When Is Citizen Science A Useful Approach? 

Using examples from the Buzz Club and beyond, this presentation will outline some of the key things to consider before embarking on a citizen science project, such as budget, motivations of participants and the potential for engagement and behaviour change.

Dr Beth Nicholls is a senior research fellow at the University of Sussex. She has led citizen science projects on monitoring solitary bee populations and urban food production and provided advice to the National Trust and Buglife on incorporating citizen science into their community outreach and conservation programmes.

Q&A with Dr Beth Robinason

  1. Did you provide advice or feedback to Team PollinATE participants that were using chemical controls in their allotment plots?
    No, we didn’t give specific advice. To be honest, it was a very low number of participants and I flagged that most participants were engaging in pro-environmental practices. This is probably not too surprising, as recruitment is most likely biased towards people who are interested in pollination (particularly considering the name of the project) and may not be truly representative of allotment plot holders across the UK.
  2. Have you published the researcher versus citizen science work?
    The manuscript is still in progress and I’m hoping to get it submitted soon. It can take a little while for this to become available as it needs to go through the journal’s review process before it is published. The paper will go into more detail regarding the discrepancies between researcher and citizen scientist result, the drivers that may be causing these discrepancies and the feedback from participants. I go into more detail about this project in the Team PollinATE entoLIVE blog.
  3. How can we reach out to recruit citizen scientists?
    I think this really depends on the project. This project was very localised and had a specific audience in mind: allotment plot holders in Brighton! Therefore, I opted for the old-school method of visiting the relevant sites and putting up posters as well as speaking at the Brighton Allotment Association AGM to reach their members. It is always very useful to reach out to other groups or organisations that are already embedded within the community that you are trying to reach. I also posted in relevant Facebook groups.

Further info and links

  1. Team PollinATE entoLIVE blog: https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/2023/10/05/team-pollinate/
  2. Cornell Lab: Engagement in Science and Nature: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/engagement-in-science-and-nature.
  3. Zooniverse webpage: https://www.zooniverse.org/
  4. The Noise Project: https://noiseproject.org
  5. UK CEH Citizen Science Best Practice Guide: https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/citizen-science/citizen-science-best-practice-guide
  6. European Citizen Science Association: https://www.ecsa.ngo/ 
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The Buzz Club: Citizen Science Virtual Symposium

Gardening is a popular pastime, but not one that we do alone. Whether hidden beneath the soil, buzzing in the borders or singing on the fence, thousands of wild animals share our spaces. They provide vital support to our own horticultural successes – yet we know very little about most of them!

The Buzz Club intends to change that. It is a citizen science club, run by scientists at the University of Sussex. Citizen Science is a way of conducting research in collaboration with the general public. The Buzz Club creates experiments that help us understand the wildlife we share our gardens with, and what we can do to conserve it. Volunteers all over the UK help the Buzz Club to answer these important questions.

‘The Buzz Club: Citizen Science Virtual Symposium’ showcased the successes and lessons learnt by the Buzz Club, using their large portfolio of citizen science projects as case studies. We’ll delve into examples that have formed part of PhD studies and how various studies are linked or have fed into one another.

The event was hosted by Professor Dave Goulson and featured presentations from the Buzz Club team that focus on the origins, engagement, scientific outputs and lessons learned of this citizen science programme.

  1. Introduction to the Buzz Club with Prof Dave Goulson
  2. When Is Citizen Science A Useful Approach? with Dr Beth Nicholls
  3. Spreading the Word Using Citizen Science: Hoverfly Lagoons Project Case Study with Dr Ellen Rotheray
  4. Bee-hind the Bees and Heatwaves Project: Lessons Learnt from PhD Research with the Buzz Club with Yanet Sepulveda
  5. Keeping the Spark Alive: Volunteer Retention in Citizen Science with Dr Linda Birkin

Introduction to the Buzz Club

with Prof Dave Goulson

Prof Dave Goulson will explain why insects are important, and describe the many threats they face in the modern world. He will explain how gardens and gardeners can help in providing a home for thousands of species, and the role that Buzz Club is playing in trying to inform how best to encourage insect life in gardens through conducting nationwide “citizen science” experiments.

