Our Invertebrate Study Days are free-to-attend, informal sessions which provide attending naturalists with access to microscopes, lab equipment and a library full of natural history publications (the LNHS library).
The sessions enable participants to work on identifying invertebrate specimens with support from their peers and local specialists.
The programme started with the FSC BioLinks project at FSC London: Bushy Park (2018-2022), and is now managed by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with the London Natural History Society at the Natural History Museum (London).
London Invertebrate Study Days
Our current Invertebrate Study Days in London take place monthly on Wednesdays at the Natural History Museum.
The programme of sessions is delivered in partnership with the London Natural History Society (LNHS). LNHS recorders are in attendance to provide identification support and guidance, and the LNHS librarians are present to facilitate access to the LNHS library.
Recorders of all abilities are welcome, and although we encourage participants to bring their own specimens, we also have entomology activities for those who have not brought specimens to work on.
Remaining Invertebrate Study Days in 2026
- Wed 05 Aug 2026
- Wed 23 Sep 2026
- Wed 14 Oct 2026
- Wed 11 Nov 2026
- Wed 9 Dec 2026
2027 dates will be released soon – watch this space!
Invertebrate Study Day Activities
We encourage participants to bring their own invertebrate specimens to identify during the sessions. However, if you do not bring your own specimens, there are other activities which are available – see below.
Order-level Invertebrate Identification for Beginners
Identifying invertebrates can be tricky, and it can be difficult to know where to start. This activity is
designed to build identification skills for those new to identifying invertebrates. The activity will build
microscope competence, improve your knowledge of invertebrate morphology and give you an
understanding of how to navigate identification keys.
iNaturalist Earthworm Project
iNaturalist is a biological recording platform which is increasingly popular in the UK. The aim of this project is to provide the iNaturalist image classification algorithm with photographs of reliably identified earthworms specimens, with the goal of improving its accuracy and reliability and reducing the number of misidentified earthworm records which pass onwards to iRecord.
Specialist Invertebrate Study Days
At the Biological Recording Company we are also able to provide specialist Invertebrate Study Days focusing on a specific invertebrate taxonomic group, e.g., bees, beetles, earthworms, flies, slugs, spiders, and so on. We encourage partners to get in touch if they’d like to incorporate Invertebrate Study Days into their training and recording projects.
FSC BioLinks Project
Initially termed Open Lab Days or Invertebrate Volunteer ID Days, these Invertebrate Study Days preceded the current programme. This initial programme was designed by Biological Recording Company founder, Keiron Brown, and delivered over 5 years by the Field Studies Council as part of the FSC BioLinks project.
The programme was delivered across 2 regions:
- South East: FSC London: Bushy Park, with sessions led by Keiron Brown and Gino Brignoli.
- West Midlands: FSC Bishops Wood (Worcestershire) and FSC Preston Montford (Shropshire), with sessions led by Dr Charlie Bell and Rachel Davies.
The feedback below is from two of the FSC BioLinks project volunteers who continue to attend Invertebrate Study Days at the Natural History Museum to this day.
