Mapping the Beetle Tree of Life

With over 400,000 described species, Coleoptera represent one of the most diverse groups of organisms on Earth, necessitating a global, integrative approach to understanding their evolutionary history. This effort begins with standardised field collection, specimen imaging, and identification, followed by high-quality DNA extraction. By combining genomic, mitochondrial, and barcode data, we are building the most comprehensive Coleoptera phylogeny to date – spanning over 100,000 species, including many that remain undescribed. This large-scale phylogenetic framework enables us to move beyond species counts, revealing global patterns of biodiversity through time and space and providing essential insights into species loss and the broader consequences of global change.

Q&A with Dr Beulah Garner

Dr Beulah Garner is a Senior Curator of Entomology at the Natural History Museum, London, where she oversees the collections of Orthopteroid insects and their allies. A specialist in beetles, her research focuses particularly on the evolutionary origins of ground beetles (Carabidae). In addition to her curatorial and research work, she serves as Chair of the Coleopterists Society of Britain and Ireland, supporting the advancement of beetle studies across the region.

1. How necessary is it to collect (and therefore kill) so many beetle specimens for a project like this, especially considering some of the species may be rare?

This is an important question which comes up a lot. My general response is this – how could we possibly go about this sort of research without collecting specimens? Technology may be rapidly evolving, but there’s currently no other methodology out there which can gather fine-scale, species-level data on distribution and diversity besides specimen collection. I personally struggle to imagine that such a technology – non-invasive, non-destructive and yet capable of gathering species-level data – ever could exist. And yet we must gather this data somehow because this research is so important. Not only does it provide insights into fundamental scientific questions – such as the origin and evolution of life on Earth – but it scaffolds the taxonomic backbone around which all invertebrate conservation is based. If we want to conserve invertebrate diversity, we must first understand invertebrate diversity, and currently there’s no feasible way to do that without collecting specimens. So, to answer, the question, it’s completely necessary. If there was any feasible alternative that didn’t involve killing beetles – we would obviously do that instead!

2. With over 400,000 species described, and many more awaiting description, beetles represent an astonishing portion of the diversity of life on Earth. Why exactly have beetles been so successful at diversifying and speciating?

There are several factors involved. Most straightforwardly, beetles have been around for a long time. Current estimates suggest they first evolved in the early Permian, 295-300 million years ago – so they’ve had a lot of time to diversify! A more interesting dimension of the explanation is that beetles have displayed, and continue to display, a fantastic ability to diversify into both generalists and specialists. Both life strategies have proven to be successful in nature, and both can independently generate amazing radiations of species. In Coleoptera, both strategies are being harnessed independently, resulting in speciation on huge scales. The generalist life strategy works because it provides species with resilience against environmental change. As per the Darwinian ‘survival of the fittest’ principle; adaptability to newly available ecological niches is the key determinant of the evolutionary success of a lineage of species. Generalists are masters of this. For example, in the family I work mostly on – the Carabidae or ground beetles – there are thousands of generalist species capable of surviving in a range of habitats and consuming a variety of prey. On the other side of the spectrum, taking this to the other extreme, many beetles are instead specialists. Weevils (superfamily Curculionoidea), for example, include tens of thousands of species which are specialised to feed on single host plant species. What this life strategy foregoes in terms of resilience to environmental change it makes up for in resilience against competition from other species. Again, this provides robustness against threat of extinction and drives diversification.

3. Does preparing a beetle for DNA extraction involving destroying the specimen?

Not anymore! But in the past, yes. In fact, in the early days of DNA extraction you’d have to literally grind up the specimen to prepare it, meaning no voucher specimen to link to the sample. That then progressed to just removing a single leg, or a section of flight muscle, from the specimen to prepare for DNA extraction. Nowadays we don’t even need to do that. You can simply bathe a specimen in what’s called a ‘lysing solution’, the DNA will be extracted overnight, and the specimen should be able to be taken, unaltered from the liquid afterwards, and incorporated into a dry pinned collection or to a molecular collection facility in preservation fluid.

4. The Natural History Museum in London houses some of the largest collections of Coleoptera from around the world, including the type specimens for hundreds of species. Have there been any efforts to link the findings of the Site-100 project to the existing collections at the museum?

Linking the molecular and voucher specimens from Site-100 to existing collections at the NHM would be amazing, but sadly it is outside the scope of our current team. It would take a considerable amount of time and money and personnel to complete such a task. We cannot feasibly consider starting on it as things currently stand. I would hope, however, that in the future such work might be undertaken. We are preserving and digitising the Site-100 collection in such a way that it can hopefully continue to be worked on decades to centuries into the future. Sadly at that point many of the undescribed species we’ve collected may well have already gone extinct.

Literature References

  1. Parisi et al. (2020) ‘Diversity patterns of Coleoptera and saproxylic communities in unmanaged forests of Mediterranean mountains’: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X19308684
  2. Bouchard et al. (2011) ‘Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)’: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/4001/ 
  3. Harris et al. (2019) ‘Decline in beetle abundance and diversity in an intact temperate forest linked to climate warming’: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719310572
  4. Garner et al. (2024) ‘The taxonomic composition and chronology of a museum collection of Coleoptera revealed through large-scale digitisation’: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1305931/full
  5. Erwin (1991) ‘How Many Species Are There?: Revisited’: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2385903
  6. Strasser (2008) ‘GenBank–Natural History in the 21st Century?’: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1163399
  7. Bian et al. (2022) ‘The SITE-100 Project: Site-Based Biodiversity Genomics for Species Discovery, Community Ecology, and a Global Tree-of-Life’: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.787560/full
  8. Creedy et al. (2025) ‘Bioinformatics of Combined Nuclear and Mitochondrial Phylogenomics to Define Key Nodes for the Classification of Coleoptera’: https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/sysbio/syaf031/65497055/syaf031.pdf

Further Info

entoLIVE

entoLIVE webinars feature guest invertebrate researchers delving into their own invertebrate research. All events are free to attend and are suitable for adults of all abilities – a passion for invertebrates is all that’s required!

entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with the British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists’ Society, with support from Buglife, Field Studies Council and National Biodiversity Network Trust.

Check out more invertebrate research, publications and events from the entoLIVE partner websites:

Learn more about British wildlife

Check out our events on Eventbrite

Lesnes 500

During 2025 and 2026, the Biological Recording Company is collaborating with the London Borough of Bexley to deliver a series of Field Recorder Days at Lesnes Abbey Woods, a large woodland in south London famous for its ruined abbey. These Field Recorder Days have been commissioned as part of Lesnes 500, a large-scale project made possible with a generous grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Lesnes 500 commemorates 500 years since the ‘dissolution’ of Lesnes Abbey (when it stopped functioning as a formal abbey), and aims to engage local communities with Lesnes Abbey Woods through a range of events focused on heritage, creativity, nature and education. We are contributing to the nature and education aspect!

