Recording

For any biological data to be useful, it must be accompanied by data. A beautiful, rare beetle for example is of no use if it is not labelled with site information.

It is important to include the following information:

· When: Date of collection: time-period that a trap was open for or date a hand-collected specimen was collected.

· Where: A grid reference to the greatest accuracy possible with an elevation reading (the best way to do this is with a hand-held GPS, such as a Garmin Etrex).

· How: Collection method.

· Additional information: Habitat, type of vegetation, weather, if found on a specific plant-the more information collected the better, as it is often impossible to go back and collect this information at a later date.

You can then submit all records to your Local Records Centre (LRC) in order to build our knowledge of biological information. When we know what is out there, we can make better judgments on how we can protect it.

To get contact details for your LRC, please visit the National Biodiversity Network website.

West Wales' LRC is the West Wales Biodiversity Information Centre (WWBIC).