Magnificently Maintained

Before I begin this week's report, I must very sadly convey news of the passing of Jon Delf. Originally from Kent, Jon lived more recently in Cheshire where his skills as an entomologist were employed by Liverpool Hope University. Well known to the Shropshire entomological community, for several years he appeared regularly at Shropshire Invertebrate Group meetings and Shropshire & Worcestershire Entomology Days. I last saw him in October 2025 at the AES Exhibition at Kempton Park Racecourse, where he was in good spirits despite his medical issues. A very sad loss.

Wednesday 10th June 2026, Longden Road Cemetery, Shrewsbury

This week’s trip was a return visit to Longden Road Cemetery, specifically the ‘old’ part of it, which is maintained rather magnificently as a space for wildlife.

photo: Keith Fowler

Continuing a theme which began in Clun a few weeks ago, it contains the grave of a notable Shropshire author, this time Mary Webb.

photo: Keith Fowler

The predominant habitat within the cemetery must be the flower-rich grassland, which was looking splendid in the June sunshine.

So it was not surprising that grassland species featured heavily in our finds. Here is the first, a Common Green Grasshopper, something which we observed as 3rd instar nymphs a fortnight ago at White Grit Meadows and 4th (final) instar nymphs last week in the Ceri Forest. Now, right on cue, we were surrounded by adults, the males singing en masse when the sun shone.

Several grassland shieldbugs were found. Here is the first, a Small Grass Shieldbug, which is always a noteworthy find.

But it was upstaged almost immediately by this rather tiny nymph, which is that of a Turtle Bug, a species which has moved into the county in only the last few years and is still only otherwise known from a handful of sites in the southeast of it.

From turtles to tortoises – a boldly marked Tortoise Bug. This is another grassland shieldbug, which was unknown in Shropshire until a decade or so ago. It then went through a phase of being very commonly found but it feels like we have seen considerably fewer of them in recent times, so it was pleasing to find them as perhaps the commonest shieldbug species here.

And yet another recent incomer – this is a Crucifer Shieldbug nymph.

Now a species which has always been very common, but no less lovely for that: Hairy (or Sloe) Shieldbug.

Staying with the Hemiptera, this tiny hopper is Delphacinus mesomelas, a species of dry grassland, where it feeds on fescues.

The grassland itself was, unsurprisingly, full of interest to our botanist. Here are a couple of its components. Firstly Tor Grass, Brachypodium pinnatum agg.

photo: John Martin

And this is Grey Sedge, Carex divulsa (I admit that it’s a sedge, not a grass!).

photo: John Martin

Returning to invertebrates sitting in daisies, this is a male Bombus vestalis, the Vestal Cuckoo Bee, who’s name gives a clue as to the species’ habits. Cuckoo bees invade the nests of ‘true’ bumblebees, ejecting the queen and appropriating her workers to raise their own offspring.

A smart ground beetle, Pterostichus madidus, attracted the attention of a photographer.

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

As did another beetle, this one not a grassland species. It is Ochina ptinoides, the Ivy Boring Beetle.     

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

“The Boy” (a nickname who's origins are lost in the mists of time, and which may be female) was vacuumed from the grass. More correctly it is Callitula pyrrhogaster, a tiny, parasitic wasp.

Here, continuing an unexpected series, are two species of mite which have admitted to identifications. The first Erythraeus phalangoides,

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

While the second is Leptus trimaculatus.

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

More familiar species were observed as the day continued. A Small Tortoiseshell, a species seen in smaller numbers these days that in times past, stopped to have its portrait captured.

photo: John Martin

The first Ringlet of the Summer appeared.

photo: John Martin

Yellow Shells were often to be seen escaping from Ivy and shrubs when they attracted the attention of the beating stick and tray.

photo: Keith Fowler

A sparkling green weevil, Polydrusus Formosus, demanded to be photographed.

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Late in the day, another weevil, the Alfalfa Weevil, Hypera postica, was vacuumed from long grass.

Two spiders were photographed: Harpactea hombergi

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And a female Neottiura bimaculata, carrying her improbably large egg-sac.

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Sawflies are often seen but less often identified. Obsidentify claims this one is Tenthredopsis scutellaris.

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Near the end the day, Dioctria baumhaueri, a species of robberfly, was captured and identified.

Another late find was the micro moth (really very micro indeed!) Bucculatrix thoracella. Its common name is variously Lime Tuft or Lime Bent-wing and it was indeed beaten from a large lime tree.

Blastobasis lacticolella, the Large Pale Masoner, was another micro moth identified on the day.

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Two more plants drew the attention of our botanist. The rather delicate Campanula persicifolia

photo: John Martin

And the rather less delicate Bergenia x schmidtii.

photo: John Martin

And finally…. The day produced another snakefly! We have been more than usually blessed with them this year. It is a different species, too, than either of those which appeared at The Isle on 20th May, being a female Atlantoraphidia maculicollis. 

An excellent day. We are always grateful to be allowed to visit this brilliantly managed burial ground.

