Bug Hunt

The arrival of rain this week coincided with a bug hunt I’d booked at a nature reserve. The deluge was great for gastropods, but not as good for insects. Nevertheless, we spent a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours exploring, with a ranger from our local wildlife trust.

The equipment available, and techniques used, were similar to those for pond dipping. The main differences being the obvious absence of pond water, and a much larger net. The latter was for gentle ‘sweeping’ of tall plants such as grasses and nettles. Turning the net inside out into the plastic tray revealed any mini beasts which might have been captured.

In spite of the rain, our net based exploration yielded a few insects which we studied before releasing back where we had found them. Rather than a telephoto lens, a magnifying glass and mobile telephone camera proved sufficient for identification.

Discoveries

The first sweep caught what I assumed, from the length of antennae, to be a cricket. Which was on the way to being correct. The mobile photo below was enough to help identify the insect as a long-winged conehead nymph. A type of bush-cricket, conehead adults emerge from July through to December. Females bite a hole in hollow stems (such as grass or reeds) in which to lay their eggs. The conehead used to be so rare that it was on the Red Data List in the UK, but is now fairly well spread, particularly across southern counties.

Next catch was a very bedraggled sawfly. It was too wet to identify at first, but as it dried off, the markings became clearer. It still took some time to identify what I believe is a female plantain wasp-sawfly. This ties with the habitat where we found her, which was rich in yarrow, a member of the umbellifer family favoured by this type of sawfly.

Although related more closely to wasps than flies, the sawfly has no sting. Not always popular with garden lovers, the larva can cause a lot of damage to trees and bushes in a very short time. However, as with everything, the sawfly has its place in the ecosystem. The adult is an important pollinator, especially of crops.

Having released the insects, we continued to search the area. Other finds included a selection of spiders, snails, and some slow flying damselflies.

After so many days of sunshine and humidity, the rainfall had thoroughly depleted the number of insects and other mini beasts which were visible. We enjoyed the session very much though. Whatever the weather, being outside surrounded by nature is always a wonderful place to be, and I’m sure our next outdoor adventure isn’t far away.