I am interested in how pollinators interact with plants and other animals in the environment. Most of my research to date has been with bumblebees, investigating responses at the individual and colony level to natural and artificial toxicants. During my DPhil I have been focusing on how aspects of nectar composition influence learning and memory. Specifically, looking at how different sugars found in nectar affect the ability of foraging bumblebees to form a robust memory and how bumblebees respond to chemicals inducing post-ingestive malaise whilst foraging. I have also been investigating the trade-off between bumblebee body size and choice number, and how this directs learning. I am also interested in Hymenoptera and other pollinators more generally; I conduct solitary bee and wasp surveys around Oxford, and, prior to starting the DPhil, I accumulated 10 years experience in beekeeping.
