News Pages

Interview on BBC Radio Oxford

On Wednesday December 7th, I was interviewed for the BBC Radio Oxford afternoon show. The interview covered all aspects of my research and recent filming for Channel 4's 'Hippo: Nature's Wild Feast'.

Please follow this link to listen to the interview on BBC i-player (entitled 'Afternoon Book Club', it starts 1 hour into the show after the news).

Time for Twitter!

Whilst filming 'Hippo: Nature's Wild Feast', I was somewhat drawn into the wonders of Twitter. for keeping people up-to-date with the action. The show had a large internet presence, with viewers tweeting questions daily. During the Channel 4 broadcast, it trended second on Twitter. So, I have taken the plunge and created my own Twitter page: @Sarah_A_Beynon. Do follow me to be party to the day-to-day life of an entomologist and hear my ponderings.

'Hippo: Nature's Wild Feast' for Channel 4

As part of a group of international scientists, I was the entomologist on a 7-day experiment in Zambia where we observed the animals that came to a hippo carcass using a suite of remote cameras. We witnessed previously unrecorded species interactions, and I was able to get up close and personal to the carcass to examine the insect life. We did 15 minute live Q&A broadcasts each night, and the remote camera footage was streamed live for the duration of the experiment. All live Q&A broadcasts and further information are available on the website.

The 90 minute documentary, produced by Tigress Productions was out on Monday 7th November 2011 at 9pm on Channel 4, and is now available to watch on 4OD.

Left: Searching for insects on a nearby elephant carcass. Right: Experiment to assess the importance of insects in carcass decomposition and nutrient cycling.

Review article in press

My latest publication, a review article on area-wide impacts of macrocyclic lactones (a group of livestock wormers) co-authored by Richard Wall (University of Bristol) has been accepted by the peer-reviewed journal Medical & Veterinary Entomology.

Orchids awash in our meadows

Two years ago, we worked with Flora Locale in fencing and sowing local seed in our established grassland, meaning that > 90% of our 50 acres is now wetland, meadow or in conversion. As the fields were fairly rich in nutrients, it is taking a little while to see the fruits of our labour, with the dock beetles being called on for help.

This year, all the meadows have been rested and allowed to flower for the first time. Wow! Talk about instant gratification! The yellow rattle is going wild, with centuary, black and bushy knapweed, birdsfoot trefoil abounding. The dock beetles have been doing a wonderful job, with dock reduced so much that this year there were few enough for me to attack with a hedge cutter! Thank you dock beetles. In our more established meadows, the display of vetches has been superb, the bees, butterflies and flower chafers with them. Orchid-wise, last year in one field = 18, this year > 100! Breeding foxes, badgers, pheasant, red-legged partridge, swallows and a new dung beetle species to the area! Not bad for a year's work!We'll be putting in 2 ponds next year, so we'll see what they bring along with them.

But does this tie-in with profitable farming? Yes it does. The land is supporting our herd of Welsh Black cattle (picturesque amongst the meadow grass), on-tac cattle in the summer, sheep in the winter and my 2 horses, whilst also allowing the production of our own silage both to feed and sell.

Welsh Black bull for sale!

We have a superb, quiet 18 month old Welsh Black bull for sale from our Tyddewi Herd of Welsh Black cattle. Dam - Tyddewi Alwyn, Sire - Tyddewi Andy (sold as breeding bull). Photos are more information will be added shortly. Follow this link for more information about the herd

Not quite "all about beetles" news, but he did produce some spectacular dung for my dung beetle experiments last year!

Bugs in 3D

Parthenon Media Group have just started filming for a "Bugs in 3D" production - a one-off documentary due to go global! Working with them as entomological consultant means I get to be part of this cutting-edge filming project.

Filming for Jimmy's Wood

Fresh One Productions are currently filming for the Channel 4 production of Jimmy's Wood with Jimmy Doherty. I am having a great time as entomological consultant and on-screen entomologist. The series should be aired in Spring 2012.