Field Recorder Days

Our Field Recorder Days are a core part of our company’s mission to get more people observing wildlife and submitting data into biological recording systems. Each day involves visiting a site as a group to make field observations, collecting specimens for identification at a later date if needed, and submitting data to iRecord. Each of our Field Recorder Days has a specific taxonomic focus and is led by a species-group specialist. Attendance is free, and recorders of all levels (from newcomer to seasoned pro) are welcome, but booking is mandatory as spaces are limited. Check out our Field Recorder Days events at Lesnes Abbey Woods Fields below.

Upcoming Field Recorder Day events at Lesnes Abbey Woods

Beetle Field Recorder Day

24 Mar 2026 @ Lesnes Abbey Woods

Join Connor Butler to help record the beetles of Lesnes Abbey Woods.

Register for your FREE place here

Mollusc Field Recorder Day

23 Apr 2026 @ Lesnes Abbey Woods

Join Imogen Cavadino-Phillips to explore and record the molluscs of Lesnes Abbey Woods.

Register for your FREE place here

General Field Recorder Day

16 May 2026 @ Lesnes Abbey Woods

Join us for a General Field Recorder Day – no taxonomic focus, we’ll be recording everything!

Register for your FREE place here

Past Field Recorder Day Events at Lesnes Abbey Woods

Read about what found and got up to on our Field Recorder Day events at Lesnes Abbey Woods so far.

Meadow Botany Field Recorder Day (24/07/2025)

A Meadow Botany Field Recorder Day was held at Lesnes Abbey Woods on 24th July 2025. The event was led by botanist and joint-Middlesex county plant recorder Henry Miller and attended by 26 participants. Given the focus of the day was specifically on meadow botany, we focused our recording for the day on the grassland areas to the north of the Lesnes Abbey Woods site, rather than venturing in the woodland. The participants split into groups and focused on finding as many different plant species as possible within assigned 100 × 100 m grid cells. Across the day, participants generated an impressive 286 total records and recorded 94 different plant species.

Henry Miller teaching plant identification tips to participants during the Meadow Botany Field Recorder Day.

Three of the most notable species found on the day included:

  • Tower Mustard Turritis glabra – An uncommon plant typically associated with free-draining, nutrient-poor sandy soils in, for example, lowland acid grassland or in periodically disturbed marginal habitats. The species is considered ‘very local and declining’ at the national level (Rose, 2006).
  • Lesser Calamint Clinopodium calamintha – Another site rarity. This is a short-lived herb fond of south-facing banks and rough grassland. Formerly more widespread, it is now largely confined to roadsides, hedgebanks, railway banks, old pits, scrubby grassland, churchyards and waste ground (Walker, 2020).
  • Fiddle Dock Rumex pulcher – One of the more uncommonly recorded species of dock, distinctive for its violin-shaped basal leaves. It is fond of slightly disturbed grassland, often where the habitat is grazed, trampled or mown (Pescott, 2020).
Interesting plants at Lesnes Abbey Woods: (1) Tower Mustard Turritis glabra © Henry Miller; (2) Fiddle Dock Rumex pulcher © Henry Miler; (3) Red Bartsia Odontites vernus © Mary Gledhill

Plant Gall Field Recorder Day (20/09/2025)

A Plant Gall Recorder Day was held at Lesnes Abbey Woods on 20th September 2025. The event was led by LNHS Plant Gall Recorder Tommy Root and attended by 17 participants. Plant galls are a diverse group of structures formed when insects, mites, fungi or other organisms invade plant tissues. They come in a wide range of shapes and colours and, while often unusual in appearance, generally do not cause substantial harm to the plants they grow on. Across the day, participants generated 187 records including 44 gall-forming species.

Plant Gall Field Recorder Day at Lesnes Abbey Woods: (1) Field Recorder Day participants inspecting a Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris) for plant galls © Joss Carr; (2) Identifying collected specimens with reference to field guides © Joss Carr

Oak trees proved especially productive, with many gall-forming species present at Lesnes. A large Turkey Oak Quercus cerris hosted the galls of the mite Aceria cerrea and the sexual generation galls of the wasp Andricus grossulariae. At a nearby English Oak Quercus robur we observed the spiky green galls of the agamic generation of A. grossulariae, a single Ram’s Horn Gall Andricus aries, and numerous Knopper Galls Andricus quercuscalicis scattered beneath the tree.

Recording in the parkland added additional discoveries on ornamental trees and shrubs, including the artichoke-like galls of Taxomyia taxi on Yew Taxus baccata and the pouch-like swellings of Dasineura urticae on Common Nettle Urtica dioica.

In the afternoon we moved to the woodland margin. A Sessile Oak Quercus petraea here yielded four additional cynipid wasp galls, and nearby elm leaves held mite galls of Aceria campestricola. Additional species from the woodland edge and interior included the fungal galls of Taphrina populina, leaf pustule galls of the wasp Ophelimus maskelli on Eucalyptus, the ‘lighthouse’ gall of the midge Hartigiola annulipes on Beech Fagus sylvatica and galls of the recently arrived Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus on Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa.

Plant Galls at Lesnes Abbey Woods: (1) Galls of the sexual generation of the wasp Andricus grossulariae on catkins of Turkey Oak Quercus cerris © Joss Carr; (2) Gall of the midge Taxomyia taxi on Yew Taxus baccata © Joss Carr; (3) Gall of the non-native wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus on Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa © Joss Carr

Fungi Field Recorder Day (28/10/2025)

A Fungi Field Recorder Day was held at Lesnes Abbey Woods on 28th October 2025. The event was led by mycologist and botanist Mark Spencer and attended by 32 participants. Over the day, participants divided into small groups to survey different grid cells. Thanks to the use of indoor workspace in Lesnes Lodge, groups were able to sort and organise and identify their specimens over lunch and during an afternoon identification session. Across the day, participants generated 126 records, including 62 fungi species.

Fungi Field Recorder Day at Lesnes Abbey Woods: (1) Participants identifying collected fungal specimens in the Lesnes Lodge © Joss Carr; (2) Sharing fungi finds on the heathland in the south of Lesnes Abbey Woods © Joss Carr

In the morning session, we concentrated on the northern woodland edge, with groups each tackling a 100 × 100 m grid cell. A wide range of species was recorded, including the mushrooms Psathyrella candolleana (Pale Brittlestem), Gymnopus fusipes (Spindle Toughshank), Chlorophyllum rhacodes (Shaggy Parasol) and Daldinia concentrica (King Alfred’s Cakes). Other finds included the crust fungus Basidioradulum radula (Toothed Crust), the sulphur-scented Tricholoma sulphureum and the tiny pink lichenicolous fungus Iliosporiopsis christiansenii on the lichen Physcia adscendens.

