Phil Sterling

Phil Sterling has more than 35 years’ experience in nature conservation practice in Britain, and has held a life-long interest in Lepidoptera. He holds an MA (Oxon) in Zoology and his DPhil (Oxon) was on the ecology and biological control of the Brown-tail Moth. He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (FRES) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management (FCIEEM). Phil is a national authority on moths, co-authoring the Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland (1st and 2nd editions) and Field Guide to the Caterpillars of Great Britain and Ireland. These guides have made moths much more accessible to a wide audience, especially micro-moths, which were an obscure branch of British moth fauna. He has been awarded a Marsh Award for Insect Conservation (2016) and a Marsh Lepidoptera Award for Lifetime Achievement in Lepidoptera Conservation (2012). Phil is a keen promoter of the public understanding and enjoyment of moths and butterflies, and regularly give lectures, presentations and media interviews at national and local levels. He also runs identification training courses.