Dung Ecology Meeting a success

After organising the first Dung Ecology Meeting  with Professor Richard Wall in 2008, the second meeting (nicknamed 'Dungfest') was held at the University of Nottingham on 12-13th April 2011. Organised by Professor Helen West, the event brought together dung ecologists from universities across the UK to enable discussion and knowledge transfer. Whilst the theme of the meeting this year was geared towards the impact of veterinary medicines on dung fauna, we hope to broaden the theme to cover other aspects of dung ecology and dung invertebrate ecosystem functioning in the next meeting.

Showreel Completed

My natural history presenting showreel, produced by Parthenon Media Group (previously Burning Gold Productions), with music by Andrew Holcroft is now completed! I would like to say a huge thank you in particular to Steve & Vicky Nicholls and John Capener for the work they put into it.

Please follow this link to view the showreel

Chailo Sim hitting the big time!

Ok, so not strictly beetle- or insect-related, but check out Pembrokeshire's most exciting export, the acoustic/indie/alternative band CHAILO SIM. Although I may be slightly biased (as my boyfried Andy is part of the band), they are SUPERB. They are currently being played on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Wales etc etc and have just been mentioned as a 'top tip' by Huw Stevens and Mark Ronson. They have just released their debut album, which is available to buy on their website, where you can also listen to their music and see the list of up-coming gigs (including the Green Man Festival).

Another new species of carrion beetle to Honduras!

A specimen of the carrion beetle Nicrophorus quadrimaculatus (Matthews) I collected in a carrion-baited pitfall trap in 2009 is new to Honduras. This beetle has been previously found in high-quality cloud forests in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama  and southern Mexico (Sikes & Peck, 2000) as well as in Nicaragua (Maes & Navarrete-Heredia, 2002).

The Second Livestock Dung Ecology Meeting 12-13th April 2011

Following a successful first meeting at the University of Oxford, the 2011 Dung Ecology meeting will be held at the University of Nottingham on 12th-13th April 2011.

Presentations (10 or 20 minutes) and are invitedand first year researchers may alternatively give poster presentations.

Please follow this link to download the pdf which includes more information and the booking form.

New species of carrion beetle to Honduras

A carrion beetle that I collected in Honduras with Lucy Ryan is new to the country!

Oxylytrum discicolle (Brulle, 1840) is a Latin American species and is a a forensic indicator in the Neotropics, associated with fresh, bloated human corpses! It is a useful species in forensic entomology applied to criminal investigations. However, it is also attracted to the carcasses of small mammals (or to pitfall traps baited with cattle offal in our case).

It has been previously recorded in Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, with a few records from North America, but never before in Honduras.

Transfer of Status completed

I have now completed my transfer of status: the official half-way point of my DPhil where is was decided that I could continue from PRS to DPhil status. It was superb to be able to receive feedback from my transfer panel: Oxford University scientists Dr Mike Bonsall and Dr Becky Morris as well as Ruth Layton (Director of Food Animal Initiative (FAI)).

Filming with Countryfile

In September 2010, the Countryfile crew descended on Pembrokeshire and came to film with me in St Davids. Julia Bradbury got her hands dirty mixing large buckets of cow dung and collecting dung beetles. Andy, my boyfriend also makes an appearance as the chef cooking the National Trust Heathland beef at the end of the show. Broadcast Sunday 12th September 2010.

BBC Radio Wales interview with Jamie Owen

I was interviewed for the 'Jamie and Louise' BBC Radio Wales breakfast show, live from the Royal Welsh Show at Builth Wells. It was great to be able to chat about my work with dung beetles, their importance to farmers and my general fascination with everything with six legs!

DPhil 2010 Fieldwork Season progressing well (August 2010)

One of the 2010 Dung Beetle Trials looking at how different species are affected by chemical cattle wormers: does this account for their National distribution and rarity? Is this what is causing extinctions at a global scale? We'll have to see!

My 2010 fieldwork season Kicked off to a hectic start in April and I haven't really caught my breath since! I now have a number of fieldwork trials running looking at the impact of cattle wormers and alternative products marketed for parasite control on dung invertebrates and dung decomposition.

