Recording Dorset No.10 November 2011 An online magazine concerned with the distribution, identification and recording of wildlife in Dorset Published by DERC Contents Dorset Hemiptera-Heteroptera (True Bugs) 3 The Status of Water Voles in Dorset 15 The DFG Visits the DFG 17 Dorset Plant Galls 20 A further site for Medicinal Leech Hirudo medicinalis in Dorset 22 Recording Dorset’s Birds 24 Splachnum ampullaceum Cruet Collar-moss re-established as a Dorset species 25 Sending in your records 26 © Dorset Environmental Records Centre November 2011 Illustrations by Bryan Pickess, John Newbould Front cover: Puccinia urticaria © Bryan Edwards Page 2 Dorset Hemiptera-Heteroptera (True Bugs) Part 2: LYGAEIDAE (GROUND BUGS) The Order Hemiptera includes those insects that have a mouthpiece forming a long thin tube known as a rostrum that is used to pierce and suck sustenance from its food source. The order is divided into two suborders Heteroptera and Homoptera and together contains well over 1800 species. Over 600 of these belong to the suborder Heteroptera, the main difference being that Homoptera hold their wings tent like over their body whereas Heteroptera hold them flat on the body. It is with the later group that this and future article will be concerned. County lists covering the whole of the country have been produced on three occasions; the first was by Butler (1926) followed by Bedwell (1945) and Masse (1955). Although there is a national recording scheme for Heteroptera as yet no distribution maps have been produced therefore information regarding coverage mostly comes from Southwood & Leston (1959). The 2nd part of Dorset Hemiptera-Heteroptera deals with the family Lygaeidae or to use their common name ground bug. These are as their name suggest found mainly at ground level. The family consists of 86 species, 12 of which have been added since the publication of Southwood and Leston (1959). Dorset with its large expanses of heathland and its south facing coastal cliffs is well placed to have a large proportion of the British species. This is borne out by the fact that 78% (67 species) have been recorded from the county. For the most part, the only means of identification is still S&L, however access is required to many journals for comprehensive coverage of the family. Because of their secretive nature and small size ground bugs are not as easily found and recorded as the shield bugs and their allies covered in Recording Dorset 9. However, in recent years the introduction of a commercial suction device that can be easily converted to a suction trap has lead to many species regarded as rare being found to be widespread. As already stated many of the species are associated with dry soils on heathland, chalk downland and coastal situations, however there are exceptions, for instance the genus Grossipes is associated with coniferous cones, whilst Heterogaster urticia will be found amongst the leaves of stinging nettle and Kleidocerys resedae is readily beaten from trees. Of the 865 Dorset records held by DERC for ground bugs over 300 are for the 5 most common species whilst Heterogaster urticae is one of the top ten most abundant bugs in the county. Although over twenty entomologist are referred to in the text, as with the first report the main contributors of records are Dale, Haines, Day, Morris and Hunnisett. The records cover V.C. 9 and that part of V.C.11 now included in Dorset. A distribution map is shown for species with more than ten records and individual records are given for less than that number. The number in square brackets following the species name gives some indication of the number of records held for that species as follows: 10+ = 10 – 20; 20+ = 20 – 50; 50+ = 50 – 100; 100+ more than 100. The order in which the species are listed follows Kloet & Hincks (1964) but up-to-date nomenclature has been used. List of contributors: AAA AA Allen JCD JC Dale AJW AJ Wise JH J Hunnisett AMM AM Massee JSD JS Denton BN B Nau KD K Dolbear CDD CD Day MAS MA Salmon CHA CH Andrews MGM MG Morris CWD CW Dale PK P Kirby DH D Hallett RC R Crossely FHH FH Haines SCSB SCS Brown GEW GE Woodroffe SJ S Judd GGES GGE Scudder TAM TA Marshall ICC IC Cross WGB WG Blatch The information is set out as follows: SU00 v- 1972 SCSB 10 km grid square Month (May) Year Recorder Key to map symbols: ● <1970 ● >1970 (The maps were produced using the DMAP for Windows Software) Page 3 Heterogaster urticae Fabricius, 1775 Chilacis typhae Perris, 1857 Status: Common [50+] Status: Common [4] This bug, as its name suggests, is closely associated with the The common name for this insect is the Reedmace bug, a genus Urtica Stinging Nettles. The general