New arrivals

This summer we have had a couple of interesting new arrivals in the Valley...

Back in May Project Officer Tony Anderson spotted an unusual green-eyed insect in the garden at our HQ at Ash Lock Cottage. We were fortunate enough to be able to get a picture of the insect (below) and further investigations revealed that it is a Hoverfly known as Orellia falcata, and apparently quite a rarity! So if we ever talk about seeing green-eyed monsters you know we are telling the truth…

In June we received news of another newcomer to the Valley, the Scarce Chaser Dragonfly Libella fulva. Sightings were made of both the male and female at Lakeside Nature Reserve... and we have the picture to prove it (below). This is excellent news and something we have been hoping to hear about for some years because the presence of this particular dragonfly indicates that the water quality is improving.