The Irish Biogeographical Society was founded in 1975. It encourages the study of Irish biodiversity, especially the distribution of plants and animals. The Society is also interested in the biogeographical implications of colonisation and past history. From its inception, the Society has published an annual Bulletin. In 2023 the 46th issue was produced. The series now contains an impressive database including information on biota outside Ireland. The contents of the Bulletins are listed under Index Listings on this website. In 1986, a series of Occasional Publications was initiated. The 11th volume (A catalogue and atlas of the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Ireland) appeared in 2015, the 12th (Chironomidae (Diptera) of Ireland - a review, checklist and their distribution in Europe) in 2018, the 13th (Atlas of the Irish Trichoptera) (Caddisflies)) in 2021 and the 14th (Bibliography of Irish insects (1802-2020)) in 2023 (in association with CEDaR, National Museums NI). In 2005, another format (Macro Series) was established. It is suitable for major checklists and bibliographies. Eight titles have appeared. In 2020, Occasional Electronic Publication Number 1 was published (A National Grid Atlas of the Irish Caddisflies (Trichoptera)) and in 2023, Occasional Electronic Publication Number 2 (Bibliography of Irish insects (1802-2020)). (see below). Details of the other Occasional Publications and the Macro Series are given under Occasionals on this website. Some PDFs are also available for download from the Society (see below).
The Society is voluntary and non-profit making. Funding consists of members' subscriptions and sponsorship. All the money is used for the production, printing and distribution of its publications. The subscription is €15 or £10 per annum and entitles the member to receive the annual bulletin. In addition, Occasional Publications are sometimes provided free of charge. The Society maintains a small stock of its publications. The price of each available bulletin is the same as the annual subscription (€15 or £10). Orders or enquiries may be sent by e-mail to the Treasurer Mr John Walsh or the Editor Dr J.P. O'Connor (joconnor@museum.ie), or in writing to the Irish Biogeographical Society (address available by emailing Dr. J.P. O'Connor for details).
Published 1 July 2023
Article 1.
Declan A. Murray and James P. O'Connor. In memoriam Dr Patrick Ashe (1954-2022): pp 3-25. Click here for PDF (924kb)
Article 2.
Declan T. G. Quigley, †Don Cotton, Alan Pyne and Liam McNamara. First records of Laurelwood Calophyllum sp. (Malpighiales: Calophyllaceae) drift endocarps from Irish maritime shores and a review of NW european and Western Atlantic records: pp 26-40. Click here for PDF (879kb)
Article 3.
Jervis A. Good and Aidan O'Hanlon. Irish Euplectus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from the Killarney area in the E. F. Bullock Collection: pp 41-47. Click here for PDF (334kb)
Article 4.
Hugh B. Feeley, Bryan Kennedy, Ryan Mitchell and Jan-Robert Baars. Adult stonefly (Plecoptera) records from Ireland in 2022: pp 48-61. Click here for PDF (341kb)
Article 5.
Nicholas Parry. Possible first evidence that slow worms (Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758) feed on ant colonies: pp 62-66. Click here for PDF (1.03mb)
Article 6.
Jervis A. Good. The ground layer of alluvial forest as a habitat for Staphylinidae and Carabidae (Coleoptera) at the Gearagh (County Cork), Ireland: pp 67-90. Click here for PDF (372kb)
Article 7.
J. P. O'Connor, M. A. O'Connor and H. B. Feeley. Recent records of Irish caddisflies (Trichoptera): pp 91-108. Click here for PDF (722kb)
Article 8.
Declan A. Murray. Recent records of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) in Ireland from Counties Dublin, Kildare and Meath and a brief numerical update of the Irish checklist: pp 109-120. Click here for PDF (397kb)
Article 9.
P. H. Langton, D. A. Murray and A. Mantell. First record of Chironomus (Chaetolabis) macani Freeman, 1948 (Diptera: Chironomidae) in Ireland from Killarney, County Kerry: pp 121-123. Click here for PDF (259kb)
Article 10.
Myles Nolan and Jane Doe. The Green-jawed Tube Spider Segestria florentina (Rossi) (Araneae: Segestriidae) is established in Ireland: pp 124-133. Click here for PDF (436kb)
Published 10 December 2021
Article 1.
