Joss’ Top 10 London Finds

Joss Carr is a Junior Naturalist with the Biological Recording Company. In this blog, he discusses 10 of his most interesting records for London that he has submitted to iNaturalist. You can find Joss on iNaturalist at @josscarr.

1. An upland moss a long way from home

Buried deep in the urban jungle of Whitechapel, imposed over by towering skyscrapers and with its worn footpaths routinely traipsed by bustling commuters, lies an unassuming little patch of urban green space called Altab-Ali Park. To 99.9% of the London population, this park is unremarkable. A short turf, some ornamental bushes, a lining of the familiar London Plane, and two seemingly ever-present police officers are its only features. But to a bryologist – one who studies mosses – the park is arguably the most remarkable site in London. And that is because in the back corner of the park, in a spot only frequently graced by urinating drunks, sit five or so medium-sized boulders which, for some unknown reason, appear to have been imported to Whitechapel all the way from the uplands of Wales or Scotland.

We know this because these boulders have a moss on them called Hedwigia ciliata. This is a Nationally Scarce moss known from only a scattering of records, the majority from the mountains of southern Wales and northern Scotland. The boulders in Altab-Ali Park are the only place in the entirety of Greater London where the moss is known to grow. And saying it merely ‘grows’ is an understatement, Hedwigia is positively thriving here. This reveals something of its ecological preferences. It clearly has less of a problem with low air quality than other upland mosses and instead must be primarily limited in its distribution by geology.  

Hedwigia ciliata © Joss Carr

I was truly amazed to find and learn of this plant. All credit in that regard is due to Billy Dykes (pictured below), who informed me of the moss’ presence and with whom I went to see it in March 2025, and to Jonathan Hughes, who first found it back in November 2024. This is an excellent case study of the surprise and excitement that comes from being an urban naturalist. You truly never know what you might find.

Looking at Hedwigia ciliata in Altab-Ali Park © Joss Carr

iNaturalist link: inaturalist.org/observations/265549647

2. A very handsome hopper

Whilst not quite as rare as other entries on this list, this Stenocranus major that I found relatively recently is deserving of a spot purely because of how fond I am of it as a species. Stenocranus major is a ‘planthopper’ in the Delphacidae, a very cool family of ‘true hoppers’ (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha) with 76 species currently known in the UK. Delphacidae are notable for the fact that many species exhibit both long-winged (macropterous) and short-winged (brachypterous) forms, as well as showing sexual dimorphism (morphological variation between males and females). This can make species identification quite challenging as there are effectively four forms to every species.

Stenocranus major from Denham Country Park in April 2025 © Joss Carr

Fortunately, Stenocranus are one of the few genera that don’t show such variation and are therefore some of the easiest Delphacids to get to grips with. It also helps that they are relatively easily found. Stenocranus major, in particular, seems to be relatively abundant in damp habitats where Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arudinacea), the host plant upon which it feeds, grows.

3. The London Plane springtail

I am willing to put a considerable amount of money on something being true. That is the proposition that this small dark grey podgy springtail – by the name of Xenylla maritima – can be found under the bark of every single London Plane tree in the whole of Greater London. I regularly check under the bark of these trees because doing so is a very productive way of finding interesting invertebrates (my personal list for organisms found associated with London Planes is 55 species long and growing!). Under every tree I have checked so far, I have found these springtails. Go and see for yourself, prove me wrong. Ironically, despite finding these so often, I had no clue as to their identity until recently. I had a suspicion they were probably a Xenylla species of some sort, but without a compound microscope to my name I was unable to get to the answer.

Xenylla maritima © Joss Carr

That fortunately changed thanks to the kindness of the loan of an old vintage Sheffield University microscope from the British Myriapod and Isopod Group (BMIG), with which I was finally able to put a name to the species: they are Xenylla maritima, a species somewhat confusingly named as it is readily found inland (as well as coastally).

Xenylla maritima as seen through a compound microscope © Joss Carr

Perhaps – as James McCulloch, the national springtail recording scheme organiser, has suggested – these trees provide a slightly saline microhabitat. It remains to be properly studied; as with most things to do with springtails, a lot is unknown. The individuals pictured are from under the bark of a London Plane in Aldersbrook.

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4. The urban waterfall of Bethnal Green

Urban biodiversity often has a way of surprising you with its ingenuity and creativity. In the smelly recesses of a railway bridge in Bethnal Green, where the overground line clatters above, one wall has been continuously damp – likely the result of some leaky plumbing – for several years. It is a sort of ‘urban waterfall’; a damp, smelly brick wall covered in grime and mortar. In the eyes of a water-loving fern whose natural habitat includes the cracks in continuously wet limestone sea cliffs (Merryweather, 2020), this is heaven.

The urban waterfall in Bethnal Green © Joss Carr

And so here, under the railway bridge, grows the Black Maidenhair Fern (Adiatnum capillus-veneris), alongside some other more common fern species and bryophytes. It is truly a little treasure trove of bright green foliage amongst the dark and damp.

