In this issue of Wings, we look at some recent initiatives to conserve
invertebrates in Britain, including using them as indicators of
habitat quality, and introduce a newly formed conservation organization.
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Our cover shows a female purple emperor (Apatura iris)--one of less than sixty species of butterflies resident in Britain--resting on oak leaves. The country's butterflies have been studied for centuries, resulting in a detailed understanding of their habitat needs and distributions, and threats to their survival. Photograph by Heather Angel. |
BugLife: the Birth of the Invertebrate Conservation Trust Britain is renowned for having had many amateur naturalists over the last few centuries, whose energy and hard work has resulted in much of the advance in knowledge of the British flora and fauna. Wild flowers and vertebrates have been the most popular, which has led most naturalists and many members of the general public to gain an appreciation of such wildlife. Invertebrates have generally been less well understood, their vast diversity proving to be a hurdle to many people. Even John Ray, the great seventeenth century British naturalist, despaired at the task. "Insects I find so numerous," he wrote to his friend Edward Lhwyd in 1695, "and the observation of all the kinds of them, but Papilios, so difficult, that I think I must give it over." Despite the daunting task, amateur entomologists pursued their interest.
Professionals have generally been more concerned with pest control or
studying the fauna from the former British Empire. Apart from butterflies
and moths (Lepidoptera) and beetles (Coleoptera), there has been a rather
uneven and often sparse number of people with expert knowledge on invertebrates
to support their efforts. On the whole, those studying invertebrates
were so busy on their time-consuming hobby that they did not participate
in conservation. To compound this, entomologists were considered suspect
as conservationists because they did the unforgivable-collect-when other
naturalists had repented of such vices. As a result, the policies and
actions of the conservation movement largely breezed on in blissful
ignorance of the majority of animal life: it was assumed that invertebrates
would look after themselves if plants and vertebrates were protected!
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Fortunately, over the years there were initiatives to protect
some invertebrate groups, especially the colourful, showy ones. First
butterflies and then dragonflies became accepted as interesting to the
general public, and the perception that invertebrates deserved a better
deal gradually gained ground. In the last decade, both Butterfly Conservation
and the British Dragonfly Society have flourished in membership and in
conservation action. Recently there has also been an enormous growth in
publications that assist the study and identification of invertebrates,
and of recording schemes and study groups that have resulted in many more
people being enthused about such animals.
For invertebrate conservation in Britain, the big breakthrough was
the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Agreements at the Earth
Summit led to the subsequent development of the Biodiversity Action
Plan for Britain. This effectively treats all wildlife as equal, so
one does not have to justify that a tiny black beetle is as important
as an eagle or an orchid, or that biodiversity means maintaining total
richness of habitats, not just the big and obvious wildlife. |
It has been essential to ensure that the conservation movement as a whole is behind BugLife. At an Invertebrate Link conference in March 2001, BugLife was pre-launched to inform and consult societies and conservation organisations. There is now an impressive list of invertebrate societies, national conservation societies, government agencies, and some major museums who have "welcomed" the formation of BugLife, demonstrating unity of purpose in addressing the problems and reassuring potential sponsors. Many of these organisations have been invited to be corporate members, becoming stakeholders in the enterprise. We have established a close relationship with Butterfly Conservation, in particular, to ensure harmonious relations and cooperation on future joint projects where butterflies are a significant component of a broader invertebrate issue. There is a Memorandum of Understanding with Butterfly Conservation, and that society has an observer on the BugLife board (and a reciprocal arrangement on Butterfly Conservation's conservation committee). In February of this year, BugLife became a reality, as the first staff
became operational. Matt Shardlow is the director of conservation, and
Alex Ramsey, is the biodiversity project manager; both have extensive
experience in invertebrate conservation. They are based in Peterborough,
a city ninety miles north of London that is home to English Nature (the
government wildlife agency) and strategically convenient for a number
of other agencies and major voluntary conservation organisations with
whom BugLife will work. |
 The hoverfly Criorhina floccosa, in Britain found mainly in southern Englad, is closely associated with old trees. Photograph by Roger Key. |
We envisage BugLife will have an early concentration on Habitat Action Plans (including for unsung invertebrate habitats) and developing a web site for invertebrate conservation information, along with a big push on awareness, understanding, and training. The initial focus is on the future of the thirty thousand freshwater and terrestrial invertebrates in Britain, and the future species diversity of habitats. Our main concern is to influence the priorities and policies of others. There are many options for maintaining, enhancing, and restoring habitats, and we have to ensure that there is a proper understanding of the invertebrate life at stake, its requirements, and which options are best for a holistic biodiversity approach. Some habitats of little interest to others need to be promoted-for instance urban and post-industrial wasteland-and who else will be concerned about the continuity of the right type of dung?
Whether BugLife can or should develop an international role is undecided. What is certain is that Britain has a considerable amount of experience and development of knowledge on applied invertebrate conservation that will be useful elsewhere, especially in Europe, where a wider view of species and habitat status and problems is very relevant. We see the development of a web site for information and advice (as a one-stop shop for the conservation movement and naturalists) as making our experience available in Britain and worldwide.
The creation of a new conservation organisation in Britain, especially one that will take a leading role nationally, is always notable. Creation of BugLife is, in many ways, more significant. It is opening up new possibilities for recognition of the majority of the nation's wildlife and actively working towards changed conservation priorities, ensuring a more secure future for the true diversity of Britain's wildlife.
Alan Stubbs is a Trustee and the Secretary of BugLife, the
Invertebrate Conservation Trust.
Other articles in this issue include:
- "Marsh Bloodsuckers," by Andrew Nixon and Helen McConnell
- "Stag Beetles" by Valerie Keeble
- "Moccas, an English Deer Park" by Roger S. Key
- Two Book Reviews by Robert Michael Pyle
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