Huddles galore

Wednesday 26th March 2025, The Wintles, Bishop’s Castle

The Wintles is an area of housing in Bishop’s Castle. About 20 years ago the residents leased an area of land bordering the housing and created a community resource that now consists of an area of woodland, areas of grassland, an orchard and two areas of allotments.

We were hosted on the day by one of the residents who arranged parking slots for us within the housing area. 

Once we were suited and booted, we wandered onto the site.

We started by inspecting a moth trap that had been left out overnight the previous night.

Our first huddle formed around the table on which the trap was placed for inspection.

There were 11 species of moth in the trap. Here are some of them.

Mottled grey.

Photograph: John Martin

Shoulder stripe.

Photograph: John Martin

Oak beauty.

Photograph: Liz Roberts

Moth trap examination over we returned to our usual way of surveying – looking, sweeping, bashing and suction sampling.

We started in the patch of woodland close to the moth table. Here we found a rather knobbly and spiky harvestman, Homalenotus quadridentatus.

Photograph: David Williams

And another example of the feeding signs in a Holly leaf caused by the larva of the fly Phytomyza ilicis.

Photograph: Liz Roberts

From the woodland we moved into a meadow area and took a look at the site's latest addition.

The idea is that the dead wood of the structure will attract invertebrates. When we first inspected it there was a bee resting, but it soon disappeared. It will be interesting to see what utilises this feature as it matures.

Believe it or not it was lunchtime. 

Emptying a moth trap takes such a long time!

We moved into the orchard and found a suitable spot to settle down to our food.

Cake was produced.

Lots of cake.

We did not quite finish it.

But, we tried.

The orchard is laid out as a labyrinth. Rows of trees form the “walls” with strips of grassland between them. We were informed that if you followed the whole labyrinth, unless I misheard, it would stretch 2km.

We didn’t rise to the challenge.

There were gaps in the trees that provided shortcuts.

There were patches of daffodils in flower and on one plant we found the fly Norellia spinipes which is usually found sitting on the stem of the flower.

Photograph: David Williams

The larvae of this fly feed on the leaves of the plant, then pupate at its base.

Nearby, we spotted a Tree bumble bee.

Photograph: John Martin

We left the labyrinth and made for the first of the two areas given over to allotments.

Here we had our second huddle of the day as a few of the group staged a bee-watch huddle around a patch of the allotment.

Photograph: John Martin

Tearing ourselves away from this huddle we walked the 30 yards or so to the second set of allotments. 

The compost heap was scoured but nothing of great interest found.

As we walked around this area, we noticed a beefly, Bombylius major.

Photograph: John Martin

There was a polytunnel at the end of the allotments in which some Small white butterflies had become trapped. We went in and were able to net them and return them to the outside world. 

Here is one of them.

Photograph: John Martin

To our next huddle.

There is a pool at the top of this set of allotments and this drew several people to it to see what they could find lurking in the water.

Photograph: Jill Key

Eventually more of the group arrived and took up positions around the pond. In the end you could barely see the pond for bodies.

Photograph: Neil Nash

Something had to give, so a couple of us dropped a hint by moving on, more in hope than expectation that the others would follow us, eventually.

We walked up a gentle incline to an area known as the Motte.

Was this an ancient site of significance?

No. 

It was formed from the spoil generated during the housing development.

A bit of a let down.

The top of the Motte is grassland and there are seats, sadly in poor state of repair, on which you can sit, take in the view and contemplate life, the universe and everything.

Photograph: David Williams

A Peacock butterfly was spotted.

Photograph: John Martin

Solitary bees busied themselves at the flowers. The progress of this Lassioglossum laevigatum was interrupted by a brief stay in a tube whilst it was photographed.

Photograph: David Williams

By now everyone had reached the summit of the Motte and all was well!

But that great enemy – Time – was creeping up on us.

And we decided to return to the cars, stopping off to photograph a patch of false oxlip at the side of the path.

Photograph: John Martin

Thanking our host for the day for putting out the moth trap, guiding us around the site, and, of course, providing excellent cakes, we then departed.

My thanks to The Wintles Community Group for granting us permission to do what we enjoy doing and the photographers for their excellent images and allowing me to use them in this report.

Mistletoe galore

Wednesday 19th March 2025, Colemere

Last week’s “get straight to the site” mentality was maintained for this visit to Colemere.

Granted it was only a 50 yard or so stroll between the car park and the site, but several members of the group were on site before I had got my boots on!

Once I managed to join them, they were, of course, huddled around bits of habitat close to the entrance.

I immediately followed suit, attracted by the hawthorn that was loaded with mistletoe. 

Why was there so much mistletoe on this on tree? It is not as though there was a lot of the plant scattered about the site. In fact I do not recall seeing any on any other tree.

Curious!

I like to look at Mistletoe for specialist insects. But they were all safe on this occasion as 99% of the plant was out of reach.

Frustrating!

Before I get any further, I will report two significant fly species finds.

Philotelma nigripenne.

Photograph: Nigel Jones

This is a new species for the county. It is a “shore” fly, mainly a coastal species, with few inland records. 

Angioneura acerba.

Photograph: Nigel Jones

This is only the second record of this blowfly for the county. It is regarded as quite a rare fly, strongly associated with fen habitat and thought to be a snail parasite in its larval stage.

These were both excellent finds.

Attention switched from the mistletoe ladened tree to the shore of the mere, where the vegetation at the edge was searched extensively, with the usual scrum around a tray to see what had been unearthed.

A Dingy footman moth larva.

