An explosion in our Churchyard….
An explosion in the number of insect species in our churchyard has taken place in the last month. Beetles, flies, bees, grasshoppers and crickets are all there in abundance.
Perhaps the easiest place to see beetles is on the blooms of Cat’sear, a plant which has bright yellow flowers carried on stems around 40 cm long. The most handsome is perhaps is one we’ve seen before: the Swollen-thighed beetle, Oedemera nobilis, a vivid emerald green: the male has, as the name implies, thickened hindlegs which give it its name. This year it has been joined by a close relative, Oedemera lurida, a duller sage green colour and with more shapely legs. (sorry about the Latin but this last one doesn’t have an English name). Both of these feed on pollen.
Feeding alongside these was the Speckled Bush-cricket, a handsome green insect with dark speckles over the whole body and legs. My book tells me this is normally present from the beginning of July, so this has emerged early.
This year, many butterfly species are emerging some 2 – 3 weeks earlier than usual, so perhaps this is true for other insects too. For many, the song of crickets is an enjoyable part of a summer’s evening, but for this one a bat detector may be useful, as the song may be inaudible to some.
Then there are flies of many shapes and sizes. Hoverflies come in a variety of colours and can be very attractive. They are particularly useful to gardeners as their larvae feed on aphids. Perhaps less attractively coloured are the Dance flies. But don’t go cheek to cheek with this one: they feed on nectar but are also carnivorous. The adults have rigid biting mouthparts and both larvae and adults will eat other insects.
These insects are all small – maybe only a few millimetres in length – so they won’t jump to your attention from far away. You will need to go into the grass and look closely at the flower-heads to see them. But a walk through the grass can be rewarding: you will be conscious of insects jumping around with every step you take. Many of these are Lesser Marsh Grasshoppers, again an early emergence as their normal season.
Thanks to a break in the cloud a patch of sunlight suddenly hits the ground. Immediately, a Meadow Brown butterfly springs up from apparently nowhere and flies off. However lovely it is to make so many new acquaintances, it is equally rewarding to receive a surprise greeting from an old friend.
Nigel Symington