This month we have well and truly been getting our teeth stuck into phase 4; commencing with the official completion of the EAT teaching course (hosted at the wonderful FSC Blencathra centre, see below) in the form of finished assignments, four of them to be precise.

Phase 4 is all about the transference of the vast skill set we’ve built in the previous phases, the name of the game is teaching. We’ve been fortunate enough to attend some fantastic workshops this month including the NBN data workshop (vol. II) and the NHM volunteer management course hosted by the brilliant Ali Thomas!

In a throwback to phase 2, the workshop phase, we were invited to join a day-long winter tree identification workshop courtesy of The Species Recovery Trust. Dom brought an array of twigs with him and distributed them across the participants; we identified them as a class in preparation for what will hence forth be known as the great twig quiz of ’17. While some twigs were instantly recognisable, such as Ash with distinctive, opposite large black buds others were less familiar and required closer inspection.

Dippy on Tour! In the New Year our beloved Dippy will begin his cross country marathon visiting the likes of Dorset County Museum and Norwich Cathedral. Complementary to Dippy’s excursion visitors will be encouraged to take part in a variety of science related challenges including pitfall trapping and moss painting – full list to be published online.

We also visited the brilliant Hampshire Natural Sciences Collection curated by Christine Taylor. A highlight here was looking at the extensive UK bird egg collection. Steph immersed herself in the Cantharid drawers while April got better acquainted with the extensive lichen collection. Later in the day Hampshire county council gave an insightful talk regarding ecological planning and their management of various schemes.

Alongside these exciting excursions we have been planning our final projects. Steph is busily working analysing her Cantharid data from the NHM British collection and preparing her workshop which will be offered freely to participants (on a first come first served basis) in the coming months. Matt has already taught a group of undergraduate students the basics in entomological recording in the field and is rearing Sciomyzid flies from snails to look at the species assemblage in the Gower. April is producing an entry level guide to lichens of the UK `and has been imaging specimens to use as reference images. Alex takes to the stage once more, this time in front of a camera, looking at Bryophytes in the temperate rainforests of Wales. Behind the camera I am imaging Ephemeroptera characteristics to include in the multi-access key of the mayfly families in the UK.

Next up is January in which we will attend a multitude of workshops including an intensive two day molecular lab training course.

The post ID Trainers’ December update appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

This year on the 16^th & 17^th November, the National Museum Cardiff hosted the conference, with over 180 delegates gathering to discuss biodiversity data and biological recording. Every year, the conference pulls together a wide range of expertise, knowledge and experience from all across the UK, ranging from biological recorders to government bodies and a good show from the LRC’s in between. There is one common interest that unites all of these individuals: data. This proved highly convenient, as this year’s theme was “Data – what is it good for?”.

Well, apparently data is good for quite a lot. It turns out data is pretty important – who would have thought it? Science is paramount for successful conservation. Projects that are underpinned by biological evidence, derived from rigorous scientific study prove an extremely powerful tool to plan and implement the most effective strategies to protect vulnerable species and ecosystems. Accurate biodiversity and environmental information is crucial to ensure that biological data grounds the decisions made by policy makers.

Over the two days, there were a wide range of presentations, workshops and thought-provoking discussions, with 25 speakers covering a variety of subjects on the local, national and international scale. Topics covered citizen science, recording schemes/societies, future training opportunities and how the UK biodiversity data can be utilised both nationally (NBN) and globally (Global Biodiversity Information Facility – GBIF).

Alongside the presentations, the NBN took full advantage of the expertise in the room, facilitating discussion across five different workshops in order to generate actions to take forward. These ranged from looking for ways to develop the NBN Atlas, streamlining the data flow pathway and how to further encourage data sharing. The annual UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing ceremony also took place, acknowledging the stupendous efforts made by both individuals and organisations within the biological recording community.

Overall it was a brilliant two days, which provided an unparalleled opportunity for networking, hearing about ways of getting involved and new projects on the horizon. For me, this is the third NBN conference I have attended. I first heard about the ID Trainer position at the NBN conference in 2015 and there was no doubt in my mind that this traineeship had my name written all over it. Unfortunately, by this time, I had just missed the application for the second cohort, so it was a waiting game and a period of mass preparation for the third round to open. By the second NBN conference in 2016, I had submitted my application and knew I had been selected for interview. I nervously met my soon to be line manager and introduced myself to the second cohort of trainees. Now here I am, sitting reminiscing whilst writing this blog.

Attending the three NBN conferences has proved such a fantastic experience over the years. It is so inspiring to be surrounded by and involved with such a proactive and dedicated community who contribute to safeguarding and protecting the UK’s natural environment in one way or another. I am excited to see the NBN moving forward and building upon everything that has been achieved by the Network throughout the duration of the conference.

On behalf of all the ID Trainers, I would like to say a huge thank you to the NBN for delivering another fantastic conference and for the continued support with the traineeship. I look forward to making an appearance next year.

