Back on the 8th September Yvonne Couch led a superb walk around the trails in search of the myriad of Ladybirds and Shieldbugs that we have on the reserve and with a small band in tow she managed to locate a good variety of both the intended insect groups.
Eight species of Ladybirds were located with 7-spot, 16-spot, 22-spot, 24-spot, Water, Bryony and one of the tiny inconspicuous species Rhyzobius litura while the Shieldbugs won the tally race with Brassica, Rambur’s Pied, Hawthorn, Mottled, Woundwort, Hairy, Common Green, Dock and Box Leatherbugs and Bishop’s Mitre.
22-Spot
24-spot
Harlequin
Hawthorn Shieldbug
Hairy Shieldbug
Green Shieldbug
Mottled Shieldbug
Brassica Shieldbug
Box Leatherbug
Bishop's Mitre
And so as you can see, there is so much to find out on the reserve at the micro level. The group saw so much more than just the two groups of inverts they were concentrating on and hopefully we shall be able to run more days like these in the future.
oh and thanks to Roger Kelly for all the pictures
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer