Eleven of us gathered at the gate of what used to be known as E.on's ash disposal site at Devil's Dingle, a little perplexed that it was displaying the name "Uniper". A little research has revealed that Uniper is a spin-off company (whatever that means) of E.on.
Once again E.on/Uniper had given us permission to visit this excellent site but we were warned that work was being planned for the site and it turned out that a considerable area had sprouted plastic amphibian fencing.
As always when we go to Devil's Dingle the bank at the side of the lane just past the entrance proved to be of great interest.
An early find was a Bishop's Mitre.
This is an easily recognised bug and its shape really is reminiscent of a bishop's mitre.
Then the star find was made (sorry not photographed) - a BAP priority species, the long-horned bee Eucera longicornis. This bee had been recorded in Shropshire in the past but had been feared to be lost to the county when it was found at this site in 2013. Our bee colleagues will be delighted to know it is still here. More information about the bee can be found on the BWARS website here.
We were then treated to finds of beetles with the creation of the next generation of their kind uppermost on there minds.
Green tiger beetles:
Tortoise beetles Cassida vibex:
We moved on following the lane up to the level of the pools.
It was not possible to avoid the "newt" fencing as there was so much of it and, in places, it crossed the path but we took great care when we had to hurdle it.
On the broom in the above picture, having a sunbathe, was a Gorse shieldbug.
We made our way along the eastern edge of the pool and noticed a long-horned beetle Agapanthia villosoviridescens - a name length that matches its "horns" or antennae.
We lunched at a spot where a few foot or so diameter metal pipes had been left lying around. These provided an excellent and sun-warmed seat. Whilst we were lunching one of the group showed us the wasp Crabro peltarius.
You may have noticed that its front legs are shaped like a shield. What are they for you may wonder? Apparently when the male mates with the female it places these shields over her eyes like a blindfold. It not just humans that have strange habits.
Whilst lunching a rather large and attractive staphylinid beetle was netted.
As yet it has not been identified. I would be grateful if anyone reading this who recognises it can let me know the species. We placed it in a spy pot to try to take better photographs to aid identification but it chewed its way through the viewing film and was never seen again.
We moved on and made our way to the edge of the western pool. Here we watched a Black-tailed skimmer patrolling the edge of the pool whist an Emperor dragonfly was patrolling its patch a little further away.
Slowly we dragged ourselves away from the pool and onto the track that runs back to where the cars were parked. And there, in slightly hazy glory, were the cooling towers. I could not resist.
We made our way back to the cars and home thankful for yet another excellent day on an excellent site. Let us hope that it long remains so.
St. John the Evangelist, Dudley - Friday 10th June
The journey looked straightforward on a map. Down the rabbit-run from Sutton Maddocks, turn left towards Himley, then straight on to Dudley where with a few wiggles I would arrive at the church.
It was straightforward until I came to a roundabout where I misinterpreted straight on as slightly right. It was downhill from there. After much meandering I found myself leaving Dudley, but at least I was able to locate where I was on the map. So with renewed optimism I re-entered Dudley knowing exactly where I should go. Then I came to a dreaded "ROAD CLOSED" sign with no diversion shown. So I headed on into the unknown. After a while I gave up. And to my shame threw myself on the mercy of some locals. Thankfully they were able to tell me the directions. And what excellent directions they were. I arrived only 30 minutes late.
I was unaccompanied for this trip so it should have been a case of "Me and my shadow" but the sun let me down. For most of the time even my shadow was elsewhere.
Unfortunately heavy overnight rain had left the vegetation of the churchyard very wet. This restricted what I could do to observation, which anyone who has been on any of these trips will tell you, is not my strong point, and beating.
I did what I could for a couple of hours before calling it a day and returned home.
The return journey went without a hitch!
Llwynderw - Sunday, 12th June
It was raining cats and dogs when three of us set off for mid-Wales to visit the farm of an Invertebrate Challenge colleague near Llanidloes in Powys. The farm was close to the source of the River Severn on Plymlimon. It seemed to me that the source was in the sky above my house.
Anyway buoyed by the weather forecast for Llanidloes - "heavy rain until 9am, clearing until 12 noon then unbroken sunshine" we set off for a date with the Traveller's Rest in the village where, we were promised, we would get a breakfast fit for a king.
It rained all the way to Newtown. Then it stopped!!!
Unfortunately the stoppage was short lived. It hammered down as we neared Llanidloes. But it had eased off by the time we parked opposite the Traveller's Rest.
Three full breakfasts and a further downpour later we travelled on to the farm.
We were met at the farm by two others who had decided to stay in bed and set off later and one other who happened to be staying in his caravan in Llanidloes. A further three of the expected group had decided not to travel due to the conditions.
By now the rain had given way to intermittent drizzle and slightly brighter periods. It stayed that way for the rest of our time at the farm.
Tea and coffee was offered and accepted before our Invertebrate Challenge Colleague lead us on the tour of the wilder areas of the cattle farm.
As we went through the garden a large cranefly was netted - Tipula maxima (sorry no photograph). More information and some pictures of this magnificent cranefly can be found on the internet - for example, the excellent Nature Spot site here.
After passing through the garden we descended a grassy path through woodland before crossing a stream. From the stream it was a steady ascent with the wet area around the stream on one side and fields on the other.
At one point there was a small pool at the side of the path where we found plenty of aquatic insects whilst at its edge a Brown china mark moth was at rest.
We continued upwards and came to a section where there had been, sometime in the distant past, a land-slip which had exposed the soil and provided a "bee" bank. We could see the holes for their nests but the inclement weather kept them out of sight.
The weather, though, did not dampen the ardour of a couple of green tiger beetles. However the sight of a camera put them right off and they went their separate ways.
On the other side of the path the ferns were host to a host of Garden chafers. Two representatives can be seen in the following photograph.
We descended to a pool where Azure damsel flies were emerging and as the sun made a brief appearance settled down for lunch.
One of the group noticed a butterfly on a fern frond. It was a Small pearl bordered fritillary. This is a butterfly I have heard a lot about and even done "conservation" work to encourage but had rarely seen. So it was a treat to observe one here. And the butterfly, knowing its significance, posed for many photographs.
We made our way back slowly through some woodland to the farmhouse stopping here and there to see what we could find. Towards the end we came across a patch of willowherb that was populated abundantly with a small insect with patterned wings.
There are two in the photograph! This is the psyllid Craspedolepta nebulosa.
More tea and coffee flowed when we got back to the farmhouse before we took our leave with lots of thanks to our hosts for their hospitality and guidance.
Thank you also to David Williams for providing most of the photographs for this visit.
By the way the unbroken sunshine did arrive but about 30 minutes after we had left.
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