The Bempton Bug Hunt

Introducing a very special guest writer to the Bempton Cliffs blog. Gracie is officially the youngest volunteer in the RSPB, and has been helping out with running the weekly Bempton Bug Hunts. So without further ado, here she is to tell you all about her experiences!

The Bempton Bug Hunt

When you go hunting for bugs you can use a bug pot or a pooter.  That’s a weird word “pooter”!  It’s a special thing you use to suck up bugs.  At Bempton the bug pots we use can hold lots of bugs and with a magnifying glass on top, you can use it to see the bugs closer and identify them.  Sometimes we use Jo’s special microscope to really look close at them.

You do not put slugs, snails or worms into the pots because it makes them all gooey and the other bugs stick to the slime.

The best place to look for bugs is under the dry grass, but at Bempton they have a big bug hotel and lots of other cool places, like bug campsites and the bug B&B, where you can find lots of mini-beasts.

You have to handle bugs gently or you might squash them.  I love looking at mini-beasts, when you pick them up, they scuttle across your hands and that tickles a lot.

My mum calls me the millipede queen because I always find centipedes and millipedes on the bug hunt.  I once found a stripey millipede with two orange stripes down its back.

Some of the things I've found when working at Bempton are a drinker moth caterpillar, froghopper bug, millipedes, centipedes, a pill bug, woodlice, spiders, snails, slugs and tadpoles in the pond.  One day Jo found a toad at the bug campsite, it was epic!!!

Bug hunting is very fun, I enjoy getting the fresh air, making friends with other children and discovering all the fun and excitable things at Bempton Cliffs

By Gracie (age 7)

Bempton Cliffs Volunteer