Spice up your Science!

Science weeks and festivals are nearly upon us. March is the month when many events take place up and down the country to get children and their families excited about science. Have a look for events around the UK. Find one near you and try to attend it with your family or school. Here is a great link for you http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/national-science-engineering-week .
If you live in Oxfordshire have a look on this site http://www.oxfordshiresciencefestival.co.uk/events/ .Why not host a special science event in your very own school? Science is a fabulous subject and embraces so much. You have Biology, Botany, Entomology, Ecology, Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Cosmology and Astronomy to name but a few. These are such cool and interesting subjects! Bring science right into your life, get excited, discover and have fun learning!

Historic Horrors!

Parasites come in many forms but the one thing they all have in common is that they have to live off a living host. This relationship is not a good one for the host, who gets nothing from it. A parasitoid can even lead to its hosts death. A parasite is always much smaller than its host. Viruses are parasites as are quite a few invertebrates. There are even parasites that parasitize other parasites - how cool is that?! Tape worm, whip worm, round worm, intestinal fluke and liver fluke are just a few little beauties that can really spoil your day. This little group affect the intestines, lungs, brain, pancreas, liver and appendix between them. In certain countries they are still a problem but in our history they were rife. Human faeces have been dug up from Viking settlement sites in places such as York and they are infested with some of this merry collection. (Worth a visit is the Viking Festival in York 16th-24th Feb 2013 http://www.jorvik-viking-festival.com/ - visit the Jorvik Centre to see some 1000 year old worm invested poo for yourself as well as having a great Viking experience!) Other great little parasites which caused our ancestors some considerable trouble, and are still here with us today but hopefully rather more controlled, are the bedbugs, head lice, body lice and the rather dubious pubic louse. Under the microscope these little chaps are beautifully built for the job of hanging on and sucking blood. Right little historic horrors!

Re-enactments are great practical learning opportunities for children. Brilliant with your school or  just pure family fun!

Brilliant Beetles!

Here are some big numbers for you; 1,400,000 species of animals have been described so far and that is still rising. 800,000 of those are insects. That is a huge number of amazing variations of life - we are not including archnids (spiders), mirapods (millipedes), gastropods (snails) etc here either! I think everyone who likes invertebrates has a favourite order. (When classifying organisms they are broken down in groups until a single species is identified. 'Order' is a taxonomic rank, in our case this is at the point where we are listed as 'Primates'). The great thing is that there are simply so many orders to choose from! My absolute favourite is the Coleoptera order. This order embraces all the beetles. http://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/orders/coleoptera.html  Coleoptera actually means 'sheathed wing' in Greek which is a pretty accurate description as beetles have an elytra. This is a hard body casing that has evolved from their front pair of wings and now protects their single set of wings underneath. (Not all beetles have wings and not all beetles can fly though just to add a bit of spice). Us humans have had a thing about beetles for a long time. The Egyptians worshiped the Scarab beetle, the Vietnamese win or loose money betting on fighting beetles, over a third of the world eat beetle larvae and in Mexico they even stick gem stones on them and wear them as living jewellery. We know for sure that they were around in the Lower Permian period, a mere 299,000,000 years ago. As more fossils come to light, they might be even older. We also know that the first flowers were around at this time. Simple flowers such as the Magnolias we still have with us today. Bees, butterflies and moths had not evolved yet so guess who was doing the pollinating? Yes it was the beetles and some of them are still extremely important pollinators today. It is pure favoritism I will admit, but there is no getting away from it - beetles are quite simply brilliant!!

                                      What an fantastic mix of shapes and colours
                                                               - something for everyone!

Pins and Paper.

It takes time and patience to properly pin an insect for display. (Please see archived blogs on 'perfect pinning'). Today with a small group of older children, we prepared some dead Malaysian Ghost Grasshoppers. The first pin is pushed gently into the middle (thorax) of the grasshopper. It was carefully placed on a setting board. The setting board itself was a polystyrene square with a narrow trench down the middle. The grasshopper's body was put into this trench so that its wings could be carefully laid out. Pins are not put through the fragile wing, (or any other part of the body), as this would damage them. So acid free paper strips were carefully placed over the out stretched wing and these were then pinned into place. These papers will hold the wings in place while they dry out and set. Each leg was then carefully prized out and pins put either side of each individual one to hold it in place. Finally the antenna were also supported by pins into a position that will display them. Now it is time to wait. The insects have to fully dry out before all the paper and pins can be removed - except the only pin that pierced the body, the very first pin. This central pin is what you hold to move the specimen and it is on this pin, under the body, that you place the insects information. A fabulous morning and brilliant work to be proud of!

