A queen wasp (Vespula vulgaris) in the hedge in Sleepers Field.
Continue reading “Queen wasp”Queen wasp
New nests
Ian reports that the bee swarm from the old ash tree at Fiveways seems to have settled into a hole in the tree we call the Owl Box Oak; a second honey bee colony in the reserve is very exciting news.
Read on for even more exciting news
Pesticides and soil biodiversity
A meta-analysis of nearly 400 research studies has shown that pesticides are damaging the soil’s vitally important ecosystems. Researchers have warned that we must be more careful about considering the organisms that live in the soil when we assess the environmental impact of pesticides. A UN report published in December 2020 found that, without urgent action to halt degradation, the future of our soils looks bleak: it takes thousands of years for new soils to form.
Continue readingWhite letter hairstreak
An adult white-letter hairstreak was identified in the reserve in 2017 by an expert observer. This is a real rarity, a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species, a feather in our caps and the impetus behind our drive to plant disease resistant elms.
Continue reading “White letter hairstreak”Butterfly season
Message from Ian
Speckled Wood, Peacocks, Orange Tip and Brimstone knocking about.
Continue reading “Butterfly season”Sixteen spot ladybird
The ladybirds are leaving hibernation.
Continue reading “Sixteen spot ladybird”
Blunt-tailed Snake Millipede
The blunt-tailed snake millipede (Cylindroiulus punctatus) is tiny: it grows up to 25 mm. It is pale brown and its segments are coloured in a way that makes it look striped; it often has darker spots along each side. Its native habitat is the rotting wood and leaf litter of deciduous woodlands but it is just as happy to live in the untidier places in your garden. All millipedes feed on dead plant material, they are essential nutrient recyclers.
Both photographs are by Christophe Quintin.
Research has concluded that 42% of people are scared of spiders.
Read on for a little reassurance
More about oak galls
Yesterday’s post about oak apples prompted questions. Here is more information about some of the oak gall wasps that induce oak trees into producing such strange growths.
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Hibernation
The temperature is dropping and we have already seen the first frosts. The park’s invertebrates are preparing for hibernation.
Continue readingCrane Flies
It’s crane fly time!
Read on:
Q&A
Question from Tom Martin:
Found this on the pavement near my house. Do you know what it is?
Pictures taken in the park by Simon Knight.
What lives in here?
There are funnel shaped webs low down in the dense vegetation of the park’s hedges and edges; what lives in them?
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Whirligig beetles
National Insect Week – Day 5
Whirligig beetles are actually a whole family (Gyrinidae) of water beetles: almost 700 different species globally, most of them very much alike and extremely difficult to tell apart. We have no idea what particular species live in the pond above the wooden bridge but all the Gyridinae share some fascinating features.
Read on for details and a short videoWho lives here?
A message and pictures from Julie, regular park-user:
Saw these little mini molehill type structures on the path next to the pond. Under the ones already disturbed there is a little hole. It’s possibly ants or something but thought I’d send them in anyway. Do you know what made them?
Read on to solve the mystery
Another new species
On Sunday, Julie Newblé sent us pictures of caterpillars in a tent-web she found strung between blackthorn twigs in the hedge at the top of the Arboretum.
Continue readingMeadow brown
This week has brought a report of the first of the summer’s meadow browns.
Continue reading “Meadow brown”
Invertebrate safari
with Ian Bushell
Ian, our expert on invertebrates, has sent us pictures from the park…
Continue readingFroghopper
Red-and-black froghopper
This is a red-and-black froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata) photographed in the park yesterday by Ian Bushell. There are ten different species of froghopper in the UK and while the red-and-black froghopper is not the most common, it is widespread.
Continue reading “Froghopper”Cockchafer
Cockchafers, more familiarly known as May bugs, are one of those things that go bang in the night.
Continue reading “Cockchafer”Sixteen spot ladybird
The ladybirds are leaving hibernation.
Continue reading “Sixteen spot ladybird”Common pollen beetle
A dandelion crammed with tiny bronze-black beetles. Our favourite entomologist emailed us:
They’re pollen beetles. Getting a positive ID is going to be impossible without sending me a specimen (and they’re too small!) but this time of year the most common species is the Common Pollen Beetle Meligethes aeneus.
Continue reading “Common pollen beetle”