Other trials look at how important it is to maintain species diversity of dung beetles in order to ensure maximum dung decomposition. If some of our dung beetle species became extinct (many are well on their way), would we see mounds of un-decomposed dung, or would other more common species componsate? Please follow this link for more information on my doctoral research.

Andy's Head-to-Head Marathon for H.O.P.E. Multiple Sclerosis Centre (August 2010)

My other half, Andrew Holcroft is preparing to run a marathon-length run from Strumble Head to St Davids Head in aid of  Hyperbaric Oxygen Pembrokeshire Endeavour (H.O.P.E.) in Neyland. The wonderful centre caters for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) sufferers, proving energy-giving pressurised oxygen in a decompression chamber, physiotherapy, and providing a friendly environment as well as other therapies and treatments for those suffering with MS. However, the centre has annual running costs in excess of £60,000, all which has to be fund-raised.

The charity is particularly close to my heart as my Mum suffers with MS and has attended the H.O.P.E. center for years. She was the inspiration for this gruelling run, an idea which Andy has come up with himself!

The run will take place on August Bank Holiday Monday, and Andy aims to finish at Whitesands Beach car park around lunchtime! Representatives from H.O.P.E. will be in attendance, complete with information about the centre and collecting buckets.

You can make a donation at Oriel-y-Felin Gallery, on the Cross Square in St Davids or at the Cwtch Restraunt also in St Davids. There is also a 'Head to Head Challenge'  Facebook page where donations can be taken online (securely through Paypal).

St Davids Art Group Summer Exhibition (August 2010)

The St Davids Art Group Summer Exhibition is currently on at the St Davids City Hall (5th-20th August 2010). There is a superb selection of work for all tastes (and budgets), from landscapes and sea-scapes of the area to abstrat works, animal portraits and still life. Work is on show by my Mum (Pauline Beynon) and my Gran (Dorothy Beckwith) who are Secretary and Chairman (respectively) of the group.

'Basil The Beetle's Scary Adventures' book launch at the AES's 75th Anniversary (April 2010)

Written by Sonia Copeland-Bloom (Mum of Orlando Bloom), this superb children's book is about the adventures of Basil the Beetle and his wife Betty, as they negotiate the hazards of beetle life in the garden. The book is aimed at children of primary school age and their families. In addition to the fictional story, the book contains information on beetles and other insects, and covers how to look after beetles as pets, and where to obtain pet insects.

Sonia very kindly incorporated a number of my images of beetles in her book and we hope to work together in the future promoting the book as well as getting kids interested in creepy-crawlies.

The book is available to buy on the Amateur Entomological Society's website for a fabulous price of £4.50 (£3.50 for members).

Sofia publishes on maternal choices in insects (January 2010)

Dr Sofia Gripenberg, with whom I share an office at Oxford, along with colleagues from the University of York and Helsinki has published a paper in the January 2010 issue of 'Ecology' Letters'. The paper is entitled 'A meta-analysis of preference-performance relationships in phytophagous insects'. I have been privy to all the hard work that has gone into this paper which brings together all other comparable work on the subject looking at why insect mothers differ in their judgement. Follow this link to an interview with Sofia where she discusses the topic.

Report of Darwin Initiative Trip to Zambia (January-February 2010)

Along with Professor Richard Wall (University of Bristol), I have just returned from a fabulous Darwin Initiative-funded visit to Zambia. The aim of the trip was to assess the feasibility of setting up a research project looking at the impact of intensive farming on invertebrate biodiversity. In particular the project would focus on developing sustainable parasite control in cattle and provising an advice system to Zambian farmers read more...

Dung Beetle article published in Welsh Country magazine (January 2010)

I recently jotted down a little bit of information on the importance of dung beetles, which has just been published in the Welsh Country magazine under the heading 'Home is where the dung is'. Follow this link to their website to read the introduction.

