At the end of last week Marc Arbuckle, who is the Wiltshire county recorder for Coleoptera, in other words an expert on terrestrial invertebrates, visited UWNR. It was amazing being with Marc, walking the land and looking down, under rocks, under rotting logs into a world of minutiae.
One of the things that struck Marc, as he observed the UWNR habitat, was the abundance of hornets on the wing. As Marc pointed out these are apex predators, within their prey-predator pyramid, and an indicator species of habitat health.
Outcomes of Marc's visit (1) create a sunny and dry woodland glade and (2) next spring begin surveying.
Please check out Marc's very informative blog.....
One of Marc's exquisite drawings....this is a Longhorn Beetle, Rutpela maculata.