Post Script

I beg forgiveness for the late arrival of this blog post. My excuse is that I absconded to foreign climes (northern France) in search of Labidura riparia, the Tawny (or Giant, or Shore or Striped) Earwig. Europe’s largest earwig species, it was formerly present on the south coast of England but became extinct here about a century ago (probably due to, guess what, habitat loss and over-development of the coastline). Did we find it? Very much so! Here is the evidence:

Normal service will (hopefully) be resumed next week… 
   

Photographs © the author except as noted. 

An Up and Down Day

Wednesday 3rd June 2026, Coed Cwmgolog and Siercwm, Ceri Forest

Managed by Natural Resources Wales, this large, publicly owned woodland is notable for its rides being frequented by Wood White butterflies. To quote directly from the NRW Resources Plan 2026: The tree species composition is largely coniferous, with elements of broadleaves in areas which have been felled and replanted. The total plan area is 1009 hectares. Large parts of Ceri forest are on steep ground in a very exposed position and are susceptible to severe damage in storms. This makes management more challenging and has resulted in some large clearfells to clear up storm damage.

This was another day in which the weather could fairly be described as “changeable”. Though given the miserable conditions upon arrival, we were glad of the later changes!

photo: John Lyden

Waterproofs were donned, concerns about a lack of sufficient layers of clothing were aired and eventually the shelter of the cars was slowly and reluctantly left behind. Our route was downhill, we hoped in altitude only.

One of the first finds was an organism we had seen a few weeks previously in Brineddin Wood, not a million miles away in southwest Shropshire: Phytobia carbonaria, a fly who’s larvae mine the stems of hawthorns and apples. Cutting a hawthorn stem revealed the tell-tale markings in the wood.

Another of the broadleaved tree species in this conifer-dominated landscape is Rowan, present along much of the route we followed. Its unripe berries are home to the larvae of a micro moth, Argyresthia conjugella, which goes by the name of Apple Fruit Moth due to it similarly targeting developing apples. This is the moth:

Around this time a slug was spotted, probably enjoying the weather rather more than we were. The identification is inconclusive but it seems to be good candidate for the Durham Slug, Arion flagellus, also rather excitingly/alarmingly known as the Spanish Stealth Slug!

photo: Keith Fowler

We continued downwards, aiming at the lower rides where Wood Whites had been seen in numbers only recently. Though they would be moribund in the prevailing weather, we hoped they would be found roosting in the vegetation. Reaching the bottom, we continued along the left-hand path at an intersection. But no such luck with the Wood Whites. Fortunately our luck with the weather was rather better. A miraculous parting of the clouds occurred and shortly afterwards the scene looked like this:

Surely this must bring out the Wood Whites? But no. We did come across a cluster of Common Blues though, initially roosting in the grass….

…and then up and about once the sunshine had warmed them up sufficiently. It also brought out our first Large Skippers of the year.

And a few Garden Chafers.

 

Reaching the farthest point of our explorations we turned and retraced our steps to where we had left some members of the party behind. In so doing we disturbed a couple of Common Green Grasshopper nymphs.

And so back to our sole vacuumer for the day, still diligently suction-sampling the verges near the bottom of the original descent. 

Here we pitched camp for lunch. The sun continued to shine and we continued to dry out. When lunch was consumed and packed away a further exploration of the valley bottom was made and behold! A Wood White flew past, paused long enough to show that it was unquestionably a Wood White, and was gone again. And that was that! No photographic evidence was possible I’m afraid.

Some of the finds in this area included Euura bridgmanii galls on Sallow

photo: John Lyden

A March Moth caterpillar on Sycamore

And a Dock Bug on… dock.

We began a slow ascent back to our starting point, with the aim of then continuing onwards in another direction. A Common Groundhopper was spotted at the edge of the track

A flea-weevil, Tachyerges salicis (they really can jump!) was tapped from a Sallow.

And a Hairy Shieldbug was spotted at ground level. 

Finds from the vacuum have largely gone under the radar in this report. One nice find was the 2mm micro ladybird Nephus redtenbacheri (the Red-patched Ladybird). This rather odd photo is framed by two fingers holding the glass tube in which it is temporarily residing.

By now the weather was starting to look threatening again. Brief (for the moment) squalls passed through. The now wet again Sallow foliage revealed a pair of Puss Moth eggs.

photo: John Lyden

And then, just as the heavens opened in a particularly meaningful way, an Eyed Hawkmoth was spotted sitting in the grass at the side of the track. What a super sight in the now dismal again light.

Delayed by the hawkmoth and now sopping once more, we trudged onwards and upwards, our leading member, who had unfortunately missed the moth, capturing our ascent.

photo: Clare Boyes

Near the top, and now with only the cars and dryness as aims, we had our third encounter in as many weeks with a Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn beetle.

While the downturn in the weather was not dampening the spirits of a pair of Common Blues.

We made it back to the cars and departed, steaming slightly. A final couple of images will serve to sum the day up. Firstly, here is the same view, taken on arrival and then later when the weather was in one of its more benign moments.

photos: Keith Fowler

And lastly, this is the view which greeted one of our party as he walked home.

photo: John Lyden

This is a site which clearly has much to offer. I’m glad that we were able to appreciate it in the sun for at least part of the day. Many thanks to NRW for allowing us to visit and to do what we do.

  
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.