Ecology of Livestock Dung meeting a success (December 2009)

The scientific meeting held in Oxford in December 2009 organised by Professor Richard Wall (University of Bristol) Darren Mann (Oxford University Museum of Natural History) and Sarah Beynon (University of Oxford) was a highly successful event. The two-day meeting was attended by scientists from across Europe working on many aspects of the subject, ranging from the chemistry to the ecology of dung. Many useful collaborations were formed and the meeting was finished off with a fascinating tour of the Hope Entomological Collections given by Darren Mann.  An offer to hold the 2010 meeting was made by Dr Helen West of Nottingham University, so it looks like it will become an annual event. For more information on the atendees and presentations given, please follow this link.

Filming for Sky (2009)

I am currently fronting the 2009 Sky Knowledge advertising campaign. Follow this link to watch the advert.

October 2009: Delving in dung over for another 6 months

I am now coming to the end of my first PhD field season looking at the impact of conventional cattle wormers and alternative feed supplements on dung invertebrate biodiversity and dung decomposition. During the summer I have carted over a ton of dung from the field site, into  freezers in my gran's garage and back again!!

I have successfully completed a number of trials, many using novel methods, and the results are looking very interesting! I'm now looking forward to getting stuck into a winter of lab work and analysis, so hopefully before too long I can start presenting some results. Follow this link for more information on the PhD.

October 2009: Scoping trip to Zambia funded by the Darwin Initiative

Working with Professor Richard Wall of the University of Bristol, I have been successful in achieving Darwin Initiative funding for a scoping project to Zambia in January 2010. The week' long visit will involve meeting with the government, the British consul, the University of Zambia, the Zambian Wildlife Authority, ZAMBEEF and Chipembele Wildlife School. We will assess the feasibility of starting a large-scale research project looking at the impact of pyrethroid treatment for tsetse fly and tick control on dung invertebrates and the breakdown of dung. We will also look at the possibility of setting up an entomological collection in Zambia and providing training for a curator back in the UK. We will then have to submit a full application, and if it is successful, the project will start in 2011.

March 2009: Filming for the Sky Knowledge Advert

I have recently been taking part in an advert for Sky's new 'Nature' package. Included in this package will be the popular National Geographic and Animal Planet channels.

Acclaimed director Peter Lydon (Shameless, Teachers, Ballykissangel, The Bill...) directed a day-long shoot in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. The day started with hair and make-up followed by lots of walking, talking and handling insects and arachnids. The following day was the still photo-shoot (photographer Fergus Padel - Sony Music, Virgin Records, Adidas, Cosmopolitan...).  The advert was aired on ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and various Sky channels  on April 3rd 2009 and has run throughout the summer of 2009.

November 2008: Radio interview for BBC Radio Wales and article for the Farmers Weekly

Reporter Debbie James popped round to my lab last week in order to write an article for the Farmers Weekly 'Farm Life' on my work with insects, and the benefits of specific insects to farmers. She also came armed with a microphone and sprung it upon me that we would also be doing a short interview for BBC Wales's farming programme. The interview was then followed-up with a subsequent interview at Furzy Mount with Roger Mathias, speaking abou the survey work that I am doing on his farm. Please follow this link to read the article.

October 2008: Baby Goliaths!

I am pleased to announce that my Goliath beetle pair have been very 'busy' and I now have my first larvae. I had a suspicion that the female had been laying eggs when burrowing deep within the leaf litter in the tank, but this is the first concrete proof!

The larvae is about 1cm in length and is your typical c-shaped scarab larvae. I have removed it from the main breeding tank, as larvae of this species are canabals and will wiggle their way around the tank eating each other! The larvae (named Ivor) now has his own comfortable residence (a small yoghurt pot) and is being fed on semi-moist cat food pellets. To read more about these wonderful creatures, and to see some superb photos, follow this link to the goliath beetle breeding manual.

September 2008: West Wales Biodiversity Information Centre (WWBIC) Recorder Day

The recorder day at Furzy Mount Farm, Camrose that was scheduled for last week has been postponed due to the terrible weather we have been having. It is being rescheduled for Tuesday 2nd September.

