Hiding

 Wednesday 18th February 2026, Venus Pool

Owned and managed by Shropshire Ornithological Society, our visits to Venus Pool (we have made several) tend to concentrate on the wider area (fields, meadows, hedges) rather than the pool itself. We do usually end up in a hide for lunch, but were intent on lunching in the open air on this occasion. Did we manage it…?

On arrival it was nice to see the Cherry Plum in flower, a sign that Spring might not be too far away.

Sadly, almost everything else about the day was distinctly wintery. Specifically the wind, which was both very strong and very cold. Anything in a finds tray had to be grabbed quickly or sheltered as best as possible before it was scattered to the winds! The main presence in the samples all day was a vast number of 16-spot Ladybirds. The collective noun for ladybirds is a ‘loveliness’. Here is a loveliness of 16-spots.

photo:  Nigel  Cane-Honeysett

And here is another, single 16-spot, along with a 22-spot and two Meadow Ladybirds.

Finds were surprisingly plentiful, despite the wind doing its best to wreck the day - an indication of the quality of the site. The tiny, wingless wasp which we have mysteriously christened ‘The Boy’ (the distinctive, wingless form is female) was about in good numbers. It is more correctly called Callitula pyrrhogaster.

photo: John Martin

The larva of another common insect, the Angle-shades Moth, was an early find 

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

As was a beetbug, Piesma maculatum,  a species which looks a lot like, but is not, a lacebug.

photo: John Martin

It was a day for beetles. Here are some of the ones that we (mostly) managed to identify with confidence

Phyllotreta cf undulata. Photo: John Martin

Demetrius atricapillus. Photo: John Martin

Meligethes aeneus. Photo: John Martin

Paradromus linearis. Photo: John Martin

Perapion violaceum. Photo:  John Martin

Lunch time approached. A heroic but ultimately futile attempt was made to set up camp near a hedge in the hope of escape from the hypothermia-inducing wind. We thought better of it and reverted to Plan B - the hides! This turned out to be a rather longer than usual lunch break. In fact it began to look like we may not actually brave the outside world again before the end of the day. We did eventually re-emerge, but not before a couple of us had got some long-lens practice on the inhabitants of the pool.

Teal. Photo: John Martin

Gadwall. Photo: John Martin

Lapwings

Shovelers

Finally we dragged ourselves from the hide & back  into the arctic blast. A few final finds were made…

Yellow Dung Fly. Photo: John Martin

Nursery Web Spider. Photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Nysius huttoni. Photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Melanelixia subaurifera. Photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

… before time was called on the day and we went home to thaw out! Many thanks to our hosts for allowing us access to their excellent nature reserve. 

 
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.