Thermacellillä ON vaikutuksia kimalaisiin. Eivät löydä kotiin.

Today I spotted the Scarce Tortoiseshell (isonokkosperhonen, Nymphalis xanthomelas) at a couple of localities in the Helsinki region, S Finland. This is the fifth year in a row that I have seen successfully overwintered individuals of the species here (Helsinki, 14 April, 2026).

Ever wanted to know about the special butterflies in the far north of Europe. Here is your chance to learn from an expert, Nils Ryrholm, who will deliver his online masterclass on Wednesday at 1500 CET. We can promise you a fabulous presentation. Details here butterfly-monitoring.net/index.php/ep...

Including vegetation, dead wood, wood products, and soils, primary forests stored over 70% more carbon than secondary forests, a difference several times greater than previous estimates. Open access link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A new study finally confirms that Noctuid moths Diachrysia chrysitis and D. stenochrysis are distinct species, BUT they seem to remain inseparable based in outer appearance..

Our online meeting today with butterfly monitoring coordinators revealed that most EU Member States still have not decided whether to use the Grassland Butterfly Index, and many are consulting with citizens. Now is your chance to urge them to help pollinators and choose this unique insect indicator

Incredibly warm March after such a cold Jan-Feb. The month will go down in history as the first March in Finland with nationwide mean temperature above freezing (0 °C). Practically all weather stations will set new March mean temperature record, except those located further out in the Baltic Sea.

Addressing Gaps in Butterfly Population Monitoring to Catalyze Global Insect Conservation. This paper calculates a “Global Butterfly Index” using the Living Planet Index approach, paving the way for a global network of butterfly monitoring schemes. conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Butterfly season 2026 starts on the spring equinox in S Finland (Sipoo 20.3.2026). Somewhat surprising as January-February period was very cold, but in March spring has progressed fast.

January-February period was the coldest in 15 years in Finland, but in March spring has progressed fast, and moth monitoring period started last weekend in inner parts of S Finland, including Lammi Biological station.

My long-time friend and colleague, the legendary Paul Ehrlich, died on Friday at 93 years old. He had a good innings, but I’ll miss him www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/b...

Canary Island Large White now in crisis following likely extinction on Tenerife

Phenological shifts and increases in voltinism within a moth community over a century of anthropogenic change - Foster - 2026 - Ecology - Wiley Online Library esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Suomi tarvitsee viipymättä luonnon monimuotoisuusstrategian. Kansallisen luontopaneelin (IPBES) työryhmän jäsenistä koostuva ryhmä esittää luonnon monimuotoisuusstrategian ja sen toimintaohjelman pikaista toimeenpanoa. Tiedote: www.sttinfo.fi/tiedote/7186...

Dense, dark forests in Europe are a modern phenomenon - Europe’s landscapes for 23 Myr were mostly tree- & flower-rich mosaics shaped by large herbivores, not dense #forests, see our new synthesis www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #forests #woodlands #paleoecology #nature #trees #refiorestation

Haluatko johtaa tutkimusta, joka vauhdittaa kestävyysmurrosta? Suomen ympäristökeskus hakee tieteellistä johtajaa ajalle 1.9.2026–31.8.2031. Tieteellisenä johtajana vastaat Syken tutkimuksen laadusta, vaikuttavuudesta ja eettisyydestä. Hae Valtiolle.fi-palvelussa: valtiolle.fi/fi/tyopaikat...

So Moths evolved almost 300 million years ago and butterflies are newcomers at 100 million years. A fascinating look back at evolutionary history

January-February in Finland was the 2nd coldest in this century, only a tad 0.2 °C warmer than the same period in 2010. The average temperature in 2026 was -13.5 °C.

The new European Red List of bees was published today 1/2 op.europa.eu/en/publicati...

The Finnish area mean temperature has stayed below normal now for 33 straight days. The weather has remained consistently cold during 2026, except for the brief 5-day period in mid-January.

An interesting new study on the geometrid moth Earophila badiata shows how a wide distributional gap between two morphologically different populations (SW Archipelago vs. N Karelia) was filled in only ca. 20 years across S Finland: peerj.com/articles/206...

The presumed upcoming El Nino will help cement and quantify global warming acceleration, showing that 2C global warming is likely to be reached in the 2030s, not at midcentury. See Another El Nino Already? mailchi.mp/caa/another-... Also available on Substack: jimehansen.substack.com/p/another-el...

The Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea is almost completely frozen over. Some open water areas still remain off the coast of NW-Estonia but they may freeze in the coming days. Last time the Gulf of Finland has frozen over was in winter 2010/2011, 15 years ago!

Timely discussion also in the Nordic region as in the last year we have experienced very high temps in summer 2025 and very low temps during the ongoing winter.

