Wombling Free

 Wednesday 30th September 2026, Dudmaston Estate

This was a day which got off to a rocky start but got better as it progressed. We were supposed to be visiting the Mose Farm area of the estate but on arrival the designated parking area was absolutely rammed with vehicles. A rival event had been booked, which had taken up all the available parking. We had no alternative but to abandon Plan A and head off instead for the Old Sawmill car park. From there, we were too far away from Mose Farm, so we instead spent the morning investigating the fields behind the car park, before moving to the fields nearer to Comer Wood in the afternoon.
The first species to be spotted was Colletes hederae, the Ivy Bee.

In truth we could hardly miss it as there were clouds of them all over the copious Ivy. Not only that, they were coming up at us from beneath our feet, the sandy soil being riddled with nesting holes!
Another insect to be out and about in numbers was the Bishop’s Mitre Shieldbug, known by some as the Womble due to its facial similarity to those inhabitants of Wimbledon Common. The grass was full of them, both adults…

…and nymphs.

Several common ladybird species appeared from the grass; a rather more distinguished find was an Adonis Ladybird.

By this point we had experienced the usual (!) Wednesday Clouded Yellow fly-by. It evaded the camera, but another notable migrant Lepidopteran was more accommodating, as several Vestal moths were flushed from the vegetation.

Readers may recall that we obtain a large proportion of our finds via the vacuum samplers. This is, in particular, the main way of finding the tiny parasitic wasp Callitula pyrrhogaster aka “The Boy”. But this week, a calamity: none of the regular operators of these machines was present. What to do? In a slight panic, one of their vacuums had been sourced and brought to site. The substitute operators tried heroically all day, scrutinizing the finds tray:

photo: Nigel Jones

But no Boys were extracted. We conclude that Dudmaston is clearly a Boy-free zone. But all was not lost! Many interesting things appeared in the vacuum samples, mostly of a Hemipteran (true bug) nature. Here are two: firstly, a Turtle Bug (plus photobombing springtail, possibly Entomobryia multifasciata).

This species is still a novel find in Shropshire, and more or less currently limited to the south-east quarter of the county.

This is female Myrmus miriformis.

Lunch time beckoned. We made camp in the sunshine, consumed our provisions and then crossed the road, making for Comer Wood. Entering the fields at the top, we spied a substantial area of white flowers at the bottom of the field, near the wood. This deserved a closer look! It turned out to be a very wide margin of Wild Carrot, and was full of interest.

Here, Bishop’s Mitres (or Wombles if you prefer) were as abundant as they had been in the morning, but they were outdone by an even greater quantity of Hairy Shieldbugs, for whom Wild Carrot has a magnetic attraction. Here is an adult, snuggled up to a 7-spot Ladybird.

And this is a nymph.

The carrot was also proving magnetic for Clouded Yellows, two of them being almost ever present as we searched. One eventually landed and allowed its portrait to be captured.

The edge of the wood contained a number of Scots Pines. As usual their lowest branches were too high to be beaten. But they were within reach of our Dipterist and his long-handled net. The hope of some specialist ladybird species was largely unfulfilled, except for this Conifer Ladybird, Scymnus suturalis, one of the micro ladybird species.

Note the yellow mass at its rear end. This is a Hesperomyces fungal infection. I believe that this is generally debilitating rather than necessarily fatal but either way, the ladybird will not be enjoying it.
Another interesting find was a Pine Cone Bug, a species which is very flattened, allowing it to secrete itself into the cones.

But what of the vacuum, I hear you ask. Well, amidst the deluge of Wombles and Hairy Shieldbugs, some rather distinguished bugs also appeared, including this week’s County First: a Rhombic Leatherbug.

This is an insect of the south and east, though there are isolated records beyond this range and it is probably spreading. A very surprising record nevertheless. One of its relatives, itself a relatively recent arrival in Shropshire, appeared in the same vacuum sample: a Denticulate Leatherbug.

Less notable but always nice to see, the same sample also produced a Blue Shieldbug.

Late in the day, a rather puzzlingly yellow-coloured bug appeared.

