Something Falling from the Sky?!

Wednesday 19th August 2026, The Villa, Betchcott

The Villa is an upland holding of about 11ha, managed for conservation and wildlife, set in rolling Shropshire countryside just beyond the northern limit of the Long Mynd. We parked at Picklescott Village Hall and were then ferried to the site by our hosts. The reason for this became clear as we ascended the lengthy driveway to their house, which would serve good use as a Land Rover test track! We arrived well and truly awake and immediately set about our investigations. Some ascended into the first field from whence this view looking back at the house is taken.

Others dallied in the garden area, investigating several Scots Pines, which duly produced a couple of Pine Ladybirds

plus several Conifer Ladybirds, Scymnus suturalis, one of the micro ladybird species, which are generally much smaller and less spotty than their more familiar relatives.

Up in the first field, attention was drawn immediately to the panoramic vista it afforded.

photo: John Martin

In the first picture The Wrekin can be seen on the horizon to the left of the frame, with the Lawley in a similar, but closer, position to the right.
This field had been cut, which, in combination with the inevitably dry, golden nature of the vegetation meant that there was not a great deal to detain us. We moved on into the next field. This had also been cut, but had the advantage of an uncut margin leading down to a small stream, plus some other slightly damper areas. These produced a few Common Green Grasshoppers

and a micro moth, Udea ferrugalis.

photo: John Martin

We worked our way around the margin of this field. In addition to the straw colour of the grassy areas, another alarming result of the drought was the distinctly autumnal look of the trees, hawthorns and rowans in particular having suffered, their foliage brown and their berries stunted and shrivelled. Not good news for autumn migrants.

photo: John Martin

Looking through these distressed trees into the next field, we spied uncut grass and wet, rushy flushes. A gate was located and in we went, the other side of the dividing boundary looking every bit as frazzled as the side we had just left.

The wet flushes were our primary aim, though Roesel’s Bush-crickets seemed almost as happy in the drier areas of uncut grass.

 This third field did indeed prove to be more productive than the first two and detained us for longer. A trio of weevils was photographed:
Exapion fuscirostre

photo: John Martin

Perapion violaceum

photo: John Martin

Sitona regensteinensis

photo: John Martin

A tortoise beetle, Cassida flaveola, appeared from one of the wet flushes,

as did a snail-killing beetle, Phosphuga atrata

and another beetle, Sermylassa halensis.

photo: John Martin

This sort of habitat is always likely to host Drinker Moths, which at this time of year are young larvae:

A Broom Moth larva was also spotted and recorded.

photo: John Martin

Lunch time approached. We congregated at the top of the field. Also congregating were some slightly threatening clouds. Their threat level increased until finally something almost unbelievable happened: it started to rain! The business of unpacking lunches (with the addition of some very warmly received cake from one of our participants) had to be briefly shelved while coats were donned and an umbrella unfurled. A thankfully unfrazzled Hawthorn was cowered under by some. This was a novel experience! For a few minutes the rain was really quite fierce, but before long it had passed overhead. From our lofty position at the top of the field we watched the storm moving away from us in a north-eastward direction.

Lunch and weather interruptions over, our next target was the boundary stream. This, though, was in a valley of remarkably vertiginous proportions. We considered the drop and christened it ‘Valley of Death’ (though it is more properly known as High Park Hollow)! A path along the top edge of the valley proved illusory, fizzling out before we had gone far and requiring us to climb back into the field again, over the fence. Before we did, a Small Heath...

photo: John Martin

and a Field Grasshopper...

photo: John Martin

posed in the gorse which fringed the drop. 

Back in the field again, more gorse finally produced a couple of Gorse Shieldbug nymphs.

By this time the group had fragmented, with people heading in various different directions. A couple of determined souls found another, only marginally less alarming route downwards and finally made it to the stream. Here Water Mint was flowering, attracting insects which included Volucella pellucens, a large, black and white hoverfly which used to be quite reasonably known as the Great Pied Hoverfly but has now been re-christened as the Pied Plumehorn.

photo: John Martin

Another hoverfly was also enjoying the flowers. I wonder if Syritta pipiens would be pleased to know that it has been labelled the Common Compost Fly? Mind you, the next fly in the book is called the Hairy Thickleg, so perhaps it got off lightly?

photo: John Martin

A Grayling was also seen down by the stream, somewhat surprisingly, but not photographed. A Speckled Wood was more co-operative.

photo: John Martin

Back up in the fields, the direction of travel was homing in on our starting point at the house. Smaller creatures were being vacuumed from the undergrowth. This is that rarest of things, a distinctive mite, Leptus trimaculatus.

