About Me

Being brought up on a farm, I have always had a fascination with the natural world and the impact we as humans can have on it. This interest was developed by my parents and my grandmother who were constantly dragging me around the countryside to look for interesting wildlife and flowers. Apparently, my first word was 'Dandelion' and at about the age of 5, I was given my first Bug Box. I still remember rumaging around in hedgerows with my mother collecting ladybirds to go in my bug box and be later released in the garden to control aphids. Actually, the first time I broke a toe was by dropping a large boulder on it when building a house for ladybirds on the window-ledge of my primary school!

Things since then have changed very little, I still collect insects and and am still rather accident-prone!

At University, my particular interest in insects began on a tour of the Hope Entomological Collections and later on a field trip to Orielton Field Studies Centre due to the boundless enthusiasm and encyclopaedic knowledge of Dr George McGavin and Darren Mann.

Volunteering at the Collections gave me some of the skills I needed to actually go out into the field and start to study insects. It was at this time that I became in awe of the diversity in form and function of beetles and the their use as indicators of habitat health and biodiversity, and decided to specialise in this group.

Since then, I have worked on a number of projects alongside Darren, who is constantly full of advice and support. If there is an insect question to be asked, Darren will have the answer! Without his help and encouragement, I would not be able to carry out the work that I do today.

I am also lucky in the fact that I can travel the world in order to follow my passion: I have studied beetles in Pembrokeshire, Zambia, Bolivia and Honduras, always bringing specimens home with me in order to test hypotheses and create a collection.

Now working in Pembrokeshire as an Environmental and Entomological Consultant, I have the opportunity to spend days out in the field carrying out experiments and identifying specimens as well as chatting to land owners about managing their habitats in an insect-friendly way. I also enjoy working with the West Wales Biodiversity Information Centre publishing their monthly e-newsletter which enables me to keep up to date with biodiversity news in West Wales.

I am also attempting to sort and identify a freezer-full of specimens from across the world and create a reference collection of the beetles of Pembrokeshire.

In October, I will begin a doctorate at Oxford studying the impact of chemical and natural wormers on dung beetle populations, and I'm very lucky in the fact that I will carry out my fieldwork in Pembrokeshire, so will be able to keep on with my other work as well.