Garlic Badger?

Wednesday 5th November 2025, Abbey Manor, Buildwas

Abbey Manor is now a private residence and event venue. Its long history started in the 12^th century when it was originally the abbot’s lodging and infirmary of the adjoining Buildwas Abbey. After the abbey’s dissolution it became in turn a private mansion, a farm and, much more recently, Ironbridge Power Station’s social club. At that latter stage the grounds (our venue for the day) were home to the Power Station’s nature trail.   

 We began our investigations in the more formal garden areas near the house.

Early finds included a Red-rumped Ladybird, Scymnus haemorrhoidalis and some very eye-catching orange fungi, perhaps a Scutellinia species.

 

From here we progressed into an area of more natural grassland which afforded a fine view of the abbey ruins next door.

More Red-rumped Ladybirds were vacuumed, this time in surprisingly large numbers.

Other finds included the bug Stictopleurus punctatonervosus

 

A Hawthorn Shieldbug

A Forest (or Red-legged) Shieldbug nymph

Small Teasel

photo: John Martin

And Nettle-leaved Bellflower

photo: John Martin

Lunch was taken, sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree. Moving on, we arrived at the edge of an area of woodland. Sometime around this point a snail was found and declared to be Oxychilus alliarius, the Garlic Snail, so called because it emits a strong smell of garlic when ‘irritated’ (as the FSC AIDGAP guide puts it). On inspection, one member of the party described it as being “as garlic-y as a badger” which left us wondering if this meant it was very ‘garlic-y’, or not ‘garlic-y’ at all! Sadly I do not have a photographic record of this controversial discovery..!

Other finds in and around the woodland included the pseudoscorpion Neobisium carcinoides

The snail-hunting beetle Phosphuga atrata

photo: Neil Nash

 Small Stagshorn fungus

photo: Neil Nash

Orange Ladybird

Adonis Ladybird, unearthed from beneath a log. It was subsequently returned safely to its lodgings..

And leaf mines of the micro moth Phyllonoricter platani. The host-plant for this species, which was only discovered in Britain in 1989, is London Plane, of which there were several in the woods.

photo: John Martin

  For the last part of the day we decided to decamp to the abbey grounds, accessed via a (usually) locked door from the Manor’s gardens. This gave the opportunity for some fancy photography:

photo: Liz Roberts

Here we found the stilitbug Berytinus minor, whilst being watched over by a Robin

photo: John Martin

As the visit came to an end the low sun added some colour to the trees behind us in the Manor’s gardens.  

A Well Deserved Rest

Keith & trusty bottle of Lucozade, with Jim contemplating who knows what; Grinshill, August 2016

 As you will have read in the blog report for Ketley Paddock Mound, the end of the summer 2025 programme also marked the end of an era, as Keith Fowler, our “Dear Leader” retired from his unpaid position as Joy of Wildlife organiser, blogger, all-round inspiration and driving force. A measure of the size of the task that he has undertaken single-handedly since the beginnings of the group c.2012 is that his roles are now being performed by a committee of no fewer than ten people! Please be reassured: Keith is still very much an active participant in Joy of Wildlife and on call to hold the steering group’s hands while they find their feet (we do like a mixed metaphor!). For those of you (like Keith and me) with an interest in Cricket, we look forward to a triumphantly Joe Root-like return to the ranks!

I thought a few pictures of our Dear Leader (retired) in action might be appropriate. Here we find him in March 2017 atop a cliff-face at Pontesford Rocks, having found something to examine….

Shavington Park, May 2018: The burdens of leadership; Keith with first-aid kit, throw line and other baggage, noting down another one of the 65,000 records made by JoW in that overworked notebook (we presume there has been more than one over the years)… 

…and assisting Nigel in the unexpected task of vacuuming a tree!

Lilleshall Hill, November 2023, vacuuming (more conventionally this time).

And finally, surveying his Kingdom (or possibly just photographing the view) - Titterstone Clee Hill, August 2017.

 

 Keith, a heartfelt thank you from us all!

 

 

Photographs © the author except as noted. 

Au revoir

Wednesday 29th October 2025, Ketley Paddock Mound

This is my last report. 

After 14 seasons at the helm of the Joy of Wildlife group and its predecessors I am stepping back from making the arrangements, including writing the reports. 

This does not mean the end. Joy of Wildlife will continue as a group of regular attendees take over all the aspects of running the group. This includes the reports which will now be edited by David.

Please indulge me for a little while.

Little did I suspect when I arranged a few outings for friends and colleagues of the Wrekin Forest Volunteers and Invertebrate Challenge attendees in 2012 that I would still be arranging trips in 2025!

In that time, we have made 555 visits (by my reckoning) to over 270 different sites in and around Shropshire, contributed over 65,000 records to the County’s and Nation’s biological data, and were recognised nationally as the Recording Group of the Year in 2019. 

Despite the serious aims of the group, we have met as friends doing what we all enjoy doing and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. I have been very lucky to be associated with all the people who have attended over the years.

The group has been dynamic as people drifted in and drifted out, but a few have kept me company  throughout. During this time we have welcomed all-comers, from those who just want a day out looking at nature, those who are only interested in photographing wildlife, those who are beginning their interest in nature and experienced biological recorders.

In such a long period we have inevitably lost members, and I would like to finish by remembering those who have passed away over this time. (I apologise if I have missed anybody.)

