BUG alert
bugalert
BUGalert, set up to provide those looking for butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies with up-to-date information regarding their sightings. Rare Bird Alert is second-to-none with bird information but, as yet, no-one has offered the same alternative for bugs. A huge ammount of effort can be spent scanning through the plethora of Lepidoptera and Odonata websites that give snippets of information whereas much valuable time could be saved by having to hand a resource such as BUGalert - particularly if one is planning a long drive without even knowing if the butterfly or dragonfly has been reported from the site you are aiming for. Two 'dips' of my own in the last two years for Azure Hawker (over 2,000 miles and no digs)  went a long way to inspiring this project.  I hope you will find it useful.
From the start of 2012, many of my bug-hunting colleagues rang -in or emailed-in their findings straight from the field or soon after getting home. This is how the service provided by Rare Bird Alert is able to perform so efficiently. And I want the same for bug-hunters. Sure, I could go through various sources of data every evening and collate the observations, but it would be much more fun if we all felt part of a team and got our own information out there for our mates to use as soon as possible.

Log your sighting by telephone 01485 576187

HOW TO USE THE BUGALERT WEBSITE. 


My colleague, Roland Alderson, and I have made it as simple as possible:

1. Home page. You're on it! This tells you the basic reasons for setting up the service and what it offers.

2. Bugalert page. Here you will be given the options of looking at three sections:

  Butterflies. Daily reports for the current year of important butterfly sightings throughout the British Isles.
  Dragonflies. Daily reports for the current year of important dragonfly and damselfly sightings throughout the British Isles.
  Archive. All previous years' records of butterflies (to subspecies), dragonflies and damselflies from throughout the British Isles.

3. Archive page. A direct link to the archive of records collected since 2011 (and a few earlier data for some of the subspecies).

4. Gazeteer page. A list of sites for records received with OS Grid References.

5. Gallery page. A collection of the photo's I've taken on my trips of birds, butterflies, dragonflies and orchids. Here one can also see shots of habitats and larval hostplants where these are deemed useful. There is a search engine that can be used to find specific species.

6. About page. Tells you a bit about what I've done during my career as an entomologist and author.

7. Contact page. All of the contact details needed to report sightings and a selection of links for other recommended websites.
 

Happy hunting and get those records rolling in so that we can all share the beauty of our six-legged friends.
 

Adrian Riley
    

 
Adrian Riley

Adrian Riley on location Outer Hebrides

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