Dave Goulson is a Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex (UK). He has published more than 350 scientific articles on the ecology of insects. He is the author of Bumblebees (OUP 2010), and of several bestselling popular books including A Sting in the Tale (2013), A Buzz in the Meadow ( 2014), The Garden Jungle (2019) and Silent Earth (2021), collectively translated in 20 languages. Goulson founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006, a charity that has grown to 12,000 members.

Literature References
  1. Hallman et al (2017) More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809
  2. Goulson et al (2002) Colony growth of the bumblebee, Bombus Terrestris, in improved and conventional agricultural and suburban habitats: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28547150/
  3. Rollings & Goulson (2019) Quantifying the attractiveness of garden flowers for pollinators: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10841-019-00177-3
  4. Balfour & Ratnieks (2022) The disproportionate value of ‘weeds’ to pollinate and biodiversity: https://appliedecologistsblog.com/2022/03/17/the-disproportionate-value-of-weeds-to-pollinators-and-biodiversity/
  5. Tassin de Montaigu & Goulson (2024) Factors influencing butterfly and bumblebee richness and abundance in gardens:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723066226
  6. Lentola et al (2017) Ornamental plants on sale to the public are a significant source of pesticide residues with implications for the health of pollinating insects:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749117305158
  7. Blackmore and Goulson (2014) Evaluating the effectiveness of wildflower seed mixes for boosting floral diversity and bumblebee and hoverfly abundance in urban areas: https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/icad.12071
Useful Links

When Is Citizen Science A Useful Approach?

Dr Beth Nicholls

Using examples from the Buzz Club and beyond, this presentation will outline some of the key things to consider before embarking on a citizen science project, such as budget, motivations of participants and the potential for engagement and behaviour change.

Check out the full blog here

Spreading the Word Using Citizen Science: Hoverfly Lagoons Project Case Study

Dr Ellen Rotheray

The Hoverfly Lagoons project was invented in 2016, to develop an easy, cheap wildlife gardening technique. Since then the idea of creating a Lagoon for hoverflies has captured the imagination of people around the globe. This presentation will describe the reach and application of this citizen science project, as a method for raising awareness and engaging with people.

Check out the full blog here

Bee-hind the Bees and Heatwaves Project: Lessons Learnt from PhD Research with the Buzz Club

Yanet Sepulveda

The Buzz Club’s Bees and Heatwaves project is part of a PhD study aimed at using citizen science to investigate how bees respond to heatwave events. This presentation explores the project’s objectives, discussing the advantages, challenges, and future prospects of working alongside citizens to support pollinators in a warming world.

Check out the full blog here

Keeping the Spark Alive: Volunteer Retention in Citizen Science

Dr Linda Birkin

Citizen science relies on the data returned by volunteers – thus, such projects need to maximise the chances of that happening. Clear communication, transparency about methods and objectives, and fostering a sense of ownership and community are all extremely important to keeping volunteers engaged, and invested in the success of a project. Dr Linda Birkin will delve into her experience of striking this balance, from her PhD ‘Bees & Beans’ and into the Buzz Club’s current roster of projects.

Check out the full blog here

Citizen Science Panel Discussion

Transcription of the Panel Discussion coming soon…

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This event was delivered by the Biological Recording Company and the Buzz Club.

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Butterflies Through Time: Climate Change, Conservation & Historic Specimens

Combining historical specimens and modern-day research allows wildlife of the past to inform conservation of the future. In this talk, Matt Hayes will discuss research currently being carried out on Wildlife Trust reserves in the UK, monitoring the impact of climate change, and investigating if artificial butterfly banks can help protect species from extreme weather events. He will then discuss another area of his research, looking at historical butterfly specimens from the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, which can extend records of change 200 years back in time.

