Sarah bugs beetles after travels

Nov 6 2007 by Meyrick Brown, Western Mail

SURROUNDED by water, the British Isles have always enjoyed a measure of protection from most forms of invasion by flying insects, reptiles and other forms of unwelcome wildlife.

The species of midges responsible for bluetongue disease is an exception that was watched and feared by the agricultural community as the insects progressed towards northern Europe.

Sarah Beynon does not wait for such creatures to come to her. She is prepared to travel to explore the habitat of all forms of creepy crawlies. Beetles mean adventure.

The Oxford University graduate from St Davids recently returned from carrying out research with an entomologist in Bolivia and, while in the area, travelled to Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Peru and the amazing Galapagos group of islands, which Charles Darwin found so productive.

Overcoming language difficulties through a crash course in Spanish, she was thrilled to take in deep jungle and rain forest areas – complete with tree climbing snakes.

“The scenery was outstanding – out of this world,” says Sarah, a daughter of noted Welsh Black cattle breeders John and Pauline Beynon.

She went to Lake Titicaca, where families of up to 30 people live on plateaux of floating reeds and regions of glaciers, and followed the incredible Inca trail.

Sarah worked alongside other researchers in Operation Wallacea, a series of biological and social science projects that operate in remote locations across the world.

These expeditions are designed with specific wildlife conservation aims in mind – from identifying areas needing protection through to implementing and assessing conservation management programmes.

What is so different about Operation Wallacea is that the large teams of university academics, who specialise in various aspects of bio-diversity or social and economic studies, are concentrated at the target study sites.

Three years ago Sarah carried out some course studies in Indonesia and also toured Zambia, undertaking funded research.

Now official beetle recorder for Pembrokeshire, Sarah is anxious to share the knowledge that she has gained with other students.

She has discovered a number of ground beetle creatures, very rare to the UK, at organic and non-organic locations in the county and along the coastal path. She has already identified 1,000 species.

She says it is possible to get an idea of which beetles are present simply by disturbing the soil and undergrowth, but it is also quite easy to miss some species due to their speed or ability to camouflage themselves, so several other methods are preferred.

Having previously functioned within the West Wales Bio-diversity centre and with a research consultancy group she is now working in her own laboratory towards achieving her PhD.