If the ground beetles (Carabidae) are like the European Knights of the 13th century - soldiers encased in ungainly, heavy steel plate armour...
Carabus nemoralis - Goat Meadow at Gatwick
...then the rove beetles (Staphylinidae) are the fearsome Mongolian warriors of the steppes, with overlapping scales of iron and flexible leather, allowing for furiously fast attacks on the enemy (I've been reading a lot of Conn Iggulden historical fiction of late).
Devil's Coach Horse (Ocypus olens) - Photo by W J Heeney
As mortal enemies, Carabids and Staphs will go into battle and the result comes down to the size of beast, which is highly variable. The biggest, baddest of the rove beetles is the Devil's Coach Horse pictured above, which makes Genghis Khan look like a lovable chap who'd give out free hugs.
Last Saturday was the Staphylinidae Identification Workshop with the British Entomological and Natural History Society, lead by Roger Booth and Peter Hodge. It was another excellent day of networking with beginner and expert entomologists alike, learning about the fearsome (and sometimes beautiful) variety of rove beetles.
Roger Booth lead the workshop on Saturday at Dinton Pastures
For me, it was throw back to entomology lessons at Royal Holloway University - Dr Angus was the lecturer who described invertebrate sexual strategy in such graphic detail, that his lectures became infamous (there's even a facebook page in his honour, with one lengthy thread on locust bits which is very NSFW).
A clumsy abdominal dissection
However, I'm not really sure how Dr A. would feel about this; my first attempt since uni at beetle genitalia dissection in order to determine the exact species... Needs a little more practice.
Tergites IX and X, plus one really mashed up aedeagus (male organ)
Aedeagi aside, all beetles at have the same basic body plan. Instead of iron, their exoskeleton is actually made up of a hardened material called chitin, particularly obvious in the solid wing cases (elytra). In Staphylinids, the wings are folded away and the wing case is particularly shortened, allowing for more flexibility in the body.
From Staphylinidae of Britain and Ireland
These are a few I've found about the place so far at Gatwick, usually lurking underneath reptile refugia and bits of bark...
Devil's Coach Horse (Ocypus olens) - a monsterous 30mm
This little bullet-shapped jobby is Tachinus rufipes - around 6mm in length
Drusilla canaliculata (some species names make even adult entomologists snigger), about 5mm
Mongol warriors, about 5ft 7"
Platydracus sp. Another large staph at around 20mm.
Photo by W J Heeney
There is something like 1,000 species of rove beetles in the UK, so lets just say I've got a few more to go! Thanks to Roger and Peter for a brilliant and inspiring workshop.
My top-tips for making it through an all-day seminar:
1. Curb alcohol intake the night before
2. Sip water constantly; keeps brain alert and banishes drowsiness (particularly if you disregarded point 1)
3. Ignore all the above if you're going to a Biological Recorders meeting; the talks will be riveting anyway and your day will fly-by!
The 27th Sussex Biological Recorders seminar took place on Saturday at Adastra Hall in Hassocks. This is a meeting of like-minded nature-explorers, open to people of all ages, abilities and interests in wildlife watching and recording.
The Royal Air Force motto - Per ardua ad astra
Adastra Park and Hall were named for members of the Royal Flying Corps who lost their lives in World War I. The motto roughly translates as 'to the stars through hardship'; rather fitting for present day biological recording with continual habitat loss, the decline of most species and funding cuts to wildlife organisations. Fortunately, events like the Sussex Biological Recorders Seminar light the way forward, inspiring conservationists to fight on.
A rabble of around 190 biological recorders arrives - this event books out every year
The day consisted of talks by different wildlife conservationists from around the county (plus a few from further afield), beginning with an update from the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre (SxBRC), summarising the victories and challenges of the year just gone. The main talks commenced with a presentation by Dr Nikki Gammans on 'The Plight of the Bumblebee'...
Next up was a talk on the variable state of our Local Wildlife Sites, formerly known as Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (we have one here at Gatwick: Horleyland Wood). We then delved into the hidden world of Ashdown Forest's rarest plants, followed by an exploration into the stunning variety of shield bugs to be seen around Sussex.
A particularly shocking message was that of the RSPB about Turtle Doves in the UK; only a handful now breed in Sussex and the south-east, with fewer returning each year. I'd no idea that in my lifetime this gorgeous bird could go extinct.
However, the message wasn't all doom and gloom. With the help of farmers and continued support of nature organisations in the years to come, Operation Turtle Dove hopes to reverse the decline of this beautiful, charismatic bird.
Coffee breaks between the talks gave people the chance for yearly catch-ups, exchanging ideas, endless questions, plus checking out some of the excellent display boards around the edges of the room...
Towards the end of the day, there was even a surprise guest appearance by one of our most famous Sussex naturalists... TinyBirderhimself!
The overall message from this day is very clear - the hard work being put in by passionate wildlife observers provides evidence of a very clear trend of declining species, all easily observable in my lifetime (only just 3 decades).
Along with all county record centres across the UK, the SxBRC is the go-to place for local wildlife information, collecting historical and current distributions for hundreds of different species. This hot-pot of clever, kind, and welcoming staff act as a central point for other wildlife organisations and nature-novices to look to, for help and guidance with all our records and never-ending questions.
More pictures from the day on Twitter: #2016Adastra
Seeing as I'm desk-bound and continually procuring new strains of rhinopharyngitis previously unknown to medical science, this seemed a good time to round up my Gatwick wildlife highlights....
1. Black is back
One sunny morning early in the year; a stunning, entirely black Grass Snake...
Grass Snake (Natrix natrix)
It turned up on several occasions in the North West Zone, so fingers crossed it will make another appearance this coming spring.