Written by April Windle, ID Trainer, ID Trainers for the Furture

a.windle@nhm.ac.uk

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If the excitement of the grand opening of Hintze Hall, meeting our fellow trainees from years 1 & 2 and our Field Studies Council (FSC) placements wasn’t enough, we have had plenty of workshops in between to keep us occupied.

The beginning of August was kick-started with an unforgettable trip up to Walthamstow Marshes, delivered by the one and only Fred Rumsey. This year the Flowering Plant Workshop was split into two parts and after undertaking the first session back in June, we were all very excited for another opportunity to go back out on site with Fred. The marshes proved an incredibly rich area and with Fred’s keen eye and attention to detail, there wasn’t a plant left unseen. During this trip, we were hoping to stumble across the creeping marshwort (Apium repens), a species previously recorded on this site with the only other localities found in Oxford. We came across a potential candidate, but unfortunately the absence of the bracts confirmed this species as the more common and widespread Fool’s-water-cress (Apium nodiflorum).

Our plant workshop was followed by a day delving into the weird and wonderful world of spiders, with a day course delivered by Jan Beccaloni. I think I speak on behalf of all the trainees when I say our arachnological knowledge prior to the workshop was very sparse. It was great to listen to Jan speak about this group, highlighting the sheer diversity that can be found across the UK and some of the more common species we can expect to see. Rest assured, the fallacies and folklore surrounding spiders have been suitably settled, and this is a group we will be certain to keep our eye out for in the future.

In between workshops, we have spent much of our time re-curating the Conchological Society’s shell collection, and what a beautiful collection this turned out to be. The Conc. Soc. (for short) is a society dedicated to the study and appreciation of molluscs in Great Britain and Ireland. Luckily for us, their specimens are housed at the Angela Marmont Centre (AMC), where their use is encouraged as a reference collection for self-study and research. We were absolutely stunned by the beauty across the collection (Nucella lapillus and Littorina obtusata proved particularly popular amongst the group) displaying a plethora of colours and patterns across the spirals of their shells.

After a week of re-packaging, labelling and data-basing the collection, the time had come for the Lepidoptera workshop, delivered by Geoff Martin, David Lees and Alessandro Giusti. We left the hustle and bustle of city life and made our way down to Gilbert White’s House in the picturesque setting of Selbourne. After setting up camp and constructing a series of moth traps around the site, there was enough time for a swift pint and some food at the local, ensuring that we were sufficiently fuelled for the night ahead. Identifying the specimens occurred throughout the night and into the following morning, with a quick nap and a spot of bat watching in between.

After two days of fieldwork with a severe lack of sleep (welcome to the world of moths and bats), we spent the remaining two days of the course going through the Lepidoptera collection back at the Museum. The workshop was incredibly inspiring and we were completely amazed by the sheer diversity of the group. The specimens were complemented by the colour and flamboyancy of Geoff’s shirt collection, and the running commentary from the curators provided an informative and entertaining overview of the moths and butterflies you can expect to see in the UK.

With spirits still high from the workshop, we were all really excited for the ID Trainers ‘rendezvous’. Steph West, our project manager, organised a day for all 15 trainees from across the three years of the project to meet up. The morning commenced with a tour around the new exhibits in Hintze Hall, followed by a trip with nets in hand to Ickenham Marshes, then reaching our final destination – the pub! It was really great to meet the previous trainees and it is great to see how positively the traineeship has contributed to both their personal and professional development.

As Phase 2 drew to a close, we managed to squeeze in one final workshop in before the end of August. Duncan Sivell from the Diptera team delivered a one day course gaining insight into myriapods and isopods (millipedes, centipedes and woodlice). After an introduction to the groups, we rummaged around the wildlife garden and brought the specimens back for ID in the lab. It was really great to see the range of adaptations under the microscope which contribute to the success and widespread distributions of these groups.

So there we have it – August review complete. After an inspiring and unforgettable month together, it is time for us to radiate out and go our separate ways, embarking on a journey to the various corners of the Museum for our curatorial placements. Expect further updates surrounding beetles, mayflies, plants, flies and lichens. Watch this space.

Written by April Windle – ID Trainer for the Future

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Flowering plants

Flowering plants, like the prodigcal son before we knew it Fred Rumsey had returned to us inundated with even more plant matter, books and a charismatic grin ready to impart more wisdom. One is never disappointed when Fred is around.

I will not mince my words when I say we got extremely wet on our field trip to Benfleet (no really, soaked through, please remember waterproof trousers people!), despite the rain this was a really enjoyable excursion as we were treated to rarities such as hairy vetchling (Lathyrus hirsutus) as well as our fair share of urban plants in London including members of the Rubiaceae family.

Guided by Fred we’ll re-explore flowering plants in August and see what delights are in store for us later in the season.