The recorder day will be taking place on a private farm, enabling recorders and interested individuals to have unique access to land that is otherwise off-limits. We hope to record as many species as possible and provide the farmers with full reports of the findings. In that way, both farmers and recorders will benefit. If you are interested in coming along, please get in touch with me via the 'contact' page.

August 2008: All About Insects Stall and the Really Wild Festival 30th-31st August 2008:

I had a display at the Really Wild Festival in St Davids. The stall had information about beneficial insects in garden and farm. Live insects, including a pair of hercules beetles and a large goliath beetle (confusingly named 'Hercules') drew in the crowds. The stand was packed with interested  youngsters and adults on both days, and left me shattered! The edible cheese and onion flovoured grubs, barbequed crickets and scorpion lollipops definately provoked some interesting reactions, and surprisingly sold out on the first day read more...

September 2008: Other talks

It's been a busy time for talks recently. I was invited to give talks to the St Davids Cathedral Womens Fellowship and at the FWAG Cymru South Wales meeting. I managed to cart a collection of live insects to the talk in St Davids, and gave a presentation to the benefits of insects to farmers for FWAG.

September 2008: From cocktails to cockroaches: from St Davids to South America

I gave a talk to a group of about 50 friends last week, which included a slide-show of my work with insects in Pembrokeshire and beyond, live goliath beetle, rhinoceros beetle, dock beetle and dung beetle specimens and edible insects for all (well not quite all) to try! The event was kindly hosted by Val and Wyn Buick, who also provided some lethal cocktails inspired by insects! Many thanks to all that came along. I hope you had as much fun as I did!

August 2008: Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society Student Bursary

I am thrilled to have been awarded with the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society's Student Bursary for 2008. This financial award will enable me to trial an additional treatment in my doctorate which tests the impact of both chemical and natural cattle wormers on dung beetle populations.

August 2008: Stall at the Pembrokeshire County Show 19th-21st August 2008:

As part of the FWAG stand at the show, I will be displaying the importance of insects to farmers and providing some examples of insects as natural pest control. Live insects will also be on display. Come and find us in the Environment section of the showground.

June 2008: Interview on BBC Wales

I was interviewed  by Jamie Owen on BBC Radio Wales about my work and my appearance in Not In My Nature. To listen to the interview online, please follow this link.

May 2008: BBC Wales Filming with Iolo Williams

Iolo and the BBC Wales team came to St Davids to film for their series 'Not In My Nature'. It follows a group of 6 members of the public as they experience a variety of Welsh wildlife challenges.

The team spent a superb, sunny day filming with me, hunting for the wonderful insect life that lives in this part of the world read more...

To watch clips from the programme showing the recruits hunting for insects and digging in dung, follow this link.

April 2008: Talk to the St Davids Cathedral Mens Society

I was asked to give a talk to the St Davids Cathedral Mens Society about my work and travels in South-and Central America, and ended up having a great evening with a complimentary meal at the Old Cross Hotel - wonderful!

April 2008: Egyptian Grasshopper found in local garden centre

I received a call from Bernie who owns St Davids Garden & Nursery saying that he had found a very large grasshopper or locust in his greenhouse. I quickly pulled together a net, collecting tub, camera, tripod and book on Orthoptera and jumped in my car! It really did feel as if I was an insect detective! The creature in question was rather cold, so stayed obligingly still to be photographed and subsequently captured. It was later identified with the help of Darren Mann as being an Egyptian Grasshopper, Anacridium aegyptum. It is a very easy species to recognise, as it is about 4cm long with stripey eyes read more...

March 2008: PhD funding guaranteed

The University of Oxford have awarded me the Professor Sir Richard Southwood Scholarship in Insect Ecology, starting October 2008 to study the impact of anthelmintic treatments on Dung Beetles read more...

March 2008: New Welsh BAP species to Pembrokeshire

I have unearthed a specimen of the species Carabus monilis from the depths of my freezer!