Inverts on the downs

Banstead Downs sits just to the south of the Greater London boundary - in fact, if you cross the road at its northern limit you will be straying into the London Borough of Sutton. This relatively modest area of chalk downland has a decent record of natural history recording (no doubt due to the close proximity of London) and so for the local naturalist there is the pleasure of being able to browse historical species lists across several groups. Having lived in the general area for 55 years my ventures onto this particular downland were primarily in search of its birds, plants and butterflies, but recently that has shifted to dipping in-and-out of the wonderful array of invertebrates that it has to offer. This morning I had a small window of opportunity to go exploring.

There is one small area on the eastern flank that I make a bee-line for, with low vegetation choked with Bramble, Stinging-nettle, Cow Parsley and Hogweed (with a dash of Horse-radish for good measure). It is next to a long abandoned car park and can be found opposite Freedown Lane. For some reason this patch of downland (above) is incredibly rich in notable species, full of longhorn beetles, shieldbugs and goodness knows what else. A fully competent entomologist would have a fine time of it. This is what one relative novice found today...

Asiraca clavicornis. Is it a leafhopper, a planthopper or a whatdoyoucallithopper? One thing I do know (or at least have just read online) is that is a declining species in the UK being found sparingly in London and the Thames Estuary - so quite a good find.

Lixus iridis. On 16 June 2020 I was poking around in a clump of Hogweed not too far from where I was stood this morning and came across a large distinctive weevil. Knowing nothing about them I assumed that identifying such a large and distinctive beast would be relatively straightforward (which it was). However, what I hadn't bargained for was its status as a recently discovered naturalised weevil having been found at the very spot that I had found my own just days before! Since then I have found them within a two-mile circumference and in multiples on Banstead Downs. This individual was one of six found this morning.

Striped Shieldbug (Graphosoma italicum). At the same time (and place) that the weevil was discovered, so too was this magnificent shiledbug. Each year I make the pilgrimage to Banstead Downs to check on it and have found it in three spots (one being by the Evergreen Garden Centre, maybe a slight clue as to where it originated from in the first place). This morning I found my first for 2026, and just the one, sitting out on a bramble leaf and hardly moving for 20 minutes. I never tire of them.

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