Adiantum capillus-veneris © Joss Carr

We’re lucky to have Henry Miller delving into the world of fern identification this year with three Skills For Ecology webinars focusing on general fern ID, spleenworts and male & buckler ferns for anyone that wants to learn more about these fascinating plants.

iNaturalist link: inaturalist.org/observations/255453045

Check out our Skills For Ecology webinars

5. South African scarabs

This is the rather cool non-native scarab beetle Saprosites natalensis, a South African species accidentally introduced to the UK in the 1980s. It feeds on dead wood and is quite small (~2.5 mm long).

Saprosites natalensis © Joss Carr

In the UK, this species is only known from London and only known from a handful of sites. It was first found in Chiswick House & Gardens and Richmond Park (Archer, 2021). My first time finding it was during December 2024 in Alexandra Park, in a small, wooded copse, where there were several individuals under a deadwood log. I have since found it in Mile End Park, Meath Gardens and London Fields in East London. It would appear to be becoming more common.

Saprosites natalensis habitat in Alexandra Park © Joss Carr

iNaturalist link: inaturalist.org/observations/255708489

Check out our upcoming beetle events

6. Euphorbia euphoria

Tucked away in the corner of a block of flats in Bethnal Green (coincidentally not at all far from the ‘urban waterfall’ and its ferns at number 4 on the list), is a little gutter in which grows a very unusual Euphorbia species, known as Corn Spurge (Euphorbia segetalis). I stumbled upon this in February 2025 and – not knowing what it is – posted it on iNaturalist, thinking I would find out its ID later by reading the various plant guides I have and looking over photos of the various UK Euphorbia species. Imagine my surprise when I could not find a good match, not even in the gigantic 1000+ page tome that is Stace’s ‘New Flora of the British Isles’. Clearly in need of backup, I called in my go-to London botany superhero – Daniel Cahen – who provided me the ID I was after, being that he was familiar with the plant from seeing it in mainland Europe. We then roped in Mark Spencer and Henry Miller, county plant recorders for London and Biological Recording Company botany tutors, who provided some more information.

Euphorbia segetalis © Joss Carr

Turns out that this species, a not uncommon sight in Mediterranean France and Spain, occurs very infrequently in the UK when it is dropped as bird seed. It also probably escapes from gardens every now and then (which I suspect is more likely in the case of my record). This is the first record of the species growing in the wild in the UK with a known location.

iNaturalist link: www.inaturalist.org/observations/261483325

Check out our upcoming botany events

7. Bothering the Ivy

One of my new favourite winter-time hobbies is something I call ‘ivy-bothering’. It’s very simple. All you need is a tray, a stick and some ivy, ideally a nice big bushy bit growing off a wall or around a tree. Take your tray, hold it under the ivy, and give it a properly good wack with the stick. Many different creatures will fall out of the ivy into the tray. If you can get the tray onto the ground quickly enough you should have enough time to get a good look at the some of these insects before they jump/fly away.

Bothering Ivy in Mile End Park © Joss Carr

Of the various insects which are revealed through ivy-bothering, the most interesting to me are the various leafhoppers of the subfamily Typhylocybinae – which are all small, rather delicate but often exquisitely beautifully patterned bugs. I’m slightly cheating by including four different species in this entry, but it’s my list and I make the rules.

From left to right and top to bottom: Zygina flammigera, Arboridia ribauti, Zygina lunaris and Zyginella pulchra © Joss Carr

Pictured here are four different species I found by bothering the ivy in various parks around London this February: Zygina flammigera, Arboridia ribauti, Zygina lunaris and Zyginella pulchra. All of these individuals will be ‘overwintering’ in the ivy, using it as a food source whilst their main food sources (various other herbaceous plants) are absent in the cold months.

iNaturalist links:

8. Spooky spiders

Two days prior to Halloween 2024, I was exploring Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, a lovely and very well-studied ancient cemetery in East London, when I came across this very well-timed sight. In one corner of the park, where leaf litter had been collected and piled up, huge swathes of the piles were draped in delicate spider webs. It was as if someone had put their Halloween decorations up prematurely.

Melanopygius ostearius web © Joss Carr

Looking more closely at the webs I could easily see hundreds of tiny little spiders – dark red-brown with black tips to their abdomens – scurrying about. I have seen similar things on a smaller scale (i.e. a single plant draped in a web with multiple spiders on it) but never before or since seen something at this scale.

Melanopygius ostearius © Joss Carr

I snapped a few photos of an individual that kept still and was later able to identify the spiders as Melanopygius ostearius (Black-tailed Ostearius), a species of money spider once thought to be introduced to the UK but now presumed native, and which has a known association with rubbish tips and refuse.

iNaturalist link: inaturalist.org/observations/250164331

9. A mystery rosette in the Olympic Park

In October 2024 I suffered a slightly misfortunate turn of events when the boiler in my student flat developed a leak in the ceiling which, given its proximity to the fuse box, eventually caused a minor fireball explosion which led to me and my flatmates being temporarily rehoused into another building in Stratford. On the plus side, it gave me a great excuse to spend a few mornings and afternoons exploring the weird and wacky botany of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Once a series of brownfield sites, Stratford was redeveloped for the 2012 Olympics at which point lots of non-native plants were introduced. There are gigantic mutant-looking verbascums along some of the footpaths, proliferations of Dwarf Elder (Sambucus ebulus) along the canals, and large patches of Chinese Mugwort (Artemisia verlotiorum) on remaining brownfields.

