Wombling Free

 Wednesday 30th September 2026, Dudmaston Estate

This was a day which got off to a rocky start but got better as it progressed. We were supposed to be visiting the Mose Farm area of the estate but on arrival the designated parking area was absolutely rammed with vehicles. A rival event had been booked, which had taken up all the available parking. We had no alternative but to abandon Plan A and head off instead for the Old Sawmill car park. From there, we were too far away from Mose Farm, so we instead spent the morning investigating the fields behind the car park, before moving to the fields nearer to Comer Wood in the afternoon.
The first species to be spotted was Colletes hederae, the Ivy Bee.

In truth we could hardly miss it as there were clouds of them all over the copious Ivy. Not only that, they were coming up at us from beneath our feet, the sandy soil being riddled with nesting holes!
Another insect to be out and about in numbers was the Bishop’s Mitre Shieldbug, known by some as the Womble due to its facial similarity to those inhabitants of Wimbledon Common. The grass was full of them, both adults…

…and nymphs.

Several common ladybird species appeared from the grass; a rather more distinguished find was an Adonis Ladybird.

By this point we had experienced the usual (!) Wednesday Clouded Yellow fly-by. It evaded the camera, but another notable migrant Lepidopteran was more accommodating, as several Vestal moths were flushed from the vegetation.

Readers may recall that we obtain a large proportion of our finds via the vacuum samplers. This is, in particular, the main way of finding the tiny parasitic wasp Callitula pyrrhogaster aka “The Boy”. But this week, a calamity: none of the regular operators of these machines was present. What to do? In a slight panic, one of their vacuums had been sourced and brought to site. The substitute operators tried heroically all day, scrutinizing the finds tray:

photo: Nigel Jones

But no Boys were extracted. We conclude that Dudmaston is clearly a Boy-free zone. But all was not lost! Many interesting things appeared in the vacuum samples, mostly of a Hemipteran (true bug) nature. Here are two: firstly, a Turtle Bug (plus photobombing springtail, possibly Entomobryia multifasciata).

This species is still a novel find in Shropshire, and more or less currently limited to the south-east quarter of the county.

This is female Myrmus miriformis.

Lunch time beckoned. We made camp in the sunshine, consumed our provisions and then crossed the road, making for Comer Wood. Entering the fields at the top, we spied a substantial area of white flowers at the bottom of the field, near the wood. This deserved a closer look! It turned out to be a very wide margin of Wild Carrot, and was full of interest.

Here, Bishop’s Mitres (or Wombles if you prefer) were as abundant as they had been in the morning, but they were outdone by an even greater quantity of Hairy Shieldbugs, for whom Wild Carrot has a magnetic attraction. Here is an adult, snuggled up to a 7-spot Ladybird.

And this is a nymph.

The carrot was also proving magnetic for Clouded Yellows, two of them being almost ever present as we searched. One eventually landed and allowed its portrait to be captured.

The edge of the wood contained a number of Scots Pines. As usual their lowest branches were too high to be beaten. But they were within reach of our Dipterist and his long-handled net. The hope of some specialist ladybird species was largely unfulfilled, except for this Conifer Ladybird, Scymnus suturalis, one of the micro ladybird species.

Note the yellow mass at its rear end. This is a Hesperomyces fungal infection. I believe that this is generally debilitating rather than necessarily fatal but either way, the ladybird will not be enjoying it.
Another interesting find was a Pine Cone Bug, a species which is very flattened, allowing it to secrete itself into the cones.

But what of the vacuum, I hear you ask. Well, amidst the deluge of Wombles and Hairy Shieldbugs, some rather distinguished bugs also appeared, including this week’s County First: a Rhombic Leatherbug.

This is an insect of the south and east, though there are isolated records beyond this range and it is probably spreading. A very surprising record nevertheless. One of its relatives, itself a relatively recent arrival in Shropshire, appeared in the same vacuum sample: a Denticulate Leatherbug.

Less notable but always nice to see, the same sample also produced a Blue Shieldbug.

Late in the day, a rather puzzlingly yellow-coloured bug appeared.

Clearly a large Rhopalid, the potential options were limited and it turned out to be Stictopleurus abutilon (guess what, another relatively recent arrival). Is it, perhaps, only recently moulted to adulthood and not yet fully coloured up? Perhaps. In any event, they are usually rather browner than this.
One last significant insect appeared as we were heading back towards the car park and it was something to put a bit of a dampener on the Wombles’ frolics in the sunshine. For it was Cistogaster globosa, otherwise known as the Bishop’s Mitre Parasite Fly. A small Tachinid fly which specializes in attacking, as you might guess, the Bishop’s Mitre Shieldbug. Well, if it was going to appear anywhere, it was surely here.

And with that, we retreated for the day, the sun continuing to shine down upon us. 

photo: Nigel Jones

A splendid day in the end, after an uncertain beginning. Many thanks to the National Trust for allowing us to do what we do.

 
 
Photographs © the author except as noted.