The small wasp known properly as Callitula pyrrhogaster but christened by us “The Boy” had been common in vacuum samples all day. The red abdomen and vestigial wings are unique in combination.

Today we also found its fully winged relative Callitula bicolor, which has been named (can you guess?) the Winged Boy. It hardly needs saying that they can both be either male or female…

Time to head back to our hosts through the golden grass, occasionally punctuated by the lilac-blue of Harebells…

…and a return taxi ride back to the village hall. But not before we were served some delicious cookies by our hosts. A fine end to a very enjoyable day.    
  
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.

Treflach Microclimate

 Wednesday 12th August 2026, Treflach Farm

 Another week, another parched landscape…

There is something about Treflach Farm, in the Oswestry Uplands. Our visits seem to provoke extreme weather. The most recent, last September, coincided with such dismal wetness that most participants made late decisions to stay at home instead. We have also previously visited in extreme heat, causing an early start and finish. Now, here we were again on another very hot, energy-sapping day. Emerging from our cars we spied the adjacent Community Garden, an area which I don’t remember us examining on previous visits and made straight for it. It promised flowers and some greenery, all at close proximity. The sweeping views were an added bonus!

photo: Keith Fowler

Visible in the second photo above are some of the various brassicas which were being grown, some netted, some not. All were attracting squadrons of Small Whites.

We spent some time in this area, where a few of the finds were photographed, including the Common Batman Fly, Myathropa florea (note the black markings on the thorax).

photo: Keith Fowler

Ladybirds were generally hard to find on the day, but one plant produced a clutch of 22-spots.

An unusual find was this pair of Thrips. These insects defy easy identification. They seem to be a species in the Aeolothrips genus, but beyond that we cannot say.

Time to move on. The heat was already becoming arduous. From here, most of the site was downhill: good to begin with, but with the inevitable and unavoidable consequences of an uphill return. A second garden area detained us briefly.

photo: Keith Fowler

Some even braved the polytunnel, but not for long!
Onwards and downwards. The field at the bottom of the site is damp and marshy, with an excellent pond. An oasis in a desert landscape. Last September this area was very wet indeed. We anticipated it being rather less so today, though it was still encouragingly green.

photo: Keith Fowler

Plodding through the parched fields, grasshoppers sang and jumped about at our feet. My attention was caught by an attractive Meadow Grasshopper in pink and green livery.

Pink morphs seem to have some sort of increased prevalence in hot and sunny conditions, though this is far from a straightforward relationship. At any rate, a Field Grasshopper with a pinkish flush (though not by any means a proper pink morph) also appeared during the day.

Continuing downwards, the pesticide free approach to animal husbandry was demonstrated by the variety of life to be found on the cowpats. Obsidentify suggests that this fly is Neomyia cornicina

There were also numerous Sepsid flies running around, waggling their wings in typical fashion. This might be a Nemapoda species.

The pats were also full of holes created by beetles.

These appeared to be a species of Water Scavenger Beetle, literally swimming about in the fresh, liquid matter. Lovely! Sphaeridium scarabaeoides looks like a good possible identification.
 
We reached the wetland and found that it was still very respectably wet. One of the first finds in this area was a Crucifer Shieldbug.

photo: John Martin

A spider, Larinoides cornutus, was also swept from the vegetation. This species has a known association with water.

photo: John Martin

Another species associated with water is the, ahem, Water Ladybird. This is one:

Several species of Dragonfly were patrolling, including a couple of male Emperor Dragons who had periodic dogfights when their paths crossed.

The group had become slightly separated at this point but most lunched here, by the pond. To add to the enervating heat, the dampness produced something which felt like 100% humidity, so the option of lunch sat in the shade was welcomed with enthusiasm. This turned out to be almost the end of our useful efforts on the day (some of us, ie yours truly, had barely done anything useful from the beginning if truth be told). Some characteristic plants were photographed, including a horsetail, Equisetum palustre

photo: John Martin

and Water Plantain.

photo: John Martin

A little more searching was done before we steeled ourselves for the uphill return, which seemed much more dauting than it looks in this view over the pond!

photo: John Martin

Many thanks to our hosts for allowing permission for this return visit, on a day which was severely curtailed by the prevailing conditions. 
 
  
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.