Over the last year and a half we have monitored Reg’s Meadow on a monthly basis to show what has been growing and moving out there. As this pattern is similar from year to year we were afraid we might become a bit repetitive, so in our 2007 pages we are going to look more closely at individual aspects of the meadow and highlight some of its star players. These will include plant families, invertebrates, birds, other wildlife and anything else we find that may be of interest to someone! We will of course continue to show you anything different or unusual that happens in the course of the year and draw attention to new species as we find them.

This month we begin with invertebrates, which simply means animals without a backbone or an internal skeleton. This group includes the vast majority of the planet’s wildlife – in fact only mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish are not invertebrates! We have already looked at butterflies and moths in an earlier page and now we would like to show you some of the other insects we’ve met.

A Fly!	Another fly!

Insects – well, where do we start and how do you tell them apart? I used to watch Chris Packham on TV wildlife shows enthusing about insects and wondered how he could get so excited about them. Well, while crawling round the meadow on my knees taking photographs of flowers for this page I have found the answer, coming face to face with a whole new world of colourful little characters and gradually metamorphosing into something of an “insect anorak”. An elderly friend asking for ideas for a birthday present was rather bemused to find herself buying “The Shield Bugs and Squash Bugs of the British Isles” and on another occasion a book containing hundreds of pictures of apparently identical small brown moths……

Nearly a million insects have already been identified and named and there must be many more still to be discovered. Here we meet some bugs, beetles and grasshoppers, all of which fit the definition of “insect”, having a body made up of three segments, head, thorax and abdomen, six legs, attached to the thorax in three pairs, and usually two pairs of wings.

Bugs are members of the order Hemiptera, containing around 75,000 species, of which 1,700 or so are found in Britain. They vary greatly in appearance but have many common characteristics. They normally have two pairs of wings, but some species have short wings and some are wingless. The name Hemiptera means “half wing” and refers to the fact that bugs’ forewings are thick and leathery near the base and more delicate , or membranous at the tip. All species in the order have what is called a piercing beak, or rostrum, like a tiny hypodermic needle, with which they suck juices from plants or other animals. Many, such as aphids, can be serious crop pests, or carry viral diseases.

Coreus marginatus

Shield Bugs get their name from the general shape of the adult bodies. Squash Bugs are closely related to shield bugs and get their name because they are pests of crops of the squash and pumpkin family, especially in the USA. Both shield and squash bugs are sometimes called Stink Bugs because they emit a foul odour when disturbed. Shown here is Coreus marginatus, a squash bug found in hedgerows, particularly on plants of the dock family. It feeds mainly on seeds, but also on fruit, especially blackberries in the autumn. The name Coreus means “shield” and marginatus means “with a border”. These squash bugs are about 15mm long and can most often be seen in spring and autumn when they congregate just after or before hibernation.

L. dolabrata - Male	L.dolabrata - Female

Mirid or Capsid bugs are one of the largest families of bugs, with around 6,000 known species. Their bodies and forewings are quite soft and they are mostly herbivorous, eating developing fruits and seeds. The Mirid Bugs shown here are Leptopterna dolabrata. Leptopterna means “slender heel” and dolabrata “mattock-shaped”.They are also sometimes known by the common name of Meadow Plant Bug and the male and female are quite different in appearance. The males are usually fully winged, while the females are short winged and the legs

L. dolabrata - Female

and antennae of both sexes are hairy. They are 7-10mm long and are abundant in grassy placesfrom May to September, feeding on cocksfoot and other tall grasses, They are very much in evidence in our meadow and you should be able to find one if you get down and take a close look at some of the grass stems.

Beetles are members of the order Coleoptera. The name means “sheath wings” and refers to the tough, leathery forewings, which cover the whole of the abdomen and meet in the middle with no overlap. These protect the membranous hind wings which are used for flight. Beetles are the largest order of insects, with over 300,000 known species worldwide, of which around 4,000 are found in Britain. Globally they range in size from less than half a millimetre long to the Goliath beetle weighing 100g, which is the size of a fist. Beetles’ legs vary a great deal, depending on their foraging habits. Most beetles can fly but they do not spend much time in the air and are mostly found on the ground or among vegetation.

Pterostichus madidus

Pterostichus madidus is a shiny, black, flightless ground beetle with either all black or chestnut red legs. The scientific name means “wet, lined wings” and it has a number of common names, including Black Clock, Rain Beetle, as folklore says it will rain if you step on it, and Strawberry Beetle because of its fondness for fruit. It is 12-18 mm long, lives under stones, loose bark or grass tussocks and is a predatory beetle, eating other ground-living invertebrates, as well as some plant material.

 

Rhagonycha fulva

Rhagonycha fulva is a member of a family called Cantharidae which are known as Soldier or Sailor beetles because their bright colours are reminiscent of military uniforms. This beetle is also sometimes called the Bloodsucker because of its reddish colour. They have soft forewings and are predatory, hunting on grassland and hedgerow flowers. They are abundant in Reg’s Meadow, often seen on the white flowers of Wild Carrot, where they stand out well.

