If the forecast is to be believed, it looks as if we’re set for another weekend of sun. As well as keeping us all in good spirits, this is guaranteed to mean plenty of invertebrate activity on the reserve. On Tuesday, volunteer Gary managed to get shots of a couple of lovely beetles; the double-banded longhorn beetle and the red-tipped flower beetle.
Double-banded longhorn beetle (Gary Trew 2018)
Red-tipped flower beetle (Gary Trew 2018)
For those of you who may not know, the simplest way to tell a beetle from a bug is to look at its mouthparts (believe it or not, ‘bug’ isn’t just a random umbrella term for any old invert!) While bugs have needle-like ‘sucking’ mouthparts and will mostly feed on the nectar and sap of plants, beetles actually have crunching jaws used for chewing through all sorts of organic matter.
Thank you to everyone who has sent in photos of our adders so far. We’ve received lots and they have been really helpful in putting together a catalogue of the individual snakes currently living on the reserve. Those that have taken up residence in our mini-beast mansion have proven particularly popular with visitors and some people have been lucky enough to see the males 'dancing' - this is the way that they work out who is stronger and more dominant, since fighting with venomous teeth is not a good idea! While everyone has been getting a good view of the female and her many males, we continue to request that everyone keeps a respectful distance when observing them.
(Photos: Anne Dean, 2018)
Although we do get excited about creatures not of the avian variety at this time of year, it’s only fair to mention the birds at some point! Just this morning, we had a drake garganey called in from Winpenny hide which is a great sighting to get of a very infrequent summer visitor. The pair of avocets are still present on site and moving around quite a bit while two gadwall were seen from West Mead on Sunday.
Garganey - Chris and Juliet Moore, 2014
A spotted flycatcher was seen by a visitor along Adder Alley on Monday, potentially the first of the year, having arrived from its wintering grounds in Africa. Despite their name, these summer migrants will eat bees and wasps as well as flies, and to avoid getting stung, they will bash the creature against a branch or post to remove the stinger before consuming.
(John Houlden 2009)