British dung beetles

All About Beetles

If every animal and plant on the planet were lined up in a row, every fifth would be a beetle, and every tenth a weevil (one family of Beetle)! Beetles represent one fifth of all living organisms and a staggering one quarter of all animals. By the most conservative estimate, approximately 350,000 species have been described since 1758. That is an average of slightly more then four per day! When asked what could be inferred from a creator, the eminent scientist J.B.S. Haldane replied "a great fondness for beetles!"

This website aims to enthuse everyone of all ages about these fantastic beasties as well as to act as a base for my ecological consultancy business and media exploits! It is also the home of information on the Beetles of Pembrokeshire.

 

 



Also online at Twitter @Sarah_A_Beynon

  

 

Latest News...

Please follow this link to the News Pages to view old news items.

Entomological Events

A good week for insect events. Spent Wed-Thurs at the Royal Entomological Society (RES) Postgraduate Forum and then Saturday at the British Entomological & Natural History Society (BENHS) Coleopterists Day at the Hope Entomological Collections (Oxford University Museum of Natural History). Both societies offer superb insect-related events throughout the year, with all details on their websites.

New publication

Wall, R. & Beynon, S. (2012) Area-wide impacts of macrocyclic parasiticides in cattle dung. Medical & Veterinary Entomology. 26 (1), 1-8. Please follow this link to the online version of the article.

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, and 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 ponderings of an entomologist.

'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.

Elephant carcass

Chicken experiment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Welsh Black bull for sale!

We have a superb, quiet 22 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!

 

Forthcoming Events...

Amateur Entomologists' Society & Bug Club Young Entomologists' Day 2012

The AES & Bug Club will be holding their annual event at the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History on 11 February 2012. The wonderful day encourages young people (less than 18) to give talks on any insect-related topic. The talks will be judged by a panel of experts, and prizes will be awarded for the best presentations, taking into account the age of the presenter. There is also a behind-the-scenes tour of the insect collections, an insect drawing workshop and drawing competition! It really will be a fun day. For more information, please follow this link.

National Insect Week 25 June-1 July 2012

National Insect Week, organised by the RES encourages everyone to celebrate Great British Insects with events being held throughout the UK. Follow this link to the National Insect Week Website to see what events are being held in your area. We have an event planned for Pembrokeshire, so watch this space for more details!

Royal Entomological Society meetings 2012

For more information on RES 2012 meetings, including the Verrall Lecture, Ento'12 and the 10th European Congress of Entomology, follow this link to RES meetings.

  


Quick Site Navigation

Just a few pointers to help you find your way around the site:

→For British beetle species photographs and a image-based identification guide, look under the 'Beetle ID' drop-down menu or click here.

→For general information on beetles, click on 'Beetles' on the menu bar or click here.

→For information on other insects, look under the 'Invertebrates' drop-down menu and click on 'Insect Orders'. You can then follow the links to the group that you are interested in or click here.

Please email me if you think that any of the information on the site is difficult to find and I will point you in the right direction.

Last updated: 05/02/12