My best find of all, however, was this rather unassuming rosette (the botanical term for a more-or-less flat cluster of leaves produced by some plants during winter) on the edge of a random side road. I had no clue what it was at first, so in time-honoured fashion requested the assistance of some more botanically gifted friends on iNaturalist. After a considerable period of mystery as none of us recognised what I’d found, one user eventually chimed in with Pimpinella peregrina (Slender Burnet-Saxifrage). It was a perfect fit.

Pimpinella peregrina © Joss Carr

This is an ‘umbelliferous’ plant in the Apiaceae which is very rare in the UK, only occasionally recorded as introduced in areas seeded for grass. My record is the second known location in Britain!

10. A world of rove beetles

In the UK we have around 4,100 species of beetle. Of those, over a quarter (1,100 or so species) are rove beetles (Staphylinidae). These are mostly small, black, elongate beetles found amongst leaf litter or under dead wood. Most of them move very quickly and are therefore difficult to photograph. Being that there are over so many species, they are also infamously challenging to identify, in nearly all cases requiring one to take a specimen to view under the microscope. Even then, an ID is not guaranteed; often, you will spend hours going through a key only to arrive at a genus where only the males are identifiable through dissection. And you’ve got a female. That being the case, it took me several attempts and several specimens before I had a rove beetle I was able to successfully identify down to species and have the ID confirmed by an expert.

Tasgius melanarius (c) Joss Carr

The beetle pictured above was that exact individual, a rather attractive and relatively large Staphylinid by the name of Tasgius melanarius that I had collected from Cody Dock during December 2024. I would provide more information about the species itself but, as with many rove beetles, little is known besides some basic habitat information. In this case, the species is a generalist, but nevertheless there are relatively few records of this species in the UK. That is probably because there are relatively few with enough patience or sanity to attempt to key these out! The only other thing of note is that the hours I did spend keying this out were done in the happy company of others at one of our Invertebrate Study Day events which are held monthly at the Natural History Museum and completely free to attend!

I am sure they all found it very amusing that whilst they worked through their earthworm and bee specimens with relative speed I spent three hours on one beetle. Such is life.

iNaturalist link: inaturalist.org/observations/254803707

Check out our upcoming Invertebrate Study Days

References

Archer, J. (2021). New beetle records in Cemetery and Mile End Parks. [online] Towerhabitats.org. Available at: https://www.towerhabitats.org/news/new-beetle-records-in-cemetery-and-mile-end-parks/ [Accessed 2 May 2025].

Merryweather, J. (2020). Ferns, clubmosses, quillworts and horsetails of Britain and Ireland. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

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Mobulid Rays in the Chagos Archipelago: Fisheries & Conservation Management

Mobulid rays, including mantas and devil rays, are being driven to extinction due to bycatch and targeted fishing, particularly in the Indian Ocean, including within the Chagos Archipelago, a no-take marine protected area. Research indicates that mobulid catches in illegal fishing activities are underreported due to inconsistent data recording and challenges in species identification. This presentation will outline collaborative efforts by the University of Plymouth and the Manta Trust’s Chagos Manta Ray Project (funded by Darwin Plus Local) to improve catch recording and species identification through training and developing standardised data collection protocols, supporting evidence-based conservation management.

Q&A with Dr Joanna Harris

Dr Joanna Harris is a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth and the lead of the Manta Trust’s Chagos Manta Ray Project for the past five years. Her research focuses on manta and devil rays in the Chagos Archipelago, where she has tracked 79 reef manta rays using acoustic and satellite telemetry to identify key habitats and behaviors. Her work led to the designation of Egmont Atoll as an IUCN Important Shark and Ray Area and the discovery of three devil ray species in the region, extending the known ranges of these Endangered species.

What are the perceived medicinal benefits of ray gill plates?

Mobulid ray gill plates are marketed in parts of Asia as traditional medicine, claimed to treat ailments like acne, cancer, and inflammation, and are often sold in soups believed to “cleanse” the body. However, that’s just a marketing strategy; there’s no scientific evidence supporting these claims, and gill plates have only appeared in traditional medicine literature recently, suggesting the demand is driven more by modern marketing. In fact, recent studies show gill plates often contain harmful levels of heavy metals, raising serious health concerns.

How will changing sea surface temperatures impact Mobulids, particularly their foraging behaviour?

Warming sea surface temperatures can deepen the thermocline—the boundary between warm surface water and cooler, nutrient-rich layers below. This shift can reduce productivity in key feeding areas, especially for reef manta rays, by pushing plankton deeper into the water column. As a result, mobulids may need to forage at greater depths, spend more time feeding, or shift to new foraging grounds. At places like Egmont Atoll, manta rays currently benefit from local geomorphology that helps bring plankton closer to the surface, but continued warming could disrupt even these favourable conditions

Is there any evidence to suggest that plastics have an impact on manta and devil rays?

