Bedfordshire Orthoptera records mobilised through NBN Data Capture Initiative

 

Written by Keith Balmer, Bedfordshire and Luton Biodiversity Recording and Monitoring Centre (BRMC)

 

The Bedfordshire and Luton Biodiversity Recording and Monitoring Centre (BRMC) recently digitised a set of Bedfordshire Orthoptera records from 1975 to 1990. The observations were mostly made by Derek Rands, the then County Recorder for Orthoptera, now deceased, who, for the first time, systematically surveyed most of the tetrads in the county, recording all sightings on A4 recording sheets. He also collated and verified records supplied to him by other naturalists and which were also digitized by the BRMC. The dataset therefore forms an important baseline for this species group in the county, against which changes in distribution can be discerned. For example, Long-winged Conehead was not recorded in Derek’s time and is a recent arrival, but Short-winged Conehead, which he did record at one site, has since extended its range within the county to several other sites. By contrast the localised Mottled Grasshopper which is currently only being recorded from the county’s sandy sites, was found within this dataset to have been recorded at a chalk site, suggesting a possible resurvey to see if it is still there.
 

Funding for the digitisation was made possible through the NBN’s Data Capture Initiative programme, and the records can now be accessed at full resolution on the NBN Gateway and on data.gov.uk 
 

 

 

 

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