Wasp
It is claimed that there are 20,000 or so species of British insects and there must be very many species that either visit the Nature Reserve or make it their home. Most obvious to the casual visitor are probably the dragonflies and damselflies that live in, on and around the pond. Butterflies are also very much in evidence, but there are also very many other types of insect that may well escape the notice of the casual visitor. As with cats, the naming of insects is a difficult matter - although many have English names, many more only have their binomial "scientific" species names (often, but not alwaysl Latin). The red ant below, for example, is Myrmica rubra, which is in fact much more precise, one might say "specific" (pun intended!), than just saying "red ant", as there are a number of red ant species. Binomial names have therefore been used for many of the insects in these pages.
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This ant was photographed on a cinquefoil flower by the grassy path through the woods at the top of the Reserve and is a common species (Myrmica rubra) in the Reserve. |
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Carnivorous ground beetles from the family Carabidae, such as this specimen may be found amongst the leaf litter by the path alongside the golf green.
On the left you can see his portrait |
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Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterflies are very often seen during the summer months . The caterpillar is pale greenish yellow with thin yellow stripes and feeds on grasses. The adult butterfly feeds on honeydew and is a woodland dweller. The colouring of this insect makes for excellent camouflage against sun-dappled woodland.
For more of these beautiful insects, see the Butterflies and Moths page. |
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Male stag beetles jousting The winner takes the lady |
Lesser stag beetle (female) The Wardens at Warnham Local Nature Reserve are very keen to encourage stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) and a stag beetle loggery of standing dead wood has been built to provide the correct breeding conditions for these beetles which lay their eggs on dead wood. See our Loggery page for further information There is also a lesser stag beetle, Dorcus paralellopipedus (above) |
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Not all beetles are as grand as the Stag Beetle. Here is a small beetle, only a few mm long that lives in puff balls. It only has a Latin name: Pocadius adustus. Thanks to Sam Bayley and his contacts for final identification. |
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| Another specialised feeder is the pollen beetle Oedemera nobilis. It is a very attractive metallic green and has characterisic gaping wing cases. The male has very fat hind legs. This specimen came from Walnut Tree Plantation. |  |
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Scorpion flies (Panorpa sp), with wings that remind me of stained glass windows are a common sight around the Reserve, especially in Walnut Tree Plantation. Their Pinocchio-like proboscis always seems comical. |
Of course a visit to Warnham LNR during the summer months is not truly complete without seeing the beautiful dragonflies and damselflies around the pond and often also in the woods. Here is a link to a page on Dragonflies and Damsel Flies |
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