In the afternoon the group moved to the small heathland in the south of Lesnes Abbey Woods, one of the few remaining heathland fragments in Greater London and an important refuge for specialist species. Highlights included a striking patch of Trametes betulina (Birch Mazegill) growing – intriguingly – from an English Oak Quercus robur stump, several fine specimens of Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric), the jelly-like Phaeotremella foliacea (Leafy Brain) and the maroon mushroom Cortinarius decipiens. The latter is particularly uncommonly recorded; Lesnes Abbey Woods is only the second known London site for the species on iRecord. The heath was also productive for Russula (Brittlegills), with three species identified by Mark Spencer: R. ionochlora, R. betularum and R. velenovskyi.

Fungi at Lesnes Abbey Woods: (1) Trametes betulina (Birch Mazegill) © Joss Carr; (2) Muscaria amanita (Fly Agaric) © Joss Carr; (3) Basidioradulum radula (Toothed Crust) © Joss Carr

Project Achievements

Details of our overall achievements and findings coming here soon…

This series of events is a collaboration between the Biological Recording Company and the London Borough of Bexley commissioned as part of the Lesnes 500 project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund..

Biological Recording Projects

At the Biological Recording Company, we specialise in planning and delivering projects centred around recording wildlife and training naturalists.

  • London Recording Projects involve the delivery of events from our Field Recorder Day, Invertebrate Study Day, Earthworm Sampling Day and Training Course programmes. Examples include:
    • Site-based projects, such as Wild Tolworth, Ealing Beaver Project and Lesnes 500.
    • Borough-based projects, such as our Southwark and Barnet projects.
  • Earthworm Projects range from identification training and earthworm surveys to research and consultation. Example include:
    • Engagement-focused projects, such as delivering earthworm recorder training in Northern Ireland and working with farmers in the Chilterns.
    • Research-focused projects, such as looking at the impact of hay meadow restoration on earthworm communities, assessing the effectiveness of regenerative farming practices and investigating the use of AI in earthworm identification.
  • National Biological Recording Projects entail putting our expertise to use with helping other organisations improve the biological recording processes and reach new audiences.
Have a project in mind? Get in touch!

Big Rock Pool Challenge: The Power of UK Marine Citizen Science

The Big Rock Pool Challenge is a nationwide citizen science initiative that invites people of all ages to explore their local coastlines and discover the remarkable wildlife hidden in rock pools. In this talk, Dr Ben Holt (CEO and co-founder of The Rock Pool Project) shares how the challenge blends hands-on marine exploration with digital tools to create a fun, accessible, and scientifically valuable experience for communities across the UK. From competitive BioBlitz battles to large-scale biodiversity recording, he reveals how the Challenge is transforming public engagement with the ocean and empowering thousands of volunteers to contribute meaningful data to marine conservation.

Q&A with Dr Ben Holt

Dr Ben Holt is a marine biologist and the CEO and co-founder of The Rock Pool Project, a UK social enterprise that connects people with the incredible wildlife of the coast through community science, education, and digital innovation. With a background in marine ecology and biogeography, Ben has spent his career exploring how people interact with the natural world and how technology can inspire large-scale participation in environmental research. Under his leadership, The Rock Pool Project has grown into a nationwide movement empowering thousands of volunteers to record and protect marine life through initiatives such as the Big Rock Pool Challenge. Ben is a passionate communicator who blends scientific expertise with creative outreach, helping to build stronger connections between people, technology, and the sea.

1. Do you have an idea what rough percentage of the species records recorded by participants on the bioblitzes are correctly identified upon submission?

I don’t have the exact numbers, but generally I’d estimate that about 90% of records are correctly identified upon submission. The 10% that are incorrect are a mixture of those which are (a) wrongly identified, or (b) not identifiable to as specific a taxonomic rank as the user originally suggested (e.g. user suggested species A, but it could also be species B in the same genus, so the record should be corrected to genus level). I mentioned in the talk that after each event we give participants a ‘score’ based on the combined rarity scores of all the species they’ve recorded. We stress, however, that this score they receive on the day is ‘provisional’. Their ‘real’ score is awarded later, in five days’ time, based on their species records which reach ‘Research Grade’ status on iNaturalist. By the end of that 5-day period my experience tells me that very few (<1%) of those Research Grade observations are incorrectly identified – the community is very good at catching errors.

2. Are the Big Rock Pool Challenge organisers also providing identifications for participants on iNaturalist?

Yes, this is part of the voluntary role of the organisers at each hub. The organisers are tasked with following up on the records generated in the 5-day period after each event and providing identifications. This involves a mixture of confirming the identification of correctly identified species, correcting the (usually small number of) incorrectly identified records, refining observations made at high taxonomic ranks to lower ranks where applicable, and sometimes bumping observations back up to higher ranks if the identification suggested is deemed too specific and not justified. In addition to the organisers, we also encourage participants to get involved with the identification if they feel confident doing so.

3. Are there plans to expand the number of Big Rock Pool Challenge ‘hubs’ across the country?

Yes – and if you would like to be involved in setting up a new hub we would love to hear from you! We’ve recently launched a new page on our website specifically for this, in fact, where you can register your interest. So far the Big Rock Pool Challenge is running at nine hubs across the country (you can see these on this map on our website). We would love to put any additional funding towards establishing more hubs. We are currently in the process of negotiating a third year of funding from Scottish Power, for example, and if successful with that we should be able to support fifteen new hubs across the UK launching towards the end of 2026. In addition to that, we have recently published guidance on setting up and running a ‘pilot’ Big Rock Pool Challenge bioblitz battle in your local area. If you like the idea of the challenge but aren’t sure if you want to commit to being a full ‘hub’ yet, I recommend checking this out. The guidance for ‘pilot events’ is on our website here.

4. How is this all funded?

Currently we are funded by grants from the Scottish Power Foundation and the National Lottery Heritage Fund – we are immensely grateful to these organisations. The challenge we have going forward is how to make our work financially sustainable in the long term. Grant funds are excellent, but they are preferentially directed towards establishing new projects rather than funding ongoing ones. We definitely do not want to scrap The Big Rock Pool Challenge and start something new; we want to keep this going and build it. The Rock Pool Project as an organisation has therefore recently applied to become a charity, transitioning away from its previous life as a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC). We’ll be working on building a sustainable funding model as a charity over the coming year. If anyone has experience in the charity sector and would like to advise us, please do get in touch – I’d love to hear from you.

5. Have there been any publications based on your datasets?

Not yet, but we hope to see some in the future. Currently we’re still in the first few years of data collection at our sites, but as the temporal span of the data grows I imagine we will start registering some interesting trends in the fortunes of marine life around the British coast. At our principal hubs in Cornwall (Castle Beach and Mount Batten) we have already started anecdotally noticing temporal trends in populations of some species. There are 10–20 species which were rare when we first started that are now very common, for example. In addition to monitoring trends in common, native species we are also keen to be involved in the monitoring and detection of non-native marine species. To get the ball rolling on this, we’ve collaborated with Natural England to identify a group of non-native marine species which are of potential concern and are regularly sharing our data on these species onwards. Generally, any university researchers or students keen to use our dataset – please get in touch! We’d love to collaborate with you.

