Minibeast Safari Day

Wednesday, August 28th 2019

Three Minibeast events took place at Foxglove throughout the day. These were led by Dr Roger and Rosy Key who are both well known entomologists or as they describe themselves 'walking books with a few missing pages'!  With over 30, 000 different types of invertebrates to study, it would be impossible to learn them all!

The day began with a workshop for adults who work with children and at the start of each session Roger and Rosy demonstrated the specialist equipment that would be used to capture and study the creatures found.

With pooters, sweep (or swish) nets and plenty of small containers each group was well equipped. A small area close to the Heathland was the perfect place to begin and was near to the field centre in case of a heavy downpour!

Late in the morning, some of the finds were taken back to the classroom to be identified with the help of microscopes and reference books.

An interesting specimen was this Swallowtail Moth caterpillar that when disturbed became a master of camouflage by standing at a 45 degree angle and imitating a twig.

The weather held off in the main and both adults and children enjoyed testing out their newfound entomological skills!

There was a lot of discussion about the various animals that were caught and Roger used many amusing anecdotes to help people remember their names.

Our sincere thanks to Roger and Rosy for giving up their time and for sharing their incredible knowledge, hopefully there may be a few future entomologists as a result!

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