Essex Coleoptera in 1999
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associated mainly with Typha, Phragmites, Sparganium or Glyceria - D. cinerea, D. clavipes, D.
semicuprea, D. simplex and D. vulgaris - at various Forest ponds during the last year. Further search
for some of the more elusive species that feed on water-lilies, Potamogeton species and other aquatic
plants will be one of the priorities for future beetle survey work in Epping Forest. Donaciine reed
beetles, generally metallic (often green or bronze) in colour and around a centimetre in length, can
often be found simply sitting on reeds or on the flowerheads of aquatic and water-margin plants.
Records for any of these attractive leaf-beetles from all parts of the county would be welcome.
For some 30 years or more, I have been expecting the tiny jumping weevil Rhamphus subaeneus,
previously known from several countries in Central and Western Europe, to turn up in the British
Isles. However, the discovery of strong populations of the species in Epping Forest during 1999 was
not anticipated. Two other species of the genus - R. pulicarius (associated with Sallow and birches)
and R. oxyacanthae (associated with Hawthorn and occasionally other rosaceous trees) - all of
which have leaf-mining larvae, are already known from Britain. R. subaeneus is very similar to the
latter species but may be distinguished, among other characters, by its weakly bronze sheen (rather
than being of a plain black colour). All three of these species were found in the same area of the
Forest in 1999, just a few hundred yards from Chingford Station, enabling their host associations to
be documented reliably by sampling weevils from a number of individual trees and bushes. R.
subaeneus was found to be present only (but abundantly) on Wild Apple, and was not found on
neighbouring Hawthorns, on which R. oxyacanthae was common, or other rosaceous species. The
only two other sites in the Forest where Wild Apple (not Crab Apple) was searched revealed more R.
subaeneus, so the species is likely to be widespread in the Forest, and probably now also is to be
found elsewhere in south-east England. Although possibly the commonest of British leaf-mining
weevils, the recent abundance of another relative of these Rhamphus is worthy of some comment.
Rhynchaenus fagi, strictly associated with Beech in the larval stage, was so abundant throughout
Epping Forest in 1998 and 1999 that adults were even the most frequently found beetles in pond-side
litter samples. In mid-summer, the density of adults feeding on Beech leaves was such that more
holes than leaf could be seen when looking skywards from beneath Beech trees. In some parts of the
Forest, the per hectare populations of this weevil must have reached well into seven figures.
Potentially of even greater significance in contributing new data with respect to the beetles of Essex
is a new initiative at Hatfield Forest. Entomological recording at this nationally important pasture
woodland site has been undeservedly neglected for many years. The very patchy existing inventory
of beetles known from the site is largely a product of collecting by Philip Harwood in the early 20th
Century when resident in the Bishops Stortford area, along with the results of occasional fieldwork
by visitors (such as K.N. Alexander, A.P. Foster, P.M. Hammond, M.G. Morris), mostly from the
1960s on. The National Trust, the owners of the site, have now commissioned Tony Drane to produce
a report on the beetles of Hatfield Forest, with special reference to scarce saproxylic species, especially
those associated with old pollarded Hornbeams and ancient oaks. Fieldwork at Hatfield began in
1999 and will continue through 2000 and possibly beyond. The results from 1999 already confirm
that the site has an expectedly rich fauna of scarce saproxylic species, with records for a number of
beetles that were previously known in Essex only from the Epping area.
References
DAGLEY, J. (1999a) Review of the wildlife of Epping Forest in 1998. Essex Naturalist 16 (New series):
25-28.
DAGLEY. J. (1999b) Rare jewels discovered in Epping Forest: Agrilus sulcicollis — a new jewel beetle for
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)