Wrekin Forest Volunteers: Hitch-hikers galore!

4 Jun 2023

Hitch-hikers galore!

Wednesday 24th May 2023, Rudge Farm

What is going on?

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Not sure?

All will be revealed later.

On this outing we were guests of Rudge Estate Farm which is situated on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border east of Bridgnorth.

A few years ago some woodland was cleared from the sandy soil and heather quickly reclaimed the area. This has now become the home of several species of bee that are taking advantage of the conditions. It is now being managed and improved for the wildlife it supports.

We met and parked by a cottage on the farm. This was not a good idea as we were on the private driveway for the cottage. Our first task, therefore was to move the cars to a track in a nearby field.

Our visit started in a meadow of acidic grassland. Our first record was a Brown hare that was seen fleeing from the assembled group through the field. It was far too quick for any photographers to react and catch it in flight. However the meadow was still there after it had gone!

Not long after starting our perusal of this field a potential disaster struck, when a pooter (used to collect and hold insects) was lost.

It was a large field and the pooter’s owner had wandered far and wide before noticing it was missing.

A line of searchers was formed and we swept across the field.

Without success.

Some of us started to retrace our steps. But others roamed randomly and they, thankfully, found the pooter.

Normality restored we continued on our merry way looking for things of interest:

A small ladybird, Scymnus frontalis;

Photograph: David Williams

A robber fly, Dysmachus trigonus, known to its friends as the Fan-bristled robberfly;

Photograph: John Martin

A large click beetle, Agrypnus murinus;

And, by way of relief from the invertebrates, a plant Field mouse-ear.

Photograph: John Martin

We left the meadow and passed through a promising looking field.

Passed through?

Of course we didn’t.

But as time was pressing and we wanted to get to the main heathland before lunch, the stay was short.

During this brief visit we managed to find an Eyed ladybird.

Photograph: David Williams

And spot this rather bald bee-fly, Bombylius major. It is normally densely clothed in brown hairs.

Photograph: John Martin

Eventually we got to the recently restored heathland.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Here we were met by a very excited member of the group who had gone on ahead of us. He had found a bee that was covered in many orange creatures.

Photograph: David Williams

The orange creatures are the first instar larvae of the Black oil-beetle, Meloe proscarabaeus, and are known as triungulins.

This was a sight that few of us (if any) had seen before. And, needless to say, it caused a snapping frenzy amongst the photographers.

Photograph: Neil Nash

This was not to be our last encounter with these creatures.

Lunch was taken and our aerial photographer took advantage of the site's proximity to the Roman fort known as The Walls to take a quick snap.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Yes, under that green crop and surrounding trees, is the site of a Roman fort!

After the interval we searched the area for creatures of interest. Here are some of them:

A larva, believed to be a Svensson’s Copper Underwing;

Photograph: David Williams

A large fly, Tachina fera;

Photograph: John Martin

Another of the larger click beetles, Prosternon tessellatum;

A bug normally found in oak, Rhabdomiris striatellus;

Photograph: David Williams

A Mother Shipton moth;

Photograph: John Martin

And the larva of a Larch ladybird.

Photograph: David Williams

After a brief pause to gather our thoughts and take on refreshments we moved on, only to be brought to a halt immediately when a Beautiful demoiselle was spotted resting on a tree.

A couple of the group had gone ahead and we were following in their wake. But after a while, when the path divided, it was clear that we did not know where they had gone. We did a manoeuvre so beloved by sat. navs. – a U-turn – and returned to the heathland to await their reappearance.

When they came back they had more news of oil beetles and triungulins.

Adult female oil beetles lay up to 1000 eggs in a number of holes they dig in the soil. When the eggs hatch the first instar larvae, known as triungulins, make their way to the top of some vegetation.

Photograph: John Martin

As you can see from the above photographs a great number of hatchlings can gather on a single piece of vegetation.

Here they wait for a bee to land.

When a hapless bee obliges, they clamber onto it, as witnessed in the earlier photographs.

The bee will, at some stage, return to its nest where the triungulins leave their host and make themselves at home. They consume the bee’s eggs and all the provisions the bee has gathered for its offspring. They stay in the nest until they mature to adulthood.

Photograph: John Martin

This is a black oil beetle. Handily for us the triungulins were orange and this species of oil beetle is the only one in Britain to produce orange triungulins (those of other oil beetles are black).

After all this excitement we made our way back to the cars.

But we did not depart straight away. We spent some time looking at the scruffy vegetation around the edge of the field and were rewarded with the sight of a very colourful Asparagus beetle.

Photograph: David Williams

The presence of this beetle should not have been a surprise as the field was used to grow asparagus.

Time to go home.

Other news

Shropshire Spider Group

The group recently visited Holmer Lake and Kemberton Meadows and Mounts in Telford.

Holmer Lake is a reservoir and the land around the lake includes areas of woodland and grassland.

The grassland, scrub and wooded pit-mounds of Kemberton Meadows and Mounts is located between the A442 Queensway and Halesfield industrial estate, across the road from Holmer Lake.

On a lovely sunny day the following photographs give a taste of what was found:

A long-horn beetle, Agapantha villoviridescens;