Blue Sky Thinking

 Wednesday 3^rd December 2025, The Isle, Bicton

Our venue this week was a large, mainly arable farm which is encircled by a meander of the River Severn, close to Bicton. The farm's practice is to reduce reliance on bagged fertiliser, improve soil health naturally and benefit the natural environment.
I left home in south Telford shrouded in fog but this had already given way to sunshine by the time we had reached the M54 and fortunately we spent most of our time on site under blue skies. Having parked and made our way through a small wood, we arrived at a field which had a wide, uncut margin.

photo: Keith Fowler

We set about examining this area for finds…

 

photo: Keith Fowler

 ...which included 16-spot Ladybird,
 

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Meadow Ladybird
 

 and The Mirid bug Stenodema laevigata.
 

The first Callitula pyrrhogaster of the day was also found in this area. A tiny, parasitic wasp, the females are virtually wingless and (exceptionally for the Parasitica) easy to identify. For some unfathomable reason this female wasp has become known to us as “The Boy”!
 

photo: John Martin

Having reached the bottom of this field we made our way into the field next door and settled down to eat our lunch in the sunshine.

 

photo: Keith Fowler

This attracted the attention of a small flock of uncharacteristically bold sheep, who advanced and eyed us with interest.

 

Lunch over, we made our way around the edge of the field, vacuuming and beating as we went. Low vegetation produced several 22-spot Ladybirds…
 

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

…and the attractive hopper Allygus mixtus.
 

photo: John Martin

A Hawthorn Shieldbug was persuaded from the hedge.
 

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

A Larch and a Douglas Fir were growing together. These produced one or two Larch and Harlequin Ladybirds, plus copious quantities of Pine Ladybirds.

Larch Ladybird (photo: John Martin)

Pine Ladybirds

Tiny creatures, less than 0.5mm long were spotted on the Douglas Fir needles. These are overwintering female Douglas Fir Adelgids, Hemipteran bugs related to aphids.
 

photo: John Martin

We reached the end of the field and passed through a gate into a field abutting the River Severn.

photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Vegetation in the area was investigated, the group settling to examine their finds in the sunshine.

These included several Water Measurers,

the rove beetles Paederus riparius

and Stenus bimaculatus,

and the moss Syntrichia latifolia, growing on the trunk of a willow.

photo: John Martin

From here it was a short walk back to the cars, pausing to admire a passing Long-tailed Tit

photo: John Martin

and thence home. However some of the group decided to walk the short distance to Isle Pool, a large fishing pool, where an overwintering Great Crested Newt was found under a log and quickly covered over again.

photo: Neil Nash

 A very pleasant day in the winter sunshine.
   
 
Photographs © the author except as noted. 

Rain, Snow and Walking Soil Particles

Before we reach the account of our most recent adventures I have to report two cancellations (or, hopefully, merely postponements):

Wednesday 12th November 2025, Blackbridge Quarry

A forecast of persistent and frequently heavy rain caused the abandonment of this trip. We hope to reschedule later in the winter.

Wednesday 19th November 2025, Block Wood (Kerry Ridgeway)

This time the precipitation was white and crystalline ie snow. Not over most of Shropshire, where the weather was frequently sunny and reasonably pleasant. But at 400m+ on the ridgeway, conditions were rather different, as reported by our local correspondent:
 “We have 5+cm on the ground near the house. Away from the shelter of the house, the snow is 10cm or so. Photo of the view down the valley - the wood and fields in the distance are above Clun.”

photograph: John Lyden

We thought better of it and stayed at home. We may be able to reschedule this visit for March 2026.

Wednesday 26th November 2025, Bucknell Wood

With the forecast threatening nothing worse than mildly unpleasant weather, this trip went ahead as planned - hurrah! In the event the weather was almost benign, in a Novemberish sort of way. In fact the journey to site was conducted in rather glorious sunshine, affording spectacular views of Brown Clee Hill from the Much Wenlock to Craven Arms road:

The woodland at Bucknell is managed by Forestry England and is a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees (oak, larch and Douglas Fir in particular). We set off on the southerly track, hoping that its sunnier aspect would provide more finds for us. No sooner had we started than a splendid Eyed Ladybird, Britain’s largest ladybird species, was persuaded from a cypress tree.

Before long the first patches of Polytrichum moss were sighted. The vacuum samplers got to work and soon extracted several bristletails. Britain only has a handful of species of these primitive insects, but they are nevertheless fiendishly difficult to identify.

Bristletails are not creatures that we find very often. On the other hand, Britain’s commonest species of pseudoscorpion, the Moss Neobisid, Neobisium carcinoides turns up regularly and today was no exception. These arachnids are not closely related to ‘true’ scorpions, are completely harmless and at 3mm or less in length are not at all fearsome - unless you are a springtail…

     

 

The vacuumers continued to target patches of Polytrichum, causing much interest...

photograph: Keith Fowler

Finally, the object of their endeavours was extracted - a Snow Flea. Not a flea at all, these insects are relatives of the scorpionflies and share their distinctive long snout. Unlike scorpionflies they are flightless and at about 5mm long, are much smaller. Adults are active in the winter, from about November to February - highly unusual for an insect. They live in moss, especially Polytrichum and its relatives, and are in no way dependent on snow! This is a male. Females are stouter and have a prominent ovipositor at the rear.

Two more Snow Fleas were found later, both of them also males. Another nice find in the moss was this Red-rumped Ladybird, Scymnus haemorrhoidalis, a 2.5mm long ‘micro ladybird’ species.
 

Away from the moss, the Douglas Firs yielded two more ladybirds, Larch Ladybird (on the left) and Pine Ladybird. Neither of them is particularly attached to their nominal species of conifer!
 

