Robert J. Wilson began editing RES journal Ecological Entomology in 2022 and is particularly interested in how environmental change impacts biodiversity. Read on to discover more about Rob and his lovely journey into entomology.
Rob Wilson – In the Alps
(Photo credit: Paul Ryder)
Tell us a bit about the person behind the title Editor-in-Chief.
I grew up in the outer suburbs of London, and most weekends went for long walks with my family on the North Downs in Surrey and Kent. That’s when I started making notes about the butterflies I saw: where, which species, and how many.
I still record similar data in the field as part of my job at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid (Spain), alongside rewarding collaborations using historical specimens in the museum collections to understand changes over time in insect diversity and distributions.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
It’s pretty great having a job where you can benefit from the shared enthusiasm and expertise of colleagues to help understand observations and ideas that you have made while doing fieldwork in the natural world.
What do you appreciate the most about being involved with the RES?
A society based on entomological research and advocating for insects seems essential in the world right now.
Rob Wilson with Cupido minimus
(Photo credit: Phil Jones)
“After becoming interested in butterflies as a teenager, I went on to study biology at university.
On a university admissions day, I remember seeing a copy of Ecological Entomology in a library and thinking that a journal with that title sounded exactly like what I was interested in.”
What is the best part of your role as EiC of Ecological Entomology?
I hope that my contributions and those of the Associate Editors and reviewers can help authors, especially at early career stages, to strengthen their work so that it goes on to have as big an impact as possible on other entomologists.
What has been your most exciting or interesting research discovery? Why?
It can be staggering how quickly the distributions of insect species change, and often in the ways that you would predict based on changes to habitat availability or climatic conditions. This evidence is crucial to help us understand why many insects are declining, and how we can reverse those declines.
Who is your inspiration and why?
Apart from the support of my family, friends and colleagues throughout my life, back in the 1980s I was encouraged in my interest in butterflies by a retired couple, Rob and Ray Wason, who were active in local environmental and political NGOs. Being taken seriously as a teenager was a great encouragement.
Many entomologists travel widely – what was the most enjoyable fieldwork location you’ve worked in, and would you recommend it for a holiday?
My butterfly fieldwork has been in three countries – the United Kingdom, Spain, and (a long time ago) the Comoro Islands. In all of them there are places I remember very fondly, and wonderful memories of new and interesting discoveries.
What’s your favourite insect and why?
Probably the Silver-spotted skipper butterfly, Hesperia comma. It was a rarity when I was growing up, so I was thrilled to find it based on descriptions of its habitat and distribution in a field guide. It was also the first species I did UK fieldwork on before my PhD; and the first species I had contracts to conduct research on. The adults are small, fast and usually stay close to the ground; and there is nothing like the thrill of finding an egg after an hour searching a grassy hillside.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
Time travel, so I could visit my field sites hundreds of years ago and find out how the habitats and insect communities have changed.
What is the best piece of advice you received as an ECR?
My PhD supervisor told me that if I couldn’t sleep because I had an idea, I should get up and write it down. I was sceptical, but it has happened (at least once, anyway).
If you could wake up with any new skill, what would it be?
Finishing things before I start something else.
Quickfire Questions
Rob’s favourite:
- Place? A meadow or a woodland edge somewhere in springtime
- Food? Tacos maybe, or cake
- Drink? A pint of pale ale on a sunny evening
- Book? Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
- Band? Galaxie 500
- Film? Cinema Paradiso (or Rear Window, or Gregory’s Girl, or The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
- Football team? Tottenham Hotspur
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