Don't forget to tune in this Wednesday 11 February at 15:00 CET to hear our first masterclass on identifying European butterflies from a top expert Rudi Verovnik, covering East Continental and Balkan species butterfly-monitoring.net/EPIC-Butterfly

Yritysten luontovaikutusten hillintä on keskeistä luontokadon pysäyttämiseksi, korostaa IPBESin tuore raportti. Yritykset ovat riippuvaisia luonnosta, mutta luonnon monimuotoisuuden merkitystä talouden ja liiketoiminnan perustana ei huomioida riittävästi. Ketjussa keskeiset nostot ja suosituksia 👇

The cold spell in northern Europe is not going anywhere. Next two weeks look again very cold as there will be another outbreak of Arctic air mass from the northeast. What a cold Jan-Feb period in the making!

The latest European Grassland Butterfly Indicator is out. It shows that grassland butterflies have declined by 47% since 1991, indicating a huge loss of grassland biodiversity. The data come from 16,150 transects & 15,000 volunteers. We are calling for urgent action. www.bc-europe.eu/documents/69...

Mid winter surprise: Duponchelia fovealis was flying in kitchen last night. Perhaps introduced with flowers or fruits?

January is soon in the books, and what an exceptionally cold month it has been in northern Fennoscandia! The monthly mean temperature in Sodankylä Tähtelä will be -21.2 °C. This means coldest January since 1987 and 5th coldest overall.

Extreme seasons recently in Finnish Lapland: both summer 2025 and winter 2026 featured the 3rd hottest and 3rd coldest two-week periods on record. Data is based on FMI ClimGrid (available since 1961).

Vi måste förbereda oss på att havsströmmarna i Atlanten stängs av. Följderna för Norden blir omfattande, skriver svenske forskaren Johan Rockström och Islands klimatminister Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson. Jag hoppas nordiska politiker läser den här texten och inser allvaret.

A new study shows that butterflies, unlike birds, are declining in Finnish agricultural landscapes: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The beginning of January in Lapland has been strikingly cold: there are several weather stations recording 12-day mean temperatures below −30 °C. In Sodankylä Tähtelä, the coldest start of the year since the infamous 1987 cold spell, and overall the 2nd coldest on record!

The geometrid moth Drepanogynis insciata was only known from two historical specimens collected before 1879. Now, it has been rediscovered in South Africa's Western Cape. @smnstuttgart.bsky.social Find out more here: doi.org/10.3897/zook...

-40 °C in Sodankylä Tähtelä! Below -40 °C in several other stations too, with the lowest -42.8 °C in Savukoski Tulppio. January 2025 cold spell is shaping up to be quite intensive in Lapland!

Yöperhosseurannan tuloksia vuosilta 2021-2024 on nyt esillä Baptria-lehden tuoreessa numerossa.

Hot off the press in the journal Science Advances: A new era of bioclimatic extremes in the terrestrial Arctic www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Our new paper was published today!

Year 2025 was the 2nd warmest on record in Finland.

New study using @gardenmothscheme.bsky.social data shows that 125w & 80w bulbs attract more moths than any actinics, and that Robinson and Skinner traps retain more moths that Heath traps #teammoth doi.org/10.1111/icad...

Super cool new study from Talavera lab on migratory divide between painted lady (Vanessa cardui) populations north of the equator and south of the equator! They find a candidate gene that might be associated with the differenc ein behaviour. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

After weeks of darkness, this is hard to believe, but it still exists!

New species alert! 🚨 Our scientists have named nine new species of butterfly from tropical South America. In the process, they've sorted out mysteries that have frustrated reseachers for over 150 years! Find out all about their discovery 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Losses of specialist and expansion of thermophilic generalist macro-moths in nature reserves of Central Europe: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Yöperhosseurannan viime vuosien tuloksia esiteltiin pölyttäjäseurantojen yhteisseminaarissa tiistaina: www.ymparisto.fi/sites/defaul...

Utredningen om den biologiska mångfalden i Österbotten och Södra Österbotten är nu utgiven på svenska. Läs mer om regioners hotade arter och naturtyper och vad man kan göra för att stoppa förlusten av biologisk mångfald: hdl.handle.net/10138/611387 #sykepublication

One of the most exciting projects I have ever been involved in: Project Psyche! Read all about our ambitions and aims. It's ground breaking stuff, just mind blowing and even surreal (27 years ago we did single genes for lep phylogenetics)! @projectpsyche.bsky.social www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

EU Commission Regulation on pollinator monitoring was published today. 1/2 environment.ec.europa.eu/news/better-...

Very sad news.

Never forget: At breakneck speed we are leaving the stable Holocene climate in which human society developed and thrived. Weather extremes are outside historical experience. Sea-level rise is accelerating. Dangerous tipping points are ahead. Graph: ed-hawkins.github.io/climate-visu...