Friday Focus - Aquatic Insects from 19th Century Ireland
Join Belfast-based entomologist Stewart Rosell online to explore 19th century aquatic insect specimens, held in The Hunterian collection.
Friday Focus: The Hunterian's Online Talks
Date: Friday 31 July 2026
Time: 13:00 - 13:30
Venue: Online
Category: Public lectures, Hunterian
Speaker: Stewart Rosell
Stewart Rosell is an entomologist currently based in Belfast, whose research includes agriculture and ecology. He recently visited The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow, to document and curate aquatic insects collected from Ireland in the 1880s and 1890s by JJFX King, a well-known entomologist who studied aquatic insects in Ireland and Scotland. This project was funded by the Irish Naturalists Journal, and conducted in collaboration with National Museums Northern Ireland.
In this online talk, Stewart will discuss the specimens and dataset curated as a result of this project. These insects are important indicators of environmental change and habitat quality. Their habitats have changed significantly since these specimens were collected due to environmental, industrial and agricultural change. As these specimens pre date the start of most long-term research on these habitats, they are an invaluable resource for environmental studies. Stewart will cover the significance of the collection, the potential uses of the data, and the methods used to curate the specimens then map them from contemporary field notes.
About Friday Focus
Friday Focus is an online talks series hosted by The Hunterian, University of Glasgow. Each session features a different speaker, sharing a deeper insight into our exhibitions and collections, research and work going on behind the scenes at The Hunterian.
The talks take place at 1pm and are 25 minutes long with time for questions afterwards. Recordings of the sessions will be made available on our YouTube channel.