A really superbly pinned grasshopper. A pinned insect should be laid out to display the most of its anatomical features for research. This one will now be left to dry and set before being labeled and properly mounted.

Encouraging investigation . . .

Animal bones can have a fascination for us all, especially children. Just think of all the children around the world who are totally absorbed by dinosaur bones. All are desperate to grow up and become palaeontologists- which to be honest, is no bad thing! When I present Natural History roadshows in schools, I often bring with me animal skulls and some of them I choose because they display certain abnormalities. This leads to investigation and encourages the children to ask questions - how did it happen? did it affect the animal in its daily life? was it fatal? etc. We will also look closely at the placement of eyes - why are they in a different setting to our own? Why do deer even have antlers and what are they made from? How do they use them? What happens to them when they loose them? Loads of good investigative questions and its great fun to encourage the children to think. They very often surprise themselves!
Children often recognise a Fallow deer skull with its large antlers but not our other smaller deer species. Even a skull with very small antlers present, (such as a Muntjac), children can often think they are a dog or badger. We have 6 species of deer in the UK but 4 of those species have been introduced. Only the Red and Roe deer are truly native.



Two Muntjac skulls being bleached. Bleaching is part of the cleaning preparations of a skull. The bleach must not cover the antlers as it will remove their colour.

Tracking trails.

Snow changes landscapes and also let's us know a great deal more about what some of our wildlife is up to. All kinds of animals will leave their tracks in snow and this gives us an ideal opportunity to track them. It can be great fun to follow tracks in the snow with your children and see where the animal stopped to feed, defecate or even where it got caught and eaten. Perhaps if you are lucky enough, you can track it right up to its front door! The pattern of the tracks vary according to the animals gait so you can see wether it travelled at speed or not. This also gives you a good opportunity to study the different ways in which animals walk. A fox is almost a single line of pad marks as it puts its hind feet into its fore feet prints. A dog staggers its prints. A badger does the same but its prints are wide, larger and point inwards. Be aware that prints get distorted and become enlarged as the snow melts. A domestic cat print can end up looking like you are on the trail of the Beast of Bodmin!

Fox prints (on the right of the photograph), get quickly muddled with a selection of rabbit and pheasant tracks. I wonder if it got a meal that night . . .

First snow fall!

The Oxfordshire landscape changed dramatically overnight as a thick blanket of snow descended. Excitement was doubled when it was confirmed that all local schools were closed. Firstly there were the farm animals to tend to. Cattle to be brought in and water to be defrosted. Hay had to be taken out to sheep still on the hills and a quick check around all our elderly neighbours. Finally, we could get to the serious stuff of the day - sledging and plenty of hot chocolate. My children wanted to know how we get snow in the first place, so I told them. Snow begins as ice crystals that form a cloud when water vapour freezes around minute solid particles in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere. The temperatures are well below 0° C. The individual ice crystals gradually bond, forming beautiful snowflakes. Not one is identical and once the snowflakes are heavy enough, they fall silently to the ground. A mixture of chaos and fun ensues.

1. Icicles form where water drips off the thatch roof and freezes again.
2. Teasel seed heads get a layer of fresh snow.
3. My youngest son bringing his Dexter cows back home so it is easier to care for them during the bad weather.
4. Sledging down the Downs - apparently the only reason we get snow!

Facing our fears.

It is quite natural to have fears. Fear is an emotion that keeps us safe. For example, the fear of being chased makes us run faster, the fear of being burnt keeps us away from hot things and the fear of fast traffic keeps us from crossing the road and getting run over. Fear is a part of us just like joy and pride. The fear of spiders, snakes and scorpions have kept us safe for over a millennia. Our prehistoric ancestors did not have hospitals stocked with anti- venom, they had a fear that kept them away from these creatures. That same fear is still an instinct present in us today. Fear however should be reasonable, and for the very few people who have trouble controlling this fear, it is really unreasonable and extremely stressful. There is hypnotherapy and various other methods, but for someone who processes 'unreasonable' fear it really is very hard to address it until they themselves are truly ready to do so. Most people however, overcome their fear of such creatures by being able to learn more about the object of their fear, then calmly and slowly introducing themselves to it with a knowledgeable person present. Do not be fearful of your fear. Face it sensibly and it may well go away or at least be something you can deal with.

