Dear John
Welcome to the November edition of Buglife's e-newsletter, BugBytes! Keeping you up to date with invertebrate news, interesting snippets of information and so much more.
There's a lot happening in the world in general, the world of Buglife and also in the world of invertebrates.
We've been celebrating creatives, fundraiser and campaigners this month across our socials - did you join us?
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Join us and defend the Middlewick Ranges
Over the years our supporters and followers have helped us, partners and communities to save important sites not just for invertebrates, but wildlife in general and local people.
Earlier this month ago our coalition of wildlife and community organisations launched a Crowd Justice appeal to fund the costs of legal and expert advice, to challenge the Middlewick Ranges proposals.
In less than a week we achieved our £10,000 target - a huge thank you to everyone who pledged, liked and shared.
This is testament to how strongly people all around the country feel about protecting the special wildlife and habitats of Middlewick Ranges. Every action helps, increases our reach, puts the campaign in front of more people and will help us defend the Middlewick Ranges!
In response to achieving our initial target, we have set a new goal of raising £20,000. Why have we done this? Well, quite simply, the more funds we can raise, the better prepared to challenge the decisions that threaten the Middlewick Ranges. With £20,000 we could secure even more support from specialist solicitors and barristers who are experienced in legal proceedings and expert advisors to review planning documents.
Please help us Save Middlewick Ranges, by supporting our appeal
Useful to know: Whatever money we raise will go towards our ongoing efforts to save Middlewick Ranges. In addition to our Crowd Justice appeal we also have a live petition which has been signed by more than 17,000 people to date!
Thank you to every single person who has shared, signed and pledged; your efforts ensure that our Defend the Wick campaign has had an incredible reach so far and one of Essex’s best loved wildlife sites stands a chance of being protected.
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Curtains for Light Pollution 2024 Prize Draw Winner.
Earlier this year we launched Curtains for Light Pollution, asking everyone to pledge to close their curtains and blinds when they turn on their indoor lights.
A fantastic number of supporters have made the pledge so far, and we're delighted to share that our 2024 prize draw winner is Susanne Hurley from Hampshire. Congratulations Susanne!
Susanne shared here reasons for making the pledge: “I made the pledge to switch off unnecessary lighting because it is our responsibility as humans, to stop the decline of habitable environments and hopefully enable an improved balance of insect populations”.
Will you join us in keeping the light inside and help to Nurture the Night Shift?
12 days of Giving...
We could receive £1000 with your help as part of Benefact Group's 12 Days of Giving.
12 Days of Giving is Benefact Group's festive final phase of Movement for Good 2024. In December, they’ll be giving 120 charities £1,000 each over 12 days.
You can nominate as many charities as you like - it's one nomination per charity per person. So, please click the link below & nominate Buglife and Buglife Scotland!
Nominations from previous years don't roll over, so if you have previously nominated Buglife please do pop on over and do it again. Nominate Buglife & Buglife Scotland
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Did you join us in the Mediterranean...?
Mediterranean? Yes, Mediterranean! We've not gone mad (honest), we're talking beetles.
Despite the recent cold snap it might surprise you to know that it's the perfect time of year to see the Mediterranean Oil Beetle (Meloe mediterraneus) with partnership project Life on the Edge.
This month our Life on the Edge Conservation Officer, Sam, joined forces with Devon Entomologist, John Walters to spread the oil beetle love and promote a little Citizen Science.
Oil beetles are rather strange-looking beetles, their large abdomens protruding from under short elytra (wing cases) – they have been described as looking like someone whose waistcoat won’t button up!
Partnership project, Life on the Edge, is encouraging greater awareness of three of the UK's five native species; the Short-necked Oil Beetle (Meloe brevicollis), the Black Oil Beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus), and the Mediterranean Oil Beetle.
Whilst Short-necked and Black Oil Beetles are more likely to be seen in the spring/summer the Mediterranean Oil Beetle (despite its name) is nocturnally active and can be found from September to April on coastal grasslands.
Once thought extinct in the UK, the Mediterranean Oil Beetle was rediscovered by a Buglife project in 2012; this was the first UK sighting for over 100 years!