Literature References

  1. Holt et al. (2010) ‘Signatures of speciation? Distribution and diversity of Hypoplectrus (Teleostei: Serranidae) colour morphotypes’: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00539.x 
  2. Kesebir and Kesebir (2017) ‘A Growing Disconnection From Nature Is Evident in Cultural Products’: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28346112/ 
  3. Mora et al. (2008) ‘The completeness of taxonomic inventories for describing the global diversity and distribution of marine fishes’: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/275/1631/149/66390 

Further Info

marineLIVE

marineLIVE webinars feature guest marine biologists talking about their research into the various organisms that inhabit our seas and oceans, and the threats that they face. All events are free to attend and are suitable for adults of all abilities – a passion for marine life is all that’s required!

marineLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company with funding from the British Ecological Society.

Learn more about British wildlife

Check out our events on Eventbrite

The Ealing Beaver Project

Nestled in the serene environs of Paradise Fields in Greenford, Ealing, the Ealing Beaver Project is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at fostering urban human-beaver coexistence. As London’s first fully accessible urban beaver reintroduction site, the project partnership are dedicated to bringing people closer to nature right in the heart of the city.

A family of five Eurasian beavers was officially released into Paradise Fields in Ealing (London), on 11th October 2023. This was the outcome of years of planning orchestrated by The Ealing Beaver Project, a partnership between the Ealing Wildlife Group, Citizen Zoo, the Friends of Horsenden Hill and Ealing Council.

Thanks to funding from the Mayor of London’s Rewild London Fund, the Biological Recording Company was able to deliver a series of Field Recorder Day events at the site prior to the release of the beavers. In 2026, we are delighted to be returning to Paradise Fields (thanks to the HS2 Community and Environment Fund) to give naturalists an opportunity to record the wildlife in the ‘post-beaver’ landscape. It will be very interesting to see what we find which is new! See the full programme of events – including links to sign-up for free – below.

Field Recorder Days

Our Field Recorder Days are a core part of our company’s mission to get more people observing wildlife and submitting data into biological recording systems. The days involve visiting a site as a group to make field observations, collecting specimens for identification at a later date if needed, and submitting data to iRecord. Each of our Field Recorder Days has a specific taxonomic focus and is led by a species-group specialist. Attendance is free, and recorders of all levels (from newcomer to seasoned pro) are welcome, but booking is mandatory as spaces are limited. Check out our Field Recorder Days events at Paradise Fields in 2026 below.

Earthworm Sampling Day

27 Mar 2026 @ Paradise Fields

Join us on a sampling day to collect earthworm specimens at Paradise Fields.

Register for your FREE place here

Mollusc Field Recorder Day

14 Apr 2026 @ Paradise Fields

Join Imogen Cavadino-Phillips for a day recording the molluscs of Paradise Fields.

Register for your FREE place here

Botany Field Recorder Day

14 May 2026 @ Paradise Fields

Join Dr Mark Spencer to record the plants found at Paradise Fields.

Register for your FREE place here

Invertebrate Field Recorder Day

17 Jun 2026 @ Paradise Fields

Help us record the insects and other invertebrates of Paradise Fields.

Register for your FREE place here

Beetle Field Recorder Day

25 Jun 2026 @ Paradise Fields

Join Connor Butler to help record the beetles of Paradise Fields.

Register for your FREE place here

Bug Field Recorder Day

30 Jul 2026 @ Paradise Fields

Join Tristan Bantock for a day recording the true bugs (Hemiptera) of Paradise Fields.

Register for your FREE place here
View all upcoming Field Recorder Days here

The 2026 Field Recorder Day events at Paradise Fields are delivered by the Biological Recording Company with support from Ealing Wildlife Group, the Earthworm Society of Britain and London Natural History Society as part of The Ealing Beaver Project.

The Ealing Beaver Project. is a partnership between Ealing Wildlife Group, Citizen Zoo, the Friends of Horsenden Hill, and Ealing Council.

Project Achievements

You can read about what wildlife we found during the pre-release Field Recorder Day events in the Paradise Fields Field Recorder Day Report below.

Paradise Fields Field Recorder Day Report v2 03.08.24Download

Biological Recording Projects

At the Biological Recording Company, we specialise in planning and delivering projects centred around recording wildlife and training naturalists.

  • London Recording Projects involve the delivery of events from our Field Recorder Day, Invertebrate Study Day, Earthworm Sampling Day and Training Course programmes. Examples include:
    • Site-based projects, such as Wild Tolworth, Ealing Beaver Project and Lesnes 500.
    • Borough-based projects, such as our Southwark and Barnet projects.
  • Earthworm Projects range from identification training and earthworm surveys to research and consultation. Example include:
    • Engagement-focused projects, such as delivering earthworm recorder training in Northern Ireland and working with farmers in the Chilterns.
    • Research-focused projects, such as looking at the impact of hay meadow restoration on earthworm communities, assessing the effectiveness of regenerative farming practices and investigating the use of AI in earthworm identification.
  • National Biological Recording Projects entail putting our expertise to use with helping other organisations improve the biological recording processes and reach new audiences.
Have a project in mind? Get in touch!

An ‘Alien’ in Antarctica

A tiny flightless midge, Eretmoptera murphyi, accidentally introduced to Antarctica in the 1960s, has spread across Signy Island and now dominates the soil ecosystem. Its larvae feed on dead plant material, enriching the soil with nitrogen and changing conditions in ways that could help other species invade. Octavia’s research reveals these midge-altered soils also release more greenhouse gases, meaning this small insect could be quietly accelerating climate change in one of the planet’s most fragile environments.

Q&A with Octavia Brayley

Octavia Brayley is a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Birmingham and British Antarctic Survey, principally investigating the ecological impacts of a non-native insect species on Signy Island, Antarctica. Her work integrates biogeochemistry and microbiology to assess environmental effects, recently expanding to the microbiomes and physiology of related insects in sub-Antarctic regions. Beyond research, Octavia was the previous co-head of education and outreach for the UK Polar Network, and hosts the Polar Diaries podcast.

