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This essay explores the history of the discovery and study of Plecoptera (stoneflies) in Britain and Ireland from 1769 to the 1970s. Britain (35 species) and Ireland (19 species) have a depauperate representation of this insect group compared to continental Europe but they form an important component of freshwater ecosystems on both islands. Species discovery began in the eighteenth century and led to extensive specimen collecting in the 1800s and early 1900s. This was followed by a period of classification and consolidation of species, genera and families through the mid-twentieth century which eventually led to more detailed studies of stonefly ecology in the mid- to late 1900s. The entomologists involved are detailed along with how their works and interests played a significant role in shaping knowledge about British and Irish stoneflies. This essay also touches on many other prominent entomologists and their collections, studies and publications that have helped progress understanding of this insect order over the past two centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: The study of insect migration is problematic due to the small size of insects. Stable isotope analysis can be used to elucidate movement, either by geographic assignment of location of a species, or by simply distinguishing migrant from resident populations. There are few isoscapes of any kind in the UK/Ireland available for interrogation. Thus, I have measured stable isotope ratios (of H, C, N and S) of 299 individuals of the non-migratory Brimstone moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) collected from 93 locations around the UK and Ireland by citizen scientists. Methods: After removing lipids, stable isotope ratios were measured by continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry, using either a conventional elemental analyser (C, N and S) or a high-temperature, thermal conversion elemental analyser in reductive mode. Results: Maps (isoscapes) were constructed that illustrate the stable isotope spatial distribution of this insect. These are the first isoscapes of H, C, N and S of biological samples covering both UK and Ireland. Conclusions: The insect isoscape patterns can be explained from what we know of moth diet, climate and geology. Sulfur isotopes may be of particular use for distinguishing individuals from areas of unique geology. Isoscape patterns may (with care) predict isotope compositions of other, herbivorous, non-aquatic, chitinous taxa. Such isoscapes, when extended beyond the UK and Ireland, would provide a useful tool to elucidate insect migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects provide key ecosystem services for our sustainable future, which rely upon effective conservation policies to protect insect biodiversity. To date, however, we still do not know how effective current conservation policies are for protecting insect biodiversity, opening up the possibility that policies are unfit-for-purpose. Given the considerable debate and public awareness on the potential global decline of insect species, it is important to understand whether or not current policies can protect insect biodiversity. Here, we used IUCN listing of species status and developed a quantitative framework to analyse the potential effectiveness and coverage of current conservation policies pertaining to insect biodiversity in the UK and Ireland. We contrasted this against coverage for a well-known group – mammals – as a benchmark, to find that while the vast majority of the UK mammalian species in the European IUCN red list are directly protected by current policies, insects remain largely unprotected. Moreover, for those insect species that are explicitly protected by current policies, there is a taxonomic bias whereby the majority (>50%) of insect species are Lepidopterans (moths and butterflies), while a minority are Coleopterans (beetles), and none are Hymenopterans (bees, ants, wasps). Similar trends were observed in the UK priority biodiversity lists. Based on our data, we conclude that current biodiversity policies in the UK and Ireland have significant gaps in their protection of insect biodiversity and, there is a taxonomic bias that may skew some conservation efforts toward butterflies and moths. We anticipate that our findings are likely to occur worldwide, highlighting the need for more directive policies to manage and protect insect biodiversity for the sustainability of ecosystem services. • UK policies show biases toward Lepidoptera over other large insect orders. • Policy protection of mammals shows greater uniformity between orders than insects. • Policies in Ireland lack protection for any insect species. • UK priority lists do not prioritise all insects assessed as at risk of extinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]