Keiron Derek Brown’s Post

Longhorn Beetles of the UK Part 2 05 Jun 2024 | entoLEARN Training Webinar | £10 | 🧑🎓 The UK is home to over 70 species of longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae) that can be found occurring in natural habitats that have been recorded to date. Some of the smaller species can be relatively indistinct and require some experience to recognise in the field. This presentation will explore some of the smaller and less distinctive British longhorn beetle species (both rare and common), with tips on their ID features, ecology and distribution - as well as where and how you might find them. At the end of the session, learners should feel more comfortable submitting records of these fascinating beetles to iRecord. Wil Heeney is the National Recorder for Longhorn Beetles in the UK and runs the National Longhorn Beetle Recording Scheme. Wil works as a Consultant Entomologist through his business, Flauna Ecology, and also volunteers as Conservation Officer for the Coleopterists Society of Britain and Ireland (ColSoc). https://lnkd.in/eZjtrZjp

🐝 Bees and Beyond: Ecosystem Services at a Garden Scale 05 Sep 2024 | entoLIVE | Free | 🗣️ Free webinar with Dr Linda Birkin exploring the importance of gardens for the wider environment in which they are nestled. Gardening success and invertebrate activity are deeply intertwined, for better or worse! Demonstrating that the beneficial side of this relationship vastly outweighs the negative is hugely important for maximising the ecological value of gardens - as well as improving horticultural outcomes. Pollination and pest control are the easiest of these 'ecosystem services' to illustrate at garden scales. These The Buzz Club projects aim to highlight both in practical and entertaining ways. https://lnkd.in/eXYuNYM2

💎 The Noble Jewel-wasp: The Range Expansion of a Brood Parasite 12 Jun 2024 | entoLIVE | Free | 🗣️ Free webinar with Aaron Bhambra looking at the potential reasons behind the range expansion of the Noble Jewel-wasp. The Noble Jewel-wasp (Hedychrum nobile) is a recent colonist to Great Britain, recorded for the first time in 1998. This brood parasite has experienced a rapid range expansion throughout England over the past 20 years, following the distribution of its host. Aaron Bhambra will explore how climate change, habitat availability and parasite-host relationships might influence the range expansion of this species and discuss the fascinating ecology and morphology of one of Britain's most beautiful insects. https://lnkd.in/ejCu6ytj

🍄 Natural History Online Training Virtual Symposium 23 Oct 2024 | Virtual Symposium | £1 - £25 |💡 Over the last decade, there has been a boom in online training - both for professional development and personal enjoyment. Evolving technology and software have led to a variety of innovative methods for delivering biodiversity training to virtual audiences. The Natural History Online Training Virtual Symposium will explore how virtual training is not synonymous with sitting at a screen to learn about the natural world. We'll hear from four biodiversity education specialists about different online training delivery methods, delving into the challenges and benefits they have experienced through virtual engagement with learners. This virtual event is aimed at environmental and education professionals that engage both professional and non-professional audiences with biodiversity subjects, such as ecology, species identification, conservation and wildlife monitoring. The event will feature 4 speakers, with presentations followed by a Q&A section with questions from the live audience. The presentations will be recorded and shared with those who booked via a password-protected website following the event. Keiron Derek Brown, Daniel Asaw, Chantal Helm. Reserve your space now. https://lnkd.in/eVh_n9Em

Hoverfly Lagoons Project: A Journey into the Past, Present and Future 17 Jul 2024 | entoLIVE | Free | 🗣️ Free webinar with Dr Ellen Rotheray about the highly successful Hoverfly Lagoons project and introducing aquatic habitats into small spaces. The Hoverfly Lagoons project was invented in 2016 for the University of Sussex’s Buzz Club, a citizen science charity exploring wildlife gardening techniques for insects. The aim was to trial artificial habitat, essentially small water bodies designed for some (magnificent) species of hoverfly which are semi-aquatic. These water bodies may be missing in our urban and rural landscapes due to a lack of natural habitat such as mature trees. The Buzz Club learnt that: Hoverfly Lagoons are very easy to create; size doesn’t matter (much); they’re used by a broad invertebrate community; and they could be a useful tool to investigate biological unknowns and to monitor environmental change. Dr Ellen Rotheray takes us through her lagoons journey - past, present, and plans for the future. https://lnkd.in/eGJk-bUU

🌊 Seahorses of the UK: Research and Conservation 04 Oct 2024 | marineLIVE | Free | 🗣️ Free webinar delving into the mysterious realm of the seahorse with Beccy MacDonald-Lofts (The Seahorse Trust) to hear about seahorse research and conservation in the UK. Seahorses are enigmatic species, their form and mythical appearance instilling a sense of wonder for many. Their status as a symbol for the oceans is used across the world, however little awareness is given to the threats and challenges that they face, the research and work being delivered to protect them, and for the UK, their presence in our waters. Join this session to hear more about these amazing creatures, and about how you can support our marine environment. https://lnkd.in/e8j896jX

Windermere’s Water Quality: Invertebrate Insights 16 Jul 2024 | Dr Sam Green | WildFish |💡 WildFish in collaboration with Save Windermere formed a SmartRivers hub in 2023 to begin surveying the freshwater invertebrate populations on the rivers and becks feeding into Lake Windermere. This project aimed to get a clearer picture of the ecological health of the Windermere catchment, and in particular how water company assets could be impacting biodiversity and water quality. The results from the first year of invertebrate surveys have been published on the WildFish website and monitoring for 2024 is already underway. This talk will give attendees a greater understanding of the importance of invertebrate monitoring and an overview of our findings so far. More info about the FREE Windermere's Water Quality event: https://lnkd.in/ezB5XuDM

Earthworms of the UK Part 2 23 Sep 2024 | entoLEARN Training Webinar | £10 | 🧑🎓 The UK has 31 species of earthworms that can be found occurring in natural habitats that have been recorded to date. This presentation will explore these species and discuss what we know and what we don't know about them. Within the Earthworms of the UK webinars, we'll look at both common and are species, including which species have been introduced from other parts of the world and highlight some species where the UK population could potentially be of global significance. This webinar will explore the following species: Aporrectodea rosea Dendrobaena attemsi Dendrobaena hortensis Dendrobaena octaedra Dendrobaena veneta Lumbricus castaneus Lumbricus festivus Lumbricus rubellus Octolasion cyaneum Octolasion lacteum Satchellius mammalis Keiron Derek Brown is the UK’s national recorder for earthworms, a trustee of the Earthworm Society of Britain and delivers training on earthworm ecology, surveying and identification across the UK. https://lnkd.in/ePPNPjYU

🧬A World of Wasps: Researching the Ichneumonid Wasps 18 Sep 2024 | entoLIVE | Free | 🗣️ Free webinar delving into the understudied world of Ichneumonid wasps. Huge numbers of insects are hosts to parasitoid wasps, and one of the most successful groups of wasps is the Ichneumonoidea, or Darwin Wasps. Despite the ubiquity of Darwin Wasps, they are comparatively neglected by researchers and naturalists. Dr Gavin Broad looks at research on species limits in these wasps and how that basic taxonomic work enables new research areas in ecology and genomics. https://lnkd.in/eQGVjbei

Check out our brand new Earthworm Ecology page on the Earthworm Society website - with the very latest research on earthworm ecological categories and functional groups. https://lnkd.in/eZ4BHF8P