1. Did you find a difference in the microbiology of soils with versus without Eretmoptera murphyi present?

This is a really interesting area for investigation, but sadly it was not something I was able to look into as part of my PhD. There have, however, been some previous studies that have looked at the microbiology of soils on Signy Island, and we did, as part of my research, identify a few groups of soil bacteria in Signy soils that hadn’t previously been documented. Whether or not these have anything to do with E. murphyi I cannot comment on. They may be commensal microorganisms which came along with E. murphyi, but more research would definitely be needed before drawing a conclusion. An exciting way to investigate this question would be to collect E. murphyi-associated soils from South Georgia island – its native environment – and compare them against soils from the same island but from places where E. murphyi is known to be absent. The difficulty with this is that it’s actually almost impossible these days to find E. murphyi on South Georgia! It seems to have practically disappeared. This may be linked to the introduction of a different non-native species to South Georgia – a predatory beetle – which feeds on E. murphyi there.

2. How effective are the biosecurity protocols on Antarctica these days?

In my opinion, the biosecurity protocols for scientists are currently not the best and sorely need to be updated. There is a specific chemical called Virkon which is currently used by Antarctic scientists to sanitise boots and equipment when landing on islands in and around Antarctica. A study was done a few years ago looking at how effective Virkon was at killing Eretmoptera murphyi. Turns out – even when dropped into a vat of the stuff – the midge survived. If E. murphyi can survive Virkon then it’s likely other hardy Antarctic invertebrates that might be introduced in the future can survive it too. I don’t know so much about how effective it is at sterilising plant seeds, but I would guess it’s also imperfect. Like invertebrates, the seeds of plants in this part of the world can be very robust. The biosecurity measures for tourists are, fortunately, a lot better. There are also very strict guidelines in place regarding which islands tourists can visit and whereabouts they can go on said islands. I suspect Peter Convey – giving another entoLIVE about Antarctic Invertebrates later this year in March – will have more to say on the topic of biosecurity too, if still of interest.

3. Why is increased nitrogen concentration in Antarctic soils a problem?

Great question. Increased nitrogen concentrations are actually not necessarily a problem, in the short-term at least. I personally hypothesise that the plants present on Signy Island (mosses and the like) and perhaps also some of the invertebrates might actually benefit from the higher nitrogen concentrations in the short-term. Higher nitrate levels means more nutrients for growth in plants, for example. I don’t expect terrible consequences immediately, by any means. What is concerning, however, is the long-term impact. If E. murphyi is boosting soil nitrogen on Signy Island currently, it is possible that this will open a window for more non-native species to establish in the future. Again, arrival of new species doesn’t necessarily mean negative consequences for the native wildlife, but there is a risk. Antarctic ecosystems are inherently fragile, so any upset to the natural balance is alarming.

4. Do you anticipate that there might be knock-on effects of elevated soil nutrients on some of the larger Antarctic animals?

Another interesting question. As far as I know, nobody has – so far – officially studied this topic in the Antarctic context. The larger Antarctic animals – famous things like penguins and seals, for example – do sometimes use terrestrial environments for part of their life cycle, but generally I wouldn’t expect a chemical change in soil conditions to affect them greatly. The most important parts of their lives are spent in the water, really. They are only really on land for mating and ‘chilling out’ (pun intended?). A slightly tangential fun fact, however, is that both penguins and seals do interact with terrestrial nutrient cycles in Antarctica through defecating; their poop creates ‘pulses’ of nutrient input to the terrestrial environment!

5. Does anything eat Eretmoptera murphyi?

Nothing on Signy Island, no, but there is a non-native predatory beetle found on South Georgia Island which eats the midge. Some people have suggested introducing that beetle to Signy Island too, but I am very skeptical of that being a good idea! History has given us plenty of examples of how introducing one species to control another has made things even worse than they originally were!

Literature References

  1. Bartlett et al. (2023) ‘Ecological consequences of a single introduced species to the Antarctic: Terrestrial impacts of the invasive midge Eretmoptera murphyi on Signy Island’: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.108965
  2. Bartlett et al. (2020) ‘An insect invasion of Antarctica: the past, present and future distribution of Eretmoptera murphyi (Diptera, Chironomidae) on Signy Island’: https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12389
  3. Bartlett et al. (2021) ‘The effectiveness of Virkon® S disinfectant against an invasive insect and implications for Antarctic biosecurity practices’: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102020000413
  4. Bergstrom (2022) ‘Maintaining Antarctica’s isolation from non-native species’: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.10.002
  5. Brayley et al. (2025) ‘The microbiome of an invasive Antarctic insect, Eretmoptera murphyi (Diptera: Chironomidae), and its potential role in nutrient cycling’: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7744438/v1
  6. Convey (2010) ‘Terrestrial biodiversity in Antarctica – Recent advances and future challenges’: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2010.03.003
  7. Hughes et al. (2015) ‘Biological invasions in terrestrial Antarctica: What is the current status and can we respond?’: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0896-6
  8. Hughes et al. (2013) ‘The non-native chironomid Eretmoptera murphyi in Antarctica: erosion of the barriers to invasion’: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-012-0282-1
  9. Leihy et al. (2023) ‘Introduced and invasive alien species of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean Islands’: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02113-2
  10. Pyšek et al. (2020) ‘Scientists’ warning on invasive alien species’: https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12627

Further Info

entoLIVE

entoLIVE webinars feature guest invertebrate researchers delving into their own invertebrate research. All events are free to attend and are suitable for adults of all abilities – a passion for invertebrates is all that’s required!

entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with the British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists’ Society, with support from Buglife, Field Studies Council and National Biodiversity Network Trust.

Check out more invertebrate research, publications and events from the entoLIVE partner websites:

Learn more about British wildlife

Check out our events on Eventbrite

Hammersmith and Fulham Biological Recording Project

The Biological Recording Company is working in collaboration with Hammersmith and Fulham Council to deliver a series of free-to-attend biological recording events in 2026. The first of these events is a one-day Biological Recording 101 training course. This will then be followed by six Field Recorder Day events. More details about the programme – including links to sign up to the various activities – can be found below.

Training Courses

For the first event of the programme we are running another iteration of our popular Biological Recording 101 training course, a free-to-attend, introductory, full-day course which equips students with everything they need to know to start generating and submitting biological records. The course highlights the essential value of biological recording for understanding and protecting wildlife, and is perfect for newcomers to biological recording.

Biological Recording 101

09 Jun 2026 @ Queen Caroline Estate

Learn how biological recording works, how casual species observations can be converted into useful biodiversity datasets, and how to use the iRecord platform.

Register for your FREE place on Eventbrite

Coming along to Biological Recording 101 training course? Next up – put your new skills to use at one of our Field Recorder Days! You can help generate valuable biodiversity data to contribute to ongoing protection and monitoring of green spaces in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Field Recorder Days

Following on from the training, we’ll be putting our existing and newly-developed skills to good use with a series of Field Recorder Day events. Each event takes place in a different park or green space in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and each will have a specific taxonomic focus, led by a specialist. As with all of our Field Recorder Days, attendance is free, and recorders of all levels (from newcomer to seasoned pro) are welcome, but booking is mandatory as spaces are limited. Check out the different events and sign-up below!

