An alien on an alien

Hodnet Heath SSSI, Wednesday 22nd August 2018

This is a site that we have looked at, enviously, many times as we have passed it on our way to other sites. Getting access has been beyond us but thanks to a good friend who now works for Natural England we were given permission to visit.

The SSSI citation, available via the Natutral England Designated Sites View website summarises the site as follows:

"A small remnant of the heathland which was formerly more extensive in North Shropshire.

"The site is predominantly wet heath, but areas of dry heath and secondary woodland occur. There are also a number of ponds."

Click here to see the full citation.

Here is a view looking roughly south from a very high tripod!

Photograph: Bob Kemp

We entered the site via the access track from the north. This passed through woodland. This area did not invite too close an inspection as the ground flora was dominated by bramble.

The woodland soon gave way to a small patch of rough vegetation, which produced a reasonable number of common bugs associated with long grass, nettle, dock and similar plants.

This ended quickly and we found ourselves on the heath. 

The vegetation was searched using sweep nets and beating trays. But for some reason invertebrates proved hard to find. Eventually the vacuum sampler was employed. This proved to be a little more successful.

A sample of vegetation in the area of the above photograph included a Shropshire first - the barkfly Kolbia quisqiliarum. Sorry, no photograph. It was a very small bland wingless insect. Pictures can be seen on the National Barkfly Recording Scheme website (click here to view).

The same sample captured a couple of "inconspicuous" ladybirds - so called because the are small and not brightly marked like the ladybirds we are used to seeing.

Wandering on, following the track, we came across a Ruddy darter

Photograph: David Williams

And a clump of Hard fern

Photograph: David Williams

We eventually arrived at the most accessible wet area (the others are buried in the woodland). It is the area that appears to be cut out of the trees in the following photograph.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

This is a photograph of what it used to look like in 1986

Photograph:Bob Kemp

Unfortunately it no longer looks like this but has succumbed to encroachment by bracken and birch. Some maintenance seems to have been undertaken as there are tree stumps in the vegetation and remnants do remain but it is a shadow of its former state.

Looking for invertebrates here was quite tricky as the ground was very undulating and sometimes unexpectedly very wet. But there were several tree stumps that had mental notices on them saying "Sit here and have lunch".

So we did.

Clearly one of the stumps was a regular resting spot for another Ruddy darter as it kept trying to push its occupant off. Eventually it realised that the size difference was too great to overcome and settled on the occupant's bag and tried to stare him out. This gave the perfect photo-opportunity.

Photograph: David Williams

Lunch over we moved away from the pool and ventured further south.

A sweep of the grass captured a Spike shieldbug.

Photograph: David Williams

And a Field grasshopper was photographed not much later:

Photograph: David Williams

On and on we went. The site seemed much bigger on the inside than it did on the outside. We passed a burrow where a rabbit had thrown out a lot of fresh sand. This was checked for anything that may be interested in this area, but nothing was found. Close by a Field digger-wasp was checking out another hole.

Photograph: David Williams

We were nearing the end of the heath. The track took us close to some of the neighbouring woodland. Regrettably a barbed wire fence stopped us going in but we were able to sample the overhanging branches.

Rhododendron was abundant here occupying the space under and between the trees. A Bronze shield bug was dislodged from one bush together with its meal, a 7-spot ladybird.

Photograph: David Williams

In the photograph you can see the shieldbug's rostrum piercing the ladybirds wing case.

Rhododendron is an alien plant and steps are being taken to remove it but it does support a wonderful garishly patterned planthopper Graphocephela fennahi. I beat some of the plant and found my first. I was disappointed that I could not appreciate fully its pattern as it had seen better days. 

I moaned about this to the others!

"No problem"

It is abundant here.

And when I looked more carefully I could see lots of them.

The planthopper is itself an alien being a native of the USA. So we had an alien insect on an alien plant. I suppose that is almost acceptable.

No-one thought to photograph the hopper but information about it can be found on the British Bugs website. (Click here.)

As we started back a couple of Agroeca spider egg-sacs were found suspended on twigs.

Photograph: David Williams

Walking back movement was spotted in sparse vegetation. We pounced and enticed the insect into a pot. It was a female assassin bug Coranus apterus.

Photograph: David Williams

The handkerchief was inserted in an attempt to keep it still whilst we had a good look at it!

A little further on a female Bog bush cricket was spotted in a dry drainage ditch. Our intrepid photographer climbed in and was, eventually, rewarded.

Photograph: David Williams

After another hard but excellent day it was time to go home, so we did. 

My thanks to Pete Boardman and Natural England for arranging access to this excellent site. Thanks also to the photographers David Williams and Bob Kemp for providing the images that provide the highlights of these reports.

Where's the chicory?

Marsh Mill, Wednesday, 15th August 2018

We were driving along, talking about temporary fencing, which seemed, at the time, an eminently suitable topic of conversation when we came up behind a stream of cars travelling up the hill from Buildwas to Much Wenlock travelling considerably slower than the 50 mph speed limit.

