The genome sequence of the Rock Grayling, Hipparchia semele (Linnaeus, 1758).

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Hipparchia semele (the Rock Grayling; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). The genome sequence is 403.4 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 30 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the W and Z sex chromosomes. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.22 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 17,540 protein coding genes.

Brownfield sites promote biodiversity at a landscape scale.

Repurposing of brownfield sites is often promoted, because it is perceived that protecting the "green belt" limits damage to biodiversity; yet brownfield sites provide scarce habitats with limited disturbance, so conversely are also perceived to be ecologically valuable. Combining data from three national-scale UK biological monitoring schemes with location data on historical landfill sites, we show that species richness is positively associated with both the presence and increasing area of ex-landfill sites for birds, plants and several insect taxa. Assemblage rarity of birds is also positively associated with presence of ex-landfill sites. Species richness associated with ex-landfill sites declined over time for birds and insects but increased over time for plants. These findings suggest that development of brownfield sites may have unintended negative consequences for biodiversity, and imply that to minimise loss of biodiversity, brownfield site repurposing could be targeted towards smaller sites, or sites in areas with a high density of other brownfield sites.

Wing morphological responses to latitude and colonisation in a range expanding butterfly.

Populations undergoing rapid climate-driven range expansion experience distinct selection regimes dominated both by increased dispersal at the leading edges and steep environmental gradients. Characterisation of traits associated with such expansions provides insight into the selection pressures and evolutionary constraints that shape demographic and evolutionary responses. Here we investigate patterns in three components of wing morphology (size, shape, colour) often linked to dispersal ability and thermoregulation, along latitudinal gradients of range expansion in the Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) in Britain (two regions of expansion in England and Scotland). We measured 774 males from 54 sites spanning 799 km with a 10-year mean average temperature gradient of 4 °C. A geometric morphometric method was used to investigate variation in size and shape of forewings and hindwings; colour, pattern, and contrast of the wings were examined using a measure of lightness (inverse degree of melanism). Overall, wing size increased with latitude by ∼2% per 100 km, consistent with Bergmann's rule. Forewings became more rounded and hindwings more elongated with history of colonisation, possibly reflecting selection for increased dispersal ability. Contrary to thermal melanism expectations, wing colour was lighter where larvae developed at cooler temperatures and unrelated to long-term temperature. Changes in wing spot pattern were also detected. High heterogeneity in variance among sites for all of the traits studied may reflect evolutionary time-lags and genetic drift due to colonisation of new habitats. Our study suggests that temperature-sensitive plastic responses for size and colour interact with selection for dispersal traits (wing size and shape). Whilst the plastic and evolutionary responses may in some cases act antagonistically, the rapid expansion of P. aegeria implies an overall reinforcing effect between these two mechanisms.

Unlocking the potential of historical abundance datasets to study biomass change in flying insects.

Trends in insect abundance are well established in some datasets, but far less is known about how abundance measures translate into biomass trends. Moths (Lepidoptera) provide particularly good opportunities to study trends and drivers of biomass change at large spatial and temporal scales, given the existence of long-term abundance datasets. However, data on the body masses of moths are required for these analyses, but such data do not currently exist.To address this data gap, we collected empirical data in 2018 on the forewing length and dry mass of field-sampled moths, and used these to train and test a statistical model that predicts the body mass of moth species from their forewing lengths (with refined parameters for Crambidae, Erebidae, Geometridae and Noctuidae).Modeled biomass was positively correlated, with high explanatory power, with measured biomass of moth species (R 2 = 0.886 ± 0.0006, across 10,000 bootstrapped replicates) and of mixed-species samples of moths (R 2 = 0.873 ± 0.0003), showing that it is possible to predict biomass to an informative level of accuracy, and prediction error was smaller with larger sample sizes.Our model allows biomass to be estimated for historical moth abundance datasets, and so our approach will create opportunities to investigate trends and drivers of insect biomass change over long timescales and broad geographic regions.

Nocturnal pollination: an overlooked ecosystem service vulnerable to environmental change.

