@marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Ecologist in pursuit of butterflies. Postdoc at the University of Exeter, Cornwall working on nature recovery and species' responses to climate change. Chair of Cornwall Butterfly Conservation. He/Him
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation's Open Day is tomorrow!
Do join us for a lovely day of talks and cake if you are around in Cornwall.
@savebutterflies.bsky.social
It's publication day!
My butterfly book for children publishes today in the UK & Germany. Written in the hope it captures the imagination of kids, and inspires a lifelong interest and love for butterflies and the wider natural world. (1/2)
#Butterflies #Schmetterlinge
Canary Island Large White now in crisis following likely extinction on Tenerife
Out in MEC!
New study led by @dariashipilina.bsky.social links resource limitation as a driver of migration in the painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui). The authors show how resource cues reshape gene expression across development.
Read more: buff.ly/dogof9L
📷: Daria Shipilina
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First Holly Blue of the year in the garden today 🩵 North Herefordshire
A Peacock and the first Greater Stitchwort flowers beginning to appear in the lanes around Helston this afternoon.
'Extinct' butterfly spotted across England butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blo...
Excited to see one of my PhD chapters now published! We found a trade-off between the quality of host plants and how warm they were for a declining grassland butterfly (Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas) and looked at how this shaped their egg-laying choices: doi.org/10.1111/een....
The Sand Martins are back at St Gothian Sands!
They seem to be holding up better here in Cornwall for now.
My first Small Tortoiseshell of the year and a Peacock on today's wander around the hinterlands of Helston.
Join us for the UK Butterfly Recorders Meeting!
This free event is perfect for butterfly enthusiasts, taking place online on Sat 28th March. Discover the 2025 UKBMS findings and enjoy insights from leading butterfly experts.
Reserve your free spot now!
butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/...
Another Dorset Large Tortoiseshell, this time at Hengistbury Head www.dorsetbutterflies.com/2026/03/larg...
After working at Dungeness ,seemed a shame not to nip into Orlestone.......as I was passing,on the way home .Arrived at half past three ,and back in the car by four, still lucky enough to see two Large Torts .Heres those two plus one from a couple of days back .
📣 New paper 🎉 Proud to have helped with this nice study by @wlangdon12.bsky.social showing a trade-off between nutritional quality & microclimate of host plants for Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). Here in England, they choose warmth over nutrition resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
I'm sure the wait won't be long now!
Yay! There's a Chiffchaff singing outside my bedroom window.
Photo of the Large Tortoiseshell seen yesterday at Ballard Down by Shona Refoy. An exciting spot after one seen at Baiter in Poole a few days ago. Please report any other sightings on our website or here
Painted lady at Porthgwarra this morning... @migrantmothuk.bsky.social
I thought it was just a battered Small Tortoiseshell on a muddy patch… but something wasn’t quite right. Then it clicked—it was far too big! My first-ever Large Tortoiseshell, emerging in the sun after months of Cornish rain. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation's Open Day is next week!
We have some great speakers lined up for the day including @richardfoxbc.bsky.social on climate change, Adrian Spalding discussing Sandhill Rustics & Lesley Strong talking about the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.
Hope to see you there!
The sun has struggled to burn through the fog today, but a few bright spells around lunchtime brought out a couple of Peacocks around Penryn Campus.
Well spotted Andrew! What a great find.
Yay! My first Commas of the year and a pair of sparring Peacocks on my wander around Penryn Campus this afternoon.
Spring is slowly creeping back to the northern hemisphere!
Marsh Fritillary caterpillars have emerged from winter diapause and were communally basking in the sunshine at Church Hay Down today.
FIRST REPORT: Green-veined White. 24th Feb. East London
@richardfoxbc.bsky.social
FIRST REPORT: Holly Blue, 25th Feb '26. East London
@richardfoxbc.bsky.social
FIRST REPORT: Speckled Wood. 25th Feb '26. Essex
@richardfoxbc.bsky.social
The farmers fighting to save the Duke of Burgundy butterfly www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...