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Anneliese Emmans Dean  eco-edutainment info@theBigBuzz.biz
BugWatch
You can make an important contribution to science by recording the bugs you see! Scientists up and down the UK rely on us to tell them what bugs we see, so they can build up a nationwide picture of what bugs are where. Click below to see how you can record the bugs you see. Who knows, you might even make a world-first scientific discovery!
Don’t forget Nature’s Calendar too, where you can record your Springwatch and Autumnwatch sightings of animals and plants. Younger recorders and schools should check out Nature Detectives.
Bees
Beewatch, run by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, urgently needs your help to find out the distributions of our bumblebees. They’d like you to record the species you see in your garden, your school playing field, or when you’re out for a walk.
 If you’re not sure exactly what species you’ve seen, take a digital photo of it and email it to: beewatch2008@bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk
They’ll identify it for you, and let you know what species you’ve found.
By the way, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust are fans of my Buzzing! CD:
‘Your Buzzing! CD is wonderful.
We put it on in the office when someone needs cheering up.’
Beetles
Rosemary Beetle
If you spot a Rosemary Beetle, the Royal Horticultural Society would like to know about it!
Stag Beetle
Stag beetles are some of the largest beetles in the UK. They can grow to be larger than a matchbox. The Great Stag Hunt was launched in 1998, to record sightings of stag beetles in the UK, where they are a protected species. Have you seen a stag beetle where you are?
Ladybirds - see below
Butterflies
Butterfly Conservation runs a series of different butterfly recording schemes. The easiest one to take part in is the Painted Lady one (see below). Your butterfly sightings are vital to enable scientists to understand which of our butterfly species are threatened and which are thriving.
Painted Lady butterfly
Painted Lady butterflies fly here all the way from Africa. Have they reached your garden?
Ladybirds
There are lots of different ladybirds you might come across in the UK. Visit the UK Ladybird survey to find out how to record ladybirds you see in your garden, or whilst out and about. And see below for how to record the latest threat, the Harlequin ladybird.
Ladybirds
Harlequin ladybird
The Harlequin is an invader ladybird from abroad, with the potential to harm our native ladybird species. The Harlequin arrived in Britain in 2004. Has it reached where you are? I first saw them in York in Autumn 2007 (read all about it). Take a photo if you think you see one. The people at the Harlequin Ladybird Survey will tell you if it’s a Harlequin or not.
Moths
What moths can you see in your garden? The Garden Moths Count wants to know!
Hummingbird Hawkmoth
With climate change, more and more Hummingbird Hawkmoths are expected here. I’ve seen them - fleetingly - in my garden in York. Have you seen them where you are?
Sawflies
Do you live in Wales? The editor of The Sawfly Study Group Newsletter, Guy Knight, Zoology Curator (entomology) at the National Museums Liverpool, is actively looking for sightings of any species of sawfly spotted in Wales. If you see any there, email your sightings to Guy.Knight@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
Berberis sawflies
I was the first person to record Berberis sawflies in York (read all about it)! Will you be the first person to record them where you are? If you see them, the Royal Horticultural Society would like to know about it!
Worms
Worms are vital! And OPAL (Open Air Laboratories) wants our help to find out more about them. Their ‘Soil and Earthworm’ survey started in March 2009.
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