Declan A. Murray. Additional records of Chironomidae (Diptera, Insecta) in Ireland with new county records from Donegal and Meath: pp 3-10. Click here for PDF (428kb)
Article 2.
J. P. O'Connor and Hugh B. Feeley. Irish caddisfly (Trichoptera) records from national river and lake monitoring work in 2021: pp 11-23. Click here for PDF (2794kb)
Article 3.
Declan T. G. Quigley and Liam MacNamara. Blister Pod or Cojon de Burro Sacoglottis amazonica Mart. (Malpighiales: Humiriaceae) drift endocarp stranded in County Clare on the Atlantic coast of western Ireland, and a review of NW European records: pp 24-34. Click here for PDF (1579kb)
Article 4.
Myles Nolan and Alison O'Reilly. The first Irish record of Porrhomma microphthalmum (O.P.-Cambridge) sensu stricto (Araneae: Linyphiidae): pp 35-40. Click here for PDF (266kb)
Article 5.
Myles Nolan. A third county record of the caddisfly Hagenella clathrata (Kolenati) (Phryganeidae: Trichoptera) from Ireland: pp 41-46. Click here for PDF (550kb)
Article 6.
Hugh B. Feeley, Bryan Kennedy, Cathal McNaughton and Jan-Robert Baars. Records of adult stonefly (Plecoptera) from Ireland in 2021, with observations on wing length and wing crumpling: pp 47-55. Click here for PDF (576kb)
Article 7.
Myles Nolan. First Irish record of Micaria micans (Blackwall) (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) and revalidation of Micaria pulicaria (Sundevall): pp 56-61. Click here for PDF (318kb)
Article 8.
Martin Cawley. An indexed bibliographical checklist of the harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) of Ireland, 1836-2020: pp 62-76. Click here for PDF (292kb)
Article 9.
Jervis A. Good, Phil Withers† and Tom Gittings. Psychodidae (Diptera) as indicators of the effects of the lined Kildare bypass motorway on tufa spring habitat at Pollardstown Fen, Ireland: pp 77-96. Click here for PDF (1046kb)
Article 10.
J. P. O'Connor and M. A. O'Connor. New distributional data on the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Ireland: pp 97-124. Click here for PDF (3842kb)
Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, Bulletin Number 44 was published in sections online. The printed Bulletin was published on 14 December 2020.
Published 1st June 2020
Article 1.
Parry, Nicholas (2020) A study of the present state of an Irish colony of the Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758) (Squamata: Anguidae) in the Burren, Counties Clare and Galway 2015 - 2019. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 3-18. Click here for PDF (615kb)
Article 2.
O'Connor, J. P. and O'Connor, M. A. (2020) Additional caddisfly (Trichoptera) records from Ireland including new records of Oxyethira mirabilis Morton, 1904. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 19-94. Click here for PDF (8mb)
Article 3.
Walshe, A. and O'Connor, J. P. (2020) The Water-stick Insect Ranatra linearis (L.) (Hemiptera: Nepidae) new to County Waterford, Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 95-101. Click here for PDF (354kb)
Published 7th November 2020
Article 4.
Quigley, Declan T. G. and McNamara, Liam (2020) First records of Persian Walnuts Juglans regia L. (Juglandaceae: Cardiocaryon) stranded on the Irish coast and a review of North Atlantic records. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 102-113. Click here for PDF (820kb)
Article 5.
O'Connor, James P. and Malumphy, Chris (2020) Addendum to "A review of the Irish Jumping Plant-Lice (Hemiptera: Psylloidea)". Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 114-123. Click here for PDF (282kb)
Article 6.
Murray, Declan A. (2020) Additional records of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) in Ireland with new records from Counties Longford, Mayo and Meath. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 124-137. Click here for PDF (585kb)
Article 7.
O'Connor, J. P. (2020) Some further distribution records of caddisflies (Trichoptera) from Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 138-166. Click here for PDF (3mb)
Article 8.
