Whatareya?

Another month gone with no posts! 

Work, life and generally being ground down by the shit show that this country has become has meant there has been little time, energy or indeed inclination to do much beetling.

However, this week, I thought 'f**k it, I need to kick the lethargy and get out'. Cut to yesterday and a trip to revisit Panshanger Park in Herts, almost 2 years to the day since my first visit. Not only was the date silmilar but the temperature was too, although I think yesterday was a degree or two hotter.

It was good to be out but boy, it was tough going. Sweeping, beating and just looking, didn't turn up much and even the common stuff wasn't there in last time's abundance. Not only that but I soon became hot, bothered and slightly deflated. I managed four to five hours in the end but by early afternoon I decided to pack up and make my way back to Cambridge.

It wasn't a wasted trip though and I managed to find a couple of new species, the best of which was this hairy wee blighter. 

It was beaten from an old oak tree, and was found amongst a few scirtids. I had assumed that it would be another one and so got a surprise when I looked down the microscope. This is Trinodes hirtus and it is in fact a dermestid. It is listed as a Grade 1 Old Forest Indicator and is usally found in old established broadleaf woodland with plenty of damaged and decaying trees but it can also occur in old trees in parkland, which is exactly where this was found. It's either quite rare or just difficult to find and so there aren't that many records for it on NBN.

The other new species was Sphinginus lobatus which was also beaten from oak and seems to be expanding its range a bit at the moment. Still quite a few bits still to ID including a few ptinids (Ochina plus others here).

The post title is a nod to TISM who have reformed this week after a hiatus of 19 years. This song came out when I was living in Australia at the end of the 90s and I got to see them perform this live at a gig in the Sydney Royal Botanic gardens, memorable for the fact that as dusk descended, 100s of large fruit bats emerged from the trees. Watch to the end...

The man of shadows thinks in clay

A day in the office today but jam packed full of meetings so no chance to take myself off at lunctime for a walk round the reserve. 

I did however, make a stop on the way home at one of my favourite bits of ancient woodland and managed 45 minutes having a walk and poking my nose in the first flowering brambles of the year. A Wasp Beetle was my first of the year plus a rather chunky Meligethes that I need to have a closer look at.  

All the flowering hawthorn was over but I remembered a decent Dogwood bush on one of the main rides through the wood. Lo and behold it was still in flower and I gave it a few thwacks over my umbrella. Mainly Anaspis and not a single longorn (except for Grammoptera) but there were a couple of these beetles. 

Quite a size difference betwwen these two and looking for all the world like soldier beetles. They are in fact Melandryidae aka the False Darkling Beetles. These are female Osphya bipunctata.  I have only seen males before and from the same wood and exactly the same bush, almost 2 years ago to the day!

Up close they really are stunning beetles and have an almost super hero/Green Lantern like mask. They also have quite a scattered distribution over southern England and are nowhere common, although Cambs seems to be a stronghold. So a good one to see again.

Blog title comes from one of my favourite band, Bauhaus. All elegant posturing and cheekbones.

The more I look, the more I see

What a month that's been (since the last post)...

Had a lovely week in Argyll, Scotland with the family at the beginning of April. Not many beetles but did see Otter, Pine Marten and White-tailed Eagle as well as some fantastic scenery, walks and even a couple of hill runs. But we picked up covid somewhere en route and we returned to Cambridge and tested positive. 

Completely knocked me for six and have spent the last 3 weeks with next to no energy and a disconcerting brain fog that has made even the simplest decisions a real effort, nevermind more complicated ones. So grateful to not have had classic covid sans vaccines. Government says it's all over, so that's okay then.

Anyway, given all that, I have not managed to get out and about for any natural history until today.

Energy levels back to normal I got up early and paid a visit to Woodwalton Fen in west Cambs and pretty much had the place to myself for a couple of hours. Lots of bird song and quite a bit of beating flowering hawthorn and other assorted foliage. 

It was probably about a week too early for it to be absolutely hooching and the air was still cool out of the direct sun. Species number was quite low but it was just lovely to be out again and finding bits and pieces. I've a few weevils and scirtiids to look through but I did find one new species quite early on. Another one of those 'can't believe I haven't seen it already' beetles. Curculio venosus. The slightly elongated scutellum being the key feature. The colour also stood out in the field.

There were plenty of the longhorn Grammoptera ruficornis on the hawthorn and I also managed to find a single Rhagium mordax.

