Dr Stuart Green

It’s that end-of-season look here as well.

Driving behind a tall lorry last week, our car was hit by a stone, we thought. Then another. Then another 6 or 7!
In the lorry’s wake, the oak tree’ swaying branches were releasing a deluge of mighty green hail stones!

Blowing a hooley here in Belper, Derbyshire but, surprisingly, not much apple fall.

Grass of Parnassus, Marsh Lousewort and Bog Bush-cricket on Bell Heather, on Buxton Heath, Norfolk, this afternoon.

It’s the year of the Small Copper in my corner of Derbyshire. Never seen so many as this year.

An old “friend” of mine.
Another research paper I really ought to finish and publish! 👀

A few captive Large Marsh Grasshoppers still going strong here at home, producing egg pods for next year’s #Hop_of_Hope reintroductions in Norfolk & Cambridgeshire.
A special treat this morning: sedge instead of Cocksfoot grass.
It was appreciated!
@citizenzoo.bsky.social
@norfolknats.bsky.social

This female Large Marsh Grasshopper, seen today (with friend), is almost certainly the adult of a VERY purple nymph seen 2 weeks ago, at almost exactly the same spot, at our Norfolk Broads release site.
📷 Anna.
#Hop-of-Hope
@citizenzoo.bsky.social
@norfolknats.bsky.social

Butterflies showing well this morning (Small Copper, Speckled Wood, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Large White, Green-veined White) and moth trap packed, including 2 dead hornets. Belper, Derbyshire.

Drawn any grasshoppers, Lorraine? They’re obliging subjects to photograph - they stand sideways on the the sun, a living solar panel, so the lighting is usually good. Move in slowly and you can get quite close. 📷

Just as @citizenzoo.bsky.social’s Hop of Hope project reintroduces the Large Marsh Grasshopper in Norfolk, its arch enemy invades from the South!
Seen a few LMG in Wasp Spider webs, but its populations are thriving.
At one release, a LMG leapt straight into a web. Resisted the urge to rescue it! 😢

Early riser!
… up before the mega-herbivores!

A rare grasshopper returns to Norfolk after more than 85 years Large marsh grasshopper successfully reintroduced to help reverse regional extinctions. Government commitment to halting wildlife decline by 2030

Our biggest, most handsome grasshopper has made a comeback in the Norfolk Broads, thanks to @CitizenZoo ‘s Hope of Hope project!
Rare grasshopper returns to Norfolk after more than 85 years www.gov.uk/government/n...

That was the whole plan! 🌺👍

😮

Bravo! Informative and intelligent. An great read.

😎

It seems to work!

Seeing spots before my eyes!

Spotted an old friend this morning!
I did fieldwork + a short paper on the Irish Yellow Slug, Limacus maculatus, way back in 1989.
The population was living in crevices in an old stone wall in central Huntingdon, +mostly active at night time. The local constabulary found it all very interesting!

Grasshopper relic for sale. But was it stolen from King T... Some argue that the artefact up for auction should be returned to Egypt

Stolen grasshopper steals the headlines!
observer.co.uk/news/interna...

Colour is so variable in grasshoppers.
Each species has a commonest colour form, but also several “away kits” and some of these can be a good match to other species common colour form.
It’s a good year for grasshoppers, so take a moment and sit down in a good spot and observe the action. And listen.

Working with Citizen Zoo: “Hop of Hope” project, rearing Large Marsh Grasshoppers & supporting our fantastic volunteer “citizen keepers”.
We home-rear this rare species from eggs to adults, then release them at wetland sites in Norfolk & Cambridgeshire.
A fabulous grasshopper & some great people! 👏

Good to see the steadfast oak still stands majestic, Lindsay.
It still gives off the vibe that God is in his Heaven - All is right with the World … even if we know it REALLY isn’t!
We’re thinking about moving next year and I do hope we can find a house with a view of a large tree.

‎iRecord Grasshoppers ‎The sound of Grasshoppers and Crickets (Orthoptera) singing epitomises warm summer days. However, Orthoptera and related insects are not well recorded in the UK and so scientists have little informa...

They’re not that difficult, especially if you hear the male song. I can highly recommend this app Gillian.
apps.apple.com/app/id946228...

It’s a female Meadow Grasshopper, Pseudochorthippus parallelus.
Note to short wings - they cannot fly or stridulate properly.

Peacock much more likely.
But tricky based on wing profile only.

Pic of a large, dark nymphalid sitting on an airing duvet.
It flew away swiftly.
Google lens says: “Camberwell Beauty”! 👀

A carrot wasp (Gasteruption sp) on Astrantia (A. major) in our garden this afternoon. Its larvae feed on grubs of solitary bees.

Now is the winter of my discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun at Wild Ken Hill.
Forester Moth, Purple Hairstreak, Turtle Dove the highlights. And grasshoppers galore, including 50 Large Marsh Grasshopper nymphs (instars 4&5) introduced, with help from @awprco.bsky.social