Botany Field Recorder Day

16 Jun 2026 @ Ravenscourt Park

Join Dr Mark Spencer to record the plants found at Ravenscourt Park.

Register for your FREE place here

Beetle Field Recorder Day

22 Jul 2026 @ Hammersmith Park & Wormholt Park

Join Connor Butler to record the beetles of Hammersmith Park and Wormholt Park.

Register for your FREE place here

Bug Field Recorder Day

04 Aug 2026 @ Bishops Park

Join Tristan Bantock to record the true bugs (Hemiptera) of Bishops Park.

Register for your FREE place here

Plant Gall Field Recorder Day

26 Sep 2026 @ Margravine Cemetery

Join Tommy Root to record the plant galls of Margravine Cemetery.

Register for your FREE place here

Fungi Field Recorder Day

22 Oct 2026 @ Wormwood Scrubs

Join Dr Mark Spencer to record the fungi of Wormwood Scrubs.

Register for your FREE place here

Earthworm Sampling Day

12 Nov 2026 @ South Park & Hurlingham Park

Join Keiron Brown to collect earthworm specimens at South Park and Hurlingham Park.

Register for your FREE place here
View all upcoming Field Recorder Days here

This series of events is being delivered by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with Hammersmith and Fulham Council and the London Natural History Society (LNHS).

Project Achievements

Details of our achievements and findings coming here soon…

Biological Recording Projects

At the Biological Recording Company, we specialise in planning and delivering projects centred around recording wildlife and training naturalists.

  • London Recording Projects involve the delivery of events from our Field Recorder Day, Invertebrate Study Day, Earthworm Sampling Day and Training Course programmes. Examples include:
    • Site-based projects, such as Wild Tolworth, Ealing Beaver Project and Lesnes 500.
    • Borough-based projects, such as our Southwark and Barnet projects.
  • Earthworm Projects range from identification training and earthworm surveys to research and consultation. Example include:
    • Engagement-focused projects, such as delivering earthworm recorder training in Northern Ireland and working with farmers in the Chilterns.
    • Research-focused projects, such as looking at the impact of hay meadow restoration on earthworm communities, assessing the effectiveness of regenerative farming practices and investigating the use of AI in earthworm identification.
  • National Biological Recording Projects entail putting our expertise to use with helping other organisations improve the biological recording processes and reach new audiences.
Have a project in mind? Get in touch!

Understanding a Bee’s Buzz: Biology to Robotics

Ever wondered how and why bees buzz? Or what determines the different properties of a bee buzz? In this webinar, Charlie reveals the answer. Join us to understand bee buzzes through his work from the lab and field to understand how bees produce their buzzes and how this understanding is being used to inform the design of micro-robots for pollination.

Q&A with Dr Charlie Woodrow

Dr Charlie Woodrow is a Zoologist working at Uppsala University to understand the diversity of insects and how they work. In particular, he is interested in how insects produce and detect sounds and vibrations. This research has taken him to some of the most remote regions of the world in search of new and interesting insects and their behaviours, from hearing in crickets to how bees produce their buzzes. He combines this fieldwork with lab experiments, 3D imaging and computer models to understand the fine details of insect form and function.

1. Why can’t honey bees buzz pollinate?

Good question. It is actually estimated that only half of the world’s total bee species can buzz pollinate. Why can some do it others can’t? We don’t know! We think the answer is probably contextual; perhaps all bees could theoretically have evolved the ability to buzz pollinate, but they haven’t all needed to evolve, learn and exhibit this behaviour. That’s our best guess, but it’s an open area for research still. It’s also down to observation, maybe more bees can buzz pollinate than we know, but we haven’t observed it yet.

2. Why can’t honey bees buzz pollinate?

They’re completely spread out; buzz pollination is displayed in bees from several
disparate genera across multiple taxonomic families.

3. Are there different ‘sweet spots’ of wing position for flying versus buzz pollination?

Perhaps. In general, we know that when bees are flying their wings are fully extended and when they’re doing other non-flight behaviour their wings seem to be fully retracted. If we were to scrutinise this in further detail it’s likely we’d see variation in these wing positions which should certainly affect the types of buzz they produce, but it’s yet to be investigated and quantified.

4. What are the applications of buzzing micro-robots?

I want to make very clear that our goal with this research has never been to try and find a way to ‘replace’ real bees. We want to develop these micro-robots to
understand the different buzzes that bees produce and the functional diversity
therein. There are also some environments where artificial pollination services would be useful, for example large-scale industrial indoor greenhouses. We’re a long way off being able to fully mimic the pollination services of bees with robots, right now. Buzzing for pollen release is just the first part of the pollination role played by bees – there would also need to be a way to transport the pollen between flowers for fertilisation. Bees are obviously adept at this too, and this is a way off being paralleled by a micro-robot!

5. You mentioned that your micro-robots sometimes accidentally attracted pollen due to having a slight static charge. Do bees also utilise static electricity when foraging for pollen?

They absolutely do. We have some great high-speed video of pollen falling and
swinging round underneath a bee to attach to it. Bees are statically charged too!

6. Have you found much variation between bee species (or between individuals of the same bee species) in terms of the properties of the non-flight buzzes produced?

We haven’t found much variation so far. And that makes some sense; buzzes are
produced by a physiological mechanism which is thought to be more or less consistent across different bee species. We’re yet to observe any major structural differences in the thoracic muscles responsible for buzzing, for example. Any differences there are in the properties of the buzz between or within species seem to be determined by two things: (1) the size of the bee; and (2) the temperature. Some other factors might have a small influence, but from what we have observed so far, it’s primarily size and temperature.

7. Do bees disconnect their wings when buzz pollinating?

Not exactly, the fore-wings and hind-wings are still hooked together (bees do
this with tiny hooks called hamuli which run along the edges of the wings), just folded back.

8. Have you looked into the effects of weather on buzz pollination?

We haven’t comprehensively studied this yet, but we are kind of looking into it. At the lab at Uppsala University we have a very cool temperature-controlled chamber where we can vary parameters related to temperature and humidity and see how this affects the bees and their buzz. I highly suspect weather, particularly sun exposure and humidity, does have a strong effect on the properties of bee’s buzzes.

Charlie’s robot bee research was supported by a Human Frontier Research Grant (https://doi.org/10.52044/HFSP.RGP00432022.pc.gr.153603) awarded to Prof. Mario Vallejo Marin (Uppsala) and Prof. Noah Jafferis (UMass Lowell). Charlie’s temperature experiments are funded by a Birgitta Sintring Foundation grant awarded to Dr. Charlie Woodrow. To follow updates on these research grants, follow the Uppsala lab website (https://plant-evolution.org/wp/research/buzz-pollination/) and/or follow Charlie on Bluesky (@CharlieZoology).

