Moor Invertebrates Project

Dartmoor National Park, with its vast expanses of moorland, river valleys, and granite outcrops, covers an impressive 368 square mile (235,520 acre) area in Devon, Southwest England. It supports a diverse range of habitats from hay meadows to wetlands to oak woodlands, for an equally diverse – and in many cases, increasingly rare – collection of wildlife.

In recent years, habitat loss and/or degradation, commercial forestry management, effects of livestock and human activity, poor water quality and climate change have threatened the survival of many invertebrate species.

What will the project do?

The Moor Invertebrates project’s primary goal is to restore and improve habitat management within Dartmoor National Park to ensure the long-term survival of eight priority species. If successful, the project will expand habitat connectivity within the Dartmoor IIA (Important Invertebrate Area) boundary and B-line.

By surveying sites for target species, the project – in this first nine-month developmental phase – will improve our knowledge of their ecology and distribution. This will help us better understand where to focus efforts during the proceeding four-year delivery phase of the project.

Working with landowners

Engaging with landowners and organisations working within the national park is key to this project. We aim to work with 12 landowners to record species on their land, plan species surveys, and outline any required habitat. 10-year landowner agreements will be produced to help safeguard these sites that are home to threatened invertebrate species for the next decade.

Raising awareness

This project will help to raise awareness of the Dartmoor IIA and B-Lines that pass around and via the park, as well as the invertebrates that call the National Park home. This will be done by engaging with local communities through a series of events and recording workshops.

These events and workshops include:

• Bug hunts and nature walks to discuss the priority species, the IIA, and B-Lines.
• Habitat work such as invasive species removal.
• Public training workshops to identify and record priority invertebrates and other species.

Through these events and workshops, we will increase wildlife recording across Dartmoor National Park and aim to inspire the next generation of entomologists.

How can I get involved?

We aim to recruit volunteers to support the project through species surveys, habitat monitoring, and event delivery. If you’d like to know more about joining our training and volunteer recruitment events, or would like to know any further information about our Moors Invertebrates Project, please get in touch with Conservation Officer Laura Krusin via email on [email protected].

Members of the public are also invited to join in the Blue Ground Beetle Hunt – a very rare species in the UK, known only at 15 sites, including those in Dartmoor.

Last but not least, we encourage you to log any sightings via the iRecord app.