Pitfall trapping it a great way of exploring the Coleopteran fauna (beetles), of a site. Consisting of a smooth plastic cup or tub, (in this case the bottom of a cola bottle!), the trap is dug into the ground, with the lip at ground level and anything walking in the path of the trap falls in and cannot climb up the smooth sides. The traps are checked in the morning and all contents recorded and released unharmed. This is one of our traps from Phase 2….
So, with 10 traps set across the site last week we managed to record 19 species of beetle, most new to the reserve. Some of the more interesting specimens include….
Chlaenius vestitus, a member of the Carabidae, (the ground beetles). They are scarce in Nottinghamshire and are associated with wetland habitats including reedbeds. Quite a large ground beetle, at around 12mm long, they have a lovely green sheen to the pronotum and elytra, which also have yellow markings at the base.
Another of the Carabidae, Curtonotus convexiusculus, appears to be even scarcer in the County and has a predominantly coastal distribution, although does occur inland. Again, a larger species at around 10-12mm and black in colour.
Nebrioporus assimilis and N. elegans, along with Agabus paludosus are all water beetles of the Family Dytiscidae. It is very encouraging to see that the wetland habitat in our newly landscaped Phase 1 and the old silt lagoon 7 is being colonised well with aquatic invertebrates.
And finally, a tiny little beetle at only around 5mm in length, Stenus comma is a member of the Family Staphylinidae, or the rove beetles. Many of the rove beetles are very long and thin in shape and S. comma is no exception. Black in colour with an orange spot on each wing, they are associated with wetland habitats and can move over the surface of the water.