Approaching Much Wenlock cars peeled off so that by the time we reached the junction with the Shrewsbury - Bridgnorth road we were the car behind.

Unfortunately our collective thought transference powers failed to stop him going the same way as us. So we toddled along behind him along the Wenlock Edge, down through Longville and beyond. It was here that we noticed he was a 40-40 man. 40mph on the open derestricted roads and 40mph through 30mph restrictions; except any corner when the brakes came on without fail!

Eventually we were able to pass but as a result we arrived at our destination a little late.

Marsh Mill, one of the buildings, now residential, on the site of an old water mill and is on land sandwiched between the A49 and the Marsh Brook. Its grounds consist of gardens, a meadow and a field which is used as pasture for sheep.

We began our searching in some rough vegetation close to where we parked. Early finds were a Hawthorn shieldbug nymph in the hawthorn hedge and a Sloe bug and 14-spot ladybird amongst the vegetation.

From here we passed into the garden. Lots of plants to choose from here, but it is a garden so we searched carefully!!

The Laylandii hedge yielded the small assassin bug Empicoris vagabundus. (Click here for a description of this bug on the British Bugs website.)

An umbellifer was providing food for a sawfly.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

As a group we have nobody who can identify sawflies so if you know what it is please let me know.

The garden borders the brook so the opportunity was taken to do some "pond" dipping. This resulted in this distinctive patterned water beetle being captured.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

We are weak on beetle identification but looking through pictures we believe the species is Oreodytes sanmarkii. I am happy to be corrected.

A gate from the garden led to the meadow. 

The brook runs alongside it.

There was a circle of cut tree trunks at the start. 

The perfect site for lunch.

Refreshed and refuelled we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the meadow and its surrounding vegetation.

There were plenty of butterflies around, most of which were one form or other of white but we did find Small tortoiseshell:

Photograph: Bob Kemp

And, to our great surprise, a Wall:

Photograph: David Williams

There were grasshoppers bounding about and they lived up to their name as they were Meadow grasshoppers!

Photograph: Bob Kemp

A scorpion fly was captured. It was a female (pointed abdomen) so its identification was beyond us other than to say it was from the genus Panorpa.

Photograph: David Williams

There was dock about so we checked it for the presence of dock bugs. And, hey presto, here is a nymph!

Photograph: David Williams

The end of the meadow is signified by rougher vegetation and trees. A beat of a willow dislodged a longhorn beetle - Pogonocherus hispidus.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

At this point mention was made of tea and scones and the exploration drew to a close as we wended our way back to the house.

Arriving back we arranged ourselves on the steps to the garden and tucked in to our feast in the warm sun.

Photograph: Charlie Bell

My thanks to Charlie Bell for arranging this outing and providing the afternoon tea and to the photographers Bob Kemp, David Williams and Charlie for their photographs.

PS. I have a photograph of a chicory flower. I have no idea where it was taken but it was on the site somewhere!

Photograph: Bob Kemp

A rare event

Berrington Hall, Wednesday 8 August 2018

I could have reused my last report's title as, once again, time has flown and it is nearly two weeks since we visited Berrington Hall.

This was our second outing to Berrington Hall and, not surprisingly, not much had changed! There were more campers using the camp site and some of the grass in their grasslands had been cut but overall the site was pretty much as I described it in my report of our earlier visit.

Therefore, I will not dwell on particulars other than to say that, for variety, we circuited their grounds in the opposite direction.

We started in the walled garden.

From here we passed the honey bee nest that was established in the wall

Photograph: David Williams

Passing around the back of the house we made our way through a woodland to a meadow. The meadow had been partly cut. But the remaining vegetation and the trees surrounding and within it yielded plenty of things of interest.

We had our lunch here.

As you can see the sun was shining and it was very warm. Just as it had been for the past month or so.

But then a remarkable thing happened.

A large black cloud loomed.

We moved from the meadow to the vegetable garden.

Then a rare event took place.

It rained. 

It was very wet rain and we had to find shelter.

After a few minutes under the trees which turned out to be no better than standing under an upturned colander, we made our way hurriedly to one of the polytunnels which was far more watertight.

The rain eased but everything was now wet making beating and sweeping a hazardous occupation. We were reduced to just looking for quite some time whilst the heat of the day caused some evaporation.

We made our way slowly from the vegetable garden, through the woodland, to the main grassland.

The sun had done its job and we were able to employ our usual tools again.

Right; that is the travel itinerary out of the way. 

Now for the exciting bit.

What did we see?

A selection; in no particular order:

A tortoise beetle - Cassida rubignosa

Two hoverflies. The first was Myathropa florea, affectionately known as "Batman" due to the markings on its thorax.

Photograph: David Williams

The second is Sphaerophoria scripta. Normally Sphaerophoria are difficult to identify but the male of this species is distinctive in having wings that are clearly shorter than its abdomen.

Photograph: David Williams

A Blue mason bee - Osmia caerulescens:

Photograph: David Williams

An oak bush-cricket clinging to the leaves of a Scot's pine:

Photograph: David Williams

A spider - Theridion varians 

Photograph: David Williams

The spider seems to be guarding three egg sacs. The two on the right are probably her own. The one underneath her is that of another spider Paidiscura pallens. What was she doing with it?