Microplastics have been found in the feeding areas of manta rays, but their specific impacts on these animals are still unclear. While it’s reasonable to assume that plastic exposure isn’t beneficial, more research is needed to understand the effects. Macroplastics pose a clearer threat, manta and devil rays are at risk of entanglement in fishing gear and other debris. Ongoing work with partners like Jessica Savage at the Zoological Society of London is helping to assess the extent of this issue.

Literature References

  1. Fernando & Stewart (2021) High bycatch rates of manta and devil rays in the “small-scale” artisanal fisheries of Sri Lanka: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11994
  2. Harris et al (2024) First records of the sicklefin (Mobula tarapacana), bentfin (M. thurstoni) and spinetail (M. mobular) devil rays in the Chagos Archipelago: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15678
  3. Harris et al (2023) Intraspecific differences in short- and long-term foraging strategies of reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) in the Chagos Archipelago: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02636
  4. Harris et al (2023) Spatial and temporal variations in reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) meso-scale habitat use and the implications for conservation: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.4089
  5. Harris et al (2021) Fine-scale oceanographic drivers of reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) visitation patterns at a feeding aggregation site: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7357
  6. Harris & Stevens (2024) The illegal exploitation of threatened manta and devil rays in the Chagos Archipelago, one of the world’s largest no-take MPAs: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106110
  7. Lewis et al (2015) Assessing Indonesian manta and devil ray populations through historical landings and fishing community interviews: https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.488v1
  8. Moazzam (2018) Unprecedented decline in the catches of mobulids : an important component of tuna gillnet fisheries of the Northern Arabian Sea: https://www.bmis-bycatch.org/system/files/zotero_attachments/library_1/CF7U5D5W%20-%20Moazzam%20-%20Unprecedented%20decline%20in%20the%20catches%20of%20mobulids%20.pdf
  9. Venables et al (2024) Persistent declines in sightings of manta and devil rays (Mobulidae) at a global hotspot in southern Mozambique: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-024-01576-5
  10. Palacios et al (2025) Global assessment of manta and devil ray gill plate and meat trade: conservation implications and opportunities:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-024-01636-w

Further Info

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

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Improving Bee Hotel Design: The Big Bee Hotel Experiment

Bee hotels have become very popular, but some designs are likely to be better than others. Dave will introduce the concept of bee hotels, then present results from the Buzz Club’s Big Bee Hotel Experiment, in which the public gathered data on the success of 576 bee hotels of varying design. We’ll also explore what has been learned about the optimal design and positioning of bee hotels.

Q&A with Prof Dave Goulson

Dave Goulson is a Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex, specializing in bee ecology. He has published more than 300 scientific articles on the ecology and conservation of bumblebees and other insects, and founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006, a charity which has grown to 12,000 members and more than 50 staff.

What is The Big Bee Hotel Experiment?  

This experiment asks members of the public to try out a bee hotel in their garden and take a photograph every month of the face of the hotel for us. From these photos we can determine what species of bees are occupying your hotels. The Buzz Club also asks for information about your bee hotel e.g. what it is made out of, where you have positioned the hotel? Etc. This enables us to find out what design of bee hotel is most effective. 

From this experiment, we can investigate:  

  • The pattern of occupancy and how it changes over time  
  • The relative abundance of different species  
  • How is the above affected by hotel design and location… and more! 

We have a year’s worth of data so far. The Big Bee Hotel Experiment is open for 2025! Sign up here: https://www.thebuzzclub.uk/thebigbeehotelexperiment  

What are bee hotels and are they needed?  

Bee hotels are intended to provide homes for cavity-nesting bees. These are solitary bees, who would normally nest in hollow stems or beetle holes in deadwood.  

Because of the way we garden and keep greenspaces, these natural habitats tend to be in short supply, meaning providing artificial holes in the form of bee hotels may be a good way to help these bees. Many insect houses that are commercially sold, anecdotally, don’t reliably work. However, we can confirm that from the TBBHE 2024 data, bee hotels do work and provide an effective alternative habitat for cavity-nesting bees.  

What were the outcomes of the 2024 project?  

In the pilot year of this study, we had 594 hotels registered, and 487 of those produced useable data. Throughout the year, 7293 bee hotel holes were occupied: 83% of those were mud-capped, 7% leaf, and 9% leaf mastic. On average, a hotel had 27% of holes occupied! 

It is important to get your bee hotels out in Spring as the peak nesting season was shown to be between March and May, with rates then declining until the bee hotels began to empty due to predation and other factors in September. 

An overall summary of the key points are below:  

  • Cardboard, wood or bamboo are good to make your hotel from – avoid plastic!  
  • Put your hotel on a sunny wall or fence, facing East or South, with a range of hole sizes (4-10mm in diameter).  

What direction should your bee hotels be facing?  

A common question asked when hanging a bee hotel is just this: what direction should my bee hotel be facing? From our data it is clear that hotels facing North, North-West and West performed pretty poorly. South and East performed well, perhaps the bees enjoy the early morning sun to get them ready for the day!  

