My grand plan for the first post on this blog was to discuss what most people are likely to think when they hear the word ‘evolution’. For the vast majority, ‘evolution’ brings to mind phrases such as ‘natural selection’ and ‘the survival of the fittest’.  The ‘fittest’ individual, in common terms, would be the one that is most physically fit – stronger and healthier.  However, this is not how Darwin interpreted it when he appropriated Herbert Spencer’s phrase (coined after reading ‘On the Origin of Species’) as a synonym for his theory of natural selection.  The ‘fittest’, in this case, means those that are best adapted for the immediate environment.

Anyway, I say that this ‘was’ my grand plan, because not only did I swiftly realise that the subject is rather dry, but I also found that starting a blog on evolutionary biology whilst starting my first big experiment is probably the worst idea that I’ve had in some time.  As such, I shall devote most of the following entries – for the foreseeable future, anyway – to detailing the experiment that I am setting up, and generally how much I’m losing the will to live!  I keep receiving emails and texts asking me how my insects are doing, so now I can just send on the URL to this – mainly because I’m only a few days in, and already I cannot close my eyes without seeing rampaging hordes of cricket nymphs surging over my retinas…