We are hiding in the bushes from dead men

When we moved into our current house we inherited a few apple trees at the bottom of the garden. They provide a steady crop of apples each autumn, most of which get turned into juice and a surprisingly pleasant cider. A couple of them were already elderly a decade ago and last winter the most decrepit one finally died.

I've left it standing and it's now a small mass of dead wood plus some amazing bits of dead mistletoe. I've had a vane trap hanging on one limb with limited success and I often take a look after dark when there's more stuff moving about.

This afternoon I just decided to hit it with a stick over a tray to see what dropped out. First up was a 4.5mm Anobium species aka an adult woodworm. As it's a female I don't think I can distinguish between A. punctatum and inexspectatum so will have to stay at Genus. A new one for me anyway and will keep looking for a male. [Edit: it's in fact Anobium fulvicorne/Hemicoelus fulvicornis]

Up close I think it looks like a cowled, figure of death. Something that wouldn't be out of place in a H.R. Giger creation or a reboot of Hellraiser.

 

I also had another new species of beetle which surprisingly I'd not recorded before, in fact it was a whole new beetle family for me. The Salpindidae. The beetle in question was Salpingus planirostris a really common species found under bark.

I also picked up a couple of flies that had come into the house and were in the kitchen whilst I was cooking tea this evening.

The first was obviously a robberfly in the family Asilidae. So I had a go at keying it out. It was surprisingly easy and turned out to be Dioctria baumhaueri, which is widespread in southern England and East Anglia and specialises in hunting ichneumonids.

The other one I'm still not even sure on a family but will get there eventually ...

The post title comes from a song by probably my favourite band of all time. Too young to see them at the time but did catch up with them on a reunion tour a few years ago. Still good but must have been extraordinary back in the late 70s/early 80s.