many thanks to @soerinegerlich.bsky.social for leading this study into phenological limits in Arctic communities. For me this collaboration was a real eye-opener into the potential for species to reach limits to their ability to respond plastically. Who knows what the consequences will be.

Read more about my work in @uk.theconversation.com: theconversation.com/will-food-ch...

Or, have a look at our recent perspective piece in @globalchangebio.bsky.social: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Hot on the heels of receiving the @linneansociety.bsky.social's Marsden Medal, very pleased to announce that my PhD thesis also came in as runner up for the @royentsoc.bsky.social's Alfred Russel Wallace Award! 🌿🐛

Thanks to @eastbio.bsky.social and my supervisor @allyphillimore.bsky.social

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Look who turned up in the moth trap this morning...
We've been expecting a Jersey Tiger for a while, being located just north of its current range. What stunning moths they are!

#mothsmatter #teammoth

3. Hear the fantastic talk from this year's John C. Marsden Medal Winner, @jamiecweir.bsky.social gave us on timing and spring-feeding caterpillars. #insectweek www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7mh...

You can find many of the key ideas discussed in my recent @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper:

'Buffering and phenological mismatch: a change of perspective'

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

It was a real delight to go down to Burlington House the other week, to tour the @linneansociety.bsky.social collections and receive this year's John C. Marsden medal, for the best biology PhD thesis in the UK.

It was, and remains, a tremendous honour.

Interested in my thesis? 👇

Employing one of my lesser-used mugs today!

Lord Palmerston not looking impressed by my work...

History enthusiasts: any thoughts on who might be the most important British prime minister of the nineteenth century?

Some highlights from the last few warm nights here in the central belt of Scotland...

A pair of puss moths, ermines, and several poplar hawks.

Poplars sit with hindwings resting *in front* of the forewings, breaking up the classic moth outline and giving them a more ragged, leaf-life appearance 🦋🌿

If ephemeral consumer-resource interactions are more buffered than we may have feared, are we overestimating climate-driven mismatch risks? Or, worse, could we be worried about the wrong species?

Follow the link 👇 and read our paper for more!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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We call for a shift in focus: not just measuring mismatches, but understanding when, how, and why these mismatches actually matter for population persistence.

Resilience is an underappreciated part of this story, but vital for evaluating responses to climate change 🌍🌡️

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From caterpillar dispersal via 'ballooning', to bet-hedging through considerable variation in egg hatch times, and a broad diet and host-plant switching — this species has a range of insurance policies against bad timing 🐛

And analogous buffering mechanisms can be found in many other species.

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However, in this perspective piece we argue that winter moths — poster species in the world of phenology, forest entomology, and pop. ecology — possess a suite of mechanisms that #buffer the effects of mismatch, from egg-laying bet-hedging to caterpillar dispersal.

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Phenological #mismatch arises when distinct phenological responses to climate change drive a #consumer species and its #resource species out of temporal synchrony...

🌳>🐛>🐦 🕜

It's generally considered a widespread phenomenon contributing to #ecosystem fragility.

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Although species vary in their #phenological response to #climate change, some food-chains and webs are surprisingly resilient...

On the anniversary of my @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper with @allyphillimore.bsky.social, I wanted to revisit some of the key ideas 👇

tinyurl.com/BufferCater

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I think it's interesting how the policemen are standing with their backs to the crowd. They certainly do not do that now.

Birch twigs adorned with colourful feathers are a traditional Swedish Easter decoration, brightening up the dinner table.

Illustration by J. Terrier from 'Faune de la Senegambie' by Alphonse Trémeau de Rochebrune, 1883-1884.

www.magnoliabox.com/...

Thank you!

I'd recommend having a look at www.insectcage.co.uk. They have a range of traps with mesh bodies which make them extremely light and portable. I own a few of these and they've been great for trapping abroad. Of course, you have to make sure it's dry and they're secured down if it's windy.

Thanks Richard! Much appreciated!

It's an incredible honour to be awarded the John C. Marsden medal from the @linneansociety.bsky.social for my PhD research on phenology, moths... and some very hungry caterpillars 🌳🐛

Thanks to all my friends and mentors at @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social, but especially @allyphillimore.bsky.social!

This is Macrocillix maia & he's a moth who mimics bird poo. But he's taken it to the next level, he's also mimicking flies feeding on the bird poo, right down to the shimmer of their wings!

I have wanted to see one for so long, but never thought I would! In Trus Madi entomology camp in Borneo.
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Thanks Laura! Very happy to chat - sounds like an intriguing project. I enjoyed the introduction, especially the lovely diagrams! 👍

Very pleased to be back at the @savebutterflies.bsky.social Scotland spring meeting in Perth, this time talking about my PhD work on #phenology, #ecology, and #trophic #mismatch.

As always, the winter #moth will be headlining... (but will be put in its place) 🦋