Should you clean out your bee hotel? 

Bee hotels are often home to different bee parasites and pests, such as pollen mites and Houdini flies. It is often suggested that you should clean out your hotel between years to help prevent the occurrence of such creatures. However, does cleaning out your hotel in between seasons increase the proportion of bee occupancy in a bee hotel?  

From our data, it shows that the answer to this is no! The hotels that weren’t cleaned out had more occupied holes on average than those which were cleaned. Our data also show that new hotels had fewer occupied holes, suggesting that maybe it takes a year or two for the bee population to build up in a new hotel.  We want to continue to test this out in 2025 and beyond! 

Do you investigate other kinds of bug hotels?

The Buzz Club runs many projects testing out the effectiveness of different bug hotels.

  • Air Bee ‘N’ Bee: This was our original bee hotel and you can catch up with the Refurbishing bee hotels entoLIVE with Dr Linda Birkin here.
  • Hoverfly Lagoons: Hoverfly Lagoons, designed by Dr Ellen Rotheray, are effective habitats to add to your garden. They are proven to be used as artificial breeding sites for hoverflies that have an aquatic life stage. They are easy, cheap and fun to make – a great one to survey with kids as well!  Check out the Hoverfly Lagoons entoLIVE with Ellen.
  • Bug Bunkers: Bug Bunkers is a new bug hotel experiment, which has proven to be very successful so far in housing different invertebrates over winter. Find out more here!

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.

The entoLIVE programme is delivered by Biological Recording Company and receives sponsorship from the following organisations:

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Biodiversity Net Gain and Invertebrates: Are We Getting It Right?

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is an ambitious environmental policy which aims to reconcile the impacts of infrastructural development on nature and leave the environment in a measurably better state. In this presentation, Natalie will be discussing what BNG is, how it is measured, as well as her research into the possible ecological outcomes of BNG for invertebrates.

Q&A with Natalie Duffus

Natalie Duffus is a PhD student from the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford. Natalie’s research looks at the ecological outcomes from biodiversity offsetting policies, with a current focus on Biodiversity Net Gain in England. Her recent work has been exploring the possible outcomes of BNG in England for invertebrates.

Why is there a preference for on-site biodiversity gain over off-site? Might this lead to fragmentation of suitable habitat?

This preference emerges because BNG has multiple objectives; it is not purely designed to benefit biodiversity but also to provide and protect green space for the benefit of local communities. The latter goal is often best achieved through on-site biodiversity net gain. In practice the preference may indeed prove problematic, potentially leading to landscapes with highly fragmented pockets of suitable habitat. Off-site biodiversity net gain has the potential to solve this issue by focusing efforts at creating larger, continuous habitat areas. However, this approach then comes with the risk of separating these large habitat patches far from one another, impacting landscape connectivity. On-site vs off-site can be a controversial issue where each alternative has its advantages and disadvantages. The best solution for any one case depends on the context.

Is there a role for the Pantheon system in considering invertebrates in BNG?

Pantheon is a free tool for identifying important habitat features and resources for invertebrate assemblages. We need to remember that one of the key goals of BNG is ensuring simplicity of use for developers within the planning system. There is potential to incorporate Pantheon into BNG assessments if it can be done in a way that ensures simplicity is retained.

Have the results of your work been shared with Natural England and Defra?

Yes, we have been in communication with Natural England and Defra throughout the project. Whilst it is sometimes challenging to reconcile differing objectives – for example the desire from governmental bodies to keep BNG simple versus the desire of ecologists to keep BNG grounded in ecology – open communication is the key to ensuring success. In the next few years, the performance of the BNG metric will be reviewed and communication around this will hopefully allow any needed adjustments to be made.

Do you think a connectivity metric should be factored back into the metric?

I do think it is important to consider connectivity and would support it being factored back in, though I recognise there are challenges. One example to perhaps draw inspiration from is the Local Nature Recovery Strategies that are integrating connectivity into their design. I would also stress the importance of assessing connectivity during baseline ecological surveys, which is a crucial but often forgotten step. Fortunately, there are a range of tools available for optimal conservation planning, and the exploration of these as a tool for BNG could be explored.

Do you think that we need a register for on-site credits as well as off-site credits?

For off-site biodiversity credits there is indeed a publicly accessible online register which allows anyone to identify where habitat banks responsible for off-site BNG are located. Where publicly accessible, these can even be visited in person to see the biodiversity gain being carried out as promised. Such transparency holds people accountable. The proceedings associated with on-site biodiversity gains, in contrast, are buried deep in Local Planning Authority (LPA) portals. A system which holds developers to account their on-site BNG promises would be an important step of progress. A publicly-accessible register – akin to that used for off-site BNG – could work well.

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.

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What Are Our Natural History Tutors Worth?

Keiron Brown, Naturalist at the Biological Recording Company

I’ve been delivering natural history training courses for over 10 years, starting with earthworm ID and surveying, before branching out into earthworm ecology, terrestrial invertebrates, butterflies, moths, iRecord and biological recording.

For 5 years, I commissioned other invertebrate specialists for the FSC BioLinks project, and I’m once again commissioning those species group specialists for biological recording events through the Biological Recording Company.

