Aculeate Hymenoptera records extracted from Invertebrate Site Register for Scotland

Quality Control

The Invertebrate Site Register may include misidentifications - relatively few records have voucher specimens. There may be errors in dates and grid references. For some records, date is known only to year - this is probably the case for most records given a date of 01 January. Many early records did not include grid reference, so approximate grid references have been assigned based on the location name. For large sites, or sites which are covered by parts of more than one OS grid square, these inferred grid references may be incorrect. Data coverage for individual species should not be considered to give a comprehensive representation of distribution. The nature of the data sources means that many records do not have a precise date. The dataset has not been significantly updated since the early 1990s, with subsequent changes being limited to correction of errors.
The records of aculeate Hymenoptera have been reviewed by a specialist, and doubtful records including those without an named determiner have been excluded from the present dataset, as have any records lacking at least a date range. However, except where further information is given as to the source, the status of all records in the ISR should be regarded as 'unconfirmed'. The ISR should not be relied on for distribution mapping purposes, but may be suitable for identifying areas of search for species of conservation interest.

Method steps

1. Data were gathered systematically from national and local entomological, other invertebrate and other natural history journals, the paper data files of the regional offices of the statutory conservation agencies and utilities, local record centres, national recording schemes, museum collections, county wildlife trusts, research establishments etc, and the notes, collections and experience of amateur and professional entomologists and naturalists. Data was collated systematically during the 1980s and early 1990s in particular to cover the period 1970 onwards, but records of the scarcer species were included from earlier periods, back to the 19th century for some species, in order to be able to describe and analyse declines and other changes in range and frequency of occurrence. Data were maintained as up to date as possible up until the early 1990s, since when data generated by SNH has been compiled separately and may be available in other NBN Atlas datasets. The nature of the data sources means that many records do not have a precise date. Paper copies of most of the original data are held and can be consulted by prior appointment at: Biological Records Centre, CEH Wallingford, Maclean Building, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB. email: brc@ceh.ac.uk Website: www.brc.ac.uk