Literature References

  1. Gau et al. (2023) ‘Bridging two insect flight modes in evolution, physiology and robophysics’: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06606-3.pdf 
  2. Josephson et al. (2000) ‘Asynchronous muscle: a primer’: https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-abstract/203/18/2713/8551/Asynchronous-Muscle-A-Primer 
  3. Vallejo-Marín (2022) ‘How and why do bees buzz? Implications for buzz pollination’: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8866655/
  4. Ono et al. (1995) ‘Unusual thermal defence by a honeybee against mass attack by hornets’: https://www.nature.com/articles/377334a0
  5. Barron et al. (2017) ‘The evolution of honey bee dance communication: a mechanistic perspective’: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jenny-Plath/publication/321700270_The_evolution_of_honey_bee_dance_communication_A_mechanistic_perspective/links/5d51147b92851cd046b4d397/The-evolution-of-honey-bee-dance-communication-A-mechanistic-perspective.pdf 
  6. Vallejo-Marin et al. (2024) ‘Biomechanical properties of non-flight vibrations produced by bees’: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel-Montesinos-2/publication/380784575_Biomechanical_properties_of_non-flight_vibrations_produced_by_bees/links/66750cb0d21e220d89c5239c/Biomechanical-properties-of-non-flight-vibrations-produced-by-bees.pdf
  7. Alcock (1996) ‘The relation between male body size, fighting, and mating success in Dawson’s burrowing bee, Amegilla dawsoni (Apidae, Apinae, Anthophorini)’: https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1996.tb05469.x
  8. Woodrow et al. (2025) ‘Increasing temperatures affect thoracic muscle performance in Arctic bumblebees’: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65671-6.pdf
  9. Woodrow et al. (2024) ‘Buzz-pollinating bees deliver thoracic vibrations to flowers through periodic biting’: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)00947-3?uuid=uuid%3A69b49095-3209-4f7e-820e-6caa3d3df334 

entoLIVE

entoLIVE webinars feature guest invertebrate researchers delving into their own invertebrate research. All events are free to attend and are suitable for adults of all abilities – a passion for invertebrates is all that’s required!

entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with the British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists’ Society, with support from Buglife, Field Studies Council and National Biodiversity Network Trust.

Check out more invertebrate research, publications and events from the entoLIVE partner websites:

Learn more about British wildlife

Check out our events on Eventbrite

Innovative Moth Monitoring: Farmer Citizen Science Using AI

Farmland, covering 67% of England, is crucial in supporting nature recovery, yet good biodiversity data in farmland is often lacking. In this talk, Abigail presents results from a pilot involving 21 farmers across southern England who engaged in moth monitoring on their farms during 2024. Farmers used robust, portable LED light traps to capture moths weekly, and used an innovative AI-based identification app to generate real-time data. She gathered feedback from participants to understand farmer motivations, how this could be supported with effective, personalised feedback, and how the data is influenced by the accuracy of AI-based moth identification.

Q&A with Dr Abigail Lowe

Dr Abigail Lowe is an Interdisciplinary Ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Her research uses citizen science to understand the interaction of people, nature, and environmental data. Abigail’s work focuses on the use of co-design in the development of citizen science projects, ensuring that studies are designed with input from the participants involved.

1. Can you expand more on the AI identification algorithm used? What is it based on?

The image classifier contained in the e-Surveyor app uses the Nature Identification application programming interface (API) created by Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (the same identification algorithm used by the popular nature identification app ObsIdentify). We haven’t yet connected with the Dutch team behind the algorithm about this project specifically, but we are keen to. The pilot enabled us to identify commonly misidentified UK moths, and adding more training photos from specific angles or grouping species that can’t reliably be distinguished could help improve identification accuracy.

2. How did you convince farmers to get involved? Farmers famously don’t have much free time!

We aimed to engage a diverse range of farm types and attitudes towards wildlife-friendly farming, but project timelines and the need to work through an intermediary for recruitment meant we prioritised farmers who were easier to reach for this initial phase, which meant those already involved in wildlife-friendly farm clusters. Before the project, I conducted interviews to identify the reasons these farmers had expressed interest in getting involved and to find out more about how the data collected would be valuable to them. The interviews showed that farmers were primarily motivated by curiosity about the biodiversity on their land. We also carried out questionnaires following the moth monitoring. From that we identified the greatest barrier to participation was a lack of time. Within the pilot and beyond, we are working on how personalised feedback can encourage participation, beyond the intrinsic motivations some farmers already have. One great way to do this is with well-presented, eye-catching and easy-to-understand results summaries within the app. The real test will be to see whether we can successfully engage with farmers who are less intrinsically interested in nature.

3. Did you collect data on the abundance of moths, as well as which species were present?

Yes, we did. We asked farmers to take photographs of every single moth in the trap, so each photograph was treated as a single occurrence and gave a measure of abundance. But, as anyone who has every used a moth trap knows, there is a caveat to this: sometimes (indeed, arguably often) you are not able to get a photograph of every individual moth in a moth trap; some moths may fly away when you open the trap, others you might miss when searching through it. Extra frustratingly, such especially flighty or especially well-camouflaged moths are a non-random sample of UK moth species. In other words, some moths are more likely to be lost or missed than others. That doesn’t necessarily invalidate all the abundance data, but it’s a caveat to bear in mind.

4.  Are the moth records generated openly accessible for others to see? I.e. have they shared with databases such as iRecord or the NBN Atlas?

Not yet, but hopefully soon – yes! The County Moth Recorders in the counties where we conducted this pilot study are aware of this project through engagement with Butterfly Conservation (BC) and will be receiving the verified data directly in due course. Furthermore, and more ultimately, we hope to establish a data flow pathway so that this data can transfer through to iRecord where it will be openly available and can go on to UK databases such as the NBN Atlas. However, as AI-generated identifications are relatively new for the verifier community, we are approaching this carefully and engaging with County Moth Recorders via BC to explore their attitudes towards engaging with these data.

5. Did you have any concerns from farmers about finding rare or notable species on their land?

Although a few farmers were initially worried that finding a rare moth on their land might lead to new restrictions or attract crowds of keen recorders, these concerns eased as the project progressed. In reality, moths don’t generate excitement on the same level as rare or migrant birds, especially as they are unpredictable from night to night, and we weren’t sharing records in real time. We were also confident that farmers would not catch any moth species with statutory protections that would affect farm management. With those worries set aside, we actually started observing the opposite phenomenon; farmers started becoming competitive with one another to see whose farm hosted the most exciting moths. One farmer was lucky enough to catch a nationally scarce Scarce Forester (Jordanita globulariae) and was both very proud of the fact and very happy for that information to be shared!

