Meredith Willmott, naturalist and artist
Ecotones are regions of transition between two biological communities. Scientific illustration, is the ecotone between science and art.
Why leafhoppers?
When I was 19, I painted some leafhoppers on a card for my entomology professor. She emailed me later that day to tell me that I needed to complete an independent study in scientific illustration with her. I wouldn’t be here without here- thanks Dr. Forkner!
On a deeper level- leafhoppers (and treehoppers, and planthoppers, and froghoppers) are everything I love about entomology, ecology, and evolution. The diversity of form and function, their interactions with other species, and their endless, indescribable beauty.
So much of what I love about science and science communication comes down to translating: turning the movements of ants and growth of aphids into data, deciphering scientific jargon for non-specialist audiences, and using multi-media expression to capture the workings of the natural world.
My research focuses on species interactions. Ubiquitous in nature yet poorly studied, mutualisms (interactions between organisms where both benefit) can change in both presentation and outcome in response to a number of biotic and abiotic cues. I am especially interested in interactions between ants and aphids, and ants and treehoppers.
Ants nesting in the domatia of an acacia. In return for shelter, the ants protect their hosts from herbivory and parasitism.
The mutualism between wooly bats and pitcher plants: bats roost inside the plant, in return they provide the plant with nutrients in the form of droppings.
Scientific illustration has taken me from watercolor natural history to pen and ink taxonomic keys.
I have recently fallen in love with stippling- a technique that uses tiny, random dots to detail contours.
My love for the natural world began with prolonged exposure to art. My love for art has continued with prolonged exposure to the natural world.
Field sketches from another ecotone: the saltwater marshes of coastal New Jersey on a windy April morning.
ABQ New Mexico: my first field season as a graduate student, and the basis for my desert focus moving forwards in my career.
My fascination with natural history is captured in both what I can observe and what I can read. I try to capture some of this fascination with a combination of both- which results in a fairly irregular comic.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge how profoundly the humid beauty of Virginia has cultivated my love for nature. Weekly trips to Great Falls National Park, excursions up to the Chesapeake Bay to hunt fossils (and be hunted by biting flies), and the warm gurgle of small creeks that wind their way through most neighborhoods. Hercules beetles. Eating a popsicle on my front stoop in August, tiny black ants clustering around drops of melted mango. Dew encrusted spider webs stretching gossamer over the delicate tips of new grass.
Virginia IS for lovers after all.
