I’m taking a leaf out of my friend James Emerson’s book, or rather blog, to give you a round-up of some of my natural world ‘best bits’ from the year. While I spent a lot of time on my book ‘Arthropedia: An Illustrated Alphabet of Invertebrates’, I still managed to see some interesting mini beasts.

That Was The Year That  Was

2019 wasn’t the best of years from a personal point of view when I reflect upon the ravages against the natural world from climate change, human activity and political change (or lack thereof). But this is a review of the highlights of the time I spent observing nature over the year, whether sitting comfortably with a cup of tea in my back garden, struggling up hills in the Lake District in pursuit of butterflies or getting boiled in Breckland while searching for nesting bees. Getting out into nature was a much needed distraction from wider issues.

• 

Breckland Bee Surveys

We made a couple of trips to Norfolk Breckland in 2018 to check out sites where the solitary bee Anthophora bimaculata had been recorded. This was primarily to see whether the bee was still present but also as we wished to compare this species with the very similar Anthophora quadrimaculata that regularly visits our garden.

Having successfully found the bee at two of the sites we aimed to go back in 2019 to look for nest sites and make further observations. As we don’t drive, our trips to Breckland involve trains, taxis and long walks. It can be rather tiring in the heat of summer but it allows us to survey tracks and pathways that are seldom visited. In this way, we found several more sites with Anthophora bimaculata and finally our sought-after nest site.

Here we watched the comings and goings of female bees, returning to the nest laden with pollen as well as recording which flowers they were visiting. We also observed shadow flies around one of the nest sites which were confirmed as Miltogramma germari which is pretty scarce in Norfolk. Further visits are planned for 2020 as there are plenty more observations for us to make, including looking for cleptoparasitic bees.

• 

• 

• 

• 

While watching the Anthophora nests we also found Dalman’s and Fallen’s Leatherbugs, scarce species which are Breckland specialities. Two particular flies were nice finds, Tachina ursina and Gonia picea. These are both species of Tachinid which are parasites on moth larvae.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Other notable bee species found included Lasioglossum prasinum, Lasioglossum sexnotatum and Hoplitis claviventrus. The Treehopper Gargara genistae was plentiful on Broom bushes but was only noticed when I netted a male Andrena bee (A. fuscipes – one of a number ‘swarming’ around the bushes) and found several in my net as by-catch! We carefully checked other Broom bushes and found quite a lot more. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Another nice find which landed next to me while watching bees was an Ant-nest Ladybird (Platynaspis luteorubra). This is a very small species which I initially mistook for one of the inconspicuous ladybirds (which I’ll write about in part two of this review). As its name suggests, this little beetle has a strong association with ants. Its larvae feed underground on root aphids. Sitting still and patiently observing what’s under your nose is so rewarding, all manner of unlikely things just turn up unexpectedly. I like to call it the art of ‘slow nature’.

• 

• 

Isle of Wight

A second visit to the Isle of Wight, staying in Ventnor for a week, allowed us plentiful opportunities to see Glanville Fritillary again and we also saw our first Cream-spot Tiger moths and a lovely Lackey caterpillar. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Bee of the week was the delightful Osmia aurulenta, a beautiful red-gold bee that forages on Horseshoe Vetch and makes its nest in empty snail shells. We spent ages watching these while I tried to sketch them. The time spent in one place paid off for we also saw Horned Treehopper and Boat Bug. Elsewhere Jeremy was lucky to see and photograph a Dotted Bee Fly while I had to content myself with a brief view of a Spurge Bug that completely eluded attempts to relocate it.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Lake District

A week in the Lake District was timed for the emergence of Mountain Ringlet butterflies and we just hoped that the weather would be favourable. Booking trips weeks ahead when going by train means you have to accept whatever weather comes your way. We were very lucky as it turned out and we set off on the first warm and windless day for the high tops. 

• 

• 

Having done our research we were quickly rewarded with our first Mountain Ringlet fluttering low across the heather, leading us a merry dance until it dropped down into the grass. We managed to find a mating pair that I was able to sketch. With the Mountain Ringlet in the bag so to speak, we were able to spend the rest of the week lower down in secluded valleys watching various Fritillary butterflies as well as Gold-ringed Dragonflies and lovely Chimney Sweep moths. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The high point of the week for me though was finding Bombus monticola, the Bilberry Bumblebee. This species had been on my wish list a while and I had searched in vain in Scotland for it so it was an absolute delight to find one at the top of the hill after sighting the Mountain Ringlets. They are fast foragers and hard to get close to but over the week we found several at different sites and managed to photograph them and I got a couple of scrappy sketches. They are really beautiful with a long, deep orange tail and a yellow collar and midriff. I think they are the handsomest of our bumblebees and definitely my favourite.

• 

• 

Continued in Part 2.