The Ant Beetle, also known as the Red-bellied clerid, is an ant-shaped beetle with distinctive stripes and strong mandibles. The larvae and beetles themselves live under tree bark, where they prey on bark beetles and their larvae. This one presumably found its way into our kitchen on some firewood.
I found a couple of these ladybirds this weekend. Cream-spotted ladybird is found in parks and woodland around deciduous trees, over-wintering as adults in the leaf-litter and under bark. Like other ladybirds they predate aphids.
Big beetles were flying the other night, with two each of these coming to the moth trap. Cockchaffers are an annual thing at this time of the year, but it’s always a thrill to catch one. Carrion feeding Black Sexton beetles are the most impressive black beetles that I’ve found so far - maybe one day I’ll get a Stag Beetle!
The first two leaf-mines are from the larvae of a Sallow Pygmy moth (Stigmella salicis, #973). These moths have two generations in the Spring and Summer and the twisting mines from the second generation are seen right through to November. The mine doubles back to create a blotch and the frass makes a broken line in the centre of the mine.
The second pair of mines are from the larvae of a weevil Isochnus sequensi (#680), which leaves these dark, blotchy mines. The larva by the second mine is that of a Syrphus hoverfly, which is a predator mostly of aphids and but also other insects.
Found this beetle in the brown compost bin after doing some gardening on Saturday. This bristly weevil’s larvae feed on the roots of clover plants, the adults appear in the late summer and over-winter in soil or leaf litter.
#969 Clover-root Weevil (Sitona hispidulus)
Here’s a couple of beetles that turned up recently. The ground beetle Dromius meridionalis was found in my moth trap the other morning. It’s a woodland species, often found under tree bark.
Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) is common around the area, especially on the flowers of Hogweed and other umbelliferous plants. I don’t get many in the garden though - this one was on Welsh Poppies.
This medium-sized ground beetle is distinguished by it’s red-coloured legs and antennae and the yellowish hairs covering its back giving the wing-covers a dull appearance. It is quite a common beetle found under stones, logs, etc. This one was on the top of my moth trap, but I’m not sure if was attracted to light or just exploring.
#943 Strawberry Seed Beetle (Harpalus rufipes)
I found this beetle when checking the moth trap this morning, under the trap actually, so I doubt it was attracted to light. It’s a click beetle, doing its thing of pinging itself up in the air with a load click when stressed. This all-black one is I think Melanotus castanipes or the very similar M. villosus. It’s a first for the garden and my second click beetle species.
It’s always nice to catch cockchafer beetles; two in the moth trap this morning. Not a big catch of moths again, but several species caught for the fist time this year, as the season moves on.
We found these larvae in hazel nuts from last autumn. The weevils lay their eggs in the growing nut, then normally after a few weeks when they have eaten the nut kernel the larvae burrow out (see the exit hole in the nut shell), and relocate to the ground beneath the tree where they remain as pupae until the next spring when they emerge as beetles. In several cases there were live larvae in this batch of dried out nuts; their normal lifecycle presumably interrupted by our harvesting & storing the nuts.
#922 Hazelnut Weevil (Curculio nucum)
This Dor Beetle, Geotrupes spiniger (#889) is my first dung beetle in the garden. Unfortunately it had got itself caught in a spider web, and eaten. I’m not sure if was attracted to light by the moth trap or was just unlucky. I love the blue colour on the underside of these beetles. The beetles lay their eggs under the dung of herbivorous animals.
It took me a while to nail down the identification of this water beetle that turned up one morning in the paddling pool. Agabus nebulosus (#888) is a common pond beetle that frequents stagnant ponds and ditches. It is a strong flier, sometimes attracted to light, and often found as in this case in temporary pools and water troughs. Its spotted markings are quite distinctive.
This one is doing no harm, looking for pollen on a flower, but the Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci, #871) is not something you want too much in your house. In the natural habitat the adults lay their eggs in birds nests and similar dry places with a supply of suitable food: animal and plant fibres, dead insects, dry druit, etc for the hatched larvae. In the house they can infest carpets, ventilation systems and cupboards storing food or clothes to the point they can do serious damage if not spotted first.
Came across these groups of ladybirds on fence posts while going for a walk near Tewkesbury. There was a nice mix of species: mostly the very common 7-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata), but also several small yellow 16-spot ladybirds (Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata) and a few Adonis ladybirds (Hippodamia variegata). An Adonis Ladybird is bottom left on the first photo. The latter two species are ones I didn’t yet find in my garden.
My wife has been complaining that something is biting her in the house. Having suspected cat fleas and spider bites, but not really found evidence of either, I now think the suspect is the larvae of these small carpet beetles. Apparently, like some other caterpillars, they have hairs which can be irritating to some people and cause allergic reactions. We haven’t seen many of the adult beetles around, but are doing extra vacuuming to see if that fixes the problem.
#439 Two-spotted Carpet Beetle (Attagenus pellio)
These colourful beetles turn up on the lavender flowers at this time of the year. They are a non-native pest hailing originally from Southern Europe, and even though they were first found in UK as recently as the 1990’s they have managed to spread themselves right across the country. I don’t seem to get that many of them that they have become a pest.
#509 Rosemary Beetle (Chrysolina americana)
This Wasp Beetle (#764, Clytus arietis) is a new species for the garden. The stripey colours mimic a wasp and are meant to ward off predators, but this one was caught in a spider’s web, so in this case it didn’t work too well.
This appears to be another good year for 7-Spot Ladybirds, with plenty around the garden. The smaller ladybirds take more finding. I do find the yellow 14-Spot Ladybird fairly regularly, but this is only my second Pine Ladybird (the first being during the short warm spell back in March this year)
Always happy to see one of these cockchafers; this one coming into the moth trap overnight. It is the season right now for these big beetles, which appear in May and live for a few weeks. Not the most maneuverable of fliers, they are sometimes called doodlebugs like the German World War 2 V-1 missiles.
These two new beetles for the garden both landed on me while I was sitting outside today - it’s nice when that happens (provided they’re small beetles like these ones). The first, with its stripey body and blunt snout, is a Pea Leaf Weevil (Sitona lineatus). The adults nibble the leaf edges not just of pea plants, but also clovers and other legumes, but does little damage; while its larvae feed on the roots. They over-winter as adults hiding in tree bark and leaf litter. The small black and red ladybird is a Pine Ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus), recognisable by the kidney shaped red dot on it’s wing cover. This species prefers pine trees, but will also live in hawthorns and other plants where it predates aphids and other small insects.
Passionate about nature, based in Gloucestershire UK; this site is about creating a wildlife friendly family garden and exploring the diversity of animal & plant species that share it with us.
As a nature lover and wildlife gardener I started wondering about the biodiversity in my backyard and just how many species from plants to insects to birds to mammals might live in or visit it.
Much of the wildlife in my small, village garden has been present right under my nose for years without my really appreciating it, so on the way I am learning a lot about different species and how to make a wildlife-friendly environment for them; also getting engaged more in conservation activities around Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
My garden species tally started from zero on June 1st 2018, the target was 1000 species, which I eventually hit in June 2024. But there’s still plenty to see and learn about.
I'm very interested in your comments & advice: whether it's about the blog, some help with identification or just how to make my own little Eden better for wildlife. So please leave a comment or drop me a line if you feel like it!
Graham Tompsett
microedenproject@gmail.com
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