Invertebrates

BIOSCAN

Since 2023, the OpenLiving Labs has been supporting the Wellcome Sanger Institute on the BIOSCAN project, which aims to explore the genetic diversity of one million flying insects across the UK. We sample from two areas on site using a malaise trap and prepare specimens that are sent to Sanger for sequencing using DNA barcoding, which is a technique that identifies species by reading a unique stretch of their DNA. We also carry out some in-house identification, which helps to complement the sequencing work. You can see the species we have found by looking at our Report Card on the BIOSCAN website and searching “Open University” on the “Partner” filter. You can then filter these data further by Order, Family, Genus or Species.

How we collect the data

We make monthly samples of two distinct areas within the OpenLiving Labs: an area of riparian woodland and the edge of a floodplain meadow. Riparian woodland is a type of wet woodland typically found alongside rivers and other watercourses. Floodplain meadows, by contrast, are unimproved grasslands that experience flooding and also typically also found by watercourses. While these two habitats may appear similar, they represent different stages of ecological succession: without management, floodplain meadows would gradually transition through scrub toward woodland, potentially developing into riparian woodland depending on local conditions. Therefore, these sites have unique biophysical characteristics, potentially resulting in unique communities of invertebrates.

We collect our insect samples using malaise traps positioned within these two sites at Open Living Labs. These traps were strategically arranged to intercept insects flying toward the River Ouzel, which flows through the site.

A malaise trap is a widely used and effective method for sampling flying insects. Structurally, it resembles a tent, with fine mesh walls that act as a barrier. When insects encounter the mesh, their natural escape response is to fly upward. The trap exploits this behaviour, guiding them into a collecting head that funnels into a catch pot containing ethanol. The ethanol both immobilises and preserves the specimens, ensuring they remain intact for later identification and analysis.

Malaise traps are particularly effective for capturing a wide range of insects, especially Diptera (flies) and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and often saw flies in this context), which are otherwise difficult to sample comprehensively. By operating the traps consistently across sampling periods, we can compare changes in insect abundance and diversity between the riparian woodland and floodplain meadow habitats, and track seasonal variation across the year. When specimens are collected and the malaise trap emptied, they are identified as close to species level as possible.

What have we found?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority (66%) of species we find across both sites are the flies, the order Diptera. This does include houseflies (Musca domestica) and the widely recognisable Blue Bottle, affectionately named Calliphora vomitoria, but also includes the bee and wasp mimicking hoverflies, which have an aquatic larval stage.

Our next most common order is the Hymenoptera; bees, wasps, sawflies and ants (although we don’t catch many of the former). Among these, the most common are wasps, although perhaps not the ones you’re imagining. Our most common wasps are those of the family Braconidae, small black and red wasps that don’t sting people, but lay eggs inside other insects, including Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) and Coleoptera (Beetles) as part of their reproductive cycle.

We also collected many True Bugs (order Hemiptera) across both sites. True bugs are a particular group of insects, distinct from beetles and other look-alikes. They are generally recognised by their long, thin mouthparts, which are adapted for piercing and sucking rather than biting. Many species feed on plant sap, while others are predators and feed on animal fluids.

Above is an example of a remarkable and unusual Scorpion fly most likely to be Panorpa communis from a catch in the riparian site during August 2025. These species are closely associated with woodland, and this specimen is our first and only record of any species from the order Mecoptera.

This method of sampling is effective at not only collecting a wider diversity of species, but also those that are difficult or impossible to identify in the field. However, it does not collect everything, and we have future plans to conduct non-destructive moth trapping and setup a butterfly transect in 2026 to monitor the insect diversity of the entire site in multiple different ways.