Grass Snake - Natrix natrix subsp. persa?
Also hanging out with blackie was his unusually stripey pal... perhaps related to the European subspecies of Grass Snake, which are also striped. Some DNA swabbing and testing is hopefully in the pipeline....
2. Encounters of the fluffy kind
Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius)
Two of them!!! Found after around 3 years of surveying the ancient woodlands in the Land East of the Railway Line...
TICK.
3. Another Long-horned beastie
Long-horned General (Stratiomys longicornis) female - Photo by Andrew Halstead
On our Wildlife Recording Day back in May, along the River Mole, Andrew Halstead turned up our star find - an impressive soldierfly named the Long-horned General. This very scarce species is normally associated with coastal habitats and salt water, but a few have recently appeared in land-locked areas.
Andrew also swept our first Long-horned Bee (Eucera longicornis) of the year.
4. Tigers on our Jerseys
It was just another evening at Gatwick Moth Club with bickering, car-biscuits and male Glow-worms trying to mate with the green generator light.
A massive Tiger Moth turned up suddenly on Brad's jumper, sparking off another, erm, discussion....
Jersey Tiger Moth (Euplagia quadripunctaria)
In the end we had to believe our eyes; not just one but two Jersey Tiger Moths at Gatwick Airport... A new tick for life-long moth-er Jake Everitt!
5. Ashley's new record
Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) Photo by Julia Gregory
It might just be a plain-ol' Grass Snake, but for us it was a landmark moment as this one had turned up in Ashley's Field... another first in 3 years! This is hopefully an indication that our grassland enhancements are paying off, with amphibians and reptiles benefiting.
6. Ninja bats
I spent a suspenseful dawn with Laurie Jackson, standing in the twilight with detectors on, awaiting bat re-entry into the roost at the old Charlwood Park Farmhouse...
Pipistrelle activity on a bat detector
We picked up plenty of activity and had great views of Long-eared bats landing up on the eastern side of the building, scurrying up and disappearing under the loose tiles. At least three different species of bat are using this building as a roost!
7. The Lost Jewel
Jewel Beetle (Agrilus sp.)
A bitter-sweet highlight (and one Scotty Dodd has not yet forgiven me for) was the time I let go of this stunning Jewel Beetle before he had identified it to species. Not matter that we also procured a carabid beetle called Amarus strenua (Red Data Book 3 species), which was probably even more interesting, so should more than make up for this.
But I think insult to injury were my rubbish photos.
8. Badger Badger Badger Badger
Just that one step closer to getting some good footage of Badger (Meles meles) at Gatwick.
A Work In Progress (like all of my photography).
9. My kind of human
Meath Green Primary School counting our nest boxes in the Dormouse Challenge
The Forest Schools are Tom Simpson's project, and I've really enjoyed meeting this keen bunch from Meath Green Primary. These tiny humans have been learning all about their surroundings in Gatwick's woodlands, east of the railway line.
I wish I'd gone to this school!
Woodland festivities
10. The smallest of owls...
Undoubtedly one of my best moments was all the way back in February, while on a bird survey with Tom Forward. This was my first sighting of a Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the wild.
Is it very tiny, or just very far away... or perhaps a blurry picture of a lumpy branch?
Coming up in 2016: even more wildlife photography!
It was an incredibly a mild December morning when Jedi Birder Tom Forward, of the order Gatwick Greenspace Partnership, swooped in for our early winter bird survey.
The North West Zone, located in the Outer Rim Territories of Gatwick
Straight away we felt a strong presence in the force, scooping up a brand new species for our surveys landside at Gatwick... A Coot!
It's a little odd that we haven't picked up Coot on previous surveys, but I have checked the ancient iRecord archive scrolls, dating back a whole 3 years and true it is confirmed to be.
In some nearby scrub, we gained privileged views of a lone Fieldfare breaking its fast on tasty rose hips...
Other thrush species picked up here were Redwing, Song Thrush, Blackbird and Mistle Thrush. An excitedly singing Dunnock also made its presence known from a nearby hedgerow.
At the end of the canalised section of river, where the Mole begins to meander, we saw a dark shape nip into the reed bed... could it be?
The Water Rail victory dance
The calls of Water Rail are pretty unmistakable (and bizarre), sounding more like a squealing piglet than a wetland bird. Reed Bunting, Song Thrush and Wren also sounded off, hidden from view in the reeds, while a flock of Long-tailed Tits moved through the trees.
Reeds along the River Mole
Passing around the north side of Brockley Wood, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw and Jay were our first corvids of the day and the lively sound of a Redwing flock came from somewhere in the gloom. Incredibly, signs of spring were cropping up everywhere...
Elder (Sambucus nigra) coming into leaf
Out of the woods and into a busy section of floodplain, with Fieldfare flying overhead and mixed flocks of Blue Tits, Great Tits and Goldcrests foraged in the tree tops. As we rounded a bend in the river, the landscape was contrastingly tranquil, with softly calling Song Thrush and a lonely-sounding Bullfinch.
Then again, all Bullfinches sound lonely... Maybe if they lightened up a little they would have more friends.
Along the next section of river, the ground up from the boggy floodplain is on a rather steep incline and whippy Alder scrub makes the going tougher.
More Redwing zipped back and forth, busily foraging in the dense scrub and a Green Woodpecker spooked us with a loud yaffle, erupting up out of the grass.
A the furthest point downstream, just outside of our allowed survey time, we were treated to the sight of a Kingfisher perching directly in front of us and a small group of Roe Deer trotting off around the corner. (Even if noted outside of the survey time, we enter all of the day's species into iRecord.)
A final word of advice: before beginning your linear transect of 3km over difficult terrain, do check you have your car keys with you and they are not locked in the car all the way t'other end.
