Suffolk Bugs (Part 1)

As I mentioned in an earlier post our recent holiday to Suffolk produced more bugs than birds so I need to make use of the pictures I obtained.

Firstly on a walk at Dunwich Heath we spotted the big impressive beetle shown below. My field guide (Complete British Wildlife by Paul Sterry - Published by Collins) says this is a Great Diving Beetle. The margins of the electra and thorax are marked orange-brown. The male has a smooth shiny electra where the females is grooved both the adults and larvae are fearsome predators.



Secondly, the next two bugs were at Snape Warren RSPB which you access by walking down the north side of the River Alde estuary from Snape Maltings, through the reed beds and along the bank of the estuary where the wildlife possibilities are great. The header shot shows the path away from the famous Snape Maltings and the Concert Hall.

The first up I think is a Forest Bug which has an almost rectangular pronotum and broad square shoulders which come to a point. The pale spot at the tip of the scutellum is often orange as in this case. They feed on the sap of a wide range of trees and sometimes damage fruit. They also feed on small caterpillars and other insects.

Then one of the various crickets/grasshoppers on the warren not sure what this is, answers on a postcard to Mike unsprung! Off to get a cricket /grasshopper guide. I would appreciate advice!