appearance is of a fitting name as it spends all stages of its life either on the flower parallel-sided bug with long pubescence and banded legs. The head or hibernating in the litter at the base of Great Reedmace adults overwinter beneath bark or in the hollow stems of woody Typha latifolia. Mating takes place in late May and the brown- plants. Mating takes place in June and July on the host plant. red larvae become adult from mid-July onwards. The only other Nationally it can be found mainly in the south but with scattered bug that could be found on this plant is Cymus glandicolor but records as far north as Yorkshire. It is widely distributed in this does not have a well-defined yellow V mark on the scutellum Dorset and can be found by sweeping nettles between June like Chilacis typhae. Massee (1955) shows it as being found and September. throughout England but becoming rarer in the north. Despite the host plant being fairly common in Dorset the records for the The earliest Dorset record is from Portland SY67 vi-1875 bug are sparse. The indications are that it is certainly under- JCD, the most recent being Brownsea Island SZ08 2007 recorded. MAS. It seems strange that this common bug was not mentioned in Dale’s book on the parish of Glanvilles The earliest Dorset record is from Studland SZ08 x-1934 Wootton (Dale, 1878). SCSB; Iwerne Minster ST81 vii-1949 CDD; Littlesea SZ08 1964 MGM; Ryewater Nursery ST61 viii-2007 KD. 3 Henestaris laticeps Curtis, 1836 2 Status: Local [10+] This ground bug is immediately recognised in the field by its 1 protruding eyes. It is associated with Buck’s-horn Plantain Plantago coronopus and over-winters as an adult. Its can be found in areas of sparse vegetation where its colour merges so 0 well with the ground that it will not be spotted unless it moves. Nationally it is confined to the coastal strips of the English and 9 Welsh southern counties. Likewise in Dorset it can only be found in suitable strips along the coast despite the fact that its 8 host plant is fairly common throughout the Poole Basin. The first Dorset record was by Dale who found it at 7 Lulworth Cove SY87 viii-1879, whilst the last was from Worbarrow Bay SY87 viii-2005 JH. 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 Nysius Heterogaster artemisiae Shilling, 1829. The British mainland list of the genus Nysius contains 5 species Status: Notable B [9] that can be divided into two groups, recent arrivals and those A bug very similar to the above but without the long pubescence that have been recorded in the British Isles for at least 50 years. and with different coloured legs. It is mainly associated with In general they all have very similar requirements regarding thyme and consequently is found amongst coastal sandhills habitat and life style. They prefer warm sunny areas with scant and chalk scree. Overwintering adults mate in early June with vegetation where their colouring makes them difficult to see new adults occurring in late August to September. The bug against the background. They over-winter as adults with the can be found along the south coast with scattered records from following year’s offspring becoming fully grown in August to southern inland counties. In Dorset it is restricted to the coast. September. Except for one, their host plant cannot be named Although there are three specimens in the Dale Collection none with any confidence. are labelled so they cannot be assumed to be from Dorset. The first mention of the species in Dorset is in Butler (1923) but no Nysius thymi Wolff, 1804 recorder is given. Status: Common [9] Ballard Cliff SZ08 1955 GGES; Portland Bill SY66 1955 As the name suggests this bug is strongly associated with GGES; Swanage SZ07 1956 GEW; Durdle Door SY88 thyme and has a widespread distribution in Britain. Until 1959 1985 SJ; Ballard Cliff SZ08 1987 SJ; Lulworth Cove SY87 this and the next species were considered as forms of the same vi-92 BN; Winspit SY97 vi-95 JSD; Portland SY66 vi-95 species but Woodroffe (1959) found consistent differences in JSD; St Oswald’s Bay SY88 ix-1998 (PK). both size and genitalia. Burton Bradstock SY48 ix-1980 MGM; Sandford SY98 vi-1982 MGM; Holton Heath SY99 viii-1982 MGM; Eype Mouth SY49 ix-1984 MGM; Winfrith Heath SY88 vii- 2000 JH; East Stoke Fen SY88 ix-2000 JH; Poole Bay Cliffs SZ08 vi-2001 JH; Mudeford Spit SZ19 vii-2001 JH; Bovington Heath SY88 viii-2007 JH. Page 4 Nysius ericae Schilling, 1829 Ortholomus punctipennis Herrich-Schaffer, 1839 Status: Common [6] Status: RDB3 [2] Although the name suggests an association with heather it is All British captures of this species have been from sandy places, thought that its host plants are more varied.