Murray, D. A., O'Connor, J. P., Langton, P. H. and Ashe, P. J. (2020) Amendments and clarification of some site details in distribution records of Irish Chironomidae (Diptera), Parts 1 - 3. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 167-177. Click here for PDF (74kb)
Article 9.
Quigley, Declan T. G., MacNamara, Liam and Gainey, Paul A. (2020) First records of stranded Nutnegs Myristica fragrans Houttuyn, 1774 (Magnoliales: Myristicaceae) on the Irish Coast and a review of North Atlantic records. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 178-188. Click here for PDF (679kb)
Article 10.
Nolan, Myles (2020) Notes on 'Irish' spiders (Arachnida): Atypus affinis Eichwald (Atypidae) and Entelecara errata O. P.-Cambridge (Linyphiidae) removed from the Irish list;Cryptachaea blattea (Urquhart) (Theridiidae) new to Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 189-204. Click here for PDF (180kb)
Article 11.
Good, Jervis A. and Dorman, Jeremy A. (2020) Relative abundance of rove-beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from grasslands and pastures in Ireland and Galicia, Spain. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 205-235. Click here for PDF (187kb)
Article 12.
Feeley, Hugh B. and Baars, Jan-Robert (2020) Some records of adult stoneflies (Plecoptera), including observations on wing length, from Ireland, 2018-2020. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 236-241. Click here for PDF (61kb)
Article 13.
Quigley, Declan T. G., Minchin, Dan, Williams, Tracey and Gainey, Paul A. (2020) Brazil Nuts Bertholletia excelsa Humbolt & Bonpland (Lecythidaceae) stranded on Irish, NW European and Western North Atlantic maritime shores. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 242-251. Click here for PDF (287kb)
Article 14.
Cawley, Martin (2020) More records of uncommon Irish beetles (Coleoptera), including Chilothorax conspurcatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Scarabaeidae). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 252-260. Click here for PDF (127kb)
Article 15.
O'Connor, J. P. and Feeley, Hugh B. (2020) Miscellaneous Irish caddisfly (Trichoptera) records mainly from National River Monitoring work. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 44: 261-269. Click here for PDF (752kb)
Please visit our separate page for a list of our electronic publications.
A catalogue and atlas of the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Ireland
James P. O'Connor.
Published 11 December 2015 by the Irish Biogeographical Society in association with the National Museum of Ireland. A5 format, thread-sewn. viii+646 pages. 519 figures including line-drawings, colour and black/white photographs. ISBN 978-0-9550806-8-5. Price: €20 within Ireland; €25 the rest of Europe; €30 the rest of the world (Postage and packaging included in the price).
Chironomidae (Diptera) of Ireland - a review, checklist and their distribution in Europe
Declan A. Murray, James P. O'Connor and Patrick J. Ashe
Published 18 May 2018 by the Irish Biogeographical Society in association with University College Dublin and the Environmental Protection Agency. A5 format, thread-sewn. 416 pages. Text with 1042 figures (black and white), frontispiece and 25 plates (colour and black & white). ISBN 978-0-9550806-9-2. Price: €20 within Ireland; €25 the rest of Europe; €30 the rest of the world (Postage and packaging included in the price). Click here for PDF (56mb)
Atlas of the Irish Trichoptera (Caddisflies)
James P. O'Connor
Occasional Publication of the Irish Biogeographical Society Number 13. Published 2021 by the Irish Biogeographical Society in association with the Environmental Protection Agency. 168 pages. ISBN 978-1-9164218-1-3.
This publication contains distribution maps for all the 156 Irish species along with a revised checklist and notes on habitats and flight periods. There is also a revised list of county records. The maps are based on 17,219 records. Published as a companion volume to A catalogue and atlas of the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Ireland (Occasional Publication of the Irish Biogeographical Society Number 11), this printed volume updates A national grid atlas of the Irish caddisflies (Trichoptera) (Occasional Electronic Publication Number 1).
Price €10 or £10 (Free postage within Ireland).
