The Buggers

Over Easter we had three entomologists (people who study bugs) from Buglife visit. The three Rs (Richard, Rosey & Roger) had come out as part of a scoping project towards looking at developing a larger project involving conservation of St Helena's unique invertebrate fauna. We had fun with them, and they seemed to enjoy themselves - at least they regularly (every 5 to ten minutes) got very excited about some very small obscure six-legged critter. Mind you, many of the invertebrates on the island are endemic and so there are a lot of things to get excited about.

The three Rs looking out over a cliff and wondering how they would get bugs off something that is vertical, windswept and about 100m high!

Roger and Richard either sunbathing or looking at bugs on a beach. Since Roger's got a specimen jar in his hand I guess they're hunting inverts

One of their techniques was the innovative use of a reversed leaf-blower to vacuum insects ....

 .... though Roger seemed blissfully unaware of the symbolism of this tool.

They searched long and hard. Rosy sweep netting a very lonely wild mango

Richard sought them here ...

And Rosy sought them there too

They caught things too! Roger with Isometrus maculatus - in other words, a scorpion

The endemic hoverfly Loveridgeana beattiei, a regular visitor to the flowers of endemic Saint Helena plants and probably one of the most important pollinators left

And just to remind any entomologists out there - without plants you wouldn't have a job