Distinctive marking

Wednesday 16th August 2023, Nills Quarry, Pontesbury

If you are a regular reader of these ramblings you will know that on a couple of occasions this year we have played a game called “Hunt the Pooter”. It is very similar to the game of “Hunt the Thimble” but played with a larger “target” object – a pooter – in a much larger area – whatever site we are on.

The rules are very simple. Someone drops their pooter somewhere on site and then, sometime later, declares that it is missing. The rest of the group then enjoy going to look for it. 

We have found this quite a hard game. So, it has been made a little easier by making the pooter more distinctive.

As yet we have not played the game again and it remains to be seen how effective the markings are.

Nills Quarry is situated on Nills Hill close to Poles Coppice on Pontesbury Hill. As the name suggests it is a former Quarry, from which Quartzite was taken. Quarrying ended in the 1950s and it became a landfill site. It is now an area of grassland and woodland, and, as the information board declares, a haven for moths when over 400 species of moths were recorded there in 2017.

The fun started early when the parking area we were expecting to use was not available. This meant that we had to park our cars in the site’s car park, which was designed for two or three at most. We arrived in six! And there was already a car parked there.

With expert help from our car park attendant for the day, we managed to get all the cars parked whilst leaving a clear exit for the other car to escape. (It was still there when we went home.)

As we entered the site, we came across a large expanse of rough grassland. Remarkably this area and the bordering woodland and features kept us entertained for most of the day.

This suited me as I was still not very mobile after my recent accident. I made my way slowly to a convenient picnic table where I could set up camp and wait for the other members of the group to bring me bugs to identify.

Very early finds on the vegetation close to the entrance were an Oak eggar moth larva;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And a Crucifer shieldbug.

Photograph: David Williams

Birch and hawthorn trees situated close to the entrance yielded two shiedbug nymphs. The first was a Birch shieldbug;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And the second a Hawthorn shieldbug.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Venturing into the grassy area we found a Bishop’s mitre;

Photograph: David Williams

And in some scrub we located a Common marbled carpet moth larva.

Photograph: Neil Nash

By now we had spread out quite widely over the grassland area. There was a band of low-lying bramble guarding the main area and walking through this was very tricky. Once the bramble had been bettered the rest of it was still difficult terrain as long grass and tall plants dominated the area. However, it turned out to be an excellent area for invertebrates.

Lying just beyond the picnic table was a pool.

Unfortunately the emphasis is on the “was”, as apart from a few puddles, it had dried out.

The lack of water did not stop a dragonfly from laying its eggs in one of the remaining puddles. Let us hope they manage to survive.

Another insect taking full advantage of the waterless pool was a Red admiral. This seemed to be using a dry bare stony patch as its resting area, returning to it regularly after venturing off to do whatever it had to do.

Another find around this time was a large orange picture-wing fly. This was identified later as Chetostoma curvinerve. This is only the second time it has been recorded in the county. Unfortunately I do not have a photograph but there are several on the internet.

Before we settled down to lunch, we noticed this conopid fly, Conops strigatus.

Photograph: John Martin

Lunch over I suggested that the group might want to wander around the rest of the site leaving me to pass the time by the grassland. For some reason they seemed reluctant to go and most stayed and continued to look around the area where we were. 

A few adventurers did depart. But when they returned their comments suggested that the grassland was the best part of the site from an invertebrate point of view.

What else did we discover in the grassland area?

Here are a few photographs:

A pseudoscorpion, Neobisium carcinoides;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A large hoverfly, Sericomyia silentis;

Photograph: David Williams

A rove beetle, sorry I do not know the species but it is probably a Philonthus species;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A Small grass shieldbug;

Photograph: David Williams

A wasp of the genus Ectemnius;

Photograph: Neil Nash

And a Field grasshopper;

Photograph: David Williams

Our woodland adventurers returned having found and photographed the following:

A gall on yew caused by the fly Taxomyia taxi;

Photograph: John Martin

A silphid beetle, identified after the event as Thanatophilus sinuatus, that has only been recorded a few times within the county;

Photograph: David Williams

The nymph of the stiltbug, Metatropis rufescens, found in a large patch of Enchanter’s nightshade;

Photograph: David Williams

Some distinctive egg-sacs of the spider Paidiscura pallens;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And a Knopper gall, found on oak, caused by the asexual generation of the gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis.

Photograph: Liz Roberts

The day was drawing to and end and whilst a few of us were still wandering around we noticed that the picnic table area had become an irresistible attraction.

Photograph: John Martin

I am sure they were discussing the identification of the silphid beetle!!

We went to join them.

And then, it was time to go home, but not before we had seen this wasp, Gasteruption jaculator.

Photograph: David Williams

This is a parasitic wasp that uses its long ovipositor to lay its eggs on the larvae in the nest of a solitary bee or wasp. When the eggs hatch, the hatchlings devour the host’s larvae and any provisions left in the nest.

Thank you to Shropshire County Council for allowing us to enjoy ourselves, and to the photographers whose excellent images illuminate this tale.

