Common Blue butterfly by Lydia Armstrong
Insects seen in Nannie’s Garden by Toby Ward
Wasp Beetle by Willow Bland
Large Red Damselfly Georgina Mason
Great Green Cricket by Kate Tabrett
Mosquito by Lee Copping
On a warm and sunny Sunday morning in early July about forty people, young and old alike, gathered in the lovely old barn at Alder Carr Farm, Needham Market. The walls were decorated with wonderful drawings and photographs of insects – entries in the National Insect Week Insect Drawing and Photography Competition. This was the prize-giving event. A host of proud and happy winners were given their prizes by Joan Hardingham, Chairman of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society. Full details are given below.
The first ever National Insect Week, sponsored by Castle Cement, was an initiative of the Royal Entomological Society (RES). The Week was launched at the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum in London on Monday 14 June. A vast range of local and national activities during the week succeeded in bringing the amazing world of insects closer to everyone. Museums, institutions and insect groups across the country held their own insect events. In addition the RES also launched a National Bumble Bee Nest Survey* in conjunction with Rothamsted Research and Insect Watch. Members of the public joined in to survey insects in their gardens, schoolyards and local parks to get a better idea of insect life in the UK. The aim was to encourage the general public to get involved in entomology and learn more about the fascinating world of insects.
Locally the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society played a full role in National Insect Week, and with their wealth of knowledge and experience, SNS members are supporting the National Bumble Bee Nest Survey and Insect Watch. Members also supported events organised by IpswichMuseum.
SNS joined forces with The East Anglian Daily Times to organise photographic and drawing competitions to encourage people to take a closer look at the millions of insects that inhabit the parks and gardens of Suffolk.
Common Blue butterfly by Lydia Armstrong
Insects seen in Nannie’s Garden by Toby Ward
Wasp Beetle by Willow Bland
Large Red Damselfly Georgina Mason
Great Green Cricket by Kate Tabrett
Mosquito by Lee Copping
Prizewinners in the various categories of the competition are as follows.
The Big Bug Drawing Competition (for children aged under 11) Subject: Insects in my garden / insects in the park
First prize: Lydia Armstrong for drawing of common blue butterfly.
(Free family membership of SNS for 2004, a nature viewer and the Dorling
Kindersley book Eyewitness: Insect)
Second prize: Toby Ward for drawing of insects seen in Nannie’s garden.
(A nature viewer and the Field Studies Council field identification charts: Guide to the Bugs on Bushes; Woodland Name Trail; and Freshwater Name Trail.) Third prize: Willow Bland for drawing of wasp beetle
(A nature viewer and the Field Studies Council field identification chart Guide to the Bugs on Bushes.)
Highly Commended: Lucy Arditi for drawing of mullein moth caterpillar; Emily Bland for drawing of lacewing; Minna Bland for drawing of longhorn beetle; Ruby Budd for drawing of peacock butterfly; Sascha Macklin for drawing of dragonfly; Isabelle Tabrett for drawing of orange tip.
(Drawing pads and pencils)
Insect Illustrator Competition (for young people aged 11 to 16)
Subject: Detailed studies of a single insect in the style of field guides or of scientific diagrams
First Prize: Georgina Mason for diagram of large red damselfly
(Free family membership of SNS for 2004, a hand lens, an insect net, collecting tubes, and the Dorling Kindersley Handbook Insects, spiders and other terrestrial arthropods.)
Second prize: Kate Tabrett for drawing of great green cricket
(A hand lens, collecting tubes and the Collins wild guide to Insects.) Third prize: Lee Copping for drawing of mosquito
(A hand lens, collecting tubes and the Field Studies Council field identification chart Guide to British Grasshoppers and allied Insects.)
Highly Commended: Francesca Benson for drawing of spider.
(Field Studies Council field identification chart for spiders)
Photographic Competition (for people of any age) Subject: Suffolk Insects
First prize: Steve Hooper-Lawrie for photo of hoverfly (Syrphus ribesii)
(Free individual membership of SNS for 2004, plus a full set of SNS publications including The Butterflies of Suffolk, The Millennium Atlas of Suffolk Butterflies and Suffolk Dragonflies)
Second prize: Mr P. Darling for photo of stinkbug
(A copy of The Butterflies of Suffolk and of The Millennium Atlas of Suffolk Butterflies )
Third prize: Matt Berry for photo of painted lady
(A copy of Suffolk Dragonflies)
Highly Commended: Gerry Cole for photo of bumblebee; Laura Watson for photo of fly.
(Copy of Natural History Transactions 2004)
* Details of the National Bumblebee Nest Survey are available on www.rothamsted.ac.uk or by post from Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ.
© 2004 Suffolk Naturalists' Society
used by kind permision.