Bug habitats, Sirhowy Hill Woodlands
This cattle field is one of the rich habitats at Sirhowy Hill Woodlands for invertebrate species, some of which are scarce and specialised. See the footnotes for details.
The area was once a bustling industrial landscape shaped by coal mining. It has gradually transformed into a mosaic of woodland, grassland, wetland and heath. Nature has returned, but some of the plant and animal species may not have been here before industrialisation.
By allowing natural regeneration while carefully maintaining key habitats, Sirhowy Hill Woodlands has become a haven for it invertebrates. Look out for them as you explore the area!
The cattle field is a good place to spot some of them. The area’s open, flower-rich grasslands and heath support healthy populations of pollinators, such as the Bilberry Bumblebee – a distinctive bee associated with upland heath – and the Tormentil Mining Bee, a solitary bee that nests in bare ground and visits Tormentil flowers.
In spring, butterfly lovers may spot the Dingy Skipper – a brown moth-like butterfly whose caterpillars feed on Common Bird's-foot Trefoil growing on the site's dry, open slopes.
The shallow sunny pools in old industrial hollows are busy with dragonflies and damselflies in summer, which includes the scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly.
Also found in the area is the leafhopper Rhopalopyx adumbrate, a member of the cicada family and seemingly scarce in Wales.
In the woodlands, you may see one of the site's more dramatic invertebrates – the Giant Horntail. This large, wasp-like insect is often seen near conifer stumps and logs. Despite its fearsome appearance, it is harmless to humans. What looks like a sting is actually an ovipositor, used by the female to lay eggs deep into dead or decaying wood, where the larvae then develop.
Also living in the woodlands are the planthopper Euconomelus Lepidus and the Wood-carving Leafcutter Bee (Megachile ligniseca).
The Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative has more information about wildlife on former mining sites in South Wales – follow the link below.
Grid reference: SO149094
Website of the Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative
Footnotes: Important Sirhowy Hill Woodlands species
The following species found here are of “conservation importance” due to their Local, Scarce or Rare conservation statuses, or presence on Section 7 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.
Weevil Ceutorhynchus atomus - Nationally Scarce
Weevil Ceutorhynchus cochleariae - Local
Weevil Glocianus punctiger - Nationally Scarce
Weevil Caenorhinus mannerheimii - Local
Weevil Gymnetron beccabunda - Nationally Scarce
Weevil Holotrichapion pisi - Local (in Wales)
Plant bug Hoplomachus thunbergii - Local
Orb-weaved spider Araneus sturmi - Local
Pirate spider Piratula latifrons - Local
Picture-winged fly Rivellia syngenesiae - Local
Picture-winged fly Herina lugubris - Local
Picture-winged fly Euphranta toxoneura - Nationally Scarce
Bilberry Bumblebee - Local
Top-horned Hunchback (Acrocera orbiculus) - Nationally Scarce
Small Blue-tailed Damselfly - Near Threatened
Leafhopper Limotettix striola - Local
Parasite fly Cyrtophloeba ruricola - few Welsh records
Small Heath butterfly - Vulnerable, Section 7
Dingy Skipper butterfly - Section 7