Photograph: David Williams

An adult moth, Depressaria daucella.

Photograph: John Martin

A spider, Larinoides cornutus.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A Water ladybird.

Photograph: David Williams

A weevil, Sitona lineatus.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

The shoreline started to lose its attraction and we meandered our way onto the large meadow that borders the lake on the eastern side.

Here we were drawn to an area of wetland. Only the edges were accessible to those of us with boots on, but those equipped with wellingtons could get in deeper.

Finds in this area included a Drinker moth larva.

Photograph: David Williams

A colourful rove beetle, Paederus riparius.

Photograph: John Martin

And we accidentally flushed out a Jack snipe that took to the wing.

Photograph: John Martin

That most important time had arrived…

Lunch.

But where to have it?

Where we were was rather wet.

However, on the edge of the mere, was a bench.

And it was unoccupied.

Over we traipsed and settled down for our picnics and a chat.

Lunch over we spent more time on the edge of the mere, spotting another Jack snipe in flight.

Photograph: John Martin

And another Water ladybird, with paler coloured elytra.

Photograph: David Williams

A few of us wandered into the wood.

Finding little, except the leaf mine caused by the feeding of a larva of the fly Phytomyza ilicis within a Holly leaf, we returned into the meadow.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A weevil, Mecinus pyraster, was located and photographed.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

In the nick of time as it prepared to take off.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Checking the wet vegetation at the side of the meadow revealed several Water measurers, a long and very thin aquatic bug.

Photograph: David Williams

The group split into three.

One group wandered off back into the wood, another meandered over to the other side of the meadow, and the third stayed put.

Eventually we all met up gain on the other side of the meadow.

In the meantime we found a fly, Eudasyrphora cyanella.

Photograph: John Martin

A beetle, a species of Helophorus.

Photograph: David Williams

And an early showing of Marsh marigold.

Photograph: John Martin

The late warm sunshine then attracted a couple of hoverflies to visit us to see what we were up to. Here is one of them, an Eristalis pertinax.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

This seemed an appropriate time to call a halt to the day. We made our way slowly off the site, stopping on the edge of the mere to peer at a distant Scaup (so I was informed as all I could see were a series of dots on the mere’s surface). And went home.

My thanks to Shropshire County Council for granting us permission to do what we enjoy doing and the photographers for their excellent images and allowing me to use them in this report.

In absentia

Wednesday 12th March 2025, Beckbury Meadows

This visit concentrated on the grasslands surrounding the Mad Brook, close to Harrington Hall.

I was absent, holidaying in Norfolk. 

You will be pleased to know that no-one has given me a detailed report from the day other than the few words I will use below. So, there will be no need to wade through my waffling to get to the photographs. 

You will be glad to know that I have been sent lots of photographs.

The group met in the farmyard, then, as I was not there to jolly them along, usually unsuccessfully, they walked the ¼ mile or so straight to the site.

I found this very hard to believe, but I have heard it from more than one source!

Here they are on their way.

Photograph: Neil Nash

Upon entering the field bordering the Mad Brook, they, as one member of the group put it, “remembered they were Joy of Wildlife and did not move again until lunchtime”!

Here is the Mad Brook on its way to join the River Worfe a mile or so further downstream.

Photograph: Neil Nash

The reason for their reluctance to move was not idleness, but that the habitat they found themselves in was very productive and worth exploring in detail.

After lunch they did try and access another part of the site upstream but were unable to find a suitable way in, so they amused themselves looking at accessible areas nearby.

That’s it.

Here are the photographs, roughly in the order they were found during the day.

We start with a new species for the group, a Horse leech, Haemopsis sanguisuga.

Photograph: John Martin

A Hairy snail, Trochulus hispidus.

Photograph: John Martin

A snail-killing fly, Hydromya dorsalis.

Photograph: John Martin

A Red marsh ladybird, Coccidula rufa.

Photograph: David Williams

A spider, a juvenile female Araniella species.

Photograph: David Williams

The tiny flower of a Hazel.

Photograph: John Martin

A Common striped woodlouse, Philoscia muscorum.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A beetbug, Piesma maculatum.

Photograph: John Martin

A ground beetle, Demetrias atricapillus.

Photograph: John Martin

A Brooklime leaf beetle, Prasocuris junci.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A rather cute weevil, Ceutorhynchus erysimi.

Photograph: John Martin

An rather angular spider, aptly named Episinus angulatus.

Photograph: John Martin

A springtail stalking beetle, Notiophilus bigattatus.

Photograph: John Martin

A rove beetle, a Stenus species, and a Meadow ladybird, Rhyzobius litura.

Photograph: David Williams

A Footman moth larva.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A Clouded-Bordered Brindle moth larva.

Photograph: David Williams

A Celery leaf beetle, Phaedon tumidulus.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A lacebug, Tingis cardui.

Photograph: David Williams

Another rove beetle and. this time, one we could identify, Anthobium atrocephalum.

Photograph: David Williams

A ground beetle, Paradromius linearis.

Photograph: John Martin

A Bronze shieldbug, Troilus luridus.

Photograph: David Williams

Another weevil, Sitona lineatus.

Photograph: John Martin

A froghopper, Stenocranus minutus.

Photograph: John Martin

When I first saw the next photograph, I had no idea what it was. I have been told it is a flatworm, Dendrocoelum lacteum.

Photograph: Neil Nash

They are found under submerged stones and under leaves at the edge of watercourses, They feed on small invertebrates found in the water.

My thanks to the owner for granting us permission to do what we enjoy doing and the photographers for their excellent images and allowing me to use them in this report.