Please use the link below if you want to donate in Doug's memory. Any funds donated will be used to inspire a new generation of Lepidopterists to share Doug's passion and further the work of young researchers through the Diarsia Award.

If the link is no longer working, it is still possible to donate to Butterfly Conservation in memory of Douglas. You can do this by sending a cheque made out to Butterfly Conservation to Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, BH20 5QP, or by phone (01929 406015). Please state that you want your donation to be made to the Diarsia Fund.

Diarsia Awards: small research grants for Masters and PhD students in memory of Douglas Boyes

Background: These grants will be awarded by Butterfly Conservation in memory of Douglas Boyes, who died suddenly in September 2021. Douglas was a young entomologist whose pioneering research into the impact of light pollution on insects has already led to changes in lighting policy in the UK. Douglas’s research interests were focused on UK Lepidoptera and biodiversity declines. Following his death, many people contributed to a memorial fund set up by Butterfly Conservation, with the full support of Douglas's family. It is from this fund that the Diarsia Awards will be made.


About the awards: These awards aim to inspire a new generation of Lepidopterists to share Douglas’s passion and further the careers of young researchers. The awards are named after the genus that contains moth species including Ingrailed Clay, Barred Chestnut, Purple Clay, Small Square-spot and Fen Square-spot, and which was the name of Douglas’s Twitter profile.

Annual awards will be made to support UK-focused research that helps answer a question to further Lepidoptera conservation. For example, work that focuses on Lepidoptera declines or potential causes of decline such as light pollution.

There will normally be two awards per calendar year – one for a Masters-level student to support fieldwork up to £1,000 and one for a PhD student to support field or lab work up to £3,000. Only students already accepted on an MSc or PhD programme are eligible to apply and only one grant is available per person. The grant is not available for international travel, fees or journal publication costs.

For more information please visit the Butterfly Conservation website and search for 'diarsia awards'

Image of Doug with a moth on his nose