Invertebrates often cause us to feel fear. Do not panic! This is Molly and various members of her family quietly investigating my hand.

New Year, New Life . . .

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a complete life cycle. Breeding invertebrates is fascinating and fun. The Jungle Nymphs are some of the biggest insects we keep here, in fact they are the heaviest of all stick insects so far discovered. The adult females are plump and a really stunning bright green. The males resemble dried up bark, all brown and slender. The babies (nymphs) look similar at this stage in body shape, but the females tend to be a beige colour and the males have a darker brown pattern. They do not take on their final adult form until their final exoskeleton moults (instar). The eggs are quite simply huge! Great big dark grey eggs that get laid into the soil by the female using her ovipositor. It takes patience and diligence for these eggs to hatch. 12 to 14 months to be exact but I certainly feel exhilarated when they do. There is always something exciting and magical about a new birth - even with my insects!

The last great childhood.

I believe I had the last great childhood. This is quite a statement I grant you, but there it is. Now, I know I can not truly claim to have had the last great childhood, but most children I meet and know, are no longer able to run wild in the countryside like we did. I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm. Not isolated, but a sensible distance from most people. We got up in the mornings and went off to explore and play in the woods, hedges, fields, ditches and dare I say it, ponds. We only came back when we were hungry. We did not have mobile phones or electronic toys, we simply played and used the greatest free gift of all, our imagination. It was through this childhood that my passion for natural history was ignited. I collected anything and everything. I had a thirst for knowledge about everything I found and loved reading books on the subject. I reared a variety of injured and orphaned wildlife as pets. It is true that my pets experienced various levels of tolerance from my family. Finding brown rats behind my dressing table will probably stay forever in my Mothers mind. No doubt so will the injured pipistrelle bat that I was successfully nursing back to health- they shared a chance meeting in my wardrobe. The brown hare leverets were loved by all though, until it was discovered they had eaten my Mothers much doted on and prized, Plumbago plant off at the base. It is hard to expect this generation of children to be aware and passionate about our countryside when in today's society we are afraid to let them loose in it. I am no exception. Now married with my own children and still living on a farm, sadly even I do not let them out of my site for long. To truly appreciate our countryside and everything in it, we really need to have had direct contact with it. It's far easier, to loose the things you are not aware even existed in the first place. This is mainly why I set up my Roadshows. I want children to experience just a tiny fragment of what makes up our incredible planet and perhaps they will respect, appreciate and love it in their futures too.


'Hartley' a orphan brown hare leveret I reared and successfully reintroduced way back in the 1970's. Please remember if you do find injured wildlife today, take it to a vet or rescue centre. If you find what you believe to be orphaned wildlife, please leave them alone and seek advice. Their parent might actually not be that far away.

Loving lectures . . .

Brains are incredible things. The human brain maintains a fast growth rate in children, in fact it continues to develop into old age, but a majority of its real growth is done by our early twenties. Childhood is our most exciting stage of development. We learn about and see things for the very first time. I am passionate that an important part of parenting is to help your children learn and support their education. If your child expresses an interest in a subject, try to do what you can to support them and discover it together - remember we adults are still learning too. It's not about hard work, it's about having fun, together. Do not be afraid to attend lectures with your child even if you have never been to one yourself. There are many lecture programmes going on. Most museums run them, for example, the Friends of Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives have a Winter Lecture Programme, http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/leisure-and-culture/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery and although some do charge, a great deal are free perhaps with a donation. Look for the subjects that interest your child, let them choose which ones they would like to go to. Take into account how long they are expected to sit and listen. You know your child best. Google the speaker on the Internet and discuss the subject before you go. If they need help to understand anything you can whisper in their ear to help them. Encourage them to ask a question of their own thought at the end of the lecture in question time, it shows they have been listening. NEVER PUSH YOUR CHILD INTO ASKING A QUESTION. Remember it can be extremely daunting and they need confidence built, not destroyed. Ask a question on their behalf if they prefer that. Perhaps even wait until afterwards, and let them ask the speaker on a one to one basis, when most people have gone. Always thank your speaker and if it was a particularly good lecture, then tell them - they will be grateful of that feedback. With children, I always look for a speaker who will use film and photographs to illustrate their talk. Be prepared to take money with you. Many speakers will be selling their latest book afterwards (optional), and if you buy one, your child will probably want theirs signed. Most books retail at around £25. A good speaker will be passionate about their chosen subject and will want to encourage your child's interest. Do not be afraid, they are normally very approachable if your child would like further information. Children are inspired by other people. Use the opportunity of lectures to inspire your child and learn with them. Great stuff!!




