Join Darren Mann and Ceri Watkins from the Dung beetle UK Mapping Project (DUMP), for a two-day introductory course on British dung beetle identification.

Dung beetles are important recyclers across the globe as they provide a range of valuable ecosystem services. In the UK, there are approximately 60 species within the Scarab group that are coprophagous (dung eating), including rare and threatened species occurring in North West England such as Aphodius brevis with the only UK site a restricted area of the Sefton Coast. However, there are few Coleopterists recording in the Lancashire and Cheshire, which limits our understanding of how the dung beetle fauna is changing. We hope we can convince you to help!

On day one (Friday), we’ll be in World Museum learning about dung beetle lifecycles, ecology and conservation, and practising identifications of museum specimens using microscopes and dichotomous keys. On Saturday we’ll be out in the field at Gowy Meadows, a Cheshire Wildlife Trust reserve, learning how to sample, survey and record dung beetles.

Please ensure that you bring suitable outdoor clothing and footwear. All equipment including gloves and sampling trays, sieves and sampling pots will be provided.  This workshop is suitable for those with some prior experience of identifying insects and an interest in biological recording.

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided but participants should bring a packed lunch to Holly Bank House but there’s also the option of World Museum café on day one.

Venues: World Museum (day 1) & Holly Bank House (day 2)

Access: There are lifts between each of the floors in World Museum and assistance dogs are permitted. Unfortunately Gowy Meadows (field day based at Holly Bank House) is not suitable for wheelchairs.