Matt Hayes is a Zoology PhD student interested in how we can manage nature reserves to protect invertebrates from climate change. His PhD project is made possible by a longstanding partnership between the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, and the Insect Ecology Group at the University of Cambridge.

Q&A with Matt Hayes

  1. What were the butterfly banks made of?
    For this site, we brought a digger in to scrape off the top layer of vegetation, dig about a foot down and put that earth on the banks themself. In the presentation you will see a square area – this was sunk with the soil used to build the banks.
  2. How did you decide how high the banks would be?
    We wanted them to be significant structures and aimed to get them to two metres tall. However, we found that the chalk wouldn’t settle above a certain height and we couldn’t build them physically taller than they were. This was a consequence of the material that we used, so it would be possible to make the banks bigger if the material used allowed it.
  3. What type of vegetation colonised the banks?
    We found that it was different from what was present in the field that the banks were located in. We didn’t plant anything, so the seeds must have been present and there was a huge amount of successional species, such as thistles and poppies. Our focus for this part of the experiment was the structure of the banks, and it would be really interesting to look at the vegetation and seeding the banks next – or even keep some of the bank surface as bare earth.
  4. Was there any specific bank feature that provided the biggest benefit to butterflies?
    I think it is most likely the combination and variation of features. Anecdotally, I have seen butterflies using the south banks in the morning to heat up and the north-facing banks in extreme heat to cool down.
  5. Where would you advise conservationists to site butterfly banks on their reserves?
    We specifically targeted sites that had a low baseline in terms of topographic variation (essentially flat parts of the study sites). We were investigating how to improve sites so we needed sites where you would be able to detect improvements! However, I believe that most sites would benefit from these structures due to the fact that they add in variation. You don’t need to create structures as big as we did and what you build should be appropriate to the size of the site. You can find more guidance from the Creating a Butterfly Bank factsheet by Butterfly Conservation.
  6. Are you planning on sending your data to biological recording organisations?
    The first step is for me to process all for the data and get it ready for use within my PhD. this includes getting the specimen collection digitised and made available through the museum website. Following that, I’m keen to get the data used by as many sources as possible and will be looking at how it can be shared with data holders such as Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Environmental Records Centre, Butterflies for the New Millenium and/or the NBN Atlas.
  7. How many cataloguing hours do you think that you’ve put in?
    I started working on the cataloguing of the UK butterflies around 2019 and I’ve put in many hours since then – probably thousands. I haven’t actually kept a record of this.
  8. What is the next part of your research?
    I’m hoping to look at general heterogeneity of nature reserves and how that impacts butterflies’ ability to regulate their body temperature. My research group has been working with the Wildlife Trust since 2006 and we have thousands of butterfly data points where we have both temperature and GPS data so we can figure out on nature reserves what habitat is around them, and see how that impacts their temperature. The question is “If we have more varied nature reserves as a whole, does that help species maintain optimum body temperature?”.

Literature References

  1. Fox et al (2023) State of the UK’s Butterflies Report 2022: https://butterfly-conservation.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/State%20of%20UK%20Butterflies%202022%20Report.pdf
  2. Hayes et al (2024) Heatwave predicts a shady future for insects: impacts of an extreme weather event on a chalk grassland in Bedfordshire, UK: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-024-00556-5

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:

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Spiders, Earthworms and Beetles: The Impacts of Cover Crop Frost Tolerance

Cover crops are used in arable rotations to protect the soil between cash crops (e.g. wheat, barley). Cover crops need to be removed before cash crops can be planted, and this is commonly done by spraying environmentally-harmful herbicides. Here, we conducted a large-scale field trial to test whether using cover crops that die naturally in the frost is better for earthworms, spiders, and beetles, and associated ecosystem functions (e.g. soil compaction). The aim is to design and test the ecological benefits of cover crop mixes that can be removed with minimal herbicide use. This experiment was co-designed with 15 farmers, LEAF, and Oakbank.