Existing assessments of the ecosystem service of pollination have been largely restricted to diurnal insects, with a particular focus on generalist foragers such as wild and honey bees. As knowledge of how these plant-pollinator systems function, their relevance to food security and biodiversity, and the fragility of these mutually beneficial interactions increases, attention is diverting to other, less well-studied pollinator groups. One such group are those that forage at night. In this review, we document evidence that nocturnal species are providers of pollination services (including pollination of economically valuable and culturally important crops, as well as wild plants of conservation concern), but highlight how little is known about the scale of such services. We discuss the primary mechanisms involved in night-time communication between plants and insect pollen-vectors, including floral scent, visual cues (and associated specialized visual systems), and thermogenic sensitivity (associated with thermogenic flowers). We highlight that these mechanisms are vulnerable to direct and indirect disruption by a range of anthropogenic drivers of environmental change, including air and soil pollution, artificial light at night, and climate change. Lastly, we highlight a number of directions for future research that will be important if nocturnal pollination services are to be fully understood and ultimately conserved.

Moth biomass increases and decreases over 50 years in Britain.

Steep insect biomass declines ('insectageddon') have been widely reported, despite a lack of continuously collected biomass data from replicated long-term monitoring sites. Such severe declines are not supported by the world's longest running insect population database: annual moth biomass estimates from British fixed monitoring sites revealed increasing biomass between 1967 and 1982, followed by gradual decline from 1982 to 2017, with a 2.2-fold net gain in mean biomass between the first (1967-1976) and last decades (2008-2017) of monitoring. High between-year variability and multi-year periodicity in biomass emphasize the need for long-term data to detect trends and identify their causes robustly.

Climate-induced phenology shifts linked to range expansions in species with multiple reproductive cycles per year.

Advances in phenology (the annual timing of species' life-cycles) in response to climate change are generally viewed as bioindicators of climate change, but have not been considered as predictors of range expansions. Here, we show that phenology advances combine with the number of reproductive cycles per year (voltinism) to shape abundance and distribution trends in 130 species of British Lepidoptera, in response to ~0.5 °C spring-temperature warming between 1995 and 2014. Early adult emergence in warm years resulted in increased within- and between-year population growth for species with multiple reproductive cycles per year (n = 39 multivoltine species). By contrast, early emergence had neutral or negative consequences for species with a single annual reproductive cycle (n = 91 univoltine species), depending on habitat specialisation. We conclude that phenology advances facilitate polewards range expansions in species exhibiting plasticity for both phenology and voltinism, but may inhibit expansion by less flexible species.

The dark side of street lighting: impacts on moths and evidence for the disruption of nocturnal pollen transport.

Among drivers of environmental change, artificial light at night is relatively poorly understood, yet is increasing on a global scale. The community-level effects of existing street lights on moths and their biotic interactions have not previously been studied. Using a combination of sampling methods at matched-pairs of lit and unlit sites, we found significant effects of street lighting: moth abundance at ground level was halved at lit sites, species richness was >25% lower, and flight activity at the level of the light was 70% greater. Furthermore, we found that 23% of moths carried pollen of at least 28 plant species and that there was a consequent overall reduction in pollen transport at lit sites. These findings support the disruptive impact of lights on moth activity, which is one proposed mechanism driving moth declines, and suggest that street lighting potentially impacts upon pollination by nocturnal invertebrates. We highlight the importance of considering both direct and cascading impacts of artificial light.

Pollination by nocturnal Lepidoptera, and the effects of light pollution: a review.

1. Moths (Lepidoptera) are the major nocturnal pollinators of flowers. However, their importance and contribution to the provision of pollination ecosystem services may have been under-appreciated. Evidence was identified that moths are important pollinators of a diverse range of plant species in diverse ecosystems across the world. 2. Moth populations are known to be undergoing significant declines in several European countries. Among the potential drivers of this decline is increasing light pollution. The known and possible effects of artificial night lighting upon moths were reviewed, and suggest how artificial night lighting might in turn affect the provision of pollination by moths. The need for studies of the effects of artificial night lighting upon whole communities of moths was highlighted. 3. An ecological network approach is one valuable method to consider the effects of artificial night lighting upon the provision of pollination by moths, as it provides useful insights into ecosystem functioning and stability, and may help elucidate the indirect effects of artificial light upon communities of moths and the plants they pollinate. 4. It was concluded that nocturnal pollination is an ecosystem process that may potentially be disrupted by increasing light pollution, although the nature of this disruption remains to be tested.