MEMBERS of the public joined natural history group Wild About Plymouth and hunted for creepy crawlies in a city nature reserve.

The group descended on Efford Marsh Nature Reserve for the fourth year running for the annual Bug Hunt.

Families dug and delved for as many insects as they could find during Saturday's event, which was led by Wild about Plymouth and included staff from Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Pete Smithers from the University of Plymouth, and student volunteers from the university.

Jan Freedman, the museum's acting keeper of natural history, said the group had found tadpoles, stickleback fish, freshwater snails, leeches, big dragonfly larvae, diving beetles, and a newt at the marsh.

She added: "In the long grass in the meadows, the group found lots of green orb spiders, a beautiful mimicking wasp beetle, tortoise beetles, long nosed weevils, and triangular shield bugs.

"It was a great success and the families enjoyed getting down in the grass searching for creepy crawlies, and searching the water for the small creatures."

For the first time, the museum team recorded the findings and sent them to the Devon Wildlife Trust.

For more information on Wild About Plymouth and the programme of events, visit the 'Events and activities' page at www.plymouthmuseum.gov.uk.