Starting my own company has been a learning curve in so many ways, especially when it comes to setting fair rates for the incredible natural history tutors I work with. I’m deeply committed to running an ethical business that not only delivers high-quality training but also ensures that the tutors who make it all happen are paid fairly for their expertise and passion.

This feels more important than ever, given the rising cost of living in the UK. It’s clear to me that the fees we offer our natural history tutors need to keep pace with inflation and the increasing demands placed on workers. From my own experience, I’ve noticed how much tutor rates can vary between organisation – even for delivering the same course. This inconsistency led me to ask an important question: What are our natural history tutors truly worth?

Natural History Tutor Survey

To answer this question, I wanted to find out from natural history tutors themselves, so I launched a short survey aimed at those currently teaching natural history subjects to adults and shared it via my professional networks. The survey asked a series of questions about the type of courses tutors teach, the subjects they cover and the audiences their courses are aimed at so that I can categorise responses. To standardise the results, respondents were asked to respond with a daily rate rather than a ‘per course’ rate, i.e. a 3-day course would be counted as 3 one-day courses, and the fee received should be divided by 3.

The survey also asked what the minimum and maximum fees were that tutors had received for delivering a day of training, as well as what they believed should be the daily rate for course delivery.

Survey Data

The survey was completely anonymous and did not collect any personal information such as name, email, address or phone number. Due to the sensitive nature of the data regarding contractor payments, individual responses and the raw survey data will not be made publicly available.

54 natural history tutors responded to the survey between June and October 2023. The responses to each of the questions have been summarised and are outlined below.

About The Training That Tutors Deliver

What broad categories of courses do you teach?

Respondents covered a diverse range of broad categories within the natural history sector, with all of the provided categories selected by at least 7% of participants:

  • Biology and ecology
  • Surveying and monitoring
  • Species identification
  • Conservation and habitat management
  • Biodiversity policy and legislation
  • Use of digital resources
Bar chart illustrating the percentage of respondents that teach courses within each of the broad categories provided. Respondents were able to select all categories that were relevant to them. n=54

The majority of respondents (93%) teach species identification, with surveying & monitoring the second most taught category (70%). Biology & ecology (57%) and conservation management (31%) were also well represented. Biodiversity policy & legislation (7%) and use of digital resources (9%) were less represented, so any follow-up survey should endeavour to target tutors teaching subjects in these areas.

22% of respondents also reported that they taught courses aimed at amateur naturalists and/or biodiversity professionals that did not fall within the provided categories.

Which species groups do you specialise in?

Respondents were asked to select which species groups they specialised in. Invertebrate tutors were the individuals most represented in this survey (61% for terrestrial invertebrates and 20% for freshwater invertebrates), likely due to the fact that my professional network is biased towards invertebrate specialists. Botany was also well represented, with 35% of respondents reporting that they teach botanical subjects. Any future follow-up survey should endeavour to target species group specialists for groups that were under-represented, such as fungi (6%), fish (2%), marine invertebrates (2%), marine mammals (2%) and lichens (0%).

Bar chart illustrating the percentage of respondents that specialised in various species groups. Respondents were able to select all species groups that were relevant to them. n=54

Which audiences do you generally deliver training for?

Respondents were asked to select which adult audiences they had delivered training to from a list of 9 adult audience categories. They were advised to only select categories where the training that they had delivered was designed for that audience and asked to refrain from selecting all boxes for general interest courses (e.g. not to select ‘Researchers’  because some PhD students had attended courses that were designed primarily for biological recorders and amateur naturalists).

  • General Public Adults (i.e. those not previously engaged in natural history)
  • University Students (i.e. training specifically targeted at university students)
  • Researchers (i.e. training specifically for researchers or research teams)
  • Amateur Naturalists (e.g. wildlife gardeners, photographers, conservationists)
  • Biological Recorders (i.e. training specifically designed to encourage recording)
  • Environmental Educators (e.g. outdoor educators, teachers or Forest School practitioners)
  • Professional Ecologists (e.g. local government, NGO or consultant ecologists)
  • Other Biodiversity Professionals (e.g. conservationists, policy makers etc.)
  • Professionals from other sectors
Bar chart showing the proportion of respondents that teach different audiences through natural history training courses.

Non-professional audiences were the most common audience types, with 70% or more of all respondents reporting that they taught amateur naturalists, biological recorders and the general public. Of the professional audiences, professional ecologists was the most common audience type (57%). 39% of the respondents reported delivering training aimed at a university student audience (with most of these responses thought to be referring to teaching courses for the MSc Biological Recording & Monitoring delivered by Harper Adamas University in partnership with the Field Studies Council). These results do not highlight any obvious biases in the survey data, as these proportions appear to mirror sector provision.

How many days of natural history training do you deliver within courses each year?

Reponses varied from 0 days (indicating delivery of training less frequently than annually) through to 100 days (indicating that natural history training delivery accounts for a substantial component of the the respondents’ profession). Overall, the mean number of days was 18 days and the median was 6 days.

