East End's creepy crawlies celebrated in National Insect Week

BEES, beetles and butterflies will be celebrated next month during the Royal Entomological Society s National Insect Week. The week-long campaign, from June 21-27, is aimed at encouraging enthusiasts of all ages to explore insects and their diversity. The

BEES, beetles and butterflies will be celebrated next month during the Royal Entomological Society's National Insect Week.

The week-long campaign, from June 21-27, is aimed at encouraging enthusiasts of all ages to explore insects and their diversity.

There are more than 24,000 different species of insect in the UK alone and they have a wide range of body types, shapes, colours and different types of behaviour.

The society particularly wants to hear from people about sightings of species which migrate from Africa in the summer like the painted lady butterfly and the hummingbird hawk moth which are becoming increasingly common in London thanks to climate change.

Nearly 30 different species of butterfly can be spotted in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, which is also home to different kinds of bumble bees and moths and the animals that eat them like birds and bats.

The Royal Entomological Society's president Professor Lin Field said: "One of our most important messages for this year's initiative is that insect diversity is just as relevant and fascinating to explore in your garden or local park or countryside as it is in the savannahs, deserts, wetlands and rainforests.

"There's a whole world of diversity to discover, and it's literally on all of our doorsteps."

An interactive website www.nationalinsectweek.co.uk will give visitors information they will need to get involved, including finding out more about events taking place in east London and taking part in insect surveys.

Sightings of painted ladies and hummingbird hawk moths can be recorded at www.butterfly-conservation.org