Around 4000 species in the UK (out of a worldwide total of 350,000 species) How many in Horndean ?

Probably the most successful group. Secretive but fairly easy to find and photograph. I have had a keen interest since childhood in Tooting Bec, South London where our garden was in a hot spot for stag beetles.

They would circle around you if relxing in a deck chair in the garden. We were close to Tooting Bec Common where they are still fairly common today. Also at school camp near Bembridge where, with a schoolfriend, we whiled the time away laying in the long grass watching a rotting bird being slowly buried by two large black and orange burying beetles.

Now best studied in our wildlife garden where some of the more striking species have been photographed.

A list of all local species is kept giving locality and date, including ladybirds, weevils and ground beetles.
The following are all fairly regular visitors.

Lesser Stag Beetle Dorcus parallekipipedus	A 7-spot ladybird (24/06/07)	Wasp Beetle Clytus arietis	Lily Beetle Lilioceris lilii
Cockchafer Melolontha melolontha	Oedemera sp.?	Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa coccinea	Minotaur Beetle Typhaeus typhoeus

The Minotaur beetle was seen along the Boyes Lane hedgerow verge, Blendworth on 16th April 2007

A good number of beetles were seen in the later part of May 2007, particularly between the wet spells. Here are some seen mostly in the Holt or at the bottom (west) end of Catherington Down. From left to right:-

A soldier beetle - Cantharis rustica, the black elytra cover a bright red abdomen, a Longhorn beetle - Rhagium bifasciatum, this specimen was about 18mm long, thirdly Oedemera nobilis a green beetle in which only the male has swollen hind-legs and lastly a mating pair of Brassica bugs - Eurydema oleracea.

L to R. The first is a Bloody-nose beetle Timarcha tenebricosa seen in a Blendworth hedgerow on 29 May 07, next a small black beetle with red spots, moving rapidly along a path in the Holt on 8 June 07, there are several similar species in the books, I think this one is a Glischrochilus sp. Next in our 'wild' garden was this fine specimen of Stangalia maculata on the blackcurrants, also on 8th June and finally a most interesting picture of a newly emerged 7-spot ladybird taken by Tony Fry in his garden. Assisted by his wife they have now taken a sequence of pictures showing the emergence of the lady bird which is at first bright yellow and gradually the red colour and the spots appear after 2 hours or more.

Bloody Nose Beetle, Blendworth hedgerow (29/05/07)

Black beetle with 4 red spots on Holt path (08/06/07)

Stangalia maculata on black current - WG (08/06/07)

Yellow newly hatched ladybird - Mr Fry (01/06/07)

1. A rather wet Violet Ground Beetle - Carabus violaceus in Holt 22 July 07

2. A bright green beetle - Chrysolina menthrasti in Holt 22 July 07

3. Totally different a Tortoise Shieldbug - Eurygaster testudinaria, found in the long grass in the meadow near the front entrance of Park Wood. Stuart has also seen these at Milton Locks. Many thanks to Stuart for sending in these 2 pictures.

4. An unusual beetle the Green Tortoise Beetle - Cassida vibex seen and photographed by Stuart Ball in Park Wood, Cowplain on 19th July2007
He says 'One of a huge family of leaf beetles, of which there are a dozen UK Cassidae, also seen on Portsdown Hill.'

Whilst recently studying mosses several very small beetles were found on 11th March 2007, measuring 1 mm in length (the width of the rim of a small collecting tin lid). In general shape this one resembles a Hawthorn Leaf beetle (Lochmaea crataegi) but very much smaller ! It would take me many hours to even attempt to identify all the minibeasts crawling around in the mosses off our roof but they do seem to be an important part of the food chain judgeing by the number of birds pecking the mosses off the tiles.

Several species have been studied and photographed in the Wild garden and at Dell Piece West. They are mostly well camouflaged and seem to colour match whatever their sitting on. Here are some examples :-

Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina	A pair mating in our wild garden. Very common in this area here in spring green colour, then becoming a dark reddish brown in the winter.
Shieldbug Coreus marginatus	Fairly common in this area. Again a mating couple, they all seem to be at it. This species seems to prefer damper areas.
Box Bug Gonocerus acuteangulatus	This fine picture of a Box Bug, Gonocerus acuteangulatus was taken by Suart Ball on 20th April 2007 whilst walking in Park Wood, Cowplain. It appears to be the only site where this species has been found. It is rather similar to the Shield bug, Coreus marginatus seen at several sites in Horndean, but has a narrower abdomen. Thankyou to Stuart for sending in this photo.

In early June '99 large numbers of these small bronze shield bugs Eysarcornis fabricii were seen congregating on the leaves of Hedge Woundwort Stachys sylvatica growing in profusion in our wild garden. Seen here in a mating mood. I have called this picture 'Four's company - Fives a Crowd.' These fascinating creatures are about half the size of common green shield bugs and are only interested in the Labiatae, some on white deadnettle, mainly woundwort.

• Chinery Insects of Britain and W.Europe Collins Good sections on beetles and bugs
• AES Coleopterists Handbook
• BBC Wildlife British Beetles - Discovery Guide also Pocket Guide No.1 Garden Creatures
• Evans & Edmondson Photoguide to Shieldbugs and Squashbugs of the Br.Isles WGUK2005