Beware of the Bull!

Wednesday 19th July 2023, Heath Farm, Dudmaston

According to our programme, Joy of Wildlife were anticipating a visit to the Shropshire Wildlife Reserve at Holly Banks on this day. However, I received an email from the Trust explaining that amongst the cattle on site there was a bull.

Was this a problem?

Several regular attendees were consulted. They seemed quite laid back about the situation.

However, I was not happy. 

Visiting a site as individuals when each is content with the situation is not the same as taking a group. I decided to cancel this trip.

Fortunately, the National Trust came to the rescue and a trip to Dudmaston, specifically the restored heathland area within Heath Farm, was hastily arranged.

Despite the last-minute rearrangements, there was a good turn out on what turned out to be a pleasant summer’s day.

Having met in the car park we made our way with a purpose to the site.

The first thing that we noticed was a new fence. The access we had used on a couple of previous visits was no longer there! 

How do we get in?

Walking on further we found the main gated entrance and the gate was open. In we trooped.

There were a couple of people working on the site.We went to introduce ourselves.

They were National Trust volunteers. They had been asked to pull up the Ragwort.

“Why?” was our question.

Their response was to stop its spread to the neighbouring field which is to be included in the heathland restoration scheme.

To be fair there was an abundance of Ragwort; they reassured us that they were only removing plants that did not host Cinnabar larva.

There was another group at the far end of the meadow. They were much noisier as they were using powered tools to do whatever they were doing.

A couple of us wandered over to say “hello”.

They were removing scrub from the area with the aim of preventing the succession of the meadow to woodland.

Returning to the group we checked lots of Ragwort as we walked back. Disappointingly but with some relief we did not find any Cinnabar larvae.

The rest of the group had been busy whilst we were socialising …

A butterfly, Essex skipper, which has distinctive black tips to its antennae.

Photograph: David Williams

A small ladybird, Scymnus frontalis.

Photograph: David Williams

The following photograph is this ladybird on a finger so that you can get an idea of how small it was.

Photograph: David Williams

The larva of a Lime-speck pug moth.

Photograph: Neil Nash

A spider, Araneus quadratus.

Photograph: Neil Nash

Having not found a Cinnabar larva on the many plants checked earlier, here was one on the Ragwort in front of me.

And one on the plant over there …

And another one just there …

Etc.!

It’s strange how such a brightly coloured larva can remain unseen for so long, then, once you see one, you see them all over the place.

Three of the group were discussing matters of photographic importance. I stared intently at my tray trying to ignore them (my lack of knowledge/understanding of the minutiae of taking a photograph is a source of great amusement withing the group).

When suddenly one of them shouts “Scarlet tiger”.

This sets off a flurry activity as several men of a certain age attempt to follow its flight as it darts between plants, pausing occasionally, and briefly, in the hoping of getting a good look at it and a decent photograph.

Eventually the chase is abandoned and it is intercepted by a net.

Released from the net one would expect it to fly away immediately …

But it did not! It just settled on a flower and posed.

Photograph: David Williams

Eventually the moth decided it had had enough and it flew off into the trees.

Thank you.

Grasshoppers were common in the meadow. Taking steps through the vegetation was often accompanied by the sight of one or more getting out of the way. A couple of the species were:

Field grasshopper;

Photograph: David Williams

And Common green grasshopper.

Photograph: David Williams

Other interesting finds included:

A Hairy shieldbug nymph, Dolycoris baccarum;

Photograph: Bob Kemp

An Adonis’ ladybird;

Photograph: David Williams

A Denticulate leatherbug;

Photograph: David Williams

And Roesel’s bush crickets. 

This is a female.

Photograph: David Williams

This bush cricket is normally short-winged like the one above, but it also has long-winged individuals.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

This insect in the following photograph caused some consternation.

Photograph: David Williams

It was collected during a suction sampling of the grassland. The immediate thought was that it may be a Land caddis.

BUT

It was too big and the case did not look right.

There are some moth larvae that create cases, but these are normally found attached to trees. However, despite being found nowhere near a tree, the consensus was that it was probably a moth.

The moth was identified later from the photograph as Taleporia tubulosa. This was confirmed  by a local micro-moth expert.

Within the meadow there were several patches where heather plugs had been planted. These seemed to have taken successfully and were starting to develop.

In amongst the heather were several blue flowers of the plant Sheep’s-bit.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Another plant, present in profusion was a clover, Hare’s-foot clover.

It was now well into the afternoon (we had lunched at some point); we decided to move on to another meadow nearer to the Heath Farm buildings. This was much denser grassland, and its under-storey of low-lying bramble made walking through it tricky. Nevertheless, it was a different habitat and we thought we would find some different species.

And we did.

A Long-winged conehead;

Photograph: David Williams

A longhorn beetle, Rutpela maculata;

Photograph: Neil Nash

And a Forget-me-not shieldbug.

Photograph: David Williams

At the end of the meadow, where we were, there were two or three overhanging oak trees. A small butterfly was spotted on one of them, a Purple hairstreak.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

This find brought this highly enjoyable day to a close. We returned to our cars, packed up and returned home.

Especial thanks to the National Trust for coming to our assistance and allowing us to enjoy ourselves on their site, and to the to the photographers whose wonderful images that illuminate this tale.