Clearly a large Rhopalid, the potential options were limited and it turned out to be Stictopleurus abutilon (guess what, another relatively recent arrival). Is it, perhaps, only recently moulted to adulthood and not yet fully coloured up? Perhaps. In any event, they are usually rather browner than this.
One last significant insect appeared as we were heading back towards the car park and it was something to put a bit of a dampener on the Wombles’ frolics in the sunshine. For it was Cistogaster globosa, otherwise known as the Bishop’s Mitre Parasite Fly. A small Tachinid fly which specializes in attacking, as you might guess, the Bishop’s Mitre Shieldbug. Well, if it was going to appear anywhere, it was surely here.

And with that, we retreated for the day, the sun continuing to shine down upon us. 

photo: Nigel Jones

A splendid day in the end, after an uncertain beginning. Many thanks to the National Trust for allowing us to do what we do.

 
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.

Fairway to Heaven

Wednesday 23rd September 2026, Welshpool Golf Course

Welshpool's is not your average golf course. Maintained without pesticides or fertilisers and with assistance from Mongomeryshire Wildlife Trust, wildlife is allowed to flourish around the fairways and greens. This was our second visit to this site. The previous one, in April 2025, was a day of very mixed weather. We encountered rather similar conditions this time too, though fortunately the day improved steadily and ended in glorious sunshine.
Our previous visit somehow managed to cover an impressive amount of ground on this very up and down site. We recalled that the most productive area on that day was a mire in a valley at the edge of the course and decided it demanded a return. This involved a minor uphill trudge from the car park followed by a more substantial decent into the valley. Just how substantial became more apparent when we had to climb back out again later. As we passed a seemingly abandoned golf buggy, we speculated on whether we should have commandeered a fleet of them for the day…

The most immediately obvious wildlife presence on site was wheeling about above us as we walked: Ravens. At least 30 of them cavorted overhead all day, constantly chatting to one another & apparently having a whale of a time. It was a glorious sight and sound.

We reached the valley bottom and inspected the path. A few spots of rain hit us.

This caused a couple of members to slog back uphill to their cars, where they had left their waterproofs. Of course, before they were halfway the sun was shining gloriously once more. The rest of us progressed and finally reached our goal: the mire.

We had been there but a few minutes when the wisdom of those who had returned, kitted out for inclement weather, was fully vindicated.

photo: Jill Key

Some carried on stoically for a while, others took refuge under trees. This was proper rain and lasted for perhaps 15 minutes, soaking everything. But lo! The storm passed and glorious sunshine returned!

Insects and entomologists alike emerged from shelter. Bees started flying. In the vegetation, Long-winged Coneheads started singing. From this point the sunshine remained with us for the rest of the day, drying things out to a remarkable degree.

So much for the weather report. What of the actual finds? Well, for the fifth week running, we found at least one species new to the county we were in. This time another Sepsid fly, Sepsis neocynipsea, an uncommon species of mainly upland habitats. A male was collected in the mire.

photo: Nigel Jones

Also, a probable fungal gall first (fungal records often seem to require considerable digging to unearth). Taphrina tosqinetii, Alder Wrinkle. A gall inducing fungus on, guess what, Alder.

photo: John Lyden

Vacuuming produced several small ladybirds:
16-spot

Meadow Ladybird (Rhyzobius litura)

Red-patched Ladybird (Nephus redtenbacheri)

And a Common Footman larva

Among other finds was Angelica Leaf-miner

photo: Liz Roberts

And two beetles which were uncovered in the small woodland which had earlier provided shelter from the rain. Firstly a ground beetle, Leistus rufomarginatus.

Followed by a very atypically shaped rove beetle, Scaphidium quadrimaculatum, a species we find only very infrequently.

 The day drew on, lunch came and went and more finds were made until the decision was eventually made to face the uphill escape from the valley. Puffing and panting our way to the top, we were rewarded by a fine view towards the Breidden Hills. Two week earlier, in Melverley, we had seen the almost exact mirror image of these hills as we viewed them from the opposite side.

