Maybe one time, maybe two

It's almost the end of January and I haven't posted a thing. That's because I've done no natural history at all and been busy with other things. Such is middle-aged life with kids and a job. However yesterday, work took me to Sherwood Forest at some ungodly hour for filming and recording with the BBC and after I had finished I decided to drive home via the River Trent, rather than have a rummage through the woodland. 

Back in early 2019 I'd paid a visit to the same area to look for Panagaeus cruxmajor which had been found in several places along this stretch, mainly under debris. I was unsuccessful then and guess what....I was unsuccessful again yesterday. There was pretty much no woody debris at all. I think I must have looked on and under pretty much every piece that was there along a decent stretch. Quite a lot of other species of mainly carabid including several Agonum. Bembidion and Pterostichus species, but no Panageus and I had even worn appropriate attire...

So I'm going to need at least another visit possibly later this year if I'm to find one. Third time lucky perhaps?

This week I also picked up some more second hand beetle books. First of all three volumes in the brilliant Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica series, the two carabid volumes and the bupestrid one. In English, the text and figure quality is really high and there's good overlap with the UK fauna. Plus I get to learn something about some of the continental congeners.

Here's some Bembidion naughty bits. The level of detail is really especially for internal structures is really good.

I also picked up another three volumes in the Coleopteres Staphylinides de la Region Palearctique Occidentale series. They are in French but pretty easy to translate and once again some useful figures of genitalia. Just need volume four now for the full set.

The post title comes from the latest single by the brilliant Fontaines D.C., they seem to be on a roll at the moment with albums in 2019 and 2020, I'm looking forward for the new album in April.