Ruewood - Wednesday, 21 June 2017
Ruewood Shropshire Wildlife Reserve is just outside the village of Tilley near Wem. There is normally no parking close to the site but the Reserves Officer at SWT arranged for the local farmer to cut the grass on the entrance track to allow us to park there. I start this report, therefore, with our appreciation for this. It made parking and visiting the site very easy.
Do we have an extra member of the group?
No. The frog took a long look at us as we got ready then meandered off into the undergrowth.
Ruewood consists of two wet pastures and is named after a once common plant, now rare in Shropshire, that grows there - Meadow-rue.
An information board by the site entrance informed us that the plant is found on the old parish boundary which is marked by the line of trees on the above photograph.
So you will have to wait for a photograph as it took us some little time to get there. Entomologists and botanists move very slowly.
By the gate we noticed a cranefly resting on bramble
Tipula fascipennis - Photograph: Bob Kemp |
Syrphus sp. - Photograph: David Storey |
Photograph: Bob Kemp |
At this point one of the group handed me a sweep net with his catch from the pasture. It was full of insects. I borrowed a seat and sat down and spent what felt like the next 30 minutes or so going through it. Feeling sorry for me he brought another net full. Sorry, but this was given much shorter attention. After all, grateful as I am for others collecting things for me, I had come to look at the site.
Yellow flowers seem to be very attractive to insects. Often you will find lots of small moths in the head of a buttercup and this one had attracted a male Swollen-thighed beetle.
Photograph: David Storey |
Photograph: Bob Kemp |
Photograph: Bob Kemp |
Photograph: Bob Kemp |
Photograph: David Williams |
And the more robust method of beating dislodged a recently matured Forest bug (or Red-legged shieldbug if you prefer).
Photograph: David Williams |
Remarkably, for a small site, we were still in the first of the two pastures.
Up until then the half dozen or so cattle on the site had remained on the other pasture but eventually they came to join us. However, each group kept themselves to themselves.
We made it to the second pasture!
Photograph: David Storey |
This pasture was similar to the first so it was not surprising that on the whole we found similar things.
One of the extras we did find was a Southern marsh orchid (so I am told)
Photograph: David Williams |
And a Common green grasshopper
Photograph: David Williams |
Xysticus sp.? - Photograph: Bob Kemp |
Theridion sp. - Photograph: David Williams |
Araniella sp - deflated after laying eggs - Photograph: Bob Kemp |
Spiderlings - Photograph: David Storey |
Finally an excellent photograph of a hoverfly living up to its name.
Photograph: Bob Kemp |
My thanks to SWT for permitting us to do what we enjoy doing and to the photographers David Storey, David Williams and Bob Kemp for providing many shots to supplement my own.
Pentre Wood - Sunday, 25 June 2017
Summer has been and gone. We were back to leaden skies and cooler temperatures. Half a dozen of us met up in the rain to explore this Woodland Trust wood at Bronygarth. The description on the Woodland Trust website informed us that it was situated on a steep hillside opposite Chirk Castle. But where was the castle? I did not see it as I made my way to the entrance, nor as I descended the path through the wood.
The rain had, naturally, had made everything wet which made my decision not to bring a beating tray seem particularly bad. However, sparing use of my net was possible and later there was a short dry spell which allowed us and the vegetation to dry out a bit before it rained again and we made our way back to the cars.
But I get ahead of myself.
The path down through the wood was flanked by wild garlic. Although the plant had gone to seed the smell lingered. Wonderful.
The wet weather caused us to progress through the wood quicker than normal but we still took time to observe.
But the weather did not deter certain animals such as this slug
Photograph: Jim Cresswell |
It did not stop us looking at galls
Aceria pseudoplantani on Sycamore - Photograph: Jim Cresswell |
This long horned beetle Rutpela maculatus did not seem too concerned
Photograph: Jim Cresswell |
At the bottom of the wood we came to a meadow at the side of the River Ceiriog.
On the other side of the river is a fish farm which, I assume, is used to stock the river with trout for fishermen to catch and remove.
We lunched by the river during the dry spell I mentioned earlier.
Photograph: David Williams |
Photograph: David Williams |
A nearby tree was beaten and one of the group noticed a small beetle in the tray (not mine - it was at home). We were able to identify it (subject to approval by the beetle recorder) as a male Fan-bearing wood-borer (Ptilinus pectinicornis) - females do not have the fanned antennae.
Photograph: David Williams |
We walked on through the field by the side of the river periodically inspecting the trees. On one I found a beautifully marked mirid bug - Deraeocoris flavilinea
The rain started again. It got heavier. We decided to return, but not too quickly. On the way we noticed some leaves of burdock that had become the home of a fly larva - Pegomya laticornis. The evidence of the flies presence is easy to see!
Photograph: Nigel Jones |
Photograph: Nigel Jones |
Then we saw it.
The castle.
Just peeping over the horizon.
Just down the road from where we had parked the cars we had a better view.
My thanks to The Woodland Trust for giving us permission to survey, to the photographers Jim Cresswell, Nigel Jones and David Williams and to everyone who attended on the day for their perseverance. A good site well worth visiting again on a sunny day.
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