Autumn meeting and AGM 2026: Saturday 10th October 13:00 – 16:00 at World Museum, Liverpool. Free. Booking essential. Please contact the Secretary if you would like collections and facilities access in the morning, or if you’d like to offer a short contribution / make an announcement (up to 5 mins).

Programme

12:45 – Arrival

13:00 – Welcome

13:05 – AGM (separate agenda)

13:35 – How to Study Ants (and Travel the World) – Assoc. Prof. Heather Cambell (Harper Adams University)

14:00 – Detecting rare invertebrates using eDNA: A pilot study to detect Anabolia brevipennis

 – Dr Lucia Galvez Bravo (Liverpool John Moores University)

14:25 – Comfort break and networking

14:50 – Insect decline in the Anthropocene – are all insect groups heading in the same direction? – Prof. James Bell (Keele University)

15:15 – 2026 West Lancs invertebrate highlights – John Wright

15:30 – An undescribed Agrypon wasp – Josh Boe

15:35 – Comfort break

15:50 – The expansion of Erigone dentosa – Dominic Best

15:55 – NW inverts website atlas / stats pages demo – Gary Hedges

16:00 – Be vigilant, the enemy is around! – Dr Ian Wallace

16:10 – LCES member short contributions

16:25 – Round up and close – Pete Brash (Chair)

The Society

Founded in 1877, the society is a registered charity (no. 508729) aiming to further the study of insects and allies groups in North West England and North Wales. The society’s current activities are centred around two afternoon meetings per year at World Museum, Liverpool with two or three main entomological talks and various shorter contributions from the membership.

In 2023, the society donated it’s British Lepidoptera specimen collection comprising 80 drawers across two cabinets to National Museums Liverpool. They are housed in the Entomology Collections at World Museum. This is most useful as a synoptic collection of the British fauna, particularly for macro-Lepidoptera and local species. This collection is still fully accessible to members and other users alike.

The society also donated it’s invertebrate library comprising a few hundred books and journals, to National Museums Liverpool and they are housed within the Entomology library at World Museum. The old library catalogue; LCES journals: ‘Supplement to the Annual Report & Proceedings Vol 127 2003’ may be downloaded from here but there are medium term plans to merge the former LCES library into the main NML Entomology library. The holdings of the main library can be searched or downloaded from the WM Entomology Library page.

Between 1881 to 2010 the society produced a (mostly) annual journal series with other occasional publications covering all aspects of regional entomology, with numerous articles and checklists providing context for current Entomologists in the region. All the journals are available to download as searchable, bookmarked PDFs having been scanned in 2018 (funded by Tanyptera Trust). More information

Council

Secretary: Gary Hedges gary.hedges@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

Treasurer: Marion Barlow

Vice Presidents: Steve Judd, Ian Wallace, Mike Hull, Carl Clee, Steve McWilliam

Other council members: Phil Brighton, Dave Poynton, Paul Hilyer, Dave Edwards

Membership of the society is currently free. Join by filling out the membership form and emailing it to the Secretary.

Membership Form

WM Entomology Library

iNaturalist page

The society has an iNaturalist project page, which summarises invertebrate records submitted on the platform in the broad recording area of NW England (VCs 58,59,60,69) and North Wales: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/lancashire-cheshire-entomological-society-lces (set up and managed by Steve McWilliam)

AGM 18th October 2025

Key Points

• Peter Brash was re-elected as President of the society.
• The Treasurer (Marion Barlow), Secretary (Gary Hedges), and the rest of the council were also all re-elected, with the exception of Harry Davies, who resigned from Council.
• Finances are in a healthy state with £5912.53 in the current account at the end of the 2024/25 financial year.
• Membership continues to grow with 88 signed up at the time of the AGM, an increase of 28 members in the past 12 months.
• There were no motions put forward by the members.

Autumn Meeting 2025

Our Autumn meeting took place on Saturday 18th October in the Entomology library at World Museum, Liverpool, and attended by a mixture of 40 LCES members and non-members.

Main Talks (25 mins each)

‘Insect Soup’: The Promise and Pitfalls of DNA Metabarcoding for Invertebrate Assessment – Lucy Pocock

The Cheshire Hoverfly Orthonevra intermedia – Andrew Grayson

Short contributions

Exhibit: Jersey Tiger moth adult, eggs and caterpillars, and an adult Scarce Hook-tip – Dave Poynton

Exhibit: Merveille du Jour (live moth) – Dave Edwards

Talk: The Inspirational Cat Flea – Ian Wallace

Talk: Portland Moth larval surveys – Josh Boe

Talk: Phorbia pencillaris (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) new to Britain – Phil Brighton

Talk: Sponge eaters – Ian Wallace

Talk: Survey to assess the status of Andrena tarsata – Tormentil Mining-bee in Lancashire and Cheshire 2025 – Ben Hargreaves