Literature References

  1. Staley et al. (2024) ‘Evaluating the current state and potential of citizen science involving farmers’: https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/4635559178534912
  2. Peter et al. (2019) ‘Participant outcomes of biodiversity citizen science projects: A systematic literature review’: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102780 
  3. van der Wal et al. (2016) ‘The role of automated feedback in training and retaining biological recorders for citizen science’: https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12705 

Further Info

entoLIVE

entoLIVE webinars feature guest invertebrate researchers delving into their own invertebrate research. All events are free to attend and are suitable for adults of all abilities – a passion for invertebrates is all that’s required!

entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with the British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists’ Society, with support from Buglife, Field Studies Council and National Biodiversity Network Trust.

Check out more invertebrate research, publications and events from the entoLIVE partner websites:

Learn more about British wildlife

Check out our events on Eventbrite

Barnet Natural History Training

The Biological Recording Company is working with a range of organisations, including Barnet Council and Citizen Zoo, to deliver a programme of free natural history training courses and biological recording events throughout 2025 and 2026, including:

  • In-person natural history training courses across sites in Barnet.
  • Online ecology and biodiversity courses that can be completed at your own pace.
  • Field Recorder Day events to record the wildlife of the Welsh Harp under the guidance of biodiversity specialists.

More details about the programme, including links to the booking pages for the various activities, can be found below.

In-person Training Courses

Seven one-day natural history training courses are scheduled at sites within the London Borough of Barnet, with subjects aimed at those new to biological recording and an emphasis on developing biological recording skills in Barnet residents and greenspace volunteers.

The full training programme is listed below. All courses are free, but spaces are limited, so we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.

Check out the listings on Eventbrite

Biological Recording 101 took place at Hendon Town Hall on 3 June 2025, taught by Keiron Brown and attended by 16 participants. The course highlighted the value of biological recording for understanding and protecting wildlife. Attendees learned to collect and submit species data via iRecord and manage records to support local biodiversity monitoring.

Teaching Natural History took place at Barnet Environment Centre on 8 January 2026, taught by Keiron Brown and attended by 9 participants. Attendees learnt how to confidently teach adults through engaging classroom and field-based learning, and gained practical tools to design, deliver, and evaluate effective natural history education.

Fungi For Beginners took place at Hendon Town Hall on 15 January 2026, taught by Mark Spencer and attended by 14 participants. Attendees were introduced to the fascinating world of British fungi and learnt the basics of finding and identifying them through classroom learning and guided fieldwork. Participants gained foundational skills in fungal biology, taxonomy, and safe field practice.

Winter Tree Identification took place at Barnet Environment Centre on 28 January 2026, taught by Henry Miller and attended by 14 participants. Attendees learnt how to identify broadleaved trees in winter using buds, twigs, bark, and seasonal features, and gained confidence through practical exercises and guided fieldwork.

Botany For Beginners

03 Feb 2026 @ Hendon Town Hall

Discover British plants and gain practical skills in identifying them, recognising key structures, and understanding their taxonomy and ecology.

Camera Trapping Mammals

18 Feb 2026 @ Freehold Community Centre

Master camera trapping to monitor British mammals and classify footage using MammalWeb. Gain hands-on experience setting up cameras, identifying species, and managing data.

Terrestrial Invertebrates for Beginners

26 Mar 2026 @ Golders Green Quaker Meeting House

Explore British terrestrial invertebrates and develop core skills in finding and identifying them through guided fieldwork. Gain confidence using identification keys and recognising key features.

Book your space while availability lasts!

Online Training Courses

Barnet residents and volunteers can also access any of our entoLEARN or Skills For Ecology online courses for free. We have 200 spaces to give away so get in touch with Harriet at Barnet Council for instructions on how to claim your free courses. A full list of eligible courses is provided below.

See the full online natural history course programme

entoLEARN online courses

  • Bumblebees of the UK
  • Chafers of the UK
  • Damselflies of the UK
  • Dragonflies of the UK
  • Earthworms of the UK and Ireland
  • Freshwater Leeches of the UK
  • Harvestmen of the UK
  • Longhorn Beetles of the UK
  • Social Wasps of the UK

Skills For Ecology online courses

  • Crayfish Surveys and Conservation
  • Drone Surveys for Ecology
  • Ferns of the UK
  • Flower-Insect Timed (FIT) Counts
  • Hay Meadow Restoration
  • Identifying Mosses
  • Introduction to Camera Trapping
  • Invasive Plants in the UK
  • Surveying For Beetles
  • Surveying For Dragonflies
  • Surveying For Pollinators
  • Wildlife Detection Dogs

Instructions for claiming courses funded by Barnet Council

  1. Navigate to the relevant product on the Biological Recording Company online learning platform: https://courses.biologicalrecording.co.uk/collections/products
  2. Click on the button ‘Buy £X‘ to bring up the basket page.
  3. Click on the text stating ‘Have a coupon?‘ to bring up the coupon box
  4. Enter the code provided by Barnet Council into the coupon box and click ‘Apply‘ to reduce the cost to £0. Barnet residents and volunteers should contact Harriet at Barnet Council to request a code.
  5. Enter your email address, first name and last name to complete the purchase and set up your account.

Field Recorder Days

Following on from the training, we’ll be putting our existing and newly-developed skills to good use at the Welsh Harp Open Space with a series of Field Recorder Day events. Each event is led by a species group specialist and will have a specific taxonomic focus. Join us to help record the wildlife of the Welsh Harp.

  • Earthworm Sampling Day 01 Apr 2026 at Welsh Harp (Barnet)
  • Invertebrate Field Recorder Day 21 Apr 2026 at Welsh Harp (Barnet)
  • Botany Field Recorder Day 24 Jun 2026 at Welsh Harp (Barnet)
  • Plant Gall Field Recorder Day 19 Sep 2026 at Welsh Harp (Barnet)
  • Fungi Field Recorder Day 15 Oct 2026 at Welsh Harp (Barnet)
Book on our Field Recorder Days here

This series of training events in Barnet is being run as a collaboration between the Biological Recording Company and Barnet Council.

Project Achievements

Details of our achievements and findings coming here soon…

Biological Recording Projects

At the Biological Recording Company, we specialise in planning and delivering projects centred around recording wildlife and training naturalists.

  • London Recording Projects involve the delivery of events from our Field Recorder Day, Invertebrate Study Day, Earthworm Sampling Day and Training Course programmes. Examples include:
    • Site-based projects, such as Wild Tolworth, Ealing Beaver Project and Lesnes 500.
    • Borough-based projects, such as our Southwark and Barnet projects.
  • Earthworm Projects range from identification training and earthworm surveys to research and consultation. Example include:
    • Engagement-focused projects, such as delivering earthworm recorder training in Northern Ireland and working with farmers in the Chilterns.
    • Research-focused projects, such as looking at the impact of hay meadow restoration on earthworm communities, assessing the effectiveness of regenerative farming practices and investigating the use of AI in earthworm identification.
  • National Biological Recording Projects entail putting our expertise to use with helping other organisations improve the biological recording processes and reach new audiences.
Have a project in mind? Get in touch!