Services

Any type of survey can be tailored to the needs of the customer. Below is a list of the standard services offered.

Biodiversity Surveys

B1. General Biodiversity Survey: survey of plants, mammals, birds & insects on a general level.

B2. General Insect Biodiversity Survey: Looking at the species of insects present at a site using methods such as pitfall trapping, suction sampling and sweep-netting.

B3. Beetle Biodiversity Survey: Much more specific survey concentrating on the Coleoptera (Beetles) with collection methods as B2.

B4. Dung Insect Biodiversity Survey: Dung sampling and dung-baited pitfall trapping to assess the quality of the Dung Insect Community.

Quantitative Biodiversity Surveys

QS1. Pitfall trapping of Coleoptera: Carabidae (Ground Beetles): The Carabidae are one of the best group used to indicate general habitat health. For this reason, they are often used as indicator species and it is possible to use the data to make assumptions about other species.

QS2. Assessing success of insects at biological control: For example Coleoptera: Carabidae (Ground Beetle) predators of slugs, Coleoptera: Coccinellidae (Ladybird) predators of crop aphids, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetle) Gastrophysa viridula (Dock Beetle) controlling Dock (Rumex spp.).

QS3. Management suggestions for encouraging beneficial insects: Suggestions regarding management of grassland, woodland, wetland, cultivated land, hedgerows and other habitats in order to benefit target insect species.

QS4. The impact of chemical cattle wormers on Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): Dung sampling to survey the species present and compare between different worming regimes. The amount of pasture fouling and nitrogen recycling into the grass from dung burial can also be assessed.

Laboratory Hire

L1. Laboratory Hire: The Laboratory is equiped with identification literature for most families of British Coleoptera as well as more general guides to other orders including Lepidoptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera. There is a microscope and sorting equipment (forceps, trays, sieves, mounting blocks etc). You may also have access to a reference collection of the Coleoptera of Pembrokeshire.

Pricing

Prices are very competitive, but are subject to change with each individual contract, depending on the customer's budget and the type and duration of the work.

Please contact me to ask about prices of the services offered. As the Pembrokeshire County Beetle recorder, I will be more than willing to identify any beetle speciemens sent to me free of charge. However in the case of a large number of specimens I will have to charge.

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