Present

 Wednesday 10th May 2023, The Cockshutt LNR, Telford

The Cockshutt is a large area of woodland, scrub, grassland and heath on what were probably  former mine workings close to Oakengates, Wrockwardine Wood and St Georges. 

We met in the car park at the Oakengates Leisure Centre from where we walked the short distance to the site. 

To get to the site we had to cross a busy road. But the planners of Telford had looked after us by arranging the construction of a footbridge across the road.

As we got to the end of the bridge the site was within touching distance on our left. However there was no entrance! 

A tree on the other side of the fence, which was in the reserve, overhung the path and on its branches dangled Pocket plums, a gall caused by a fungus.

Continuing along the path we came to a narrow stepped path that took us into the reserve. This met a wide path that we then followed to our right.

At this point the sun was shaded out by the trees, but some small patches of the vegetation at the side of the path did catch the sunlight and seemed appreciably warmer. An early find was this Copper underwing larva.

Photograph: David Williams

We chanced upon a small clearing which was a sun-trap. Lots of invertebrates were taking advantage of the clement conditions and we were delighted to see them. 

A pretty micro-moth, Ancylis badiana, was noticed.

Photograph: David Williams

If you are squeamish you may need to skip the next bit.

Unfortunately not all insects can be identified on sight or from photographs. It is occasionally necessary to capture them and, unfortunately, kill them to examine them microscopically. One such victim was this sawfly, Hoplocampa crataegi. They are not thrown away, but retained for future reference.

Photograph: John Martin

The subject of the following photograph is a longhorn beetle, Phytoecia cylindrica, known as the Umbellifer longhorn.

Photograph: David Williams

With reluctance we left this sunny haven behind and continued on our way through the wood. After a while we came to a large expanse of grassland.

Invitingly, there were several picnic tables in place. We took the hint and paused for lunch.

Afterwards the grassland and the surrounding vegetation became the subjects of our attention.

One of the many hawthorns, that were in full flower, yielded another longhorn beetle, Grammoptera ruficornis;

Photograph: David Williams

And a small juvenile Common earwig.

Photograph@ David Williams

Earwigs have several juvenile stages; the one in the photograph is at its second stage, having moulted once since emerging from its egg. It is already fending for itself, much to the springtails dismay.

Our circumnavigation of the wood continued as we left the grassland by a path at the opposite side to the one on which we had entered.

This led to another very wide path and another seat. 

Too many seats …

Too tempting to sit down and slow our progress …

Oh, go on then …

Just a couple of minutes …

We sat down.

Someone found a centipede. It was one that is easily recognised by its annulated legs and other attachments, Lithobius variegatus.

Photograph: David Williams

Moving on I managed to lag behind.

Everyone disappeared to the right. Where were they going?

Catching up I found that they had located another patch of grassland. 

On some vegetation a number of Dock bugs were busy preserving their species.

Photograph: David Williams

We had a fine view of Lilleshall Hill and the monument.

The dark clouds that were gathering in the distance gave us impetus to complete our circuit and return to our cars and homes.

Other news

Callicera rufa

In 2011 I chanced upon this hoverfly species on Little Hill (a smaller neighbour of the Wrekin) which at that time was unknown in England. (It transpired that someone else had found one earlier but had declined to make it public knowledge.) Each year since then I have returned to the site to check if its descendants have survived.

On the hill, I have found it usually in May, in sunny warm conditions, on Scot’s pine. In fact on a single, isolated Scot’s pine in the centre of a small clearing at the summit.

Sunday (14th May) was sunny in the morning but the weather forecast was for the sun to disappear around lunchtime to be replaced by heavy cloud and eventually rain. An early-ish start was needed.

That was a mistake, as when I got to the summit a lot of the tree was in shade. The top of the tree was in sun, but identifying flies at the top of a 30 foot or so tree, even with binoculars, was not within my capabilities.

I waited for the sun to bathe the lower part …

And waited.

I was joined by a longhorn beetle that took a liking to my hat, Rhagium bifasciatum.

The clouds overcame the sun and any brightness disappeared. I went home.

Needless to say no sooner had I got home than the sun came out again. 

But it was lunchtime!

A quick lunch over, with the sun was still shining, I returned to Little Hill.

Nearing the final ascent the sun disappeared! But I pressed on.

There were small breaks in the cloud so, again, I waited.

Eventually the sun appeared, very briefly – but this stimulated no activity on the tree.

I waited and about ten minutes later the sun came out.

AND shortly afterwards a fly appeared on the tree about 12 foot or so from the ground.

Not the best photograph but good enough to identify it as Callicera rufa.

It is still present.

Devil’s Hole, Formby

This is a large crater in the dune system at Formby and is part of the Ravenmeols Hills Nature Reserve. It is believed that it was created by a bomb in the Second World War with subsequent sculpturing by wind erosion.

Tanyptera Trust held a Recorder’s Day at the site and a couple of us joined them.

One of the first insects we encountered was a Northern dune tiger beetle.

Quite a few of these beetles were found as they patrolled the sand looking for prey.

Other insects that posed long enough to be photographed were:

18-spot ladybird;

A pair of planthoppers, Cercopis vulnerata;

A click beetle that decided to fly away rather than “click”, Agrypnus murinus;

And a Cream-streaked ladybird.

Rodborough Common

A jaunt south to the chalk grassland at Rodborough Common close to Stroud was rewarded with the following sightings:

Early purple orchid;

A treehopper, Centrotus cornutus, found in an oak;

A very hairy hoverfly, Criorhina floccosa;

Juniper shieldbug, found in Juniper;

A Dingy skipper butterfly;

And a micro-moth Pyrausta nigrata.

Thank you to Telford and Wrekin Council for giving us permission to enjoy ourselves and to the photographers for their images to illuminate this tale.