Dave Goulson

I grew up fascinated by insects, and by wildlife in general, and have managed to make a living from studying them, which makes me very lucky indeed. I'm now Professor of Biology at Sussex University. I've published over 300 scientific papers on bumblebees and other insects. My main focus is on why bees are declining and on working out what best we can do to help them.

In 2006 I founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a charity devoted to bumblebees which now has about 40 staff and 12,000 members.

I am author of "Bumblebees; their behaviour, conservation and ecology" (2010), an academic text, and A Sting in the Tale (2013), a bestselling popular science book about bumblebees, published by Jonathan Cape, and now translated into fifteen languages. This was followed by A Buzz in the Meadow in 2014, Bee Quest in 2017, The Garden Jungle in 2019, Gardening for Bumblebees in 2021, Silent Earth also in 2021, Insectarium in 2024. Due for release in 2026 are The Bee Spotter's Guide and Eat The Planet Well..

I was: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s Social Innovator of the Year in 2010; given the Zoological Society of London’s Marsh Award for Conservation Biology in 2013; elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2013; given the British Ecological Society Public Engagement Award in 2014; given the Zoological Society of London’s Clarivate Award for Communicating Zoology in 2020. In 2015 I was named number 8 in BBC Wildlife Magazine’s list of the top 50 most influential people in conservation. Since 2018, each year I have been named as a “Highly Cited Researcher” by Thompson ISI. I am a trustee of Pesticide Action Network, an “Ambassador” for the UK Wildlife Trusts, and president of Pesticide Free Scotland