Bizarre Genitalia

Before we touch down in the Shropshire Hills AONB, I have a late arrival to announce from last week’s foray into north Herefordshire. Identification work continues for some time after visits have taken place of course, and this has revealed a scarce Dolichopodid fly hiding in the catch: Rhaphium antennatum. Here he is:

photo: Nigel Jones

Wednesday 29th July 2026, Coppice Farm, Rattlinghope

 This farm, in a valley through which the Bilbatch Brook flows, is undertaking a rewilding project over part of its land. A sign to that effect, with contact details, was spotted by a member of our organising committee, contact made and now, here we were on another warm, dry day. Parking in a field, the general aim was downwards, towards the brook.

photo: Keith Fowler

The parched remains of the grass were inspected as we descended and to my slight surprise were found to have not one but three species of grasshopper bouncing about in them (approximately three more than I was expecting). From left to right they are Common Green (female), Field (male) and Meadow (female).

The brook and its adjoining wetland were reached, and activities commenced in earnest. What a diligent lot we are!

photo: Jill Key

An early find from the vacuum sampler was a Red Marsh Ladybird

Another beetle, not vacuumed, was a near-lookalike, but actually a flea beetle, Neocrepidera transversa.

photo: John Lyden

This is Cassida flaveola, one of the tortoise beetles.

Next, three photos of two micromoths. The first is Epinotia tenerama.

photo: John Martin

The next two are both Argyresthia goedartella, the Bronze Alder Moth, which exists in two very different forms.

photo: John Lyden

photo: John Lyden

A couple more of the very many finds in this area were this early instar Red Admiral larva, from the nettles

And a bug, Drymus brunneus, found lurking under a piece of bark on the ground, under the alders.

All this diligence generates an appetite. Time for lunch!

photo: John Lyden

As we ate, we were able to contemplate a fine view of the cars in which we had arrived a couple of hours previously, about 50m away. Let it not be said that we rush things… But eventually it was time to move on. Back up into the fields we climbed, then tracked the brook until we reached the next area of wetland. This route took us past a widening of the brook which formed a pond, which some people stopped to examine, while others continued towards the next destination. Patches of thistles en route attracted the now inevitable quota of Painted Ladies.

There follows a selection of images of creatures found somewhere around this part of the day, though precise times and locations are not known for all. To begin with, the cheerful sight of a Small Copper, this one on a hybrid mint, Mentha x piperita.

photo: John Martin

Sneezewort.

photo: John Martin

A pair of Kite-tailed Robberflies, in the process of making more Kite-tailed Robberflies.

A Tortoise Bug, continuing the seeming resurgence of this species this year.

photo: Neil Nash

A Blood-vein moth.

photo: Neil Nash

Two dragonflies. Firstly, a Common Darter.

photo: John Lyden

Next a very mature female Black-tailed Skimmer.

photo:Neil Nash

Our Dipterist chanced upon some prime fly habitat: a very old deer carcass (species unknown, though I spotted a Roe race across the top of the field and vault the fence some minutes earlier). Whether this produced any notable flies I can’t say, but it did reveal a handsome rove beetle, Ontholestes murinus.

Arriving at the wetland, the second tortoise beetle species of the day showed itself, this one Cassida viridis, the Green Tortoise Beetle.

photo: Liz Roberts

Altogether stranger was this sight, several feet up a tree: 

Crayfish claws, sadly but inevitably those of the pestilential alien Signal Crayfish. They had presumably been eaten by something which had hauled them up the tree to eat in safety, which is some sort of small compensation for them being there in the first place. Though if it was a Mink which had eaten them, very small compensation indeed.
We moved through the alders and into the wetland proper.

photo: Jill Key

But not before this leaf beetle had been captured, Plagiosterna aenea, a species which is associated with alders.

There seems to be a law whereby the smaller a moth is, the longer its name becomes. Which brings us to Ochsenheimeria taurella…

photo: John Martin

Moving through the vegetation, a small, open stretch of the brook appeared.

photo: Liz Roberts

Here, Golden-ringed Dragonflies were perching and patrolling. This very confiding species always allows a close approach for photos.

So confiding in fact that when Jim moved from his seat, one soon appropriated it for its own use. Comparing photos, the wing damage shows that these were two different individuals.

photo: John Martin

More crayfish remains were found.

photo: Neil Nash

Other species photographed included a sedge: Carex piulicaris.

photo: John Martin

A large Tachinid fly, Tachina fera, one of several seen in the area.

photo: John Martin

A female Long-winged Conehead. Both this and the first damp area were full of singing Roesel’s Bush-crickets, but they remained stubbornly out of sight. Coneheads were fewer in number, but proved easier to see.

This area proved to be quite rich in shieldbugs. Here is a Bishop’s Mitre.

These are Hairy Shieldbugs hatchlings, fresh out of their eggs.

A big bruiser of a bumblebee attracted attention. This is a female Bombus rupestris, the Red-tailed Cuckoo Bee, the nest parasite of Bombus lapidarius, the Red-tailed Bumblebee. Note the very dark wings, shiny cuticle and big head. She will attempt to appropriate a nest for herself, turfing out the queen and subjugating the workers to produce her own offspring.

We worked our way along the valley until the point where time was called. Turning back revealed this fine view of the area we had been working in.

photo: Keith Fowler

Back to the brook we plodded, to the territory of the Golden-ringed Dragons. A largish stone was turned over speculatively and bingo! This intimidating beast was revealed, very much alive and in still possession of all of its limbs.

photo: John Martin

Caught out in the open, it stood and threatened. I went in for a closer view.

There is a strange sort of beauty to it, especially in the blue highlighting, but what odd things these non-insects are. Just how many pairs of antennae can you possibly need? It eventually decided that retreat was in order and began moving downstream, demonstrating that crayfish are just as willing move out of the water as in it.

We boggled at this spectacle for a while and in doing so spotted another big crayfish and an absolute tiddler, before finally leaving the wetland and heading back through the fields. This is the view that greeted us as we arrived back at our starting point. A fine end to a fine day.

photo: Keith Fowler

 But wait. What of the rather provocative title of this post, I hear you ask. I’ll end as I started, with a microscope image of a dead fly. Fittingly, perhaps, whereas we started with a head and shoulders portrait, we finish at the ‘other end’ of the beast (a different beast, of a different species, found at a different site ie here). In the words of the finder “Attached are the rather bizarre genitalia of the tiny fly Meoneura neottiophila. It has spiky bits sticking out and two brushes of long fine curled hairs. All this on the end of a fly that is about 2.5mm length. Swept from the stream banks at Coppice Farm.”

photo: Nigel Jones

This is the sort of thing that we go out into the field for!! Many thanks to our host for allowing us permission to survey this interesting site.
 
  
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.