On a quiet afternoon at work, I managed to slip away for an hour to do some invert hunting at the excellent Besthorpe Nature Reserve on the side of the Trent. The converted gravel pits here mean a high diversity of habitats, but as is so often the case it was hard to get more than a few metres from the car.
Sweeping the extensive patches of White Dead-nettles along the river produced large numbers of both Pied Shieldbugs (the cutest shieldbug going?) and the dazzling leaf beetle Chrysolina fastuosa. These really are spectacular, with emerald green, sapphire blue and ruby red elytra...