Tring bioblitz

What fun! Based in Hertfordshire and running for the last four years the Tring bioblitz offers visitors the chance to join focused nature walks and get involved recording species in the museum grounds with ecologists and enthusiasts alike.

Plant extraordinaire Alex Mills headed the plant walk.

“I’ve never seen a bee orchid before.”

All that was about to change for our plant goers. Locating some pretty spectacular bee orchids, much to the delight of parents and children, Alex successfully created a new hoard of plant enthusiasts.

As always the pond dipping was popular, there really is a tangible sense of excitement when the nets come out. The dragonfly exuviae were also a big hit – once people were assured they weren’t dead but rather the remnants of the larval dragonfly which ascend the reeds and triumphantly bursts from the exoskeleton taking flight in its adult form. Leaving the exuviae to dry on my picnic table I felt safe in the knowledge I would ID them the following day… I later discovered they had been eaten by birds!

Coleoptera

To say that Coleoptera, that’s beetles to you and me, is a large order is an understatement. In fact it’s the largest insect order in terms of named species. Of course whether the actual number of species outperforms Diptera (true flies) and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) is another matter – hint, it’s very unlikely. Nevertheless, squeezing the entire order into one week (even when you’re focusing on UK species) is quite a feat: Thankfully, this was in the hands of Max Barkley and the coleopterists (including by Katy Potts of Cohort 1!) who did a fine job and even let us re-curate specimens from the Christie collection donated to the museum over a decade ago. It transpired that many of the original copper pins hadn’t stood the test of time, degrading and producing verdigris, these crystalline copper sulphate filaments can really damage directly pinned specimens, fortunately beetles we worked on were carded therefore safely removing the pins was possible.

Our field trip took us back to Bookham Common under very different weather conditions, Wednesday 21^st June was hot, in fact it was a scorcher at over 30°C. Sure that’s fine if you’re secretly part lizard or live in a desert not so fine if you’re swinging about a net in full sunlight used to average temperatures of around 10°C and smothered in factor 50. But I digress. Beetles are awesome and entirely worth it. We saw a broad range on beetles at Bookham, including family Chrysomelidae, the leaf beetles. Our resident AMC coleopterist Steph Skipp (skippy to her friends) introduced me to Chrysomelidae in the synoptic collection remarking that they looked like earrings – metallic, shiny and rather rounded.

Filming for Nature Live

The ID trainers got behind the camera for a second time, joining Steph West in Nature Live: “Fantastic mini-beasts and where to find them”. Reaching for our nets once more we headed through the thicket of vegetation to the edge of the pond and found some real beauties including a cased caddisfly case covered entirely in pond snail shells. The episode itself consisted mainly of a live streaming from the wildlife garden including homage to stag beetles, a snippet of pre-recorded footage by the pond and Steph West being awesome! Check it out on the NHM facebook page.
 

June has been action packed. We also joined a team from NHM to monitor biodiversity within the museum grounds, this included collecting soil samples, pond dipping , setting up pitfall and malaise traps and the eventual trialling of eDNA methods. This investigation will provide a baseline of biodiversity within the grounds. Finally, the process of re-curating the fish drawers: it turns out the AMC has a collection of rather lovely animal models dating from the 80s. We’re in the process of moving and rehousing these delicate objects – my personal favourite is the yellow slug (Limax flavus) mounted on a tomato complete with a grazed patch!

That’s it for June, join us in July for Hymenoptera, FSC placements and more.

The post ID Trainers – June 2017 update appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

It all kicked off with a foray into mosses, ferns and other allies. Natural History Museum plant expert, Fred Rumsey taught us about the incredible lifecycles of these primitive plants and we managed to see some moss and liverwort reproductive structures under the microscope. There were the male and female organs of the sexual stage and the sporophyte capsules enclosing the miniscule spores that make the bryophytes such good colonisers.

After learning some more about groups of mosses, we took a field trip to Abbey Wood. Here we began to realise how vast bryophyte diversity really is. Looking on trees, rocks and the damp soil, we found a variety of tufted, cushiony acrocarps and spreading pleurocarps. Some of my favourite finds were the liverworts concealed on overgrown banks. I would never have noticed them myself, but they are really striking once pointed out.

Back at the museum, we took advantage of the diversity of the wildlife garden to familiarise ourselves with some fern species. Then, Fred showed us the British synoptic collection of ferns and allies. It was interesting to see some of less common specimens and it reminded us how much of a fantastic resource the museum collections can be.

The second week of May was our freshwater invertebrate course with Steve Brooks and Ben Price. We began with some pond dipping in the wildlife garden’s three ponds. On bringing our catches back into the lab, we discovered that they contained a wealth of larvae from midges, damselflies, mayflies, caddisflies and more.

Over the next few days we learned how to identify many of these organisms. Steve taught us how to mount midge larvae head capsules onto slides and look for their diagnostic features. Then we worked through keys to dragonfly and damselfly larvae and their exuviae (shed skins).

