FROM BUGLIFE — IT’S A GREAT READ — I WILL BE LOOKING FOR THAT BLUE BEETLE IN CORNWALL TOO

BugBytes Image - Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus intricatus) © John Walters Dear John Welcome to the first edition of Buglife's e-newsletter, BugBytes, in 2025! Keeping you up to date with invertebrate news, interesting snippets of information and so much more. Over the last month there has been a flurry of exciting news for both Buglife and invertebrates – almost too much to fit in one newsletter! Kicking off the new year with such a positive start has us excited for all that’s to come over the next 12 months. Thank you for your ongoing support and interest in saving the small things that run the planet! We hope you’ll continue to follow along! Victories for Nature! Buglife is delighted to confirm that the London Resort project, a proposed £2.5 billion theme park on the Swanscombe Peninsula, has officially been terminated. Swanscombe Peninsula, in North Kent, is home to a remarkable mosaic of grasslands, coastal habitats, brownfield features, scrub and intricate wetlands. Thousands of invertebrate species can be found in the area, including over 200 species of conservation concern. Buglife joined Save Swanscombe Peninsula, Kent Wildlife Trust, CPRE Kent, the RSPB, and local campaigners five years ago in the fight to save Swanscombe Marshes from development for the good of wildlife and the local community. Together we have ensured that this unique site will continue to thrive as a natural sanctuary. Read more... Conservation organisations celebrate the end to the London Resort project Shortly after receiving the news about the London Resort project, we found out that another of Buglife’s ‘Saving Sites’ campaigns achieved a significant milestone - Norfolk County Council withdrew the planning application to build the Norwich Western Link. Our primary concern has always been the damage the road would have on the network of ancient woodlands, grasslands, chalk streams, floodplains and veteran trees in the countryside west of Norwich. This includes the River Wensum Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) which provides habitat for the likes of the Globally Endangered White-clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) and Globally Vulnerable Desmoulin’s Whorl Snail (Vertigo moulinsiana), as well as a rich assemblage of freshwater invertebrates, including beetles and mayflies. Following the withdrawal, the future of the road is in doubt, allowing these vital habitats to remain undisturbed and continue to provide homes, not just for invertebrates, but also the last known super colony of Barbastelle Bat and thriving populations of owls, Linnet, Yellowhammer and other wildlife. Read more... Norwich Western Link update - a win for wildlife! (1) It’s been a big week for our wildlife and all of those who have worked tirelessly to save these sites from development. Thank you to everyone who has supported these campaigns, you helped make this happen! Blue Ground Beetle Hunt We’ve relaunched our Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus intricatus) Citizen Science survey! Have you ever seen what you think might be a Blue Ground Beetle whilst out walking? If you have a photo of it, no matter how long ago it was taken, we’d love it if you could share it with us! We are particularly interested in receiving more sightings and records from Cornwall. Who knows, by taking part, you might help us discover new populations of the beetle across Cornwall, Devon, Wales or even elsewhere! Join the Hunt! Carabus intricatus Blue Ground Beetle (c) Laura Larkin Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus Intricatus) © Laura Larkin What does being a River Guardian mean? You may have heard us talk a lot about Guardians of our Rivers over the last two years and as we step into 2025, you'll probably hear us talking even more about Guardians of our Rivers: Next Steps. We're delighted to share a guest blog from Gerry Hough, volunteer catchment co-ordinator for the Guardians of our Rivers invertebrate monitoring programme for the Aberdeenshire Don. Join Gerry as he shares his journey from fly-fishing to becoming a volunteer River Guardian. Read more... Guardians of our Rivers bringing communities and bugs together Thinking about fundraising for Buglife this year? Maybe you’d like to raise money by running in a world-famous marathon or half marathon. Or perhaps you fancy something more adventurous, like hiking to Everest Base Camp? We have teamed up with Choose A Challenge and Realbuzz to help support you whichever challenge flutters your wings. Don't forget to let us know that you're fundraising! We're on hand to help. Visit our Fundraising Hub Running Shoes © Josiah Mackenzie (Flickr, CC BY 2.0) Running Shoes © Josiah Mackenzie (Flickr, CC BY 2.0) Upcoming Events Saturday 1 February ~ Training Workshop – Identifying Ferns for complete beginners Murlough NT NNR (Murlough National Nature Reserve, Northern Ireland) Sunday 2 February ~ Training Workshop – Using Poland & Clements “The Vegetative Key to the British Flora”, Murlough NT NNR (Murlough National Nature Reserve, Northern Ireland) Tuesday 4 February ~ Using Bioturbation Behaviour To Create New Functional Groups for Earthworms with The Biological Recording Company (Online) Saturday 8 February ~ Bee Bank Creation at Wembury Point (Wembury Point, Devon) Saturday 8 February ~ Training Workshop – Identifying Ferns for Complete Beginners, Drumnaph Nature Reserve, Maghera (Drumnaph Nature Reserve, Northern Ireland) Sunday 9 February ~ Training Workshop – Using Poland and Clement “The Vegetative Key to the British Flora”, Drumnaph NR (Drumnaph Nature Reserve, Northern Ireland) Monday 10 February ~ Bumblebees of the UK Part 1 with The Biological Recording Company (Online) Wednesday 12 February ~ Walk the Wick! (Canvey Wick, Essex) Wednesday 12 February ~ Species on the Edge – Winter Talk Series: Small Blue Butterfly with Mike Slater (Online) Thursday 13 February ~ Shelter for Wildlife: Simple Steps to Boost Biodiversity with The Biological Recording Company (Online) Friday 14 February ~ Wetland Habitat Improvement Day (Seaton Park, Aberdeen) 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 Brief Buglife and Kent Wildlife Trust Winner of 2024 Amazon Web Services IMAGINE Grant UK for Non-profits Bugs Matter, our citizen science survey which monitors flying insect abundance, is going international! We, along with Kent Wildlife Trust, were delighted to be selected as a winner of the 2024 Amazon Web Services IMAGINE Grant UK for Non-profits, which will support us to launch the ‘Bugs Matter’ app in the US, Australia, France, the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland. Find out more... Complete ban on bee killing pesticides moves forward A complete ban on the use of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides moved a step closer on Saturday 21 December, as the government set out its plans to deliver a key election pledge. Despite being banned from general use in the UK, the last government authorised the use of neonicotinoids every year for the last four years via a process known as emergency authorisation. Find out more.. Buglife Shop The Buglife shop is open for all your invertebrate needs, offering more ethical options and ways to support bugs. Why not make the most of the FREE UK shipping offer in our Teemill store from Friday 31 January, until midnight Sunday 2 February? 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! Shop Banner-R Shop Now 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! Join Buglife Unsubscribe Company No. 4132695 | Registered Charity No. 1092293 | Scottish Charity No.SC040004 Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust is a company limited by guarantee Registered in England at G.06, Allia Future Business Centre, London Road, Peterborough, PE2 8AN FR