Pick & Mix 52 – conservation, farming, coral reefs, Erasmus Darwin, resilient forestry, thanotosis, seasonality in blogs, orchids, teaching on line and arachnophobic entomologists

Interesting article from James Rebank – We need to change the way we see and think about farming.

Trees aren’t living as long as they used to and this threatens their role in capturing carbon

Resilient, conservation facing forestry?

If you want to know how to move an entomology course on line, Steve Heard shares his with us all – fantastic and innovative – a great example to us all

I recently posted a somewhat tongue in cheek spoof paper blogpost about seasonal views of my blog – turns out that someone has done this for real!

Did you know that many entomologists are afraid of spiders?

Biodiversity is not just in the Amazon – equally endangered and just as biodiverse – Scotland’s coastal gem, but climate change could wipe it all out L

How playing dead can save your life – great post from Ray Cannon on thanotosis

Most of us when we hear the name Darwin automatically think of Charles, but his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was also a naturalist and in his day, just as famous. I am pleased, that thanks to the free service offered by the Biodiversity Heritage Library, to give yoy the chance to read his book, published in 1800, Phytologia or The Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening, in which he attempts to dispel plant blindness, a thing even then and puts forward the idea of biological control using parasitic wasps.

If you like orchids or even if you are not a huge fan this might appeal to you.