BR, I. INI NAI HIM 13: 2001 247 



grassland and found the uncommon weevils Tychitu Stephens! Gyll. and Ceuthor- 

 hynchidius barnevillei Brisout. The latter weevil was swepl from yarrow, Achillea 



millefolium L., as was the leal-beetle Cassida prasina Illiger. Also on the yarrow were 



many chrysomelid larvae, two of which were reared out b\ Roger Hawkins as 

 Galeruca tanaceti (I..), moulting to adult on 13 and 15 June. A dead tree in the 

 middle of the farm was formerly a magnificent habitat for beetles, solitary wasps and 

 nesting birds. It had been burnt out, but there David Lonsdale found the remnants ol 

 a stag beetle, Lucanus cervus (L.). He had previously also found the lesser stag beetle. 

 Dorcus'parallelipipedus (L), at the Banqueting House. Also at Warren Farm. Andrew 

 Halstcad recorded the rare beetle Ischnomera caerulea (L.). found previously at this 

 site by John Owen in 1976, and the tephritid fly Orellia falcata (Scop.), whose larvae 

 mine the roots and stem-bases of goatsbeard, Tragopogon pratensis L. Graham 

 Collins found the hoverfly Pipiza luteitarsis Zett., whose larvae feed on aphids on the 

 foliage of elms. 



A remarkable feature of this field meeting was that the majority of members 

 attending were Hymenopterists, either wholly or in part, with sawflies. bees and 

 wasps, ants and ichneumons all being covered. The other members were principalis 

 interested in the Coleoptera. Only Graham Collins spent part of his time looking for 

 Lepidoptera, but it is impossible to keep a good Order down and we were fascinated 

 by a tiny moth which was visiting the flowers of germander speedwell. Veronica 

 chumacdrys L.. This turned out to be an incurvariid, Adelafibulella (D. & S.). and the 

 speedwell is its host-plant. A small mining bee with red-marked abdomen. Andrena 

 labiata Fab., was also feeding at the speedwell flowers. The uncommon A. nivalis \\ as 

 also present, while the familiar red mason-bee Osmia rufa (L.) was collecting mud 

 from puddles. 



We concluded a most enjoyable and successful meeting by retiring to the Mansion 

 House, not a ruin but a splendid building at which functions such as wedding 

 receptions can be held in opulent surroundings. The general public can use a small 

 tea-room on the north side, and here we sat and relaxed and discussed the day's 

 findings. 



Much of the main body of the park is grassland managed by mowing, but recently, 

 late cutting has been introduced in some areas in order to benefit wildlife. There are 

 many large trees, both native and exotic, and also old hedges. In a follow-up visit on 

 12 August, Ian Menzies found that nymphs of the coreid bug Gonocerus 

 acuteangulatus (Goeze) were numerous on hawthorns in these hedges. This bug 

 has spread outwards from its Box Hill stronghold in recent years. He also beat a 

 specimen of the buprestid beetle Agrilus sinuatus (Olivier) from these haw thorns, 

 whose appearance suggests that this species is well-established in the park. 



Potteric Carr, South Yorkshire, 18 July 1998 



Leader: Ian Heppenstall. A total of 7 Members and friends attended this afternoon 

 and evening meeting at a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust wetland nature reserve and SSSI 

 near Doncaster. It provided a rare opportunity for those resident in the Yorkshire 

 area to enjoy one of the Society's Field Meetings. Limited recent fieldwork had 

 indicated that the reserve could be of regional significance for both lepidoptera and 

 odonata. Unfortunately, the weather, as with much of 1998. was scarcely ideal, a 

 very stiff breeze keeping most insects well down during the afternoon, and only 5 

 common species of odonata were noted. Butterflies seen included comma Polygonia 

 c-album (Linn.) and ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus (Linn.). Otherwise recording was 

 largely restricted to searching for leaf mines of microlepidoptera. Beating was 



