The Origins of the Study of Bees, Wasps and Ants in Staffordshire

The Victorian age, with its spirit of diligent enquiry and delight in classification, encouraged a considerable number of entomologists, amateur and professional, throughout the British Isles. The outpouring of publications during this era saw Sir Oswald Mosley produce the seminal Natural History of Tutbury (1863) - a work which can claim to lay the foundation of formal entomological recording in the county. It was also remarkable in that it included not only information on Lepidoptera (the focus of so much contemporary attention) but an abundance of other insects. The Hymenoptera records therein, mostly compiled by Edwin Brown, formed the basis of the first Staffordshire list in the Victoria History of the County of Stafford (part 1. 1908.).

The study of Aculeates nationally was given a considerable boost by the publication in 1896 of the Hymenoptera Aculeata of the British Islands, by Edward Saunders. This was to be the standard work on the group for many years and the author was to be of considerable personal assistance to a number of Staffordshire workers in confirmation of identifications, J.R.B.Masefield being a case in point. The Bombus and Psithyrus records of Masefield and B. Bentley are reviewed by B.Bryan, in 1921. It almost goes without saying that contemporary churchmen had an important hand in study of Aculeates. Staffordshire had three redoubtable representatives in the shape of Rev. F.C.R.Jourdain, Rev. F.D.Morice and Rev. H.W.Daltry. As with most of their contemporaries, they were excellent general naturalists also finding time to give detailed study to Aculeates. Along with much other work, Jourdain compiled the Victoria County History list, Morice was an expert on several aculeate families, and Daltry had a profound influence on the recording of flora and fauna in the county at large.

Active during the early part of the twentieth century was L.A.Carr. Nephew of Prof. J.W.Carr of Nottingham Natural History Museum, Carr was an enthusiastic Hymenopterist, covering many different groups. He was a gifted taxonomist, recording mainly from the Lichfield area. A correspondent with many eminent figures such as Schmiedeknecht and C.Morley, he did not seem to regard Aculeates with any particular affection, his paper indicating that he handed his specimens over to Morice for identification. In his own words 'I have not indicated the relative frequency of the species as I only collected them very occasionally and then only took one or two even if numbers were seen.' Brevity of information has proved to be something of a general obstacle when reviewing these records for inclusion in a contemporary list.

Whilst Rev. T.W.Daltry had been influential in earlier times, the work of his son H.W.Daltry was to be very significant in the history of local invertebrate studies as the century moved on. Collecting material from a variety of insect orders, he concentrated for a considerable period on Hymenoptera, collaborating with H.Britten, a notable entomologist both at local and national level. He also referred material to Dr. O.W.Richards, arguably the most eminent Hymenopterist of the day.

More recent times have seen the formation of the Staffordshire Invertebrate Group comprised of individuals currently interested in insects in which D.W.Emley and M.Waterhouse were particularly active. The latter actively collected Aculeates from a number of sites, whilst the former along with much other valuable research, produced a provisional manuscript check list based on the work of the aforementioned entomologists.

Other members of the group, including the present authors, recently undertook to expand Aculeate survey, partly in response to current national biodiversity initiatives but in particular to the attempts being made by the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS) to evaluate the current status of all Aculeates nationally. Today sees the work unfolding, with the assistance of notable members of BWARS such as Dr. M.E.Archer and S.J.Falk.(Warwick Museum), who have not only checked identifications, but have also collected in the county themselves.

It is hoped that this paper will encourage workers to fill in the obvious gaps in our knowledge, enabling the production of a Staffordshire Biological Recording Scheme Publication on Aculeates in the near future.