Wildlife In Ox Close Wood
Back in 2022 we had our first non-grasshopper Orthoptera…. an Oak Busk Cricket.
And now, in a field nearby we have recorded two more new Orthoptera. A Long-winged Conehead…
and a number of Roesel’s Bush Cricket….
Both these crickets are not normally found north of the Humber and were taken using an Olympus OM5 with a 60mm macro lens.
A perculiar Small Tortoiseshell found just outside of the wood.
The Brown Argus Aricia agestis is another new butterfly that Trust members have found in Ox Close Wood and in fields in East Keswick. This is great news – showing that the management of our reserves is being rewarded with these successes (see Silver-washed Fritillary, below). The caterpillers’ foodplant is usually Common Rock Rose but more recently they have started to use various geraniums, including Meadow Cranesbill, of which there is plenty in the parish.
