Ashleigh Whiffin
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Derby (BSc)
Harper Adams University (MSc)
Scientific career
FieldsEntomology
InstitutionsEdinburgh University
National Museum of Scotland

Ashleigh Whiffin is an entomologist in the UK. She is a curator at the National Museum of Scotland and a specialist in carrion beetles (Silphidae).

Education and career

Whiffin studied BSc (Hons) in forensic science at the University of Derby, during which she specialised in forensic entomology.[1] She moved on to do MSc Entomology at Harper Adams University, and then started as a research technician at the University of Edinburgh working on burying beetles in Jacob Moorad's lab.[2]

In 2014 she joined National Museums Scotland (NMS) as a Collections Assistant, she progressed to Curatorial Assistant and as of 2021 is Assistant Curator of Entomology.[3]

Research

Whiffin has carried out forensic entomology research,[4] as well as work on the insects attracted to plants with carrion flowers, such as the carrion beetle Necrodes littoralis which as attracted to the Titan arum 'New Reekie' at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the first time that carrion beetles have been recorded attracted to the plant species outside of Indonesia'.[5]

She has worked on Ichneumonid wasps within the NMS collection[6] and has taught courses on the care of entomological specimens.[7]

Whiffin is co-organiser of the UK carrion beetle species national biological recording scheme,[8][9] she has written about carrion beetles for popular science magazines[10] and in 2021 published a UK species atlas and identification guide on the Histeridae, Sphaeritidae and Silphidae of Britain and Ireland.[11]

Public outreach

Whiffin has published on how social media can be used to engage the public with museum collections, helping to develop the SCOPE framework.[12]

She advocates about Scotland's wildlife to the media, highlighting the phenomenon of a non-biting midge swarms[13][14] and was interviewed about how maths is used in her work[15] and talked about her career and work on the UK Wildlife podcast in 2021.[16]

She has given public talks such an introduction to beetles[17] and about the collection at NMS,[18] in 2018 she spoke at the EntoSci18 event for young entomologists at Harper Adams[19] and in 2020 she was part of the panel event 'Sharing Stories' for National Insect Week.[20]

In 2020 Whiffin was a judge for the Royal Entomological Society's National Insect Week 2020 Photography Competition, with Tim Cockerill and Nick Baker[21] and sits on the Society's Outreach Committee.[22]

In 2023 Whiffin appears on BBC Winterwatch talking with Gillian Burke about the insects in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh.[23]

References

  1. ↑ "Ashleigh Whiffin, BSc (Hons) Forensic Science, 2012". www.derby.ac.uk. University of Derby. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  2. ↑ "Research Group Moorad Lab". moorad.bio.ed.ac.uk. University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Ashleigh Whiffin". www.nms.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Barnes, Kate; Whiffin, Ashleigh; Bulling, Mark (1 June 2019). "A preliminary study on the antibacterial activity and insect repellent properties of embalming fluids from the 18th Dynasty (1550–1292 BCE) in ancient Egypt". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 25: 600–609. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.05.032. ISSN 2352-409X. S2CID 194368758. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Coleman, Max (26 June 2019). "Scent of seduction". stories.rbge.org.uk. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Shaw, MR; Horstmann, K; Whiffin, AL (January 2016). "Two hundred and twenty-five species of reared western Palaearctic Campopleginae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in the National Museums of Scotland, with descriptions of new species of Campoplex and Diadegma, and records of fifty-five species new to Britain". Entomologists Gazette. 67: 177–222. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "National Training Programme: Introduction to the Care of Entomology Collections" (PDF). www.afnms.org. National Museums Scotland. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Silphidae Recording Scheme". www.coleoptera.org.uk. UK Beetle Recording. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Kaminski, Isabella (10 April 2021). "A bug's life: how a volunteer army is putting Britain's wildlife on the record". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Discover 8 carrion beetles you should look out for". Discover Wildlife. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Lane, S. A.; Lucas, C.B.H.; Whiffin, A.L. (2020). The Histeridae, Sphaeritidae and Silphidae of Britain and Ireland (1st ed.). Field Studies Council. ISBN 9781906698706.
  12. ↑ Lessard, Bryan D.; Whiffin, Ashleigh L.; Wild, Andrea L. (September 2017). "A Guide to Public Engagement for Entomological Collections and Natural History Museums in the Age of Social Media". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 110 (5): 467–479. doi:10.1093/aesa/sax058. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Burns, Janice (13 May 2017). "Call to come and see Loch Leven's giant swarm of midges". The National. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  14. ↑ Brown, Angie (12 May 2017). "Experts rush to huge midge swarm at Loch Leven". BBC News. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Maths at the museum: contributing to conservation". www.mathsweek.scot/. Maths Week Scotland. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Ep37 – Entomology + Carrion Beetles with Ash Whiffin". www.uk-wildlife.co.uk. UK Wildlife Podcast. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "Introduction to Beetles with Ashleigh Whiffin". Eventbrite. Buglife. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "Edinburgh Natural History Society". www.edinburghnaturalhistorysociety.org.uk. Edinburgh Natural History Society. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  19. ↑ "Over 150 delegates return to Harper Adams for entomology conference". www.harper-adams.ac.uk/. Harper Adams University. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "Discussion online 'Sharing stories in Entomology: from Edinburgh to Kampala'". www.insectweek.co.uk. Royal Entomological Society. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "Royal Entomological Society: Discovering the miniature safari all around us". www.prnewswire.co.uk. PR Newswire. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  22. ↑ "Committees". Royal Entomological Society. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  23. ↑ "Winterwatch 2023 - Meet the presenters and find out more about this season's live cameras and pre-filmed stories". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
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