A slime-mould (Didymium sp.) was discovered on a fallen leaf.
 

Autumn is prime fungus season. Finds from the day included Calocera viscosa

photograph: John Lyden

Gymnopilus penetrans

photograph: John Lyden

and Stereum hirsutum

photograph: John Lyden

Moving into an area of more open canopy woodland and clear-fell we became aware that the disappearing sun had been replaced by a rather cutting wind. Vacuuming the mossy ground vegetation failed to turn up any any more Snow Fleas, but what seemed to be a minute particle of soil suddenly sprouted a head and legs! It was scrutinised, photographed and eventually declared to be a tiny larva of the Land Caddis, Enoicyla pusilla.

 

This is an extraordinary insect, Britain’s only terrestrial caddisfly. It has an equally extraordinary British distribution, being confined entirely to the Wyre Forest and the adjacent parts of Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. This discovery represents a new location, significantly further west than any previously known site.
 
Once the first one had been spotted it became apparent that the trays were full of them! But they were truly minute: the cases of the ones photographed measure from between 1.54mm to 1.78mm long. Surely these must be first instar larvae (which is what would be expected at this time of year). To give an idea of scale, the below photos include one climbing over a springtail and another being ‘photobombed’ by a 4.8mm long Stenus beetle.
 

By now the cold wind was beginning to be felt. It also felt like the day had reached its natural peak of excitement, so we began to retrace our way to the car park, pausing only for a habitat shot of the area from which the Land Caddis had been extracted.

photograph: Keith Fowler

 A completely unexpected end to a splendid day.     

 
Photographs © the author except as noted. 

Garlic Badger?

Wednesday 5th November 2025, Abbey Manor, Buildwas

Abbey Manor is now a private residence and event venue. Its long history started in the 12^th century when it was originally the abbot’s lodging and infirmary of the adjoining Buildwas Abbey. After the abbey’s dissolution it became in turn a private mansion, a farm and, much more recently, Ironbridge Power Station’s social club. At that latter stage the grounds (our venue for the day) were home to the Power Station’s nature trail.   

 We began our investigations in the more formal garden areas near the house.

Early finds included a Red-rumped Ladybird, Scymnus haemorrhoidalis and some very eye-catching orange fungi, identified as Melastiza cornubiensis.

 

From here we progressed into an area of more natural grassland which afforded a fine view of the abbey ruins next door.

More Red-rumped Ladybirds were vacuumed, this time in surprisingly large numbers.

Other finds included the bug Stictopleurus punctatonervosus

 

A Hawthorn Shieldbug

A Forest (or Red-legged) Shieldbug nymph

Small Teasel

photo: John Martin

And Nettle-leaved Bellflower

photo: John Martin

Lunch was taken, sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree. Moving on, we arrived at the edge of an area of woodland. Sometime around this point a snail was found and declared to be Oxychilus alliarius, the Garlic Snail, so called because it emits a strong smell of garlic when ‘irritated’ (as the FSC AIDGAP guide puts it). On inspection, one member of the party described it as being “as garlic-y as a badger” which left us wondering if this meant it was very ‘garlic-y’, or not ‘garlic-y’ at all! Sadly I do not have a photographic record of this controversial discovery..!

Other finds in and around the woodland included the pseudoscorpion Neobisium carcinoides

The snail-hunting beetle Phosphuga atrata

photo: Neil Nash

 Small Stagshorn fungus

photo: Neil Nash

Orange Ladybird

Adonis Ladybird, unearthed from beneath a log. It was subsequently returned safely to its lodgings..

And leaf mines of the micro moth Phyllonoricter platani. The host-plant for this species, which was only discovered in Britain in 1989, is London Plane, of which there were several in the woods.

photo: John Martin

  For the last part of the day we decided to decamp to the abbey grounds, accessed via a (usually) locked door from the Manor’s gardens. This gave the opportunity for some fancy photography:

photo: Liz Roberts

Here we found the stilitbug Berytinus minor, whilst being watched over by a Robin

photo: John Martin

As the visit came to an end the low sun added some colour to the trees behind us in the Manor’s gardens.  

A Well Deserved Rest

Keith & trusty bottle of Lucozade, with Jim contemplating who knows what; Grinshill, August 2016

 As you will have read in the blog report for Ketley Paddock Mound, the end of the summer 2025 programme also marked the end of an era, as Keith Fowler, our “Dear Leader” retired from his unpaid position as Joy of Wildlife organiser, blogger, all-round inspiration and driving force. A measure of the size of the task that he has undertaken single-handedly since the beginnings of the group c.2012 is that his roles are now being performed by a committee of no fewer than ten people! Please be reassured: Keith is still very much an active participant in Joy of Wildlife and on call to hold the steering group’s hands while they find their feet (we do like a mixed metaphor!). For those of you (like Keith and me) with an interest in Cricket, we look forward to a triumphantly Joe Root-like return to the ranks!

I thought a few pictures of our Dear Leader (retired) in action might be appropriate. Here we find him in March 2017 atop a cliff-face at Pontesford Rocks, having found something to examine….

Shavington Park, May 2018: The burdens of leadership; Keith with first-aid kit, throw line and other baggage, noting down another one of the 65,000 records made by JoW in that overworked notebook (we presume there has been more than one over the years)… 

…and assisting Nigel in the unexpected task of vacuuming a tree!

Lilleshall Hill, November 2023, vacuuming (more conventionally this time).

And finally, surveying his Kingdom (or possibly just photographing the view) - Titterstone Clee Hill, August 2017.

 

 Keith, a heartfelt thank you from us all!

 

 

Photographs © the author except as noted.