Dr Amelia (Millie) Hood is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Reading. She’s interested in co-designing sustainable farming solutions with farmers in the UK, and using large ecological experiments to test them.

Q&A Dr Amelia Hood

  1. Did you use existing survey methods for the groups that you monitored?
    The methods used were not new, scientists have previously used quadrants to study plants, vortices to study beetles and spiders and soil monoliths to study earthworms. The Showcase project designed protocols using these sampling methods that were used to ensure that the way the sampling was done was consistent across all of the sampling within the Showcase project. For example, with vortice sampling this means standardising factors such as number of seconds the vortice is used, the size of the area sampled and the distance between sample points.
  2. Do you know what percentage of farms are already using cover crops?
    This is information that would be really valuable but, unfortunately, I don’t have access to this information. This would be a great project. A possible way of doing this would be to collaborate with the major cover crop suppliers and see which are their most popular mixes. You’d also need to consider the motivations behind the use of cover crops, as farmers have different motivations (including for pollination, reducing nitrate leaching or improving soil structure) and this would impact which mixes they would look to use.
  3. Are there alternatives to using chemicals to remove the cover crop?
    There are two main ways to kill off the cover rop. The first is use of herbicides. The amount of spraying can be reduced by grazing, rolling off or planting winter sensitive species. The second option is manual removal, which would be the method used by organic farms. There are disadvantages to both of these methods. Herbicides result in chemical run-off and contamination. Manual removal through tilling will lead to increased soil compaction. There is a lot of debate in the scientific and farming communities about which methods are less destructive for the environment and there is no easy answer. I’ve noticed that farmers that I’ve worked with seem to be getting more responsive, and are thinking more about interventions, for example tilling only when they feel it is needed rather than tilling at a set frequency each year.
  4. Did the farmers get paid for taking part in this research?
    No, participation in this research was voluntary and we are extremely grateful for the farmers that allowed us to undertake this research on their land!
  5. What is the next step in this research?
    Continuity is a really big issue in the world of research. Research grants are usually 3-5 years and arable rotations can be as long as 8 years. Some funding bodies do support long-term experiments, particularly as the value of these is recognised with long-term experiments contributing disproportionately to policy and practice. It can sometimes be tricky to get repeat funding for continuing or extending a project, as there can be an emphasis on supporting new and snazzy projects. I will be continuing working on co-design with farmers and will be looking at agroforestry where you plant rows of trees in arable fields.

Literature References

  1. Brennan (2014) A Comparison of Drill and Broadcast Methods for Establishing Cover Crops on Beds: https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/49/4/article-p441.xml
  2. Klebl et al (2024) How values and perceptions shape farmers’ biodiversity management: Insights from ten European countries: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320724000570?via%3Dihub
  3. Michalko et al (2018) Habitat niches suggest that non-crop habitat types differ in quality as source habitats for Central European agrobiont spiders: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880920304345
  4. Nivelle et al (2016) Functional response of soil microbial communities to tillage, cover crops and nitrogen fertilisation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0929139316302190?via%3Dihub
  5. Shackelford et al (2019) Effects of cover crops on multiple ecosystem services: Ten meta-analyses of data from arable farmland in California and the Mediterranean: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837718312584
  6. The Royal Society (2020) Soil structure and its benefits: An evidence synthesis: https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/soil-structures/soil-structure-evidence-synthesis-report.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:

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Signal Crayfish Virtual Symposium

Invasive crayfish are one of the biggest threats to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. They can cause major adverse effects on native crayfish, invertebrates, fish and plant communities as well as bank erosion and sedimentation. The American Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) has been responsible for a massive decline in the UK’s native White-clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) due to competition and the transmission of a deadly disease, crayfish plague. It continues to expand across Great Britain and Europe, causing major negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

A variety of signal crayfish control methods have been attempted with varying degrees of success. This Signal Crayfish Virtual Symposium will bring together conservationists, ecologists, freshwater biologists and more to discuss the latest in Signal Crayfish control in Europe and what more can be done.

