Heat and Braconids. Oh, and some moths...
Over the past few years I've tried (and pretty much failed) to convince colleagues that it is a scientific and ethical imperative to at least try to analyze the bycatch from insect trapping, including but not limited to light traps. Blinded by the light (sorry, moths), I can't seem to convince people to make the effort. One notable exception is my colleague Graham who regularly sends me samples from his amazingly productive garden moth trap. Working together we have clocked up an ever growing list of new species for VC55, including many solitary wasps.
Parasitoid wasps, usually overlooked, are crucial for understanding ecosystems and environmental change. Capitalising on other projects such as the bycatch from moth trapping can provide valuable insights into these overlooked taxa at relatively low additional cost or effort. A new article describes the use of an existing citizen science project, the National Moth Recording Scheme, to monitor nocturnal parasitoid wasps in the UK. The researchers collaborated with moth-trappers to collect "bycatch" from light traps, focusing on Ichneumonidae, a family of parasitoid wasps. Over five months in 2024, they collected 6,779 specimens, representing over 184 taxa. The project successfully collected a majority of previously recorded UK nocturnal Ichneumons within the five month period (e.g. 82% of Netelia, 91% of Ophion) and provided new species records for 67 of the 71 sampled species in 82 of 91 sampled vice-counties, including some rare species.
Cunningham-Eurich, I., Aucock, L., Walters-Hutton, B., Sumner, S. & Broad, G.R. (2026) Moth traps shine a light on nocturnal parasitoid wasps: Snapshot assessment of UK diversity and distributions. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 1–23. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.70135
Plenty of research shows the effectiveness of UV LED trapping for a wide range of insect taxa, so as soon as it stops raining I'm aiming to use my newly acquired LED strings to figure out what's flying about out there in the dark.
See also: Dietenberger, M., Jechow, A., Sann, M., & Hölker, F. (2025) Shedding light on dark taxa: exploring a cryptic diversity of parasitoid wasps affected by artificial light at night. Scientific reports, 15(1), 6237. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-88111-3
I've been very impressed with the LED light strip I bought recently, so much so that I decided to convert my hulking great mains-powered ALS actinic Robinson trap to LED. This was simple to do (30cm of white ABS waste pipe, another 2 metre LED strip and a few cable ties - total cost under £15. A one hour test run on a cool evening proved it works - 5 moths of 5 species but a couple of nice ones I don't see in the garden often - a Red Underwing (Catocala nupta) and a Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella). I'm a thorough convert to LED moth traps.
In spite of the terrifying weather, July was an outstanding month for butterflies. With everything brown and crispy after record breaking heat and drought, most species are now struggling, but careful detective work has turned up a decent list of new species (below).
Cann, A. (2026) The Softly Singing Spider. British Arachnological Society Newsletter, 166, 9.
I've given two talks this month on "The little things that rule the world - the Insect Apocalypse" ( I'm happy to give this talk to your group if you would like) but I've also spent time trying to rustle up an extra 500 species for the Rutland Water 5,000 in 50 challenge. Unfortunately, a planned visit for the Rutland Water Bioblitz was postponed due to extreme heat, which curtailed my activities.
I spotted some strange Hymenopteran goings on on the side of a flower pot on my patio. On investigating, I found this female Common Black Spider Wasp, Anoplius nigerrimus, trying to fly with a large female Common Fox Spider, Alopecosa pulverulenta, considerably heavier than herself up under the rim of the pot.
The excellent BWARS account for this species makes clear that they aren't too fussy about nesting spots. I interrupted her for a quick portrait, then put her back by the pot with the babyfood (which was done for, having already been paralysed).