We also learnt how to tell the difference between the different families of mayflies. Once familiar with them, we accumulated our knowledge and put together an online multi-access key to Mayfly Families.

We finished off the workshop with a trip up to the collection of small orders, where most of the freshwater invertebrates are housed. There were some fantastic dragonflies and damselflies with metallic, translucent wings. The wing colours are due to a structural reflection of light and the wings are some of the thinnest examples of this in the insect world.

We also took a slight detour into the drawers of Phasmatidae where we saw the once longest (now second longest) insect in the world, Chan’s Megastick. It even had its own world record certificate!

After freshwater invertebrates, we had a day workshop on earthworms with Emma Sherlock. We began by going over some of the types of earthworm. Then we went out and found some earthworms in the wildlife garden compost heap. Emma showed us how to best preserve them in the field and we had a go at identifying them using Emma’s very comprehensive key. After that we went into Kensington Gardens to try some surveying techniques.

Our final workshop of the month was on flies. We began with a visit to the pinned Diptera collections with Zoe Adams. We saw examples of some of the most unusual flies in the world. Amongst them was one of the famous stalk-eyed flies who use their massively overproportioned hammer-heads to fight for females. We also saw flies stored on slide mounts and in alcohol jars, depending on what is best for their group.

After an overview of fly families with Erica McAlister, we were all itching to see some real, live flies. We headed out on a field trip to Wimbledon Common armed with nets and pots. After some energetic sweeping in a variety of different habitats, we had found a wide diversity of flies. We headed back to the museum to take a look at them.

Back in the museum, Diptera’s Daniel Whitmore and the Angela Marmont Centre’s Chris Raper showed us two different methods for pinning our flies. We also attempted the fiddly task of pinning out fly genitalia, which is sometimes required for identification.

Over the next few days we had some more detailed overviews of the different types of flies from the Diptera team. Duncan Sivell taught us about the ‘lanky’ Nematocera and Erica showed us some impressive robberflies and allies. Then Daniel walked us through the tiny acalyptrates, Nigel Wyatt showed us some Aschiza specimens and finally Chris taught us about the Acalyptrates. This week certainly has given me an appreciation of how large and diverse an order Diptera is!

As well as workshops, May also brought some opportunities to interact with the public.  We helped at Fascination of Plants Day at the museum where we spoke to the public about lichens and their uses in cooking and medicine.

We also helped out at a Nature Festival at Gilbert White’s house in Selbourne. It hosted educational talks on all different groups of organisms. One of these was on pond life so our new freshwater invertebrate knowledge came in handy. The pond at the house was fantastic and even had a healthy population of Great Crested Newts! In the evening we finished off the day with bat walks and moth traps. A few of us camped overnight to see the final catches of the traps. There were so many moths! Some highlights were the Elephant and Privet hawk moths which were very exciting to see.

To continue our busy workshop period into June, we will be looking at flowering plants and beetles. Look out for our next update to find out how we get on!

Written by Steph Skipp, ID Trainer for the Future

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We were fully immersed in working at The Natural History Museum, undertaking a variety of tasks as well as workshops taught by the wonderful team of curators here. We were all then provided the opportunity to do a curation placement here at the museum, following our personal interests. I worked on the slime mould collection with Dr. Holger Thüs and really loved getting to know this obscure group.

The fourth and final phase of the traineeship we spent learning more about different teaching and engagement methods to educate and inspire a range of different groups. The Learning Volunteers and Science educators took great care of us and taught us so much about how to encourage people to interact and engage with specimens, building confidence and pursuing personal interests. We all felt much more confident in getting out there and promoting education about UK wildlife after phase 4. The EAT course, Train the Trainer workshop and our chance to run our own workshop at Gilbert Whites House on starting your own entomology collection complemented our placement with the Learning Volunteers and Science Educators, pulling together different techniques and education scenarios.

Now that we are into our final week it is time to figure out the next step for our final projects and organise our collection of specimens from throughout the year. This year, life as a trainee has been dynamic and fascinating, constantly learning something new. The Museum is a fantastic place to study, and there is always an interesting object to find in random cupboards and drawers. We have been overwhelmed with the support and kindness shown to us by colleagues at the Museum and within our partnership organisations. The data management workshops provided by Rachel Stroud with the NBN have been invaluable throughout the traineeship and the NBN Conference was a great way to catch up with people we hadn’t seen since the beginning of the traineeship, as well as to meet some new, friendly faces. Our regular visits to FSC centres where we were warmly welcomed were fabulous settings to learn about outdoor education and practice our identification skills in various UK locations.

We are all so grateful and happy looking over the last year of experiences with the traineeship. We couldn’t have asked for more and couldn’t have fit any more in if we tried! It is now time say thank you and farewell, for now, to everyone who has supported us throughout the traineeship, as well as best wishes to the new trainees who we are sure will enjoy their year here as much as we have.