(See also the Occasionals/PDFs page)
1. O'Connor, J. P. (2013) Checklisting the Irish insects. Antenna 37(3): 124-127. Reproduced from Antenna (Bulletin of the Royal Entomological Society) with kind permission of the Society. Click here for PDF (0.5mb)
2. Murray, D. A., Langton, P. H., O'Connor, J. P. and Ashe, P. J. (2013) Distribution records of Irish Chironomidae (Diptera): part 1 - Buchonomyiinae, Podonominae, Tanypodinae, Telmatogetoninae, Diamesinae and Prodiamesinae. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 37: 208-336. Click here for PDF (0.8mb)
3. Murray, D. A., Langton, P. H., O'Connor, J. P. and Ashe, P. (2014) Distribution records of Irish Chironomidae (Diptera): part 2 - Orthocladiinae. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 38: 61-246. Click here for PDF (1mb)
4. Murray, D. A., Langton, P. H., O'Connor, J. P. and Ashe, P. (2015) Distribution records of Irish Chironomidae (Diptera): part 3 - Chironominae. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 39: 7-192. Click here for PDF (1mb)
5. Murray, D. A., Langton, P. H., O'Connor, J. P. and Ashe, P. (2017) Corrections of grid reference for three sites in distribution records of Irish Chironomidae (Diptera), parts 1-3. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 41: 130-133. Click here for PDF (50kb)
6. O'Connor, J. P., Nash, R. and Fitton, M. G. (2007) A catalogue of the Irish Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea). Occasional Publication of the Irish Biogeographical Society Number 10. 310pp.
ISBN 978-0-9550806-1-6 (printed copies also available from the Society, see Occasional Publications section for details). Click here for PDF (3mb)
7. Scientific publications of the Editor (James P. O'Connor) for the years 1977-2015 (Provided at the request of the Chairman and Committee of the Society). Click here for PDF (200kb)
8. Nash, R. and O'Connor, J. P. (2011) Notes on the Irish entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday (1806-1870). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 35: 64-112. Click here for PDF (4mb)
9. O'Connor, J. P., Nash, R. and Broad, G. (2009) An annotated checklist of the Irish Hymenoptera. The Irish Biogeographical Society in association with The National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. iv + 211pp (ISBN 978-0-9550806-3-0). A "Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera" has appeared in parts in the Biodiversity Data Journal. As some Irish records were overlooked, it was decided to make available on the Society's website a PDF of An annotated checklist of the Irish Hymenoptera which provides a traceable source for Irish records up to 2009. Click here for PDF (4mb)
10. O'Connor, James P. and Buhl, Peter N. (2016) A review of the Irish platygastrids (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea, Platygastridae) including their known distributions. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 40: 43-115. Click here for PDF (9mb)
11. Moubayed-Breil, J. and Ashe, P. (2018) Micropsectra oksanae sp. n., a new crenophilous species inhabiting karstic springs and streams in south-eastern France (Diptera: Chironomidae, Tanytarsini). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 42: 191-202. Click here for PDF (600kb)
12. Moubayed-Breil, J. and Ashe, P. (2018) Micropsectra alyssae sp. n. and M. ekremi sp. n., two new species inhabiting glacial springs and peat bogs in the eastern Pyrenees, France (Diptera: Chironomidae, Tanytarsini). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 42: 203-224. Click here for PDF (2mb)
13. Quigley, Declan T. G., Fenwick, David and MacNamara, Liam (2018) First records of the Calico Scallop Argopecten gibbus (L.) and the Transverse Ark Clam Anadara transversa (Say, 1822) (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from Irish Waters. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 42: 9-21. Click here for PDF (1.2mb)
14. Cawley, Martin (2017) An indexed bibliographical checklist of the woodlice (Crustacea: Isopoda) of Ireland (1836-2017). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 41: 145-177. Click here for PDF (160kb)
15. Sweeney, Pascal (2016) The current status of aquatic oligochaetes in Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 40: 3-17. Click here for PDF (104kb)
16. Cawley, Martin (2016) An indexed bibliographical checklist of the false-scorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) of Ireland (1836-2014). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 40: 116-124. Click here for PDF (76kb)
17. Nolan, Myles (2013) Spiders (Araneae) of Irish raised bogs: Clara Bog, Co. Offaly and Carrowbehy Bog, Co. Roscommon. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 37: 172-203. Click here for PDF (165kb)
18. O'Connor, James P. and Nelson, Brian (2012) An Annotated Checklist of the Irish Hemiptera and Small Orders. Irish Biogeographical Society, Dublin. viii + 151 pages. ISBN 978-0-9550806-7-8.
