’t mess with the bulbs. These fluffy flies have a small triangle on the hind leg as an identifying feature.
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#thicktrunktuesday - plane trees in Bunhill Burial Ground, EC1.
While we're wrapped up, it’s summer for the blue-banded bee (Amegilla spp) in Australia! Despite the name, not all blue-banded bees are blue. Some have white or green bands for example. Gotta love common names!
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Bumblebee on apple blossom
Growing an apple tree or two could help bumblebees, butterflies, birds and bats - orchards and fruit trees are fantastic for biodiversity! Need help choosing a variety? We’ve put together some suggestions:
littlegreenspace.org.uk/features/cho...
The Adonis Blue butterfly is currently overwintering as a tiny caterpillar on chalky grasslands. When they pupate, they will be carried underground by ants into the safety of their nests. Here they will be tended/milked until they come out as adult butterflies.
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🌿🐝 New Monthly Blog: Creating Pollinator Habitat in Wintertime
How winter actions can support bees, butterflies, hoverflies and more. Practical ideas for gardeners, communities and businesses to help pollinators thrive year-round.
Find it on the website!
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You can, and maybe should, start some flowers indoors now for spring blooms!
Think of sweet peas, begonias & geraniums. You can find pollinator friendly planting suggestions on our website.
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We’re excited to welcome our new PLT Ambassadors! They are leaders from within our partner organisations who have stepped up to champion urban biodiversity. We will start introducing them soon. Look out for the official Ambassador logo on email signatures across the City.
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Did you know the City of London is a haven for wild bees? Our 2024 surveys recorded 8 different bumblebee species, 39 species of solitary bee, and 27 hoverfly species right here in the Square Mile! Not much longer to wait until we share our results from last year! Stay tuned…
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Maybe if I stay here, Monday won’t find me ... 😴
🔎🐝 Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
📷 Claire Fidler
Up to 4 billion hoverflies migrate to and from Britain each year!
They head south in autumn and wait for the right winds to carry them between Britain and mainland Europe.
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POV you're a Peacock butterfly soaking up every last scrap of winter sunshine
We'd hiss too if someone was blocking our sun!
📹: Jake Hearney
Our first visit to Mill Hill LNR near Shoreham today. We helped some local volunteers remove cotoneaster, privet and hawthorn to restore the chalk grassland which has declined in quality in recent years to be able to support typical chalk grassland butterflies.
Responding to the urge to tidy the garden? Resist! Hollow stems and leaf piles are great spots for overwintering insects. By leaving the "mess" until spring, you’re not disturbing the next generation of beneficial insects.
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Did you know, some pollinators hibernate as adults through the winter? Some notable examples include peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies. Have you found any in your home?
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Those small street planters you walk past every day? They may not look like much but they serve an important purpose. Even a few flowering plants can act as stepping-stones that help pollinators move between bigger green spaces across the city.
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This is the tree bumblebee, a relative newcomer to the UK (arriving in 2001) and now common across cities. They often nest in bird boxes, which puts them close to people and sometimes leads to a reputation for being ‘aggressive’. They’re not. Give them space and they’ll ignore you.
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Did you know? Pollinators need more than flowers.
Many solitary bees like this orange-tailed mining bee nest directly in the ground and prefer sandy or loamy soil they can excavate. A lot of hoverflies have aquatic larvae. Habitat variety is just as important as planting.
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Wasp appreciation post!
Wasps get a bad reputation, but they’re doing far more good than people realise. Many species visit flowers and contribute to pollination, and they’re great natural pest control. If we want to cut pesticide use, we need these guys on our side.
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Flowering street trees provide huge amounts of nectar and pollen in a short window, and some species rely almost entirely on certain trees. Easy to overlook, but they’re one of the city’s most important food sources for pollinators.
#PollinatingLT #trees
Bee hotels range from simple drilled logs to concrete blocks and multi-chamber wooden setups. Each design has pros and cons such as durability and maintenance. Do you use any at home, and what style have you gone for?
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As the year comes to a close, we just want to say thank you.
To everyone who followed, shared, volunteered, donated, or supported Pollinating London Together this year. You’ve helped make space for pollinators across the city. We couldn’t do this without you.
Onwards into the new year!
The PLT Team
That holly in your house? Its white flowers fed pollinators earlier in the year and the red berries now are the leftovers. The holly blue butterfly feeds on its leaves when they are caterpillars.
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Most UK bee species are solitary, but honeybees are an exception: they make honey specifically to survive periods like winter, when forage is scarce. It feels obvious once you hear it, but some people never actually think about it. Had it crossed your mind before?
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Insects have different life stages and can look wildly different as larvae and adults. It’s thought that this is to avoid competition for food resources between parent and offspring! Certain hoverflies eat garden pests such as aphids as larvae but nectar and pollen as adults.
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Last chance to double your impact!
Donations to PLT on BigGive.org close at midday today (12 pm!).
Every pound counts towards creating greener, more pollinator-friendly spaces across the city!
✨ Your gift today = twice the support for London’s pollinators.
A £25 donation becomes £50.
A £100 donation becomes £200.
And it only lasts until tomorrow.
Let’s create more thriving spaces for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators across London.
Double your impact → lnkd.in/e9-wA-v6
So cute!