Written by Sophie Trice, ID Trainer for the Future

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My placement is with the lichens department, under the supervision of lichenologists Holger Thus and Pat Wolseley. I began with barcoding Cladonia lichen specimens collected in southern England. I then added their label details to a database, ready for an upcoming project by a researcher from Portugal. Since then I have been working through a collection donated to the Museum by two respected lichenologists, Ann Allen and Barbara Hilton. So far I have catalogued the label data for specimens from the Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands. This largely involves deciphering handwriting and field notes, checking if the names are those in current use, checking specimens in paper packages and noting if these are suitable for inclusion in the main collection, as well as any problems with the data or specimen. This can be a challenge, with some specimens consisting of just fragments of a few minute apothecia (fruiting bodies) that have been scraped from a coastal rock and wrapped in a scrap of tissue paper. On the other hand, now and again I come across a beautiful specimen, such as a fine Cladonia pocillum with its pixie-cup podetia intact and surrounded by picturesque green moss. This impression of an intricate, hidden, miniature world is what drew me to lichens in the first place. Of course this is a valuable learning opportunity for me and I am quickly getting used to the names of the more obscure genera and their physical appearance, as well as learning the associations between each collected species and its habitat, so diligently noted on the paper packages.

Jas is working with Hymenoptera curator Gavin Broad, looking at parasitoid wasps. I get the impression that this is a dream come true for him!  He has been busily re-curating drawers of Ophion Ichneumons (a group of rather elegant, nocturnal, orange-red wasps), removing them from their original cork-based drawers to a more suitable home. He says, “There is also the possibility that a particular species belonging to the genera Ophion may be more than one species and I have been asked to examine this exciting taxonomic problem as I re-curate the collection.” The photo shows a delicate Ophion specimen collected in 1871 and still in fine condition.

Krisztina is spending her curatorial placement focusing on her favourite subject- bees – under the supervision of David Notton. She has been working on 12 trays of unincorporated Bombus species from the collection. Her aim is to try to identify, organise and re-curate them. She tells me that this has been undoubtedly the biggest challenge and the best opportunity so far that she has encountered as an ID Trainer. Most of these bumblebees are close to being 80-100 years old; their banding and colouration has faded and quite a few of them are missing some body parts and hairs, which makes identification even more difficult! During this month she has already come across some rare Bombus species such as Bombus distinguendus, the Great Yellow Bumblebee, which is now confined to the Outer Hebrides. Apart from the scarce species, she tells me that “Other fascinating finds were specimens of Bombus muscorum from the Aran islands which display colour variations that are different from the mainland form. This bumblebee has black-haired abdominal tergites which makes this species resemble more a buff-tailed B. hypnorum. These island populations have been given subspecific status, in this case of the Aran islands it is called Bombus muscorum ssp. allenellus.”

Niki is clearly drawn to the Lepidoptera department like a Feathered Ranunculus to a light trap. She writes: “I am having an amazing time getting to work with an exceptionally knowledgeable and welcoming team! As part of this I am lucky enough to be working on the British and Irish Lepidoptera collections of  Dr EA Cockayne, Dr HBD Kettlewell and Lord Walter Rothschild, to name but a few. My current role within the team is to assist with the re-curation of the British and Irish Noctuid Moths in preparation for their digitisation. Firstly I must find the required species, as outlined in the Agassiz checklist (the most up to date taxonomy), in the vast museum collections. This is a fantastic job because I get to know my way around the collections and I get to see many species, which is helping no end with my identification skills. After finding the specimens I must ensure they are all labelled correctly, adding accession labels where necessary. Finally, the specimens are rehoused into new plastazote-lined drawers which are much better at protecting the specimens from damage than the old cork-lined drawers. Of all the species I have worked on so far I have particularly enjoyed the Plusiinae moths, with one of my favourite species being the Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita). This moth gets its name because of the scales on the front of the thorax which resemble a pair of spectacles (as you can see from the photo below). One of the best things about my current role is getting the opportunity to see a great number of the same species, giving me the opportunity to get to know aberrations within that species. I am also able to compare similar species to gain a greater understanding of the differences. I feel my moth identification skills have already come on leaps and bounds and I still have two months left!”

Sophie knew from day one that the mysterious and under-studied slime moulds were what she wanted to look into further. She tells me that for her curatorial placement she has been working on cataloguing the type specimens of slime moulds. Types are the specimens that are described and used to define a species and she has been working through the Museum’s whole collection. Her favourite find so far is a type which was collected by The Emperor of Japan in 1930. She says, “I later found that there were several specimens collected by the Emperor who was interested in slime moulds and presented several specimens to The British Museum. I am looking forward to digitising the notebooks of Lister, who was the leading expert in the UK for slime moulds at the time, and reading the correspondence she had with the Emperor of Japan as well as seeing the beautiful artwork she created.”

