From the Brickhills in June: The Green Tiger and The Pantaloon Bee – Julie Cuthbert

Green Tiger Beetle (Photo © Julie Cuthbert)

We were walking along one of Rushmere Park’s sandy bright orange and yellow paths which stretched across a felled area between the Birch, Bracken, Bramble and drought-stunted Foxgloves. There was a huge array of insects for us to search through because, despite the relentless heatwave, the insects were having a good year. Rob called it first, “Green Tiger!” and our excitement suddenly rose. The Green Tiger Beetle Cicindela campestris was very much on our want-to-see list. While it was hunting for food it flew and scuttled about erratically at great speed, making it very difficult to photograph. It even flew into my hair. This charismatic metallic green and iridescent copper armoured warrior was just as beautiful as we had hoped, which isn’t always the case.

There were also many dug-out holes along the path which could easily have Green Tiger Beetle pupae inside, listening for unsuspecting prey to ambush and devour.

Another fantastic discovery for us was a huge colony of approximately 500 rare-for-Buckinghamshire solitary bees. The Pantaloon Bees Dasypoda hirtipesalong are situated along the banks of Heath Road. They are usually found along coastal areas but because of our ancient sandy soil they have chosen to nest in our village. They are another species which is in decline because of loss of habitat and pesticides. They cannot sting humans, which is true of nearly all bees except honey bees, and they have the most fabulous furry legs designed for collecting ample pollen and digging into the soil. They are classed as solitary but tend to tunnel beside others of their kind in a neighbourhood. We have never come across Pantaloon Bees before and though they are difficult to misidentify because they are so specific in habits and looks, we had the species confirmed by experts. We then sent our record to the County Recorder.