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Nature Notes from Ken Hill
Robbers on the Edge of Swansea
Asilus crabroniformis is the globally threatened and declining Hornet robber fly, and it
has been found at a new site on the edge of Swansea. A series of small horse-grazed
heathy grass fields is similar to a well known site for this fly, not too far away. Seven
adult flies were seen last September during a survey commissioned by the Countryside
Council for Wales. Another new site was found on the Gower, making three sites known
in the Swansea area.
It is big, for a fly, 25-30mm banded in black and yellow, and is a fierce predator mainly of
grasshoppers and dung beetles. The larvae are also predatory, on dung beetle larvae. Once
widespread across lowland England and Wales, its main stronghold is the Dorset heaths,
only 17 sites were known localities in the recent past.
Further information about this rare and spectacular animal from David Painter or
Jonathan Graham, Countryside Council for Wales, RVB House, Llys Felin, Newydd,
Phoenix Way, Swansea Enterprise Park, Llansamlet, Swansea SA7 9FG.
Editor's note - although formerly considered extinct in the county, there are now several
sites for this impressive fly in south Essex although none has any statutory protection.
One, at Ferry Fields near Tilbury in Thurrock, has been given planning permission for
large scale development despite the presence there of populations of two Priority
Biodiversity Action Plan species and an invertebrate quality equal to that of SSSIs in the
East Thames region. Remarkably, despite these facts being known to the Local Authority
and the site's identification as a SINC by EWT, the Planning Office's Recommendations
for Approval, dated 12th December 1996 and available for public examination,
contained no mention at all of the nature conservation importance of the site.
Dry Gardens Save Water
The sense of attempting to grow plants which need much water in dry climates has been
questioned. Southwark is not desert, but has experienced several years of low rainfall and
increasing demand for water. Helped by a grant from Thames Water, Southwark Council
has opened a drought resistent garden in Dulwich Park. The effect is to show how an
attractive garden can exist without continued recourse to hosepipe or watering-can.
A leaflet can be obtained from Diane Church, Press Office, Southwark Town Hall,
Peckham Road, London SE5 8UB
Reflection on Local Nature Reserves
Local Authorities in Great Britain have had power to acquire, declare and manage Local
Nature Reserves since 1949. With development of Local Agenda 21 these have taken
added significance, increased by Local Biodiversity Action Plans. Governmental
emphasis on education reinforces the value reserves have for schools.
Fifty recommendations from a 36 page review of LNRs written by Urban Forum of the
UK Man and the Biosphere Committee emphasise such foci. The review suggests LNRs
should be key nodes of multifunctional green networks, protected by development plan
policies and given high priority even where Local Authority resources are diminishing.
A review is suggested of legislation (National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 27, November 1998