Coleopteran Catchup

Well that went awry pretty quickly! So much for making an effort to keep blogging, lasted about a month. It's not that I've had nothing to post about, more that my available time when I'm up to doing anything around chemo is more compressed when there is more going on. I've got absolutely no intention now of trying to 'catch up' in any chronological order, but I will post a few bits retrospectively in themes of a sort.

I'll start with some new for me beetles that were observed on sap runs, logs and under bark at Charnwood Lodge during a decent moth trapping session on 26/04/2025 with Graham Finch (VC55 Coleoptera Recorder). The first of which I'd literally mentioned to Graham about an hour or so before that it was high on my 'would like to see' list and I knew it was at this site.

Endomychus coccineus

Pediacus dermestoides

Glischrochilus quadriguttatus

Also seen were good numbers of this VC55 scarcity:

Corticeus unicolor

Another new for me beetle came by complete chance: I was at Fosse Meadows on a quick mission (for another post) when something in flight caught my attention. It looked vaguely Coleopteran in its action but of course I no idea what it was until or unless it was netted. Within a couple of seconds of seeing it, with reflexes I'd forgotten I had, I'd swiped and it was motionless clinging to the inside of my net - and what a surprise it was to see!

Ptinomorphus imperialis

So rounding off the beetles, here's a few odd shots of others noted whist out and about or to the garden trap ....

Hallomenus binotatus, garden trap 20/05/2025

Ptinus sexpunctatus, garden trap 12/05/2025

Polydrusus tereticollis, The Outwoods 04/05/2025

Anaglyptus mysticus, Watermead CP North 26/05/2025

And here's one that was a beetle in-waiting - this mine was tenanted when I found it but the larva vacated in the ziplock bag on the way home.

Orchestes quercus, Ketton Quarry 24/05/2025

I've really not got the energy to come up with some wittily crafted blog title and neatly juxtaposed track to round it off. So here's some noisy nonsense from a couple of decades ago ....