Sefton Coast

Thanasimus formicarius, also known as the ‘Ant Beetle’ or ‘European red-bellied clerid’ (fancy!), is a small but striking species of Beetle native to the UK. It is not un-common but being small and selective in its choice of habitat it is rarely seen in even more rarely reported!

The Beetle is typically found in coniferous woodland where it is a predator of Bark Beetles and is considered to be a natural control against infestation and damage caused by those species.

A rather unremarkable month for weather, August had average rainfall and a couple of short warm spells but was largely characterised by cool windy conditions. My frequent visits to the dunes revealed a surprising lack of large insects, especially dragonflies and butterflies. Thus, after a gale the previous day, I called in at our premier dragonfly site in the Birkdale dunes on 8^th and was horrified to find not a single dragonfly or damselfly. This seems to have been a widespread phenomenon, local moth trappers also reporting a poor season.

Apart from a one-day heatwave on 19^th when temperatures reached an oppressive 32^oC, the month’s weather was unexceptional. Rainfall seems to have been about average but it was often cooler than expected in the first two and the last weeks. Predictably, the Devil’s Hole slack gradually dried up, though there was still a little surface water in the deepest parts (see below).