Swansea Vale Sand Martin colony restored

Sean Hathaway, Environment Officer for Swansea Council, led works to restore the Sand Martin colony at Swansea Vale over the winter period. The site has been used since about 1996, the year after the holes were installed by the council when the road/embankment went in, directly opposite an eroding sand bank they previously used to nest in. This artificial urban site (which comprises three groups of holes totalling 47) was in serious risk of being completely overgrown by willows and brambles. These were cleared in October 2017 to provide the martins a clear flight path into the nest holes and to reduce the risk from predators. Further works carried out in February 2018 included the removal of old sand and debris, treatment with an insecticide to rid the nest chambers of parasites, which were then refilled with clean sand.  

Despite the freezing weather, the first Sand Martins have already arrived in the county and hopefully this urban colony will benefit from the excellent work undertaken by Sean and his team.  Excellent views of what will hopefully be a busy colony can be enjoyed from the Swansea Vale footpath at SS67589877. Also keep an eye open for Goosanders and Dippers which are also frequent here.

Harlequin Ladybird in Swansea University

Ian Tew sent me this image of a Harlequin Ladybird that was found in Swansea University by Mrs Maureen Roberts on 17-11-09. For more information on on the spread of this species in the UK see http://www.harlequin-survey.org/#

Western Conifer Seed Bug in Swansea

This image of the Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis) possibly constitutes the first Welsh record of this rapidly colonising North American squashbug (Coreidae)[now pre-dated]. Ian Tew was given the photograph by Chris Beynon, who found the specimen on the 7th floor of the Faraday building in Swansea University; he then passed on to Tristan Bantock for identification.

Tristan wrote: The bug has again attempted to colonise the UK from Europe during autumn 2009 and records have been flooding in from the south coast. This is, however, the first record for Wales (to my knowledge). I have also had several reports from inland areas with large stands of pines; these must relate to locally bred individuals and are highly suggestive of established populations. Surely it is here to stay and it is a truly spectacular creature!

For further information check out these pages:
http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Coreidae/leptoglossus_occidentalis.html
http://www.hetnews.org.uk/pdfs/Issue%2012_Autumn%202008_2422Kb.pdf

If you happen to be lucky enough to find one for yourself please make sure that the record gets passed on. Note that there are other similar looking species so try and capture an image for verification.