This event featured four presentations:

  1. American Signal Crayfish: England Case Study with Dr Eleri Pritchard (Environment Agency)
  2. Can Fish Help Us Control Signal Crayfish? with Dr Nicky Green (Nicky Green Associates)
  3. Barriers to Stop the Spread of Invasive Crayfish with Armin Zenker and Raphael Krieg (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland)
  4. Genetic ‘Immunisation’ of Invasive Species with Prof Bruce Whitelaw (University of Edinburgh)

American Signal Crayfish: England Case Study

Dr Eleri Pritchard (Environment Agency)

The American Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) is classed as an invasive species in the UK, where it is known to erode riverbanks and be driving the native White-clawed Crayfish (an) towards extinction through the spread of crayfish plague and competition for resources (refuges in particular). This presentation will provide an England case study in terms of invasion history, current status, impacts, legislation and current efforts to control.

Dr Eleri Pritchard is a freshwater ecologist with a particular interest in aquatic invasive species. Eleri works as an Environmental Monitoring Officer in the Cumbria and Lancashire Area of the Environment Agency. Eleri completed her NERC-funded PhD on invasion biology and ecological impacts of signal crayfish in headwater streams.

Check out the full blog here

Can Fish Help Us Control Signal Crayfish?

Dr Nicky Green (Nicky Green Associates)

Some species of fish have been shown to be valuable tools in the fight against signal crayfish. This presentation discusses how fish can influence crayfish survival and presents case studies where fish have been used as part of integrated crayfish control projects.

Dr. Nicky Green has been working with both native and non-native crayfish in the UK since 2003. Her main focus is the development of simple, cost effective ways of reducing the impacts of American signal crayfish.

Check out the full blog

Barriers to Stop the Spread of Invasive Crayfish

Armin Zenker and Raphael Krieg (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland)

Crayfish barriers are the only way to stop the non-anthropogenic spread of non-native crayfish species. Various barriers have been installed in Switzerland in recent years. In addition, field trials have been carried out to check their effectiveness and fish passability.

Armin Zenker and Raphael Krieg, are founders of the “Swiss Coordination Office for Crayfish” on behalf of the Federal Office for the Environment in Switzerland, which campaigns for the protection of native crayfish species. As part of their activities, they have carried out various scientific projects on crayfish barriers, population genetic studies and work closely with local fisheries authorities.

Check out the full blog here

Genetic ‘Immunisation’ of Invasive Species

Prof Bruce Whitelaw (University of Edinburgh)

Engineering biology technology can provide humane approaches to control invasive non-native animal populations. Within the developing toolbox, gene drive strategies offer much potential for species-specific applications, but have yet to be deployed. To become a practical option to control signal crayfish populations will require establishing embryology capability in this species, with subsequent testing of gene drive strategies.

Professor Bruce Whitelaw is an academic who develops genetic engineering applications in livestock species, aiming to mitigate the impact of disease and produce more productive animals. Recognising this technology could be applied to wild animals, he is exploring strategies to assist in maintaining biodiversity in the face of invasive, non-native species.

Check out the full blog here

Event Partners

This event is delivered by the Biological Recording Company and Nicky Green Associates.

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Refurbishing the Bee Hotel: Different Bees, Different Needs

Putting up a bee hotel is a popular – and accessible – wildlife gardening activity, but typical designs are very focused on the needs of a small sub-set of solitary bees. Buzz Club projects are looking to expand the ecological value of the Hymenopteran hotel to provide support for a much wider range of insects. They also aim to identify and avoid possible pitfalls and problems when using these in real garden environments!