Back home for lunch and a bit of sweeping and I had my second garden record of the staph Astenus lyonessius. A rather lovely looking beast.

So hopefully that's me back in the beetle saddle and I can get stuck into late spring. Fingers crossed.

The post title comes from Kae Tempest, who I coincidentally saw at the Cambridge Corn Exchange this week. A really stunning and emotional live performance and their new album is rather beautifully introspective and hopeful too. Definitely worth checking out.

My favourite way of getting kicks

Staying up in Argyll, Scotland and popped to Knapdale for a walk. This is the place that in 2009 saw the first Scottish beaver reintroduction. Individuals were brought in from Norway and whilst not yet a self sustaining population the beavers have expanded their range a wee bit and the evidence of their presence was hard to miss while doing a circuit of the loch where some of them live.

There were plenty of obvious knawings, from tiny saplings through to some fairly substantial trees.

In places their dams were keeping the surrounding pools about a metre and a half above the main loch water level. Pretty amazing when it's only done with sticks, twigs, leaves and mud.

The lodge we saw was a fairly substantial affair. A suitably crap and zoomed in phone image I'm afraid.

On the vegetative front the invasive alien (and alien it looked, more triffid than anything else) American skunk cabbage Lysichiton americanus was new for me and was seen at another site whilst visiting some ancient ruins.

Think I will have to pop back early doors for a chance to see the beavers but definitely worth a try. Just need to get my hands on one and give it a comb for Beaver Beetles.

Post title inspiration comes from the highly non-PC Pop Will Eat Itself song.....

My faith in the fire

Whilst on my laptop this morning, catching up on the shit show that is world and UK news and having a cup of coffee I noticed this small beetle by the fire place crawling up the wall.

Only my second record of Attagenus pellio aka the Two-spotted Carpet Beetle. Both records have been been from home. The first was beaten from flowering hawthorn down the bottom of the garden a few years ago. This one presumably came down the chimney. A coleopterous Father Christmas if you will. 

A good reminder to get the chimney swept at some point....

I've already used Kiss the Carpet lyrics in a previous post title so went with the equally awesome Burn. Probably the Sisters of Mercy at their absolute height. There's also a very good Radio 1 Kid Jensen session from 83 available too. Too young to have seen them first time around. Had to wait til 1992 before I finally caught up with them. Good though!

Know my name

I had a day at the office today and as the sun was shining I made sure that I took a sweep net and beating tray for a bit of surreptitious lunchtime beetle hunting. It was nice to be out and about and lots of bird song gave it a real spring time feel. Quite a bit of insect activity too, mainly small flies but a couple of Comma were my first of the year

I beat lots of Scot's Pine which revealed only my second record of Eyed Ladybird amongst a few a bits and pieces. Examining the fungi on cut silver birch stumps gave me an aleoch that will need dissecting plus this tiny (1.2mm) Ciidid.

With 9 antennal segments and the cute little horns, I think this is a male Sulcacis nitidus, a new species for me. The larva feed on bracket fungus and the beetle is found in the south-east with some records up in Cheshire too. Given its size I can imagine it may be being overlooked somewhat too. In older literature it is known as S. affinis (Gyllenhal, 1827) or Ennearthron affinis.

The post title comes from a new single by Damefrisør. I first heard it played on 6Music and I have played it quite a bit since. Rather good.

The Ides of March

Last year I switched from producing hand written labels for all my specimens to printing ones. I invested in a laser printer and the resulting labels looked not only neater but it also meant that I could get the size of the labels down to match my new smallest card size of 12x6mm. 

The only issue has been waiting until I have enough specimens to make it worth printing out a set. I usually wait until I have at least half a sheet of A4's worth. I can then guillotine the remaining bit off and re-use by feeding through the manual feed tray.

Anyway, tonight that's what I have been doing. Just need to get the labels on and get them in the right storage boxes now!

I find the process of identifying and carding, rather relaxing and can easily do hours infront of the microscope without batting an eyelid. Can't say that I'm as fond of the labelling!

Yesterday was the Ides of March and so in honour of the auspicious date I decided to give the MV trap its first outing of the year. The result this morning was 5 moths of 4 species. Still, nice to get the season off to a start  

Early Thorn

Oak Beauty

Hebrew Character

Small Quaker

Hopefully just the start of things to come....