Box and whisker plots showing the survey responses for the number of training days each natural history tutor underttakes per year who participated in this survey (n=54).

How often do you deliver training courses for no fee?

Respondents were asked to indicate how frequently they provided training as volunteers (i.e. without charging a fee for their services) by selecting one of the following options:

  • Very regularly (10 or more times per year)
  • Regularly (5 to 9 times per year)
  • Occasionally (2 to 4 times per year)
  • Hardly ever (about once per year or less)
  • Never

A fifth (20%) of respondents deliver natural history training courses as volunteers (i.e. without charging a fee for their time) at least 5 or more times per year. Over two-fifths (41%) deliver training occasionally (2 to 4 times per year) for free. Only 17% of natural history tutors who responded to this survey never provide their training services for free.

Natural History Tutor Fees

Respondents were asked to provide their answers to the nearest pound for the following questions. They were also asked not to include the free courses that they deliver in the minimum and maximum fee estimates unless they have never been paid tutoring fees.

What is the minimum rate that you charge for a 1 day of training?

Responses ranged from as low as £50 per day day to £450 per day. The most common response was £150 (8 responses). The mean daily fee was £185 and the median fee was £175.

What is the maximum rate that you charge for 1 day of training?

Responses for this question were extremely varied, with the lowest response at just £100 per day and the highest at £2,500 per day. The most common response was £350 (10 responses), with both £250 and £300 also receiving 7 responses each. The mean daily fee was £388 and the median fee was £300.

What do you believe should be the standard daily rate?

Respondents were advised that “we understand that daily rates may vary by experience level, product, subject and target audience so please provide a rate that you think recognises your expertise and skills”. They were also reminded that minimum wage for those aged 23 and over was £83.36 for the average (8-hour) working day so they could not enter a figure lower than £84.

Box and whisker plots showing the survey responses for the minimum and maximum reported daily rates alongside the suggested daily rates provided by the natural history tutors who participated in this survey (n=54).

The lowest suggested amount for a standard daily fee was £150 (suggested by 4 respondents) and the highest was £500 (suggested by a single respondent). The most popular response was £300 (suggested by 15 respondents). Taking into account all responses, the mean amount was £286 and the median was £300.

Discussion

Based on the responses of the natural history tutors that participated in this survey, natural history tutors are on average contracted for between £185 – £388 per day of training delivery. Respondents suggested that a minimum standard daily rate for natural history training courses should be around £300.

This figure should be treated very much as a minimum, as additional factors such as tutor experience, professional memberships, travel time or admin related to scheduling in a course may also be relevant when calculating an appropriate natural history tutor fee.

The preparation of course materials and training course planning (which can include pre-course site visits or specimen collection) can also add a significant amount of work to the delivery of natural history training courses. Therefore, where this is not renumerated for within natural history tutor contracts it should be taken into consideration when calculating a contractor’s daily rate.

It is also clear from this survey that the natural history training sector is heavily dependent on volunteer natural history tutors to deliver training, with over 60% of respondents (this author included) delivering free training courses multiple times every year. This indicates that those involved in teaching natural history are passionate about their subjects, and this is something to be celebrated. However, it also raises potential issues for those looking to establish a career as a natural history tutor if they are expected to deliver their services for free or find that those teaching as a hobby are happy to accept lower rates of pay and unintentionally undermine the ‘going rate’ for a natural history tutor.

This survey is not comprehensive and there are biases within the data. The survey was never intended to provide a definitive answer to the question “What are our natural history tutors worth?”, but to encourage discussion around the subject and to get those commissioning tutors (including the Biological Recording Company) to review their natural history tutor rates. At the very least, it has enabled me to establish a minimum daily rate of £300 plus expenses for Specialist Naturalists that deliver training courses and Field Recorder Days on behalf of the Biological Recording Company as contractors.

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Monitoring Pollinators with FIT Counts

Learn how a simple 10-minute survey can help track pollinators and support vital research! This session will guide you through the FIT Count process, from selecting flowers to identifying insect visitors. Whether in a garden or park, your observations contribute to understanding pollinator health.

Q&A with Dr Miranda Bane

Miranda Bane is a pollinator ecologist specialising in the interactions between plants, pollinators, and people. Miranda works as an independent researcher, collaborating with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, focusing on citizen science and urban biodiversity. She is part of the Scotland Team for The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (POMS).

How much training is required before somebody can undertake a FIT count?

Not too much! All of the information needed to carry out your first FIT count is available on the PoMS website and through the PoMS app. We have printable guides and videos to help you identify pollinators to group level (you don’t need to know the species). If it’s your first time observing pollinators, try doing it with a friend so you can help each other and compare results. If you want more support, you can contact PoMS about an online or in-person training session.

How often should a surveyor repeat their FIT Count at a site?

As often as you like! The more surveys, the more data, the better for PoMS. You might just do a count as a one-off (and that’s still valuable) but if you want to survey more often, you can count at the same location (or different sites) as often as you like. It can be enjoyable and satisfying to survey regularly as you may start to notice patterns and trends, and become an expert in your own patch.

Are the FIT Count results available to view?

