Main PageFrom Staffordshire Invertebrate Group
About SIGSIG is a group of invertebrate enthusiasts with a breadth and depth of knowledge covering many invertebrate groups from bees to molluscs and from novice to expert. Meetings are informal and purely a chance for like-minded folk to get together. Anybody is free to join in, there is no membership fee, all you need to bring is your interest and enthusiasm. We are now on Facebook so go and check us out on there for up-to-date discussions and photos. RecordsMany of the group are active recorders and numerous are the county contact for invertebrate groups including bees and wasps, dragonflies and damselflies, hoverflies, craneflies and spiders. All these records are passed on to Staffordshire Ecological Record (SER) where SIG members have contributed to over 500,000 invertebrate records in Staffordshire. All invertebrate records should go to the Staffordshire Ecological Record (SER Email: info@staffs-ecology.org.uk) first and then these can be sent to the County Recorders for confirmation via the SIG Record Compiler (C. Slawson). SER is the county body responsible for collating records and forwarding them on to the SWT Grading Committee and other relevant organisations. Field MeetingsWeather permitting, the group tries to undertake field surveys during the spring and summer. These are in geographical areas of interest or to target key species or groups that need attention such as the small blue (Cupido minimus) or in 2011 and 2012, there will be a focus on Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) to help complete coverage of the UK atlas. Very often field meetings are simply an excuse to amble about a nice area of the countryside photographing and recording invertebrates.  Over the past few years we have been targeting the small blue. This scarce UKBAP butterflies is not known form Staffordshire but certain areas offer potential for this species. We have surveyed a number of sites to date and identified potential sites to revisit at the appropriate flight time of the butterfly. In 2011, we hope to be able to search for this species in earnest. Another area of study is assisting the British Dragonfly Society complete much needed fieldwork in Staffordshire to discover what species are in the county and how abundant they are. Will be starting to survey for these in May. Anybody is welcome to attend these field or indoor meetings. To find out more please email Andy Jukes to find out more and how you can get involved. Indoor MeetingsWe have a twice yearly indoor meeting, normally this falls in December and February (AGM). These indoor meetings take the form of a general discussion about invertebrates, talks from members and also presentation of any interesting species recorded or collected during the year. The December or Christmas meeting has become a much anticipated meeting where members bring food and we view photos and specimens of exciting finds during the year. This is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to find out the identity of problematic specimens or learn about new groups. SIG Officers
for more information on role responsibilities, SIG remit and panel members see Information in Archive In DevelopmentWe are just in the process of developing a new web-site, the outline of the original site is included below.
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