It hasn’t only been about curation placements since the end of August, with trainees involved in helping at taster days for those interested in becoming next year’s trainees. We inevitably have mixed emotions about this because, while we are happy to see so much enthusiasm for nature and recording, it is a clear reminder that we don’t have very long left with our placements and must make the most of every moment we have here!

I attended Science Uncovered at the Museum last year as an Identification Trainer hopeful, and I remember being impressed by last year’s trainees and their table displays. Well, this year it was our turn to engage the public and we had a great evening, although it was so busy I didn’t get a chance to look at any other displays! We all did a display based on our curation placement, with interesting specimens to hand for people to look at. Lots of enthusiastic members of the public –including people applying for next year’s Identification Trainers programme – came along to ask questions and look through the microscopes. I talked about lichens and pollution, and how the pollution mix was changing, with much less atmospheric sulphur dioxide now but high levels of nitrogen dioxide, and what that meant for lichens. I also demonstrated chemical spot tests for lichen identification, with the example of potassium hydroxide – when added to yellow Xanthoria lichens it turns blood red and is a striking example to show people. Visitors from Bulgaria, Canada, Indonesia, Italy and the Philippines were amongst those who chatted with me and the sense I got was that information on lichens was somewhat hard to come by for many people. There was certainly a real curiosity and desire to learn more about lichens and how the species mix is changing, and what this tells us about our environment.

I could see the other trainees were equally busy and enjoying their evening too, with plenty of interaction with visitors. For example, Jas engaged the public with his knowledge of parasitoid wasps (Ichneumonidae) and he says that people were really fascinated by the behaviour and strategies used by parasitoids to find hosts to lay their eggs on or in. He adds, “The people who attended were from a very wide variety of backgrounds, from members of the public just generally interested in natural history to researchers from Imperial College, so different levels of engagement were required for different attendees – really enjoyable!”

Coming up soon we have Nature in Parliament Day with the NBN and part two of a bioblitz documentary, featuring Chris Packham, amongst other events. The pace of the traineeship shows no signs of letting up at this stage – and that’s fine by us!

Written by Joe Beale

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Joe became a father on the 23^rd August, a few days earlier than planned which means he is taking a little bit of time away from the traineeship on paternity leave. We are of course all very happy for him, his wife and their new son (name still to be agreed at the time of writing!). This therefore means that writing this update has fallen to me, and we have quite a lot to report.

Our trainees have all dispersed off to their curation placements this month so the Angela Marmont Centre seems rather quiet at the moment, but until recently they have been alternating between working on our Big Seaweed Search citizen science project, helping out our Identification and Advisory Service and of course working on their own collections. Our final species identification workshop has also been completed, with the Museum’s Gavin Broad & David Notton delivering an excellent week-long session on identifying hymenoptera both in the field and in collections.

In something of a change of pace, and very excitingly, we were also invited to help with the survey work for a BBC4 documentary so spent a few days working with a film crew on location surveying and identifying pollinator species. A fascinating experience for all of us, not least because we also got to work with Chris Packham who is presenting the programme which will be aired next summer. All this filming experience also set the trainees up very well for their final task in Phase 2 – running a Nature Live session at the Museum. Nature Lives are the opportunity for Museum visitors to come along and hear from a scientist about their work. For this year’s Nature Live our trainees chose to not only talk in the studio, but also have an outside broadcast to the Wildlife Garden to highlight the range of work they have been doing. They delivered a fantastic session to a packed audience and you’ll be able to see the recording of it on our webpage soon.

Our trainees will be reporting back over the next 3 months on their curation placements. These enable our trainees to really develop their identification and curation skills for their specialist areas of interest. Jas has gone off to work with Gavin Broad on ichneumon wasps, while Krisztina has also gone to the hymenoptera section to work on the bee collections with David Notton. Niki will be starting work on the UK noctuid moth collections this week with Lepidoptera curator Geoff Martin. Joe & Sophie are both working under the supervision of Holger Thüs, with Joe focusing on lichens and Sophie working on slime moulds. Even in their first few days they have already been finding some fascinating specimens, Sophie recently reported finding a type specimen in the slime mould collection which was collected in 1930 by the Emperor of Japan!

I should probably also take this opportunity to update you all on what our first cohort of trainees are now up to. Mike is still happy working for the London Wildlife Trust as Conservation Ecologist, a position he started directly after the end of the traineeship. Chloe recently accepted a role as Conservation Officer for the RSPB in Brighton while Anthony has started working in Oxford for EarthWatch. This means that he still gets to work with the AMC on the EarthwormWatch project we are working in partnership with EarthWatch on. Sally has moved to Sheffield and is busy with the Sheffield Wildlife Trust and Sorsby Natural History Society while Katy has recently returned from working for Operation Wallacea surveying & teaching entomology in Greece.

