Wednesday 4th November 2026, Pasford Farm
We have visited this farm, which straddles the
Shropshire/Staffordshire border, several times before, always having an
interesting day. This visit was no exception, despite it being the opening
fixture of our Winter programme and taking place on an indifferent November
day.
Our parking spot was a few metres inside
Staffs, from where we walked the short distance to a bridge over the stream
which defines the county boundary in a rather fitful way (the stream was
partially diverted at some point in the past). Parking ourselves on the bridge,
we inspected the reeds and bulrushes at its edges. I confess I still don’t know
which county we were actually in at this point! Anyhow, the bulrushes (aka reedmace)
duly produced a variety of finds, some of which were photographed, including a
Reedmace Bug,
a Red Marsh Ladybird,
a Hairy Snail, Trochulus hispidus
and an equally hairy lacewing, which was
identified more easily than I pessimistically expected, as Micromus
angulatus.
We eventually moved on, northwards into the shallow,
flat-bottomed valley from which the stream was flowing.
Some years ago, during what was I think our first
visit to this farm, we discovered nymphs of Turtle Shieldbug, Podops inuncta,
at that time a first county record (about 20m inside the Shropshire boundary!).
It has turned up at half a dozen or so other sites since, always in this
south-eastern quarter of the county. Today, not far into the valley, the first
of two adults was vacuumed from the long grass.
Three Blue Shieldbugs were disturbed from the
nearby rushes, some very blue
but others of a rather greener hue.
Somewhere around this point in the day the first
of the now compulsory Anthicus antherinus turned up. We found a second
one later, similarly vacuumed from long grass. To repeat myself from last week’s
post, another week, another Anthicus. How long can we (or they) keep
this up?
We found a number of these rather psychedelic
snails over the course of the day.
It is not a Hairy Snail on acid, despite the
hairs, which several species produce initially but lose as they mature. It is in
fact a Kentish Snail, Monacha cantiana, apparently a long way from home. The groovy
colour scheme is not pigment in the shell. It is the animal itself, showing
through the shell, which is translucent. This is probably perfectly obvious to
a lot of people but it was all news to me. Every day is a school day.
Further brightness on what was, at that point, still
a dull day, was provided by the ladybirds, though I failed to persuade them to
line up in colour-chart order.They are in ascending order of spottiness
though. From left to right: 16-, 22- and 24-spot Ladybirds. Further orangeness was provided by this Orange
Ladybird.
An arboreal species, it was swept from long grass beneath an Ash,
from which it had presumably fallen along with the leaves.
At around this point the sun began to break through, bringing with it various flies and even a Common Darter dragonfly. Our Dipterist spent some considerable time inspecting a large display of Ivy which was
literally buzzing with them. I don’t have any photos of them, sadly, but the
Ivy did also produce an Ant Damsel bug
And a female Common Earwig.
Back in the grass, we were now at the eastern side of the valley, which was feeling the full effects of the
afternoon sun.
A female Field Grasshopper, perhaps the last
one of the year, basked on an area of bare soil. My latest Shropshire record
for this species is November 8th, but we were back on the Staffs
side of the valley anyway at this point. A near miss on both counts.
The day wound slowly down to its conclusion. A
Gorse Shieldbug appeared before we departed, despite the lack of any visible gorse
or broom.
As we walked back to our cars, the sun disappeared again, the
temperature dropped several degrees (or so it felt) and a few spots of rain hit
us. A good time to call it a day, then. Many thanks to our hosts for welcoming
our return once again.
Photographs © the author except as noted.
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