Darkling beetle

Another morning of dense fog, so there wasn't any point rushing out for a sunrise! Instead I had a leisurely bath and breakfast, helped Pete examine the contents of the moth trap, and then photographed some of the more attractive moths that had arrived - a herald, an early grey and a twin-spotted quaker (which I'll post on my blog).

I also photographed this rather busy fungus-feeding darkling beetle Diaperis boleti which originated from Wicken Fen. Until recently this was considered to be a very rare beetle, with a scatter of 19th century records. It was then apparently unrecorded until the 1950's when it was found in the Ringwood area of Dorset. In 1985, just after I moved to Peterborough, there was great excitement when a thriving population was found in nearby Holme Fen NNR. For a long time this was one of the most reliable places to see this attractive beetle.

In recent years it seems to have had something of a resurgence and is now known from quite a few wooded sites, mostly in southern and eastern England. The larvae usually live in the brackets of birch polypore, although on the Continent it has been found in other bracket fungi. Its one of a whole suite of rare species that rely on dead and dying trees, often an undervalued feature of wildlife sites, but one which should be celebrated and conserved.

The rest of the day was a melee of taking Alex to and from a great crested newt training day, tackling our neglected prairie bed and baking banana bread and carrot cake with Ben. We had our first barbecue of the year this evening, possibly the earliest ever, and now Alex has gone off to a party, and the house is quiet and peaceful...