Recently, I did the Great North 10K (lovely albeit hilly run across Newcastle)- great halfway mark, only the half-marathon to go! 7/

I’m very excited to undertake this challenge (it certainly feels scary to commit to running the whole 13.1 miles!) but I’ve been enjoying the training and spending time outside, all among the many summer surveys and my PhD. 5/

I also love running. The ability to just switch off and focus only on the one thing at one time has been keeping me sane. I’m not particularly fast but I enjoy spending the time outside and exploring new and old places. 4/

In each, I had the chance to learn something more through observing the moths (and butterflies) and the habitats they are found in. They’ve helped me understand just how interlinked everything in nature is and why our actions matter as much as they do. 3/

The joys of being an ecologist mostly come from spending time outside exploring the many wonders of nature. For me, moths and their recording (and now research to understand them and help protect them) have taken me to incredible places from huge meadows and mountains, to tiny urban gardens. 2/

Lovely Six-spot Burnets today and my first time seeing their chrysalis! Some wasted no time and mated straight away! #mothsmatter #teammoth

When I started my PhD, I imagined I would do a lot of different things. But planting hundreds of plants wasn't on the list! Exciting experiments pending...🦋

Wonderful to be back to fieldwork, investigating how we can mitigate light pollution impacts on moths. Only a few weeks in and I've been treated to some amazing moths, sunsets and plenty of blue skies. Excited for the rest of the field season! #moths #ALAN #mitigations @nclneg.bsky.social

Nice few moths this morning, including Menophra japygiaria, Agrotis, Small Mottled Willow (Spodoptera exigua) and Aleucis distinctata! #teammoth #mothsmatter

A beautiful Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius) caterpillar found in south Portugal 🦋 @europebutterfly.bsky.social

#BigGardenBirdwatch 🐦🔭 Spending an hour watching the birds in our little sub-urban garden? Yes please! Equipped with binoculars and notebook, 16 birds of 9 species, including Collared Doves, Wood Pigeon, Blue and Great tits, Blackbird, Starlings, Magpies, House Sparrow and Robin @rspb.bsky.social

A day out for our office- a bunch of ecologists looking for wild goats, fungi and birds. Doesn't get much better than that! First flocks of fieldfares too. Attempt at fungi ID in alt- happy to hear any suggestions!

Swifts, the wonderful summer visitors, screeching through the skies. Also, birds in huge decline. It's been wonderful to be involved in the Durham Swift City project with @durhamwildlife.bsky.social, providing more nesting habitats for swifts! See more here: www.durhamwt.com/blog/mary-an...

I often spend many hours reading about arthropods and much other fauna and flora. But nothing quite beats seeing them thrive in my soil 🪱

A wonderful Elephant hawk moth caterpillar (Deilephila elpenor) was stumbling along the path on my walk yesterday! Always a delight to see such a huge caterpillar! #MothMonday #TeamMoth #MothsMatter

The front of my flat is by no means the most biodiverse place. Yet, the cinnabar moth caterpillars are making the most of it!! Nice to know the adult I saw in June was rather busy! #teammoth #mothsmatter @savebutterflies.bsky.social

From beautiful #moth trapping locations to sampling Alpine meadows filled with butterflies 🦋 and learning about sample preparation 🧬, I had the best week on the @10klepgenomes.bsky.social field trip! Huge thanks to all the entomologists, #COST10KLepGenomes, #LepEu and @projectpsyche.bsky.social!

Thanks to the seabird ringing grant from @btobirds.bsky.social, I spent an incredible week Eilean nan Ròn, advancing my ringing skills! We managed to catch and ring storm petrels, shags, few gull chicks and more! Huge thanks to BTO and the team! All birds ringed under licence @sophiesww.bsky.social

Slightly chilly and windy night (the trap shield might have suffered too!) in the Lakes, but still nice 19 of 10 sp. Highlights were definitely multiple White Ermines (Spilosoma lubricipeda), what delightful moths! #teammoth #mothsmatter

Great day yesterday at the Discover Festival in Newcastle, talking about our work on light pollution, moths, and the importance of insects! @sciencesncl.bsky.social @nclneg.bsky.social Thanks to @darkskyintl.bsky.social for the amazing resources! #DarkSkyAdvocate

What a great moth! Only time I've seen one was up Cairngorm..not quite sure what it was doing up there!

Not the creatures I was expecting to find when #moth sampling, but what a great surprise! Last night, I was joined by this beautiful Empusa pennata, the conehead mantis, and a very loud hedgehog!

Happy #WorldBeeDay! It was a pleasure to catch up with both the Andrena bucephala (Big-headed Mining Bee) and @entomophily.bsky.social last week, and today is a perfect day to share this beautiful Mining Bee!

Cotesia glomerata on a Pieris brassicae caterpillar- the prime example of a caterpillar-parasitoid network!! Nature never fails to amaze me. Here, the caterpillar is 'guarding' the cocoons of its parasite, which might also be parasitised(!). @europebutterfly.bsky.social #Lepidoptera

Only a few weeks left of my first field season! Let's see what the results show! Below is a picture of them at night 🌙

Cream-spot Tiger (Arctia villica) was definitely a highlight of last nights fieldwork and the perfect moth for #MothMonday! #MothsMatter #TeamMoth

The pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) are back! This was the first orchid species I learnt how to identify, so it's always a good day when they start flowering again. Their morphology is well adapted for Lepidoptera pollination too 🦋🌸 @europeanorchids.bsky.social

Moths 🦋 Together with butterflies, they form the order Lepidoptera, meaning scaly wing. Unlike common belief, they are not all brown and eat your clothes- their life histories are fascinating, complex, and they are very colourful! They enjoy dark skies and varied habitats! #DarkSkyWeek

This week (21st-28th April) we celebrate the International Dark Sky Week, a global celebration of night! Throughout this week, I'll be sharing ALAN research, talk about why darkness is important and share my favourite creates of the night. #DarkSkyWeek

#MothMonday from the beautiful Monchique mountains! Treated to some gorgeous views and moths! Highlights included Goldwing (Synthymia fixa) and (I think!) Coleophora mayrella! #teammoth