Teeny beetle

After dropping Alex at Corney's Farm, for the first day of his brushcutter training course, Pete and I headed off for a day of fieldwork at Godmanchester NR. The season still seems late, and despite plenty of flowering shrubs, invertebrates were generally sparse. However, these tiny flea beetles Longitarsus dorsalis, were abundant on all the ragwort. This species was once considered to be nationally scarce, and it is restricted to south-east England. However, in Cambridgeshire it's pretty much present wherever you get decent ragwort populations, and their status has now been revised. They're surprisingly attractive little creatures when viewed closely!