Insect Science & Art Workshop

In early October 2020, before it got too cold for bugs we dragged bug expert Tom Atkins away from his research work in the Woods, and joined forces with the OU Natural History Museum and The Ashmolean to put on a fabulous event on insects. A group of teenagers joined us to hunt for bugs in the leaf litter and deadwood in the Woods. Treasures were a MASSIVE hornet which made one of our collecting bugs vibrate she was so cross with being captured (we put her back where she wanted to be as she was heading for hibernation), an ichneumon wasp, and a devil’s coach horse beetle. And Tom brought two very cute and active Minotaur beetles that he had borrowed from Shotover for a couple of days. Sarah Lloyd from NHM brought some beautiful moths from their collection and gave a fabulous talk on the breadth of the insects and how they are related in families. Clare Cory from the Ashmolean brought slides of some of the beautiful pieces of art in the museum which depict insects, including some which were used by artists to show their skills so that they would be recruited to add the insects onto other works! Then we sat quietly, warmed by the camp fire, and drew. For information about future events follow Wytham Woods on Eventbrite or Twitter!