Dr Linda Birkin is a specialist in citizen science and urban entomology. She has a particular interest in ecological outreach and wildlife gardening.

Issy Sexton is a Research Assistant at the University of Sussex, specialising in pollinator-focused citizen science. She also has a background in community engagement and environmental policy.

Q&A Dr Linda Birkin and Isobel Sexton

  1. If and how often should you clean a bee hotel?
    Linda: That is a great question and one that we’d really like to investigate through the Buzz Club. There is discourse around how regularly you should clean a bee hotel. In nature, cavity-nesting bees would be making use of transient nesting opportunities – such as plant stems or digging burrows. It’s unlikely that these specific nesting sites would be re-used the following year as they would no longer exist. Bee hotels are not transient in nature, meaning that they can be re-used. Cleaning is a hot topic because parasites and fungi become established in nests and re-use of nesting sites could benefit these parasite populations. We really do need data in order to give evidence-based advice, but it is likely that some form of cleaning is advisable for artificial bee nesting sites.
    Issy: This is a question that we are asking as part of our Big Bee Hotel Experiment. We ask if and when the last time bee hotels were cleaned and the data that we are gathering should help us address this question in the future.
  2. What natural features will bees nest in?
    Linda: Hollow plant stems, such as brambles and anything that has left a stem over winter which has become hollow.
  3. What materials are suitable for bee hotels?
    Linda: Ideally you should avoid using glass or plastic for the tubes as these are not permeable and condensation can form, which enables fungi to grow within the bee hotel. Naturally materials are much better, but be aware of wood that has been treated with insecticides. We don’t know if these treatments have an impact on nesting bess. If you’re not sure, I’d advise leaving the wood that you plan on using in the garden for a year or so to give time for any residual chemicals to leach out.
  4. What direction should the bee hotel face?
    Linda: Bees are insects and cold-blooded… meaning that they like sun. So the best direction for your bee hotel to face is south or southeast. The warmest wall that you have is ideal! It may also be worth angling the tubes up a little bit so that rain can’t flow down the tubes. I’m not aware of any research showing that bees have a preference, in fact I’ve seen them use vertical holes, but anything that can lead to water getting in to the bee hotel may enable fungus to grow.
    Issy: There are still lots of questions that we are not certain about and require more research. This is why we’re encouraging as many people as possible to take part in the Big Bee Hotel Experiment to help us address some of the questions.
  5. What is the difference between a bee hive and bee hotel?
    Issy: A bee hive is used by honeybees, which are social bees that form a colony. Bee hotels are aimed more at solitary bees, which do not form colonies and create a nest for their own offspring only.
  6. Do different species of bee use the same bee hotels?
    Linda: You will find different species of bee using the same bee hotel and they will co-exist quite happily. They don’t tend to use the same tubes as the occupant bee will try to bully the other bee out of using the same tube.
  7. Do bees hibernate in the bee hotels?
    Linda: The adult bees that laid the eggs will not – they have a short lifespan and will be dead by the end of the season. The eggs will hatch and the larvae will eat the pollen before pupating and then waiting for spring. The males are laid at the front of the tube so they will emerge first.

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:

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Introduction To Earthworms

In Spring 2023, Keiron worked with the Tees-Swale: Naturally Connected (Yorkshire Dales) and Forest of Bowland AONB Hay Time Project to deliver earthworm education in the North of England, as well as surveying sites for earthworms in Lancashire and North Yorkshire.

The education programme included 3 entoLEARN education webinars that are available to view below.

Introduction To Earthworms

Known as the gardener’s best friend, it is widely recognised that earthworms are important creatures. However, few people realise that there are different kinds of earthworms doing different jobs, and the true level of their importance goes unrecognised. In the talk below talk, Keiron will take us on a journey into the weird yet wonderful world of worms. We’ll learn what makes an earthworm an earthworm and explore some of the fascinating aspects of their biology, ecology and behaviour, and discuss how not all earthworms are found below ground! We’ll look at some exotic earthworms from around the world and discover what the current status quo is with British earthworms.

