The lock down pond project has gradually born fruit over the course of the summer. There have been four species of dragonflies and a couple of damsels on and off over the past couple of months, resulting in several larvae that I occasionally see in the shallows. A Great-crested Newt has taken up residence and periodically appears for air if you are prepared to wait patiently. And their are several species of water beetle to be found feeding and having fun in the different depth sections. The plants are also slowly taking hold and the wet edges are starting to green up nicely.
I could, and sometimes do, spend hours lying on my front just looking at what's in there. I venture down each morning with my coffee and visit a couple of times during the day in order to stretch my legs and get away from the laptop for a bit. It's a welcome distraction during the working day.
Whilst doing this yesterday evening I spotted a small ground beetle on the gravel surrounding the pond. It was obviously a Bembidion but I potted it up for a better look as it didn't look like one of the usual two suspects.
The frontal furrows on this one come together sharply to form a 'V' which can be seen in the image. This nicely narrows down the options to 3 species which for a genus of over 50 species is a blessing!
The colour and the size (3.4mm) get us easily to Bembidion articulatum, a pretty common species in the south-east and one that I've seen before. A quick check and it appears that I have seen 21 species of Bembidion with another couple in the box to be checked by others.
Anyway, this species was new for the garden and was nice to have another addition to the pond. Makes all the effort worth it!
Today's blog title comes from the brilliant Maximo Park.
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