The sunshine and the topography induced a certain amount of lethargy, it must be said, and little more was done thereafter. Some scrutinized the view…

While others were overcome with the effort of the climb…

photo: Liz Roberts

Many thanks to the golf club for granting permission for this return visit.

 
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.

Richly Productive

Wednesday 16th September 2026, Wern Farm, Sarn

I was absent from this trip, away sunning myself in Jersey. Fortunately, I have eye-witness accounts from Nigel, Keith and John with which to relate the events of the day…
 
Wern Farm lies just over the county (and indeed national) boundary in Montgomeryshire. It is a smallholding, where three young couples are growing good quantities of food in a small area of cultivation and polytunnels. I’m told that there was a very good diversity of produce in considerable amounts!

photo: Keith Fowler

The site was not too big, and very flat. Very few trees but a nice hedge at the far side. It was mainly grassland, some uncut, with a few damp areas, a pool (that was dry) and a stream (that was also dry but clearly has a good and strong flow at times).

photo: Keith Fowler

The morning was spent looking at the grassland before the stream and in the area of the dry pond, plus a brief sojourn in a polytunnel or two. “The Boy” (Callitula pyrrhogaster, the small wingless wasp which often features in these reports) was discovered within minutes of activities commencing.

Vacuuming for The Boy. Photo: Keith Fowler

A hornet was captured and liberated from a polytunnel.

photo: Keith Fowler

The dried-up pond was full of ruderal plants including lots of Red Goosefoot and a bit of the (up here) less common Many-seeded Goosefoot, Lipandra polyspermum.

Many-seeded Goosefoot. Photo: John Martin

The star invertebrate attractions in this area included Adonis Ladybird, the spectacular blowfly Cynomya mortuorum, the rarely encountered fly Hydrotaea capensis and a rather infrequently recorded fly Muscina stabulans.

Cynomya mortuorum. Photo: John Martin

Hydrotaea capensis. Photo: Nigel Jones

Hydrotaea capensis larvae live in carrion and other decaying material, where they prey on other insect larvae. They have often been found in the carcasses of large mammals (whales, humans), where the warm micro-climate enables them to breed at latitudes or in seasons where they would not otherwise survive. Both M. stabulans and H. capensis are new species for Montgomeryshire (and would have been new for Shropshire if found there).
Another notable find was rather infrequently recorded Sphaerophoria rueppelli, swept from flowers in the pond where it may have been associated with the Persicaria growing there.

photo: Nigel Jones

Other finds to attract the attention of the photographers included a Knot Grass larva

photo: John Martin

Small Copper

photo: John Martin

Nettle-tap

photo: John Martin

Common Blue

photo: John Martin

and Field Grasshopper

photo: John Martin

Lunch was taken in a barn which had been opened up for us. Jill produced some excellent Apple and Ginger cake. We always particularly look forward to days when Jill will be joining us!

After lunch we made for the stream and beyond, setting up camp either in the dry stream bed or under a nearby magnificent old Ash tree that looked to have escaped the ravages (so far) of Ash dieback.

photo: Nigel Jones

photo: Nigel Jones

Another new Montgomeryshire species was captured near the dried up stream – Tephritis praecox.

T. praecox wing. Photo: Nigel Jones

This is another picture-wing that is reacting to our warming climate by spreading north and west into new areas of Britain. It was formerly a rare species in Britain. It has an association with Marigold flowers, Calendula, and indeed a row of Marigolds had been planted in one of the nearby vegetable patches.
The stream bed itself was inspected for life but yielded little. In two places, under the overhanging ledges of banks, a little damp ground survived and here two species of Dolichopodid fly, Dolichopus griseipennis and Campsicnemus curvipes, clung on to life.

D. griseipennis. Photo: Nigel Jones

The highlight of the afternoon was a Barn Owl that a few of the group managed to see.

Spot the Barn Owl! Photo: John Martin

 Despite rain as attendees left Shropshire, the day was on the whole dry and pleasant with only a few spits and spots of rain, although a cool breeze did spring up for a while. I regret missing this trip to what was clearly a very interesting site. Many thanks to our hosts for allowing the group to indulge ourselves so richly.
 
 
 
Photographs © as noted.