Below you will find copies of the Annelid Taxonomy and Earthworm Ecosystem Services infographics used in the presentation and some useful links.

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Earthworms For Farmers

The productivity of agricultural systems is heavily reliant upon the condition of the soils below. Earthworms contribute to important soil processes and provide ecosystem services such as waste recycling, carbon and nutrient regulation, water flow regulation, soil aeration and soil structure maintenance. In the presentation below, Keiron introduces how different types of earthworms contribute to these agricultural benefits in different ways, what threats our earthworms face in agricultural landscapes and what farming practices might be better for supporting healthy earthworm populations.

Below you will find the Soil Formation& Soil Processes and Earthworms & a link to more events with the Tees-Swale Naturally Connect project.

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Earthworms of the UK Part 1

The UK and Ireland has 32-33 species of earthworms that can be found occurring in natural habitats that have been recorded to date. We are exploring all 32-33 species over the course of 3 webinars. Part 1 covered some of the most common species and is available to view for free below. Part 2 was delivered in September 2024 and Part 3 will cover the rare species and is due to take place on 13 January 2025 (you don’t need to have viewed either part 1 or 2 to enjoy and understand part 3).

Book Earthworms of the UK Part 3

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The Plight of the Bumblebee: A 12-Year Reintroduction Case Study

The Short-haired Bumblebee project was a 12-year-long landscape reintroduction and habitat restoration project in south Kent and south East Sussex. This talk will outline its aims, achievements (and what also didn’t go so well) and its legacy. This talk will also introduce a new project currently being delivered in east and southeast London called Buzzing in the East End (B.E.E).

Dr Nikki Gammans has worked for Bumblebee Conservation Trust since 2009, firstly as a project officer and more recently, as Conservation Project Manager for SE England. Prior to conservation work, she completed a PhD and Post Doc on ant behaviour and ecology.

Q&A Dr Nikki Gammans

Dr Nikki Gammans has worked for Bumblebee Conservation Trust since 2009, firstly as a project officer and more recently, as Conservation Project Manager for SE England. Prior to conservation work, she completed a PhD and Post Doc on ant behaviour and ecology.

