News Pages
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!