Entomologist Sue Southwell gives Fordingbridge Junior School pupils an insight into the world of insects at Burgate Manor on Friday. DA5816P3SIXTY schoolchildren descended on the Game Conservancy Trust at Burgate Manor in Fordingbridge on Friday for a mini-beast hunt.

With the help of professional entomologists, the Year 3 youngsters, from Fordingbridge Junior School, caught and examined several insect species under the microscope as part of their studies for National Insect Week.

"We were delighted the trust invited us to visit them and learn all about the importance of insects in the food chain," said teacher Nicola Graham.

"The children benefited hugely from this hands-on learning experience, which is a perfect fit with our current curriculum work."

The trust has been studying the impact of insects and their link in the food chain for declining farmland birds for more than 30 years.

Their long-running study into a cereal ecosystem was the first to demonstrate in the 1980s that farmland bird populations were rapidly declining due to the indirect effect of pesticides, which killed off beneficial insects.

However, new research suggests that insect numbers are improving, especially in areas where more sympathetic farming methods are being employed.