Doug Alan. Marine biologist, diver, author, photographer and the worlds most respected and well known wildlife cameraman specialising in mountains, oceans and polar regions. He thoroughly inspired this child at one of his lectures hosted by the Friends of the Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives.

Bugs in Bronze.

The brilliant thing about what I do is that I actually do not know what is going to crop up next! I was recently contacted by the renown sculptor Belinda Sillars www.belindasillars.com who asked if I could help her with a stag beetle commission. She explained that although she was a wildlife and equestrian sculptor, she had never 'done' an invertebrate. She needed to work from a real specimen, and preferably a dead one, to get it just right.The first problem was that, quite rightly, the British stag beetle (one of the largest insects in the UK), is protected as it is an endangered species. This means amongst other things, that it is illegal to take them from the wild. The second problem was that the stag beetles I have already in my pinned collections, are not British and do therefore, vary in many ways. Luckily I know someone who does legally have British stage beetles - the Hope Entomology Collection which is being preserved and studied at the Oxford University Natural History Museum. I then was able to spend a really fascinating afternoon watching Belinda twist a copper wire 'skeleton' into shape before adding a special wax and sculpturing the body. It was incredible to see her get the exact proportions and also to answer her questions. Why was it so hairy? Why did it have the horns? Can it fly and what does it sound like? How does it stand and hold itself? Why do we pin them with their tongues out? Why are they now endangered? All great observational questions and really fantastic to have an adult so interested. She left happily clutching her model ready to cast into a bronze and I was pleased that we had another bug convert! http://www.ptes.org/?page=192

Can you guess what it is yet . . . ?!

Dead as a Dodo.

Things do have a habit of becoming extinct, just think about the Dinosaurs and all the prehistoric life that went with them including many plants. Extinction is caused by one or many factors such as climate, disease, changes in sea level and of course asteroids. The sad fact is though that now we humans are fast tracking species extinction on a massive scale. By destroying habitats, pollution, over harvesting, global warming and illegal trafficking of species for profit. You can not just recreate a species from DNA and reintroduce it. Science is not able to do that yet and by the time it does, chances are that it will not have enough habitat left to live in. Wildlife parks are brilliant but animals very often need to travel vast distances to migrate or to simply keep their gene pool diverse. These parks are always running a war against poachers and the rarer the creature the higher the price on its head. A high price means people are willing to take bigger risks. Schools now cover rare species in their curriculum and my own son has been telling me all about the White Rhino he is studying in primary school. But let's go smaller and look pass the large mammals, endearing Pandas and fantastic Mountain Gorillas, lets look at the tiny invertebrates. At present one fifth of the world's invertebrates are at risk. That might not sound much until you realize that invertebrates make up around 80% of all animal life. They are the foundation of ecosystems all over the world. For us they recycle waste, pollinate, purify water and keep soils productive. We should do well to remember that.

The remains of mummified Dodos being preserved for science and to remind us that extinction is happening on a large scale in our lifetimes. Now caused by the impact of our species, not an asteroid.

Christmas crackers . . .

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. 2012 has been yet another busy year with so many really fantastic school visits, brilliant media bookings and the chance to meet lots of great people. It has been fun to introduce so many people to the science of Entomology and to encourage loads of kids to see the world they live in from a different perspective. Enjoy your Christmas break and do not forget to get out there into the countryside to walk off the excess and marvel at natures raw beauty.