The crawling things of Bradgate Park

So, having survived the Trailwalker challenge (just about) I can tell you a little more about what I saw at Bradgate park the other day. Before I do though, let me share this realisation with you. When walking, I enjoy the stopping more than I do walking.

The creature above is a Dor Beetle (Geotrupes stercorarius). As with most beetle encounters they tend to occur utterly by accident. As I was walking along he just crossed my path.

Dor beetles are one of the UK's largest dung beetles and are quite at home in the deer dung of Bradgate Park. Normally, these bugs are much less into their haut cuisine and settle for a good old cow pat to make their home. Ever wonder where cow pats go? Well these creatures slowly eat them. Just think, if we didn't have these creatures our fields would be stacked high in cow poo. What a wonderfully helpful little guy. I like how this beetle seems to swim across the grass rather than cut a path through it. His broad body is quite like a boat, maybe useful for swimming through fresh dung. MMmmm nice thought. Thanks to Charlieb from Wild About Britain for the ID of this one.

This creature, a Carabid (Pterostichus Nigrita), on the other hand is long and thin and can cut through the grass. Its legs are short and powerful to enable it to cling onto each stem as it passes. It was much faster than the Dor Beetle and thus harder to film! Thanks to Jaguarondi for the ID

If you don't live in the grass there is no limit to how fast you can go. The Green Tiger beetle(Cicindella campestris) in the video below is so fast that I couldn't keep up with it. This one video is all I have, because when it had gone, it had gone! Thanks to glsammy from Wild About Britain for the ID.

Some species have to live in the grass and be fast. Creatures that eat the grass and can escape predators are perfectly adapted and can live unchallenged. The female Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus) below is perfectly designed for survival in this habitat. So much so that grasshoppers dominate at Bradgate Park. You can't go anywhere without hearing them or seeing them jump from infront of you as you walk. Thanks to GuyF from Wild ABout Britain for the ID.