Welcome to the Research Group led by Peter Mayhew at the University of York. We study the evolutionary and ecological underpinnings of biodiversity. We have built a reputation for focussing on insects. As far as anyone knows, they comprise more than half of all species, so they provoke plenty of interesting questions. However, we are always willing to be diverted onto other taxa. We also do applied work stemming from this, such as biological control and conservation. Have a look at the projects, people, publications, and media pages to see what we get up to in more detail. Our work often involves creating re-usable datasets such as phylogenies, and taxonomic or trait lists: our legacy. These are available here to download for free, but please cite the original source paper if you use in the public domain. We strongly believe in working as a community, so please get in touch if you think we could work together.
Recent Posts
New: biography of William Prest now published
When researching the conservation of Dark Bordered Beauty moth I came across several interesting characters who had taken an active interest in this species in the York area in the past, but many of them were amateur naturalists about whom little had been written. So I’ve started work to rectify this. First on my list … Continue reading New: biography of William Prest now published
Two new papers out – on moths and beetles.
Two new publications have just come out. In the first, we use moth wingspans to estimate biomass as a shortcut to chart insect biomass changes from abundance datasets. In the second we identify groups of beetles with narrow elevational ranges that would be suitable for monitoring climate change effects on elevational distributions.
Peter gives lecture on the history of Dark Bordered Beauty moth at the Yorkshire Philosophical Society
The Yorkshire Philosophical Society is a society set up in 1822 in York for the promotion of science (known as philosophy then) to the general public, and is still going strong. On 28th January, Peter gave a public lecture on York’s Dark Bordered Beauty moth, one of Britain’s rarest insects and its links to the … Continue reading Peter gives lecture on the history of Dark Bordered Beauty moth at the Yorkshire Philosophical Society
Adam Bakewell’s first paper now out in final form
Adam Bakewell’s first PhD paper is now published in its final form online (link). Well done to Adam and all those involved!
Mayhew Group 