Want to know more about oil beetles? Head on over to our Bug Directory
Mediterranean Oil Beetle (Meloe mediterraneus) © John Walters
#ICYMI ~ Do "bugs" have brains? And what exactly is a brain anyway...?
We're lucky to be supported by a host fantastic people in a variety of ways, one of those ways is via guest blogs.
Our latest guest blog was written by Mark Millan, a neuroscientist specialising in the study and improved treatment of disorders of the brain.
Following on from our blog “From Bugs to Brains.…and….From Green Spaces to Better Mental Well-Being” early last year, we are joined by Mark once again, this time to explore whether bugs have brains.
#ICYMI ~ Insect Migration (Part 2)...
October saw us celebrating World Migratory Bird Day, which this year focused on the importance of insects to migratory birds, and was highlighting concerns related to decreasing populations of insects.
Following on from this Buglife Cymru Natur am Byth Scarce Yellow Sally Conservation Officer, Sarah, has written a short two part blog series on insect migration. Join her as she shares a story of migration, featuring a Marmalade Hoverfly (Eipisyrphus balteatus) from her garden in Wales, in Part 2.
Marmalade Hoverfly (Eipisyrphus balteatus) © Will Hawkes
Upcoming Events
Tuesday 3 December ~ Plants for Pollinators: Using DNA to Explore Relationships in Gardens with The Biological Recording Company (Online)
Thursday 5 December ~ Christmas Tree and Scrub Removal Day with Buglife Scotland (Limerigg, Scotland)
Thursday 5 December ~ The Ugly Bug Winter Darg Ball with Klub Obskura (Kingston, London)
Wednesday 11 December ~ Walk the Wick! (Canvey Wick, Essex)
Wednesday 11 December ~ Invertebrate Study Day with The Biological Recording Company (Natural History Museum, London)
Monday 16 December ~ Tiny Midges, Devastating Diseases with The Biological Recording Company (Online)
Monday 30 December ~ Bumblebees of the UK Part 1 with The Biological Recording Company (Online)
Tuesday 7 January ~ How Many Moths and Butterflies? The Importance of Taxonomy with The Biological Recording Company (Online)
Keep up to date with both current and future Buglife events, as well as events from partners and supporters by visiting the Events Page on our website. |
News in Brief23 native species conservation projects shortlisted for the Great British Wildlife Restoration 23 native species conservation projects, undertaken by British zoos and aquariums, have been shortlisted for a prestigious national award in recognition of their heroic efforts. The Great British Wildlife Restoration seeks to shine a light on conservation going on all around us, with a winner depending on the votes of Members of Parliament and the House of Lords.
Find out more... Great suck-cess! Scottish breeding programme sees first baby leeches born A project to help restore Scotland’s population of Medicinal Leeches has welcomed the arrival of the first babies. Over the past month, twenty of the wriggly juveniles have successfully been hatched at a specially designed facility in Highland Wildlife Park, near Kingussie. The birth of the babies was only possible thanks to pioneering work done in 2023 to identify, capture and breed a group of the leeches which are rare in the UK and especially so in Scotland, where they are only found in three sites.
Find out more..
Wildlife charities and firefighters on education drive after fire destroys rare butterfly habitat Wildlife conservationists and firefighters are joining forces to launch an education campaign for young people and the local community after a fire destroyed the habitat of a threatened butterfly. The blaze, which was started in an act of vandalism, devastated an area of wildflower-rich grassland at Stonehaven near Aberdeen. The habitat was a rare breeding ground for the Northern Brown Argus (Aricia artaxerxes). |
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Buglife ShopThe Buglife shop is open for all your invertebrate needs, offering more ethical options and ways to support bugs. Check out our new designs or get in the festive mood with a Buglife classic! Why not make the most of the extended FREE UK shipping offer in our Teemill storefrom Friday 6 December, ending midnight Sunday 9 December? So whether you've got Ants in your Pants or your Going At a Snails Pace" by visiting our shop you'll help bugs in the process!
And Finally... Don't forget you can stay up to date with the work of the Buglife team via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube !
Thank you for your continued interest in and support of our work; together we can save the small things that run the planet! |
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