 

Coccinella 7-punctata

Coccinella 7-punctata, the seven-spot Ladybird, is a small domed beetle, 5-8mm long and one of the most recognizable and abundant in Britain. We have a number of other ladybirds, with different colours and numbers of spots, but this is the one you are most likely to see and the one everyone knows. The scientific name simply means “little scarlet 7-spot” and describes it pretty well. The head of a Ladybird is sunk into the front section of the thorax and its legs are short and retractable. They are mostly brightly coloured and distasteful to predators, which is a good protection. The 7-spot is mainly carnivorous, its diet including aphids, which makes it popular with gardeners and it is very common in Britain from March to October. Towards autumn this ladybird can often be found hibernating in large groups, clustered together one on top of another.

Oedemera nobilis - male	Oedemera nobilis - female

One of the prettiest beetles found in our meadow is Oedemera nobilis. The male and female of this beetle can easily be told apart, as the male has large green bulges on its femora or thighs, while the female does not. The scientific name means “noble swollen-thighs”! The forewings are pointed and gape apart. These beetles are 8-10mm long and are pollen feeders, often found on yellow flowers. The male is shown here on Meadow Buttercup and the female on Rough Hawkbit.

Phyllobius pomaceus

Weevils are also beetles. There are over 60,000 species of weevils worldwide, covering several different families. As a group they are known as Curculionidae, which is simply the Latin word for weevil. Most weevils have an elongated front part of the head, forming a prominent snout or rostrum, at the tip of which are tiny chewing mouthparts. The antennae are clubbed and usually “elbowed”. Weevils are almost entirely plant feeders and most feed on a narrow range of hosts, sometimes on a single plant species. Some can be serious crop pests. The green weevil shown here is Phyllobius pomaceus, which is 7-10mm long and can be found from April to August, mainly on Stinging Nettles, where the larvae feed on the roots. The scales giving it its green colour rub off easily, so it can become bald and appear black. This weevil can be distinguished from other similar species by its green legs and the toothed front thighs or femora. It is shown here on a single Blackthorn flower, showing just how small weevils are.

Apoderus coryli

One of the most stunning insects we have found in the meadow is Apoderus coryli, also known as the Hazel Weevil or Hazel Leaf-Roller Weevil as it lives mainly on Hazel trees in hedges and woodland. It is also sometimes found on Birch and Alder. The female rolls up leaves on the tree into cigar-shaped cylinders after laying her eggs, and the larvae live and pupate in these cylinders, emerging as beetles in the summer. This weevil is 5-8mm long and is found from May to August. What a little star!

 

Featured Species – Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

This month’s featured insect has been one of the most challenging species to photograph, as usually all you see of it is a flash of movement as it leaps away from you when you walk through the meadow vegetation! To get close enough you need to get down very low and crawl slowly towards the spot where you think it landed. When you get close enough to spot it, it seems to freeze, often on a grass stem, and you can inch forward until you have it in your camera sights. Even then, any sudden movement can result in a swift escape and leave you with a photograph of nothing but an empty grass stem.

Grasshoppers are members of the order Orthoptera, meaning “Straight Winged”, which also includes crickets and locusts, and there are around 17,000 known members of the order. There are 600 species found in Europe, of which only 30 occur in Britain. Females are usually larger than males, sometimes considerably larger. They are quite stoutly built insects, measuring 10-22mm, with enlarged hind legs which give them the jumping abilities for which they are known. If you have not seen a grasshopper in Reg’s Meadow you will almost certainly have heard them. It is the males that “sing”, by rubbing one part of the body against another, sometimes as a kind of courtship song to attract a female. In the case of grasshoppers, this sound, which is known as stridulation, is usually made by rubbing the hind legs against the forewings. One surface has tiny pegs and the other a hard ridge, producing a sound rather like running a finger along a comb. The pitch varies with the number of pegs and the speed of movement, each species having its own characteristic song.

The forewings are thicker and tougher than the hind wings and are fairly narrow, sometimes completely covering the abdomen when at rest. Some species have only short forewings and some have none at all. The hind wings also vary from species to species, but are usually broad and membranous. Some grasshoppers can fly quite well, while others are weak fliers. They are mainly vegetarian and are usually active only in sunshine. The colours of grasshoppers vary considerably, even within the same species, so colour is not a reliable means of identification.

The three grasshoppers shown here are all Meadow Grasshopper. They can be green, brown or purplish and have a small bulge on the front edge of the forewing – this can be seen in the third photograph. Meadow Grasshoppers have no hind wings and are the only flightless grasshoppers in Britain. The abdomen can be clearly seen in all three photographs – in the other British species the wings would be seen protruding beyond the legs. The scientific name Chorthippus parallelus means something along the lines of “Parallel Grass Horse” and Meadow Grasshoppers are found on all kinds of grassland from June till October, so look out for them in Reg’s Meadow when you walk there next summer. Just follow the sound like a tiny sewing machine, in 5-15 second bursts and get down low. Meanwhile we will be on the lookout for any other species of grasshopper which may be lurking there.