And the European cinchbug, an inhabitant of damp grassland:

Photograph: David Williams

What will we call it after "Brexit"?

We finished the day by examining the magnificent tulip tree in front of the house.

To our great surprise at the base of the trunk, the bark of which was a wonder to behold:

We found an adult and juvenile Bordered shieldbug. Our initial attempts to identify the species were, quite frankly, abysmal. It was not until I looked at the adult under a microscope that I noted the border to its elytra.

Photograph: David Williams

Photograph: David Williams

Do not worry, both were released unharmed after identification.

My thanks to the residents of Berrington Hall for giving us permission to wander around their grounds doing what we enjoy doing and to David Williams for his excellent photographs.

Time flies

Rough Park, Wednesday 1st August 2018

Time flies at this time of the year. It is over a week since we visited Rough Park so I had better get on with the report.

A short trip for most of us. So short that some of the group walked to the site although one took a rather circuitous route to get there.

The grass had been cut where we met at the entrance to the site which made me think that we may be visiting the site too late in the year if the whole site had been given the same treatment. But as we made our way on to the site I was reassured to find the grass was still intact. Very dry, but uncut and interspersed with plenty of other vegetation.

We set about investigating.

The youngest member of our party with almost his first sweep with his net found one of the target species for the day - a tortoise shieldbug.

Photograph: David Williams

Last year as we returned from a visit to the neighbouring Dale Coppice we did a speculative sweep of some of the grass in Rough Park and to our great surprise and delight found a tortoise bug nymph. 

This is one of Shropshire rarest shieldbugs having until recently only been found in Wyre Forest and for some reason at the opposite corner of the county in Dolgoch Quarry. Last year further populations were found at Cramer Gutter and Rough Park. So it was good news to find one today to confirm that the Telford colony had survived for another year. Where will it turn up next?

Other inhabitants of the long grass that we found around the same time were a common blue butterfly.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

The hoverfly Sphaerophoria scripta

Photograph: Bob Kemp

And a Sloe bug nymph (also known as a Hairy shieldbug for the reason that can be seen in this photograph).

Photograph: Bob Kemp

The nymph is a bit of an "ugly duckling" as it will grow up into this:

Photograph: Bob Kemp

We left this grassy area and climbed a small hill that was a reclaimed spoil heap. On top the vegetation was still grassland but dominated by taller vegetation. There was a splendid view from here which is not done justice by the following photograph.

The vacuum sampler came into its own here as it was used to get to any beast that lurked at the base of the vegetation.

One unlucky character that was captured by the device was the attractively marked Labyrinth spider:

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Another good "shieldbug" find was a Small grass shieldbug nymph:

Photograph: David Williams

This is another shieldbug that is found infrequently in Shropshire so its presence at Rough Park is to be celebrated.

We descended the far side of the hill. We went down and down, then down still further as we moved from the summit of the hill into a pit that was about as deep as the hill was high.

Lunch beckoned so we climbed out of the pit and found a couple of seats to rest on and take on refreshments. As we lunched we saw two air ambulances fly over and land behind some trees about a mile away. We later learnt that there had been a road collision involving a car and a van. Two children from the car were seriously injured and had to be airlifted to hospital whilst three other injured adults were taken in road ambulances. A stark reminder of how easy it is for things to go wrong extremely quickly.

The pit and the area where we lunched were grassland similar to the area where we started and the vacuum sampler was re-employed to aid our searching. It turned up a couple of moths - the rather scruffy looking Ochsenheimeria taurella:

Photograph: David Williams

And the more sleek but, in this case rather worn, Ancylis badiana:

Photograph: David Williams

It also captured several tiny shieldbug nymphs which we believe are early instar nymphs of Small grass shieldbugs.

Photograph: David Williams

You can gauge how small they were from the finger-tip behind the bug.

Time to move on. We started the return journey walking along a path through the main area of grassland, pausing periodically to search for things of interest.

Along the way we found a Meadow grasshopper:

Photograph: David Williams

And a common green grasshopper:

Photograph: David Williams

Although you often find grasshoppers and their allies just passing the time of day in the grass they can often be very tricky to find. The males can be heard singing by some, generally younger people; but as you get older and your range of hearing shrinks then artificial means are required.

Help comes in the form of a hand held bat detector which can be used to pick up the calls. Then by careful stalking the grasshopper can be located and, if it poses long enough, photographed.

Other things of interest that we found as we meandered our way back to our starting point were:

A tortoise beetle - Cassida vibex

Photograph: David Williams

A magnificent Vapourer moth larva:

Photograph: David Williams

A spider - Enoplognatha ovata (I think!).

Photograph: Bob Kemp

And my favourite shieldbug - Bishop's Mitre

Photograph: David Williams

So, another lovely day on an excellent site came to a close.

My thanks to Telford and Wrekin Council for giving us permission to do what we enjoy doing and to the photographers Bob Kemp and David Williams for allowing me to use their excellent photographs.