As the year is coming to a close and the summer seems like a distant memory, I find myself reminiscing and thinking back to memorable events of 2017. One event springs to mind as being particularly memorable.

The occasion was a Blue Ground Beetle and Ancient Woodland workshop organized by Buglife Cymru held back on 28th February. I learnt about the ecology of this species and how to survey for it as well as looking for other invertebrates associated with deadwood habitats. A morning session of talks by John Walters (entomologist) on the ecology of the Blue Ground Beetle was followed by an introduction to deadwood invertebrates by Steven Falk (entomologist). This was a pleasant surprise as I have a copy of Steven Falke’s book on ‘Bees’. It was also good to hear that both John and Steven are keen insect illustrators and photographers and their websites have beautifully illustrated samples.

Moss covered woodland at Coed Maesmelin provides the ideal habitat for the Blue Ground Beetle which at night hunts for slugs amongst the damp, moss covered tree trunks.

After a buffet lunch we visited the site at Coed Maesmelin (this is the only known site for this beetle in Wales) where we had the opportunity to survey the woodland for Blue Ground Beetle. To top it all, I was also lucky enough to have handled and taken some photographs of this fascinating beetle.

Handling the Blue Ground Beetle

All shots were taken using a Canon 7D with 100mm USD Macro Lens.

Blue Ground Beetle looking for slugs in the damp moss covered trunks