  • If only the queens overwinter, how are the queens fertilised for next year’s brood?
    The queens mate before hibernation, so they are already fertilised before they overwinter.
  • Why are rare bees found in the East End Docklands?
    Brownfield sites are incredibly important for many of our rare species. Most of our rare species are now only found in coastal areas because of increasing urbanisation and fragmentation. The Thames Estuary has always been a hotspot for these species. On some of these brownfield sites, we’re seeing that the Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis) and the Shrill Carder Bee (Bombus sylvarum), the UK’s rarest species, are actually doing quite well. These industrial brownfield sites often have a lot of scrubland and lots of “weed” species that are actually really good for these species. These areas are often referred to as wasteland, but they are far from that and with some small habitat improvement can be wonderful sites for our rare bees that support a sustainable life cycle.
  • What is the relationship between honey bees and our rare bumblebees in London?
    The issue that we have in London is lots of people wanting to help bees and thinking that the solution is to keep honey bees. The Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) is a domesticated animal (i.e. livestock) and the number of bees correlates with the number of hives that are being kept. The issue in London is hive density. We currently don’t know as hive registration is not mandatory, so we recommend that beekeepers register their hives with their local beekeepers association so that we can monitor hive density. We want to avoid honey bees competing with our rare native bees for nectar and pollen resources in areas where the rare bees are hanging on. Check out Mark Patterson’s entoLIVE on The London Bee Situation for more info on this topic.
  • Are you aware of any successful bumblebee reintroductions from elsewhere in the world?
    We were actually the first in the world to attempt a bumblebee reintroduction and I’m not aware of any other reintroductions. Bumblebees have been introduced to countries where they are not native. For example, 4 species, including the Short-haired Bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus), were introduced to New Zealand for pollination services. Moving species around the world is very risky as you are not just moving the target species, you’re also moving their pathogens and parasites. The introduction of European bee species to North America has proved devastating for some of their species due to the pathogens that were also introduced.
  • Is there anything that you would do differently if you were given the chance?
    We believe that the time in quarantine may have been the issue, but we need to ensure the bees are quarantined to avoid importing pathogens and parasites. One way around this would be to construct quarantine greenhouses where the imported queens would be held and mated for the first year, with the offspring of these being the individuals that are actually released into the wild. This would be an incredibly expensive operation and there is still no guarantee that it would be successful. The most important thing is to ensure that we are conserving and improving habitats for bumblebees, and preventing any further species extinctions.
  • Will the spread of the Asian Hornet be an issue for our bumblebees going forward?
    The Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) is a non-native species of wasp and a threat to insect species that it preys on. It is an aerial predator that is fairly opportunistic – feeding on whatever it can find. Bumblebees appear to be more savvy with them when compared to honey bees, as they will drop when they feel threatened. However, it does mean that yet another threat to our bees is being added into the mix, so it is important that sightings are reported. I think it is inevitable that they will colonise the UK as we’ve been notified of a colony here in Kent recently and they are well established across the channel on the continent.
  • What are the best species to plant within your garden to help our bumblebees?
    It’s important to remember that different bees have different needs, so understanding what rare bees may occur in your area is always useful. What we try to do at Bumblebee Conservation Trust is provide ‘monthly menus’ on the Bee The Change website and our Bee Kind garden assessment and recommendation tool. We’re still analysing the forage data that we gathered and it won’t be published for a little while yet. It’s also worth checking out the Plants For Pollinators entoLIVE webinar with Dr Abigail Lowe for more information about this.

Literature references

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:

More on bees

Check out the Bees collection on Eventbrite

Habitat Condition Assessment Methods for BNG

Habitat condition is a key component of the data required to calculate BNG units in the DEFRA metric. Criteria for habitat condition are provided with the metric, but no method for condition assessments accompanies these criteria. How then do we collect robust data to support condition assessments to ensure regulators have confidence in our condition assessments? Dan will introduce an emerging method for condition assessments that takes a standardised approach to data collection to ensure condition assessments are underpinned by robust data and evidence.

Q&A with Dr Dan Carpenter

Dr Dan Carpenter is a Digital Ecologist working, at the interface of ecology and digital technology. He is interested in how digital tech can be harnessed to help deliver better biodiversity outcomes. He is also interested in biodiversity net gain methods and practice, working to ensure that BNG assessments are underpinned by data and evidence.

Are the  specific ‘rules’ for the criteria that you’ve set out adaptable for future iterations?

Absolutely- it is by no means a finished product. I welcome feedback to improve how it works. Ultimately I hope to have a shared agreed approach to doing condition assessments that is robust and proves us with the data and evidence to support our BNG assessments.

How much do you believe, if this is implemented, ecological consultants or BNG surveyors should be able to use their own expertise to override a score?

Absolutely always. Ecology is generally not an exact science. Surveyors will be on the ground and will be able to provide evidence as part of the condition assessment based on what they have seen. The idea is that we are, as far as possible, recording quantitative data.

If you complete a transect and no Invasive Non-Native Species have been recorded, but you do observe them elsewhere in the field, is what you’re staying that you should override those criteria in your report?

100% yes. You don’t ignore the evidence you have seen with your own eyes. The idea isn’t to be restrictive and to take away decision-making from ecologists, it’s to help support ecologists to come up with data that is robust and provides evidence.

Further info and links

Go to our Biodiversity Net Gain Virtual Symposium page

More on Biodiversity Net Gain

Check out our events for biodiversity professionals on Eventbrite