As for me, well hopefully of interest to many of you reading this, I have been busy launching the recruitment for our 3^rd cohort of trainees. We will be opening the application window for candidates for our next 5 trainees on the 19^th September for 4 weeks (closing on the 17^th October). Full details of how to apply through our online application system will be available on the Museum’s website from the 19^th, however confirmation of the deadlines, background to the traineeships and information about the two taster sessions we are running this year for potential applicants can be found on the website now.

Written by Steph West

Project Manager – Identification Trainers for the Future.

The post An Update from the ID Trainers’ Project appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

As well as these workshops we have been busy carrying out work for the Angela Marmont Centre (AMC). This involves a diverse range of tasks from carrying out research for the Natural History Museum’s citizen science project the ‘Big Seaweed Search’, to preparing field kit for BioBlitz events and preparing presentations on our own areas of special interest.

Plants Workshop

At the beginning of July we took part in the final part of the plant identification workshop with Dr Mark Spencer which followed on nicely from the workshop we attended in April. Spreading the plant ID course across spring and summer was fantastic because we were able to observe and practice identifying a huge array of UK plant species. For me the highlight of the course was a field trip to Crayford Marsh; an extremely diverse and beautiful site which is one of a few remaining areas of Thames grazing Marsh in London. The site plays host to a large array of breeding birds, invertebrate and plant species. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris) and learning how Marsh Mallow (Althaea officinalis) was originally used in the making of my favourite campfire treat marshmallows, hence their name!

It was a pleasure to be taught by Mark who is not only incredibly knowledgeable but also endlessly enthusiastic. The biggest success of this course is that at the beginning when asked to use complex identification keys we were all rather intimidated; now after spending time keying out Geraniums, Medicagos and Umbellifers (to name but a few of the groups we tackled), we are all considerably more confident in our plant identification skills both in the field and under a microscope.

Crayford Marsh

Dr Mark Spencer demonstrating the size of Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)

Diptera Workshop

We were lucky enough to have the whole Diptera team teaching us throughout our five day workshop. To begin with we were given a tour of the World Diptera collections which holds between 2-3 million specimens! Here we were given an introduction into the most appropriate methods of preparing and storing different Diptera specimens; from using alcohol for certain families such as the Simuliidae (Black Flies) to pinning for families such as the Syrphidae (Hoverflies).

For me, the highlight of this workshop was our field visit to Wimbledon common. Here the experts showed us the best methods for collecting Diptera and we were let loose with sweep nets and pooters to collect Dipteran specimens to take back to the museum. On returning to the museum we were given instruction on the best ways to pin Diptera. It soon became clear that different groups have different identification features and as such require different pinning methods: some requiring top down pinning, some requiring side pinning and some which could only be identified by extracting genitalia.

For the last few days of the workshop we were lucky enough to be part of a series of courses with World experts teaching us about their specific groups from the Nematoceran to the Calyptrate and Acalyptrate flies; these workshops covered identification techniques, taxonomy and ecology, as well as providing us with valuable information on where to access identification keys and useful literature. Prior to this course I had very little knowledge on Diptera, now not only do I feel confident in collecting and storing specimens, but I also have the tools and knowledge at my disposal to have a go at identifying even some of the more challenging groups.

Behind the Scenes in the NHM Diptera Collection

Sweep netting Diptera at Wimbledon Common

Learning to pin Diptera with Dr Daniel Whitmore

Moths Workshop

I started moth trapping last year in the New Forest and have been hooked on moths ever since, as such I was particularly excited to attend the moths workshop and I was not disappointed! We kicked off the workshop with a field trip to Gilbert White’s House; a heritage Museum based in Selborne, Hampshire and of course the home of the famous natural historian Gilbert White. The grounds of the house provide a mixture of habitats from herb and vegetable gardens, to ponds and beautiful wild flower meadows. The site is also surrounded by the famous Hampshire Hangers. In addition to the house, the museum is also home to the Gilbert White Field Studies Centre which was both our base and accommodation for the trip.

Our camp outside the Gilbert White Field Studies Centre

It was in the wild flower meadow close to the surrounding woodland that we set up 4 moth traps: 2 Skinner light traps, a Robinson light trap and 1 light sheet. After setting up the moth traps we spent the early evening learning about bats and carrying out a bat walk with our mentor and bat expert Steph West. It was a very exciting evening between listening out for the bat detectors and running off to the light sheet to check for moths. On the light sheet we observed some beautiful species including the Rosy Footman (Miltochrista miniata) and the Mother of Pearl (Pleuroptya ruralis). We had a very early start the next morning to check our skinner traps and identify the moths and it was definitely worth it; my favourite species of the morning included the Black Arches (Lymantria monacha) and the Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa). Those of us who got up even earlier also got to see bats returning to their roost in the Field Studies Centre, although Steph had got up at 3am to do this so it was a little over enthusiastic for some of us.

