Treflach Microclimate

 Wednesday 12th August 2026, Treflach Farm

 Another week, another parched landscape…

There is something about Treflach Farm, in the Oswestry Uplands. Our visits seem to provoke extreme weather. The most recent, last September, coincided with such dismal wetness that most participants made late decisions to stay at home instead. We have also previously visited in extreme heat, causing an early start and finish. Now, here we were again on another very hot, energy-sapping day. Emerging from our cars we spied the adjacent Community Garden, an area which I don’t remember us examining on previous visits and made straight for it. It promised flowers and some greenery, all at close proximity. The sweeping views were an added bonus!

photo: Keith Fowler

Visible in the second photo above are some of the various brassicas which were being grown, some netted, some not. All were attracting squadrons of Small Whites.

We spent some time in this area, where a few of the finds were photographed, including the Common Batman Fly, Myathropa florea (note the black markings on the thorax).

photo: Keith Fowler

Ladybirds were generally hard to find on the day, but one plant produced a clutch of 22-spots.

An unusual find was this pair of Thrips. These insects defy easy identification. They seem to be a species in the Aeolothrips genus, but beyond that we cannot say.

Time to move on. The heat was already becoming arduous. From here, most of the site was downhill: good to begin with, but with the inevitable and unavoidable consequences of an uphill return. A second garden area detained us briefly.

photo: Keith Fowler

Some even braved the polytunnel, but not for long!
Onwards and downwards. The field at the bottom of the site is damp and marshy, with an excellent pond. An oasis in a desert landscape. Last September this area was very wet indeed. We anticipated it being rather less so today, though it was still encouragingly green.

photo: Keith Fowler

Plodding through the parched fields, grasshoppers sang and jumped about at our feet. My attention was caught by an attractive Meadow Grasshopper in pink and green livery.

Pink morphs seem to have some sort of increased prevalence in hot and sunny conditions, though this is far from a straightforward relationship. At any rate, a Field Grasshopper with a pinkish flush (though not by any means a proper pink morph) also appeared during the day.

Continuing downwards, the pesticide free approach to animal husbandry was demonstrated by the variety of life to be found on the cowpats. Obsidentify suggests that this fly is Neomyia cornicina

There were also numerous Sepsid flies running around, waggling their wings in typical fashion. This might be a Nemapoda species.

The pats were also full of holes created by beetles.

These appeared to be a species of Water Scavenger Beetle, literally swimming about in the fresh, liquid matter. Lovely! Sphaeridium scarabaeoides looks like a good possible identification.
 
We reached the wetland and found that it was still very respectably wet. One of the first finds in this area was a Crucifer Shieldbug.

photo: John Martin

A spider, Larinoides cornutus, was also swept from the vegetation. This species has a known association with water.

photo: John Martin

Another species associated with water is the, ahem, Water Ladybird. This is one:

Several species of Dragonfly were patrolling, including a couple of male Emperor Dragons who had periodic dogfights when their paths crossed.

The group had become slightly separated at this point but most lunched here, by the pond. To add to the enervating heat, the dampness produced something which felt like 100% humidity, so the option of lunch sat in the shade was welcomed with enthusiasm. This turned out to be almost the end of our useful efforts on the day (some of us, ie yours truly, had barely done anything useful from the beginning if truth be told). Some characteristic plants were photographed, including a horsetail, Equisetum palustre

photo: John Martin

and Water Plantain.

photo: John Martin

A little more searching was done before we steeled ourselves for the uphill return, which seemed much more dauting than it looks in this view over the pond!

photo: John Martin

Many thanks to our hosts for allowing permission for this return visit, on a day which was severely curtailed by the prevailing conditions. 
 
  
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.