AES South Downs Field Meeting 2017

Event description

We will be accompanied on this field meeting by Jon Curson, Natural England's specialist entomologist.

The main attraction will be the Wartbiter Bush-crickets, along with other chalk grassland Orthoptera, butterflies, and other insects.

If the weather is good, this is a great opportunity to see - and hear - some of the rarest insects in Britain!

The start time is 10:30 am, until 3:00 pm or 4:00 pm. Meet in the village of Glynde, at the start of Ranscombe Lane (there is a public car park - please see map JPG 184K). From the public car park it is about a 2 km walk to where our main target species are, on the south slope of the reserve - half hour's walk or a little more.

We will be accompanied on this field meeting by Jon Curson, Natural England's specialist entomologist, who has been working on the conservation of the main attraction on this site, the Wart-biter Bush-cricket (Decticus verrucivorus).

Please note: These are incredibly rare and vulnerable insects, so disturbance or trampling risk needs to be minimised. Also, seeing and hearing the wart-biter is very weather dependent! If it is cloudy and/or windy, the chances of seeing or hearing them are significantly reduced.