Yes. All of the results are made publicly available. You can check out our interactive map on the PoMS website and download our annual reports to see what’s happening across the UK. If you have an account, you will be able to view all the data you upload on your POMS profile. As we collect more data, we can carry out more thorough analyses, so there is always more information and new insights to come.

Useful links

Event Partners

This blog was produced by the by the Biological Recording Company as part of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversity Towns, Villages and Neighbourhoods project.

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Beginner’s Guide to Planting For Pollinators

Gardens can be an oasis for our pollinators as they often contain a diverse mix of plants, supporting a wide range of species. Learn about how you can support your local pollinators by planting the best range of plants, based on the latest research.

Q&A with Rosi Rollings

Rosi Rollings has spent her career in business, with experience in Customer Service, Marketing, and Financial Services consultancy. A passionate gardener for over 30 years, she developed a love for plant propagation, which eventually led her to beekeeping in 2009. Now, she has combined her expertise and passions into a business, focusing on researching and growing plants that best support pollinators.

Are native plants more important than non-naive plants for the larval stage of pollinators?

The ‘larval stage’ in the question implies certainly pollen or perhaps moths and butterflies. I’m not an expert in this area as I monitor pollinators once they are flying and freely choosing their foods rather than either crawling or having food provided by parents. Certainly, once pollinators are flying, there seems to be little preference between their choice of native or non-native plants, except for a few specialists, e.g. campanula bees choosing campanulas. My understanding is that the larval food plants for butterflies are much more specific and almost exclusively native. Having said that mullein moth caterpillars are quite happy to munch on any of the verbascums, native or otherwise.

Check out our Plants For Pollinators entoLIVE for more info

How and why is it important to plant organic/pesticide-free plants?

If you are aiming to feed pollinators then it’s important to make sure that the pollen and nectar on their chosen food plant is not laced with something that might kill them. Sadly, many commercially grown garden plants available through garden centres are treated with pesticides to deal with aphids and other pests. This pesticide with make its way through all parts of the plant and so will be within the nectar in the plants you buy. Over time the pesticides – which are water soluble – will be diluted and go but may be harmful to pollinators when first planted

Are native bees outcompeted by honeybees?

I believe so and although not conclusively proven, a growing number of studies do indicate this is likely. Certainly in areas with high densities of honeybees, such as the city of London, wild bee populations are very low.

Check out our entoLIVE on The London Bee Situation for more info.

Useful links

Event Partners

This blog was produced by the by the Biological Recording Company as part of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversity Towns, Villages and Neighbourhoods project.

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Bioacoustics for Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative agriculture is a farming approach that focuses on improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, and restoring ecosystems using practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and minimal tillage. It is important because it helps combat climate change, enhances food security, and supports thriving habitats for wildlife while ensuring long-term environmental sustainability.

This blog will build on our previous blogs, offering new insights into leveraging soundscape analysis to quantify the impact of regenerative farming practices on farmland bird diversity. Once you have a baseline for your biodiversity, we will also discuss ways to encourage and support different bird species, and potentially encourage newcomers on-site!

Wendling Beck: The Story

Alex Begg (Wendling Beck)

Wendling Beck is a collaborative nature recovery project, bringing together private, NGO and council landowners to create a high-quality mosaic of habitats. They are 5 years and 500+ acres into delivering their masterplan . Data has been a central pillar of their approach, and they have hosted 2 DEFRA Elm Test & Trials – the most recent of which featured evaluating a combination of conventional and tech-enabled innovative monitoring techniques to better understand environmental impacts and trends over time.

Wendling Beck: The Data

Dave Appleton (Wendling Beck)

The Wendling Beck Environment Project has been running a program of bioacoustic monitoring since 2022, alongside a range of other monitoring activites. This presentation will explore some of the insights gained from this activity, including comparing the effectiveness of bioacoustic monitoring versus traditional bird surveys. We’ll discuss the usefulness and limitations of using bioacoustics for monitoring changes in species richness over time.

Introducing AgriSound

Casey Woodward (AgriSound)

This presentation discusses how by combining acoustic technology with environmental sensors, AgriSound have developed a range of innovative products that can aid us in maintaining an optimal pollination environment, necessary for not just the survival of our future pollinators, but our farms, gardens, and the planet.

Useful links

Coming soon…

Wilder Sensing ecoTECH blogs

  1. How Can We Use Sound to Measure Biodiversity: https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/2024/07/09/bioacoustics-1/
  2. Can Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Birds Replace Site Surveys blog: https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/2024/09/17/bioacoustics-2/
  3. The Wilder Sensing Guide to Mastering Bioacoustic Bird Surveys: https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/2024/11/26/bioacoustics-3/
  4. Bioacoustics for Regenerative Agriculture: https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/2025/03/31/bioacoustics-for-regen-ag/
  5. AI-powered Bioacoustics with BirdNET: https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/2025/07/08/birdnet/
  6. Making the Most of Bird Sounds: https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/2026/03/11/making-the-most-of-bird-sounds/

Event partners

This blog was produced by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with Wilder Sensing, Wildlife Acoustics and NHBS.

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