I've been to Bedford Purlieus before but it's somewhere definitely worth visiting again and again. It is one of England's most biodiverse sites, with around 500 plant species, 100 different butterflies and moths, 20 woodland birds, 10 mammals and 6 types of bat!
Beneath the woodland floor, there are Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval archaeological remains too.
It is, of course, primarily the invertebrate life that catches my eye here.
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| silver y moth |
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| grasshopper |
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| grasshopper |
I love the crickets - dark bush crickets and Roesel's crickets - as those are species I don't see around home - there were loads of crickets here (and a lot of grasshoppers too!).
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| dark bush cricket (male) |
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| Roesel's bush cricket |
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| dark bush cricket (male) |
This is a bronze shieldbug nymph (a final instar, just a moult away from adulthood) and is another species I wouldn't see closer to home.
The photos above were all taken late on Saturday afternoon as I spent an hour here between a late lunch in Stamford and heading back to the cottage. The photos below are from another couple of hours spent at Bedford Purlieus on Sunday morning.
There were so many dragonflies and damselflies out, all over the reserve!
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| brown argus butterfly |
Plenty of wood ants too.
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| wood ants |
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| dark bush cricket (female) |
This is the same wild service tree I photographed on my previous visit..
and this was the hide I climbed up last time. I planned to do the same today, but it's since had a door and padlock fitted.
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| a knopper gall |
I found nymphs of another shieldbug commonly called tortoise bugs. I think the ones I saw were
Eurygaster testudinaria.
I was excited to find a few of these too - more bugs I don't see at home!
Dock bugs are common and widespread in southern Britain though. The ones I found were all nymphs, a moult or two away from adulthood.
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| comma butterfly |
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| small tortoiseshell |
I ended the visit with another southern species, a type of hornet mimic hoverfly,
Volucella inanis, which I saw here last time too. Oh and I also saw a silver washed fritillary butterfly - yet another more southerly insect that I wouldn't see at home.
A wonderful reserve to explore! I've been here three times in summer now so I think next time I'll have to make a spring or autumn visit for a different experience.
Oooo, I went there years ago and saw lizards on the fence by the carpark. Keep meaning to go back!
ReplyDeleteDo it!
DeleteYes Miss. :-D
DeleteIf you do revisit, you'll have to write a blog post so I can see what you found there!
DeleteI'm trying to write more, one for each place I go to, I'm a bit slow though... :-D
DeleteAbsolutely fascinating, you see things most of us would not even notice. Thank you for taking us along with you.
ReplyDeleteI look for the things most people don't look for! I forgot to mention that I also saw a couple of deer - not sure what kind as my view was only very brief as they crossed a path ahead of me but quite small so I'd say muntjac.
DeleteBeautiful shots here Louise, I especially loved seeing all of the nymphs you found - good to know about the differences here with moults too as that's not something I knew much about so keen to learn more! Those shots of the crickets and the grasshoppers are lovely too, they're such interesting insects. Always enjoy seeing the damselflies and dragonflies too, and butterflies of course! Lovely photos. - Tasha
ReplyDelete