Mike Coutts

Brian Herring

Paul Watts

Christine Littlewood

Stephen Mitchell.

Visit 555 – Paddock Mound

Paddock Mound is a Local Nature Reserve in Ketley. It is about 11 acres in area and was formed by iron ore workings in the 18th century. Nature has now reclaimed the abandoned spoil mounds. 

The vegetation is predominantly mixed woodland and acidic grassland. The site also has three bodies of water, the largest of which is the remnant of the former Ketley Canal.

Having met in the nearby car park we made our way to the site. Our first stop was a pool, the smallest water body.

We searched through the vegetation around the pool edge and close-by, noticing this Oyster Mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, on a log.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Suction sampling the poolside vegetation revealed a Common Shiny Woodlouse, Oniscus asellus.

Photograph: John Martin

Sweeping the vegetation caught a caddis fly, Limnephilus marmoratus.

Photograph: John Martin

The first of many species of ladybird that we found and photographed was the invasive Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis. This ladybird is so common now that it is hard to believe it only arrived in Britain about 20 years ago.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

In amongst a suction sample, we found this fly larva with attendant springtails hitching a ride.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Time to move on.

Passing the canal, we climbed some rather awkward steps to a grassland area.

This is where we spent the remainder of the morning, searching through the grass, the surrounding vegetation and trees, and the oak trees standing in the middle.

The finds in this area came in thick and fast.

Hairy Shieldbug, Dolycoris baccarum.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A distinctive sputnik-shaped egg-sac, with exit holes, on the underside of an Oak leaf, of the spider Paidiscura pallens.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Some shieldbug eggs which we think were laid by a Gorse Shieldbug, Piezodorus lituratus…

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And an adult.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

The Friends of Ketley Paddock Mound website states that the site's elevation provides excellent views to the North and West. Unfortunately the trees surrounding the grassland severely restrict the view to the west but at one spot the marginal vegetation parted to provide a view of The Wrekin.

Lunch was taken at and around a picnic table close to the above view-point.

After the break we moved into a second, larger, area of grassland.

The pattern of searching was similar to the first area as we slowly made our way down to the far end of the site.

A Hawthorn Shieldbug, Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale, was found languishing in an Oak tree, clearly it is not Botanist!

Photograph: David Williams

A Common Wasp, Vespula vulgaris, joined the group for a while.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And beating the wet marginal vegetation knocked out a banded snail.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A series of ladybirds followed:

A 16-spot Ladybird, Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And three for the price of one – a 10-spot (Adalia decempunctata), a 14-spot (Propylea quattuordecimpunctata) and a 7-spot (Coccinella septempunctata).

Photograph: David Williams

Then we found a species that we have been finding nearly everywhere we go since we were able to identify it nearly two years ago, the parasitic wasp, Callitula pyrrhogaster. This is normally found by suction sampling and requires very patient, dedicated, inspection of all the dots in the sampling tray to see which ones move and then identify the insect. It is rarely found by just glancing at the contents.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Searching a tree revealed a Birch Shieldbug, Elasmostethus interstictus.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Our exploration continued as we were joined by a couple of the “Friends” group who had a look at what we had found and had a general chat about the site.

Towards the end of this area of grassland we came across a couple of small patches of Heather, Calluna vulgaris.

Photograph: John Martin

And around this area we also found Butterfly Stonecrop, Hylotelephium spectabile.

Photograph: John Martin

Rather like the morning all sorts of species came out to say “Look at me”.

A missing sector spider, Zygiella x-notata.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

An Adonis’ Ladybird, Hippodamia variegata.

Photograph: David Williams

A leaf-mining fly, Liriomyza congesta, recognised by the pattern of the mine and frass in the leaf.

Photograph: John Martin

A pseudoscorpion, Neobisium carcinoides.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A Green Shieldbug, Palomena prasina.

Photograph: David Williams

A Cream-spot ladybird, Calvia quatuordecimguttata.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A Bristly Ladybird, Rhyzobius lophanthae, was beaten out of a tree. This is another recent arrival. Its origins are in Australia. It was brought to Europe as a bio-control species and it spread to the UK in 1999.

Photograph: David Williams

A Selfie…

Smile everyone…

Photograph: John Martin

Or look busy!

Back to the “work in hand”. Beating Gorse disturbed a lace bug, Dictyonota Strichnocera.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And inspecting a patch of nettles turned up the relatively large ground bug Heterogaster urticae.

Photograph: John Martin

Time was marching on, and we joined it by moving relatively swiftly to the third water body.

As you can see from the above photograph, the pond has largely been taken over by vegetation but there was some more open water on which a Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, passed the time of day.

Photograph: John Martin

Suction sampling the vegetation at the side of the path that ran alongside the pool revealed a Dock Bug, Coreus marginatus.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Our time was up and we made our way back to the cars, spotting lying on the tarmac this wee fellow, which seems a good way to end.

My thanks to Telford and Wrekin Council for giving us permission to do what we enjoy doing. 

My gratitude to the photographers for their excellent images for this and all previous issues of this report. Without their skills and persistence these reports would have been very dull affairs.

And finally, many thanks to all the people who have read these ramblings over the years. It has been a pleasure reporting, in a not too serious way, on the “achievements” of the group.

Please continue to support my successor, David, as he takes on this activity.

Au revoir.