Stephen Montgomery
@ebablab.bsky.social
Evolutionary Neurobiology and Behaviour
www.shmontgomery.co.uk
www.shmontgomery.co.uk
🚨RA/PhD position available in evolutionary neurobiology 🚨
Working on a deep dive into circuit changes during mushroom body expansion in Heliconius butterflies @camzoology.bsky.social
- employment benefits
- 4 years funding
- 1000% fun
Deadline: 14/1/2026
Details:
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
Working on a deep dive into circuit changes during mushroom body expansion in Heliconius butterflies @camzoology.bsky.social
- employment benefits
- 4 years funding
- 1000% fun
Deadline: 14/1/2026
Details:
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
November 21, 2025 at 2:31 PM
🚨RA/PhD position available in evolutionary neurobiology 🚨
Working on a deep dive into circuit changes during mushroom body expansion in Heliconius butterflies @camzoology.bsky.social
- employment benefits
- 4 years funding
- 1000% fun
Deadline: 14/1/2026
Details:
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
Working on a deep dive into circuit changes during mushroom body expansion in Heliconius butterflies @camzoology.bsky.social
- employment benefits
- 4 years funding
- 1000% fun
Deadline: 14/1/2026
Details:
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
Two Ronnies x Mamdani
November 9, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Two Ronnies x Mamdani
Another is this hovering flight where they dance back and forth around before landing, again they do this repeatedly in a feeding bout… they also do it to artificial flowers that lack floral odours… 5/n
October 21, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Another is this hovering flight where they dance back and forth around before landing, again they do this repeatedly in a feeding bout… they also do it to artificial flowers that lack floral odours… 5/n
One pronounced behaviour are circular flights around a floral resource, where they turn back on themselves in a loop. They do this repeatedly while feeding; loop, feed, repeat… 4/n
October 21, 2025 at 7:16 PM
One pronounced behaviour are circular flights around a floral resource, where they turn back on themselves in a loop. They do this repeatedly while feeding; loop, feed, repeat… 4/n
30 seconds of Irish Sea to ease your worries
October 18, 2025 at 2:23 PM
30 seconds of Irish Sea to ease your worries
Little boy picking up conkers
September 6, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Little boy picking up conkers
Amazing egg sacks, and some bonus giant house spiders. Fun times dismantling sheds…
August 26, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Amazing egg sacks, and some bonus giant house spiders. Fun times dismantling sheds…
False widow spider, creeping it’s creepy little heart out
August 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
False widow spider, creeping it’s creepy little heart out
Grumpy sawfly larvae
August 25, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Grumpy sawfly larvae
Thirty seconds of the Irish Sea
August 25, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Thirty seconds of the Irish Sea
Bristol doing its thing
August 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Bristol doing its thing
Perhaps unsurprisingly we also find the major projection pathways are conserved, at least at the level we are able to image them at the moment. 6/n
July 13, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Perhaps unsurprisingly we also find the major projection pathways are conserved, at least at the level we are able to image them at the moment. 6/n
Similarly investment in the sensory brain regions does not increase in Heliconius, indeed where visual traits do vary across species they’re often larger in the outgroup species (possibly because they fly faster?🦋💨) 5/n
July 13, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Similarly investment in the sensory brain regions does not increase in Heliconius, indeed where visual traits do vary across species they’re often larger in the outgroup species (possibly because they fly faster?🦋💨) 5/n
We find pretty high levels of conservation in eye structure and estimated measures of visual acuity 4/n
July 13, 2025 at 1:53 PM
We find pretty high levels of conservation in eye structure and estimated measures of visual acuity 4/n
By collecting wild caught butterflies of chestertonii and erato venus, David showed that indeed they do - both high altitude species invest less in visual brain structures. By rearing individuals in common garden conditions, he also showed that these are not plastic responses to the environment 6/n
July 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
By collecting wild caught butterflies of chestertonii and erato venus, David showed that indeed they do - both high altitude species invest less in visual brain structures. By rearing individuals in common garden conditions, he also showed that these are not plastic responses to the environment 6/n
chestertonii and himera have non overlapping ranges, and are genetically distinct, but have similar altitudinal ranges compared to lowland parapatric erato populations 3/n
July 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
chestertonii and himera have non overlapping ranges, and are genetically distinct, but have similar altitudinal ranges compared to lowland parapatric erato populations 3/n
David’s thesis focused in part on parallel divergence in two parapatric species pairs of #Heliconius butterflies in Colombia and Ecuador, where two species, himera and chestertonii, independently colonised high altitude (for a butterfly) Andean scrub forest 2/n
July 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
David’s thesis focused in part on parallel divergence in two parapatric species pairs of #Heliconius butterflies in Colombia and Ecuador, where two species, himera and chestertonii, independently colonised high altitude (for a butterfly) Andean scrub forest 2/n
Congrats to @pinpilinpauxa-aaa.bsky.social for getting her image of a developing Dryas iulia brain to the final of the @wellcometrust.bsky.social photography competition in the “The Marvels of Scientific and Medical Imaging” section! One of my favourites too…
wellcome.org/engagement-a...
wellcome.org/engagement-a...
June 24, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Congrats to @pinpilinpauxa-aaa.bsky.social for getting her image of a developing Dryas iulia brain to the final of the @wellcometrust.bsky.social photography competition in the “The Marvels of Scientific and Medical Imaging” section! One of my favourites too…
wellcome.org/engagement-a...
wellcome.org/engagement-a...
Garden done ✅
Back done in ✅
Back done in ✅
May 31, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Garden done ✅
Back done in ✅
Back done in ✅
Amazing ermine moth nest in #HorfieldCommon
May 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Amazing ermine moth nest in #HorfieldCommon
Annual day of pretending I enjoy running and don’t find it painful 🥴
May 11, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Annual day of pretending I enjoy running and don’t find it painful 🥴
🚨new 🧪 pre-print alert🚨
@maxfarnworth.bsky.social’s epic piece on the #evolution of the central complex during mushroom body expansion in #Heliconiini butterflies.
Here is the graphical abstract:
@maxfarnworth.bsky.social’s epic piece on the #evolution of the central complex during mushroom body expansion in #Heliconiini butterflies.
Here is the graphical abstract:
May 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
🚨new 🧪 pre-print alert🚨
@maxfarnworth.bsky.social’s epic piece on the #evolution of the central complex during mushroom body expansion in #Heliconiini butterflies.
Here is the graphical abstract:
@maxfarnworth.bsky.social’s epic piece on the #evolution of the central complex during mushroom body expansion in #Heliconiini butterflies.
Here is the graphical abstract:
Huge congrats to David Rivas Sanchez on defending his PhD viva in style. A fantastic evolutionary biologist and an absolute pleasure to have in the lab!
April 11, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Huge congrats to David Rivas Sanchez on defending his PhD viva in style. A fantastic evolutionary biologist and an absolute pleasure to have in the lab!