Checking the light sheet

Checking the traps in the morning

On returning to the museum we were given tuition on how to pin both micro and macro moths; I found this to be me the most complex pinning we have learnt so far due to the delicate nature of Lepidoptera wings and the potential for losing scales. That being said I am keen to improve my technique and have enlisted my very handy partner to make me my own Lepidoptera setting boards! We also received tuition and practiced identification of some of the more tricky groups including the Noctuids and pugs. Our final session covered how to carry out genitalia dissection for species such as the Rustic (Hoplodrina blanda) and Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines) which are too difficult to distinguish by pattern or colouration alone. I already had a passion for moths but this workshop has certainly enhanced it and I can’t wait to run my next moth trap!

Black Arches (Lymantria monacha)

Learning to pin Lepidoptera specimens

We all feel truly privileged to have had the opportunity to take part in these workshops and have learnt an incredible amount; it is safe to say we will all be saddened to reach the end of the workshop phase in August. That being said we are all incredibly excited to take part in our final workshop on Hymenoptera and then to move on to our individual curation placements. I am lucky enough to be working with the Lepidoptera curation team on Noctuid Moths for the 3 months of this phase, whilst my fellow ID Trainers are off to study Lichens, Slime moulds, Bees and Ichneumon Wasps. I can’t wait to get started and to hear all about what my colleagues get up to!

Written By Nicola Lowndes

Photos By Jaswinder Boparai & Steph West

The post Deep in the Workshop Phase! appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

Picking up from where we left off in June – we have just completed our FSC placements and we were back to AMC to take the plunge into the exciting workshops lined up for us.

Bryophytes

Bryophytes were on the agenda first and we had the privilege to enjoy a presentation from one of the best experts in this challenging field: Dr.Fred Rumsey. After an introduction to the anatomy and life cycle of bryophytes we had a run through of the main British moss and liverwort families.

The second day brought more excitement, we were off to do some field work and surveying! The group was heading off to Abbey Wood in southeast London to visit an area which hasn’t been surveyed for 20 years. We all agreed it would be interesting to see how this Local Nature Reserve will fare in this survey after 20 years.  Fred helped us with identification right there and then and those bryophytes which proved to be more challenging have been collected and brought back to AMC. On Wednesday we spent the whole day identifying the samples under the microscope. Some of these organisms are so difficult to separate that we needed compound microscopes to examine fine details and features. Overall, our survey list added up to 60 odd species with a few new records for the site as well.

Ferns and Horsetails

If that was not enough, on Thursday we were introduced to another ancient plant group: the ferns and horsetails. Compared to the vast number of moss species (1,100 sp. for Britain) ferns and horsetails appeared to be more manageable with 70-80 species.

Following up the Bryophytes Workshop we also attended the Integrated Pest Management course (IPM). The danger and risk of pests’ damages to the collections is very real in every museum therefore it is vital that everyone working with valuable treasures is knowledgeable about pest control. We were presented with various pest specimens collected in the Natural History Museum and were asked to identify them. During the afternoon we had a trip around the museum looking at certain challenges (architectural arrangements etc.) that pest control management has to face.

It was during this week when the ID Trainers took part in another BioBlitz, this time it was held at Tring. We were greeted at the station by Abbey one of the education officers. The whole event was organised very well with specific time slots for every activity. All five of us had the opportunity to take part in pond dipping, mini-beast hunting, small mammal trapping. It was a very enjoyable day – albeit rather a gloomy one – with some specimens collected for later identification. The constant flow of people ensured that we had enough time to talk to everyone.

Working here at the Natural History Museum comes with many advantages and one of them is that whenever we have some free time we can attend any of the free lectures. One of these talks I attended was on climate change and reptile conservation, which featured many fascinating research studies.

Freshwater Invertebrates

In the last week of June we have ventured into the territory of freshwater invertebrates for a week under the guidance of Steven Brooks. After an introduction to the group we went outside to the Wildlife Garden to collect samples from the ponds. The highlight for me was the use of a huge TV screen connected to the microscope. This way, Steven could easily explain and demonstrate the determining features of specific species. We have covered many different genus and even got the opportunity to prepare slides of small midges. These tiny organisms require special treatment, their heads need to be separated from their body first, and then the head needs to be in a certain position before the cover slip is put on. This is to do with the jaws of the midge needing to be clearly visible as it has very important identification features.

I feel that we have all learnt a tremendous amount during these workshops; every one of them makes us so enthusiastic and encourages us to go out and look for mosses, lichens, plants, earthworms, insects in our spare time. The experts and lecturers are always more than happy to help with identification; we are truly privileged to have them so close by!

We are also very much looking forward to the upcoming Diptera, Lepidoptera (moths) and Hymenoptera workshops during the following months!

Written by Krisztina Fekete

The post ID Trainers update – July 2016 appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.