Butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies and birds are my main interests. Welcome to BUGalert. This site was set up in 2011 to provide a service that would keep those looking for butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies as up-to-date as possible with incoming information regarding their sightings. Rare Bird Alert is second-to-none with bird information but, as yet, no-one has offered the same alternative for bugs. A huge ammount of effort can be spent scanning through the plethora of Lepidoptera and Odonata websites that give snippets of information where, I'm sure from personal experience, much valuable time could be saved by having to hand a resource such as BUGalert. I recall many instances when I would have been grateful for such a database. Particularly if one is planning a long drive without even knowing if the butterfly or dragonfly has been reported from the site you are aiming for. Two 'dips' in the last two years for Azure Hawker (over 2,000 miles, no digs and 'loadsamoney') inspired this project.  I hope you will find it useful, too.

I have gathered the whole of 2011's records as a 'taster' and present these on my BUGalert page. Hopefully, this will give the reader an idea of what I hope to provide. These records have been gleaned from my own notebooks, those of my friends, and the informative websites of Rare Bird Alert, uk dragonflies, the British Dragonfly Society, uk butterflies and the various regional sites of Butterfly Conservation. I hereby thank all of their participants for such enlightening (and often humerous) postings.

HOWEVER, From the start of 2012, I hope that my bug-hunting colleagues will ring-in or email-in their findings straight from the field (or, at least, soon after). This is how the service provided by Rare Bird Alert is able to perform so efficiently. And I want the same for bug-hunters. Sure, I can go through the websites every evening and post their observations, but it would be great for us all if we all felt part of a team and got our information out there for our mates as soon as possible.

HOW TO USE THE BUGALERT WEBSITE. 

My colleague, Roland Alderson, and I have made it as simple as possible:

1. Home page. You're on it! This tells you the basic reasons for setting up the service and what it offers.

2. Bugalert page. Here you will be given the options of looking at three sections:

Butterflies. Up-to-the minute reports of butterflies throughout the British Isles.
Dragonflies. Up-to-the minute reports of dragonflies and damselflies throughout the British Isles.
Archive. All of the previous year's records of butterflies and dragonflies and damselflies from throughout the British Isles.

3. Gallery page.A collection of the photo's I've taken on my trips. Birds, butterflies, dragonflies and orchids. May add a few more pages later
if Roland will let me!

4. About page. Tells you a bit about what I've done during my career as an entomoligist and why I feel ok about giving this important project a shot.

5. Contact page. All of the contact details needed to report sightings and a selaction of links for other recommended websites.
The 'Join Bugalert' system will become operational at the start of the 2012 season.
 

Happy hunting and get those records rolling in so that we can all share the beauty of our six-legged friends.
 

Adrian Riley