INSECTS from Whitelee Windfarm in East Renfrewshire are going to be used in a "cutting-edge project" that's studying the genetic diversity of one million flying insects from across the UK.

ScottishPower Renewables' (SPR) ecology team will collect insects from the area and send them to be analysed as part of the Welcome Sanger Institute's BIOSCAN project.

Each month the SPR team will set up a Malaise trap in the windfarm, with the creatures being caught, then being sent for analysis.

Researchers will then use the Barcode of Life DNA database to identify the species present over time and monitor how species diversity and abundance change.

Data from the project will also allow the SPR team to detect what impact its peatland restoration work has on the insect communities at Whitelee.

Glenn Norris, Ecologist at SPR, said: "ScottishPower Renewables is always pushing to achieve the most robust and powerful monitoring of wildlife and habitats that exist alongside its energy developments. 

"As well as pioneering novel techniques in-house, SPR also collaborates with innovative, cutting-edge projects like BIOSCAN.”

“As well as contributing to biomonitoring in the UK, the BIOSCAN project will also provide us with a huge volume of data we can use to undertake a detailed analysis of the insects present at Whitelee.

"This can inform the success of peatland restoration that has been undertaken on the windfarm for the last decade with the data helping the team fine-tune the current method and ongoing management to make habitats better for insects, which will ultimately benefit the diverse communities of birds and bats on the site.”

Mara Lawniczak, Senior Group Leader and BIOSCAN lead at Sanger, added: “The BIOSCAN project depends on collaborations, and we are grateful to our partners across the country who are helping to establish a baseline understanding using DNA barcoding of arthropod diversity and spatiotemporal change in the UK.”