Entomology trip to the African Natural History Research Trust

Last month, second year students from the BSc Zoology with Entomology visited the African Natural History Research Trust (ANHRT). The charitable organisation welcomed the students to learn about African natural history and the research behind the species that are shown in their collection.

A couple of weeks ago I took my #entomology undergrad students to the African Natural History Research Trust https://t.co/qzQepaXakn.

I'm super behind on tweeting about but here is a quick catch-up on what we did! pic.twitter.com/ho6Dc4DgVB

— Dr Heather Campbell (@scienceheather) December 9, 2019

In studying the 'Introduction to Entomology' module, the students are observing specimens from across the globe, gaining a rounded understanding of many species. They were shown around the facilities including the state of the art laboratories and library. Along with this, the students observed pinned specimens and were then given the opportunity to pin their own African Lepidoptera.

We started with a tour of their library, which has a huge wealth of literature on African natural history as well as this beautiful globe pic.twitter.com/ClI2xPupXl

— Dr Heather Campbell (@scienceheather) December 9, 2019

One of the highlights of the trip to ANHRT was getting to have a look through their pinned specimen collections pic.twitter.com/BjpLPOCHpS

— Dr Heather Campbell (@scienceheather) December 9, 2019

ANHRT have a team dedicated to the collection and expanding their research of different moths and butterflies. Due to the rapid growth of Africa's industry, the habitats of the these species are being lost and damaged beyond repair so the work of the ANHRT is vital in learning about these rare creatures. Equally, with the students learning about entomology, they can take this research forward, perhaps working towards ways of conserving habits under threat themselves.

To finish off the afternoon the @HarperAdamsUni #entomology students had an opportunity to pin some African Lepidoptera pic.twitter.com/GQfR4dorEH

— Dr Heather Campbell (@scienceheather) December 9, 2019

Dr Heather Campbell, organiser of the trip, spoke about the experience as positive and rewarding for the students who were "endlessly enthusiastic" in gaining expertise from "wonderful hosts who generously donated their time to the next generation of entomologists".

To find out more about the BSc Zoology and Entomology course you can click here.