Dedicated to the memory of Dr Courtenay Neville Smithers. Final volume in the series checklisting the Irish insects. Information is provided on 1684 species. [While preparing this pdf of the original 2012 work, the opportunity was taken to correct some minor errata, to reorganize the references and add some new ones. Since 2012, major works have appeared on the caddisflies, stoneflies and thrips and these are mentioned. Editor, 6 January 2019]
Click here for PDF (1mb)
19. Good, Jervis A. and Anderson, Roy (2017) Additions, deletions and corrections to the Staphylinidae in the Irish Coleoptera annotated list, with a revised check-list of Irish species). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 41: 178-234. Click here for PDF (218kb)
20. Holmes, J. M. C. and O'Connor, J. P. (2013) Records of marine sand-dwelling copepods (Crustacea) from Galway Bay, including eight species new to Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 37: 3-11. Click here for PDF (68kb)
21. Arroyo, Julio, Baars, Jan Robert, O'Driscoll, Lorna, Blackmore, Marc and Bolger, Thomas (2013) First records of Heminothrus (Capillonothrus) thori (Berlese, 1904) and Perlohmannia (Perlohmannia) dissimilis (Hewitt, 1908) (Arachnida: Acari: Oribatida) in Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 37: 12-16. Click here for PDF (52kb)
22. Quigley, Declan T. G. (2019) First records of the Golden Redfish Sebastes norvegicus (Ascanius, 1772) [S. marinus (non Linnaeus, 1758)] (Scorpaeniformes: Sebastidae: Sebastinae) from Irish waters. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 43: 3-16. Click here for PDF (821kb)
23. Quigley, Declan T. G. and Minchin, Dan (2019) First record of a Pecan Nut Carya illinoinensis (von Wangenheim) K. Koch (Junglandaceae: Hicorieae: Apocarya) drift endocarp from Irish waters and a review of NW European records of Carya endocarps. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 43: 37-41. Click here for PDF (181kb)
24. Ashe, Patrick and O'Connor, James P. (2019) Validation of the fossil genus name † Acutiforcipia (Diptera: Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 43: 131-132. Click here for PDF (91kb)
25. Updates to O'Connor, J. P. (2015) A catalogue and atlas of the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Ireland. Occasional Publication of the Irish Biogeographical Society Number 11. Published by the Irish Biogeograpical Society in association with the National Museum of Ireland.
Since the book's publication, four papers (2016-2019), summarising the latest Irish distributional records and other data, have appeared (see below). For anyone who wishes to view the records on-line, data from the book along with the newly published data (Addendum 1, Addendum 2 and Addendum 3) may be viewed at O'Connor, J. P. 2020 Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Ireland, National Biodiversity Data Centre, Ireland https://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/Dataset/250
This dataset now contains 156 species and 16067 records. It was last updated on 9 March 2020. The National Biodiversity Data Centre site provides excellent Irish National Grid or longitude and latitude distribution maps for each species.
O'Connor, J. P. and O'Connor, M. A. (2016) Some new distributional records for Irish caddisflies (Trichoptera) including a species list for Lough Neagh. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 40: 164-183. Click here for PDF (2.2mb)
O'Connor, J. P. and O'Connor, M. A. (2017) Further distributional and flight-period records for Irish caddisflies (Trichoptera). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 41: 51-89. Click here for PDF (8.4mb)
O'Connor, J. P. and O'Connor, M. A. (2018) Records of Irish caddisflies (Trichoptera) including a county list. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 42: 75-154. Click here for PDF (9.3mb)
O'Connor, J. P. and O'Connor, M. A. (2019) New caddisfly (Trichoptera) data from Ireland including records for Hydroptila lotensis Mosely, 1930 and Hydroptila vectis Curtis, 1834. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 43: 57-122. Click here for PDF (6.1mb)