Explosion of Butterflies

Wednesday 5th July 2023, Barnes Farm

Barnes Farm has recently been acquired by the National Trust as part of their Stepping Stones project. It lies just to the west of Asterton, which is to the west of the Long Mynd, and within sight of the Stiperstones.

It is not the easiest site to reach and requires nerveless driving along some very narrow roads.

Nine of us met in the farmyard which served as a car park and, despite the tricky navigation required, we were more or less on time for our usual 10.30am start.

The vegetation around the farmyard, also known as the car park, was too attractive to ignore; it was quite difficult persuading people to leave and enter the first field.

There was nothing special about this field, but the hedge was well developed and checked thoroughly.

We left through the gate in the far-right corner which accessed a green lane that formed the spine of the farm and would take us most of the way to a Wildlife Site situated at the southern tip of the site.

This was densely vegetated and was not the easiest track to walk along but it provided plenty of for us to look at including this well camouflaged grasshopper, a Common green grasshopper. 

Photograph: David Williams

What was most noticeable about the lane was the huge numbers of butterflies. They were nearly all Meadow browns, but it was a truly amazing sight to pass close to a flowering bramble bush and see an explosion of butterflies take flight.

It was impossible to capture this on a photograph, but to compensate here is one of a Meadow brown.

Photograph: David Williams

Eventually the green lane turned right, we went straight on, crossing a sheep-cropped field into a meadow.

Photograph: David Williams

And from this meadow into a further meadow where we found a Forest bug nymph.

Photograph: David Williams

Two minutes the nymph had grown up into an adult.

Photograph: David Williams

No, not really!

I think you know that they were two different insects!

It was in this meadow that we realised it was lunchtime and spotting this oak we picnicked in its shade.

Here we are in lunch mode.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

We were almost but not quite at the Wildlife Site. After lunch we pressed on.

A pair of ladybirds were dislodged from the foliage. They were a 10-spot and Larch.

Photograph: David Williams

A hornet was seen feeding at a sap run on old oak.

Photograph: David Williams

To me this looked like it may be an ancient tree, it has a considerable girth and the crown of the tree had reduced in height. 

However, it is not on the Ancient tree register, so it has either been missed or it does not meet the requirements.

At long last we reached the Wildlife Site. It is in two parts. The first was mainly wet grassland, where we started, and the second drier grassland, where we finished. This is the drier area.

Finds came in thick and fast and the photographers and the scribe were kept busy!

A small ladybird, Coccidula rufa and a larva of the same species;

Photograph: David Williams

A Golden-ringed dragonfly;

Photograph: Neil Nash

A nymph of a Tree damselbug;

Photograph: David Williams

The web of a Nursery-web spider, full of spiderlings;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A stonefly, Isoperla grammatica;

Photograph: Neil Nash

A male Common earwig;

Photograph: David Williams

A nymph of the shieldbug, Eurydema oleracea, which I know as a Crucifer shield but others call it a Brassica shieldbug - probably best to stick to the scientific name to avoid confusion;

Photograph: David Williams

Large skippers being bothered by a hoverfly;

Photograph: John Martin

A plant, Bitter vetch;

Photograph: John Martin

Another plant, Sneezewort – as no-one was afflicted with a sneezing fit we could not find out if it worked;

Photograph: John Martin

Another pair of ladybirds, a Larch ladybird and the larva of a Pine ladybird;

Photograph: David Williams

A Ringlet butterfly;

Photograph: David Williams

A micro-moth Pamenne aurana;

Photograph: John Martin

And finally, a Long-winged conehead nymph.

Photograph: David Williams

Phew!

After all that it was time to go. We trudged back to the cars and drove home after a tiring but rewarding day.

Wednesday 12th July 2023, Llanymynech Heritage Centre

I was away looking for bugs in southwest Wales so missed this outing. No-one has given me a report of the day, but I do have some photographs; you will have to make up your own narrative.

To get you started … 

I am told the weather was not too bad. (This was a relief as I got drenched whilst out and about north of Llanelli in the morning. Fortunately, the afternoon was sunny and warm which dried me out.)

Brown hawker;

Photograph: John Martin

A mirid bug, Campyloneura virgula;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A micro-moth, Carcina quercana;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A weevil, Curculio venosus;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Another mirid bug, Deraeocoris ruber;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And yet another, the long-limbed Phytocoris longipennis;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A colourful staphylid beetle, as yet not identified but probably Platydracus stercorarius;

Photograph: David Williams

A plant Red hemp-nettle, this is a rare plant and the Heritage Site is its only reliable site in Shropshire;

Photograph: John Martin

A moth, Riband wave;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A Small copper butterfly;

Photograph: John Martin

Another butterfly, a Small tortoiseshell;

Photograph: John Martin

A distinctive larva of The vapourer moth dwarfing the mirid bug Plagiognathus arbustorum;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A nymph of a Tortoise shieldbug;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Another micro-moth, Udea lutealis;

Photograph: John Martin

And a hoverfly, Volucella pellucens.

Photograph: John Martin

Other news

A visit to Dudmaston witnessed a couple of aggregations of white butterflies as they took salts and moisture from the margin if a lake.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Thank you to the National Trust for inviting us to enjoy ourselves and to the to the photographers for their images that illuminate this tale.