Green lung

Wednesday 9th August 2023, Lion Coppice, Shrewsbury

I received a request to visit this site a few weeks ago but as we had no free dates until November, I had let the owner know that the earliest we could visit would be in 2024.

Fate then played its hand.

Our planned visit for this Wednesday fell foul of planned road closures. As this would result in a long detour on tortuous narrow roads the trip was cancelled.

Thus, a few days after letting the owner of Lion Coppice know that it would be about a year before we could visit, I wrote to him for permission to visit the following week!

Fortunately, he was able to host us.

Lion Coppice is a small woodland surrounded on three sides by housing in the Battlefield area of Shrewsbury. 

The fourth side, which was a narrow triangle of grassland and scrub separating it from the A49, is now an ALDI supermarket. As a result, the woodland is now, in effect, an island.

It was described as a “green lung” by one of the group.

Unfortunately, I was absent through a leg injury sustained when I did this.

Photograph: Dawn Filtness

It was not the leg that went through that was giving me trouble but the one I landed on in the loft.

For those of you who are concerned…

The hole has been repaired, plastered, painted and the smoke alarm fixed.

The group found that the wood did not seem particularly old, no large trees were observed. It was a mix of mainly oak and birch, with an understory of hazel, honeysuckle and holly. There were a few glades with bracken and bramble; a pond, but this was overshadowed by the trees; and some standing and fallen deadwood.

I have received lots of photographs of the day but very little about the action. As a result, the rest of this report is a photo-diary of the day (which also included looking around the owner’s garden and orchard).

An Ivy ladybird, Nephus quadrimaculatus (it is normally found on ivy);

Photograph: David Williams

A collection of nymphs of Sloe (or Hairy) shieldbugs; 

Photograph: David Williams

And here is what they will grow into:

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A nymph of a Crucifer shieldbug;

Photograph: Neil Nash

A rhopalid bug, Corizus hyoscami;

Photograph: John Lyden

A hoverfly, Chrysotoxum bicincta;

Photograph: John Lyden

An Oak bush cricket;

Photograph: David Williams

A Birch shieldbug nymph together with an adult Forest bug (also known as a Red-legged shieldbug);

Photograph: David Williams

A micro-moth, Blastobasis adustella;

Photograph: John Lyden

A ground beetle, Pterostichus madidus;

Photograph: Mags Cousins

A 10-spot ladybird;

Photograph: David Williams

Several egg-sacs of a spider, Paidiscura pallens;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A nymph of a Hawthorn shieldbug;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A fungus with a rather sinister name, Dead man’s fingers;

Photograph: Neil Nash

A hoverfly, Volucella inanis;

Photograph: John Martin

A gall on fern caused by a larva of the fly, Chirosia betuleti;

Photograph: John Lyden

An Amethyst deceiver fungus;

Photograph: Mags Cousins

A gall caused by a mite, Cecidophyes nudus, on Wood avens, which is probably the first time this gall has been recorded in the county;

Photograph: John Lyden

A female Speckled bush cricket with a rather impressive ovipositor;

Photograph: David Williams

A beetle, Anisotoma humeralis;

Photograph: David Williams

A Copper underwing moth;

Photograph: Neil Nash

A larva of a Small ranunculus moth;

Photograph: John Martin

A blue discus fungus; I am not sure what the species is;

Photograph: John Martin

A Speckled wood butterfly;

Photograph: John Martin

And finally, a hoverfly, Helophilus pendulus.

Photograph: John Martin

I hope these photographs manage to give you a feeling for what happened during this visit.

Thank you to the owner of Lion Coppice for allowing us to enjoy ourselves, and to the photographers whose excellent images illuminate this tale.

Fortunate timing (for once)

Wednesday 2nd August 2023, Corfields, Westhope

The clouds were gathering as we met in the site’s car park. We were rather slow in getting ready as some of the group were delayed by traffic. 

This gave us time to explore the car park. And, as with most car parks, it was a site worth visiting.

A Pale tussock moth larva was beaten from an oak;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A mirid bug, Malacocoris chlorizans, was dislodged from a hazel in the hedge;

Photograph: David Williams

And a Marble gall caused by the gall wasp Andricus kollari was found on an oak.

Photograph: John Lyden

There is a small insect on the gall in the above photograph. This is a gall wasp, probably a Synergus species which is an inquiline of the gall, that is, it will lay its eggs in the gall and its larvae will develop within the gall.

Photograph: John Lyden

The gathering clouds had collected sufficiently to create a heavy shower of rain. Fortunately, as we had not progressed from the car park some were able to shelter in their cars and others took cover in a small open hut at the entrance.

The shower soon passed, and we made for the site.

The access point took us into a large meadow.

Most of the flora had gone over to seed but it looked as though it would have been a very pleasant sight in flower.

The meadow was surrounded by a border of rough vegetation with one side being woodland and most of the other sides being decent hedgerow.

When searching a meadow, we tend to stick to the edges, which is where we tend to find the greatest variety of invertebrates.

A Buff-tip moth larva was beaten out of one of the oaks that were part of the hedgerow;

Photograph: David Williams

And a tiny spider, Paidiscura pallens, was spotted close to a couple of sputnik-shaped egg-sac on the underside of an oak leaf.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Lurking in the bramble, nettle, cleavers and other taller plants making up the border we found:

A Speckled bush cricket;

Photograph: David Williams

A nymph of a Green shieldbug;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A tachinid fly, Tachina fera (on the left), together with a conopid fly, Conops quadrifaciatus.

Photograph: John Martin

By now we had reached the top of the meadow – and paused to look back at the view.

A gate to the woodland was not far away. Passing through we followed the path to a clearing used for woodland activities. Here, there was a shelter with tree stumps and other seats on which we could rest and eat lunch.

Whilst eating, we heard a pitter-patter on the roof, followed by drumming, as more rain descended.

Fortunately (again) we were sheltered from this shower by the shelter!

As before, it soon stopped and the sun broke through the clearing clouds.

Lunch over we spent a little time exploring the woodland.

A leaf-mine was spotted on the leaf of the Burdock next to the shelter, caused by the larva of the fly Phytomyza lappae eating its way through the fabric of the leaf.

Photograph: John Lyden

With this mine you can follow the progress of the larva from where it starts to feed (the narrowest end), creating a wider mine as it grows until it finally vacates the leaf at the widest end. The little black dots are the frass the larva produces as it feeds. The pattern of the path and the frass can sometimes be enough to identify the species that created the mine.

Other species noted in this area included:

Bifid hemp-nettle;

Photograph: John Martin

A beetle, Malthinus flaveolus;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And a curious growth on the trunk of the tree. At first it was thought to be a fungus but it has now been suggested that it may be a slime mould, Metatrichia floriformis.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Carrying on through the wood we came to a stile that gave access to a field. Once we had clambered over it, inelegantly, we paused to take in the view.

We passed through a couple more fields to a wetter area of the site by a stream. On the way we spotted:

A large hoverfly, Volucella inanis;

Photograph: John Lyden

A pair of mating Common blue butterflies;

Photograph: John Martin

A Peacock butterfly;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

And a Dusky thorn moth.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

By now we had all arrived at the area by the stream. Here the vegetation was much taller and denser.

However, the many umbellifers and the trees along the edge of the stream were a magnet for insects. These included:

Cream-spot ladybird;

Photograph: David Williams

A large fly, Phasia hemiptera;

Photograph: John Martin

A Common blue butterfly (at the top) and the tachinid fly, Eriothrix rufomaculata, sharing a thistle flower;

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A Ruddy darter;

Photograph: John Lyden

And a harvestman, Dicranopalpus ramosus agg.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Why the agg.?

Dicranopalpus ramosus used to be easy to identify as it was the only species with palps that split rather like a tuning fork in Britain. But, lo, and behold, other species have been found that share the same characteristic and look similar. As separation depends on an intimate examination of the specimen it is convenient to record it as an aggregate species.

As the day was drawing to a close and members were winding down, we investigated the field leading to the last area. It did not disappoint.

Slender groundhoppers;

Photograph: David Williams

A Small copper butterfly;

Photograph: John Martin

And a Herald moth.

Photograph: Caroline Uff

Looking up we noticed that the clouds had gathered once again, and it appeared that more rain was on the way. We headed back to the cars. 

Fortunately, we did not get wet on the way.

Other news

Trips to Nottinghamshire, Benson in Oxfordshire and the Lleyn Peninsula in search of ladybirds and bush crickets were successful. Unfortunately, the travelling was not, with multiple traffic hold-ups and confusing road closures. But let’s concentrate on the successes.

In Nottinghamshire the first encounter was with a “Mealybug destroyer”. This is a ladybird, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, which is imported from Australia and used to, as the name suggests, control mealybugs on plants which are in hot-houses.

Photograph: David Williams

A second ladybird was found later, also an arrival from Australia, Rhyzobius forestieri. This was found outdoors.

Photograph: David Williams

A non-ladybird was the nymph of a Western conifer seed bug. This is also an “import”. This time from America. Although it is well established in Europe and probably arrived over from there.

Photograph: David Williams

At Bensons the species of interest was Bryony ladybird. This ladybird arrived from mainland Europe in the 1990s. In England it seems to feed exclusively on White bryony. This is a photograph of the adult on the left and larva on the right. The discoloured patch at the bottom is where they have been feeding.

Photograph: David Williams

A second find of note was a nymph of the Southern oak busk cricket.

Photograph: David Williams

Finally, to the Lleyn Peninsula where the species looked for and located was Grey bush cricket.

Photograph: David Williams

This outing also brought sightings of:

Choughs;

Photograph: David Williams

A Boat bug;

Photograph: David Williams

And, in the sea, a family of Dolphins.

Photograph: David Williams

Apley Woods

Some photographs of insects found at Apley Woods that arrived too late to be included in the recent report of this visit.

A "picture-wing" fly, Clusia tigrina;

Photograph: John Martin

Another fly, the conopid, Physocephala rufipes;

Photograph: John Martin

And a Roesel’s bush cricket.

Photograph: John Martin

Thank you to the owner of Corfields for allowing us to enjoy ourselves, and to the photographers whose brilliant images illuminate this tale.