Kindling Farm is an organic, community-led 78-acre farm in Merseyside. Owned collectively by over 800 members through the Kindling Trust, the farm is developing an agroforestry system that balances sustainable food production with support for local biodiversity. The land includes species-rich native hedgerows, wide wildlife-friendly margins, several ponds managed for nature, and a dedicated wetland area.

iRecord List

iRecord Summary

Notable Records:

Beetles

Atomaria munda (Cryptophagidae), C. Washington

”This isn’t especially rare but it’s the first time I’d seen it in the area.  It’s one of the genus that has a doubled margin to the pronotum which makes identification much simpler than most Atomaria.”

Edaphus lederi (Staphylinidae), C. Washington

• A tiny Staphylinid from the woodchip heap, possibly associated with the decaying slime mould we found on top of the heap.
• Only added to the UK list recently (2025) and all other records have been in the south of the country, so it’s the first record for the North West.

Edpauloecus unicolor (Ptinidae), C. Washington

• One of the Ptinid spider beetles, found in the barn with loose decaying grain.
• There are very few other UK records – a cluster in Wales suggests that it’s probably under-recorded and can be found by targeted searching.

Ptinus tectus (Ptinidae), C. Washington

• Another spider beetle from the grain pile, the “Australian Spider Beetle”.
• Very few English records although it is commoner in Wales, where presumably someone is looking for these species.

Flies

Botanophila biciliaris (Anthomyiidae), P. Brighton

• First recorded in Britain in 1964. Associated with fluctuating wetland habitats and willow scrub. Found in numbers across four sample squares at Kindling Farm.

Rhaphium appendiculatum (Dolichopodidae), P. Brighton

• 1st for VC59
• A small predatory long-legged fly associated with humid grassland and wetland margins. Males are distinctive with a swollen arista tip, unique among British Rhaphium species.

True Bugs

Stictopleurus abutilon (Rhopalidae), P. Brighton

• 1st for VC59
• A plant bug associated with dry grassland habitats. Adults may be seen thoughout the year. Historically rare in Britain, now spreading northwards.

Stictopleurus punctatonervosus (Rhopalidae), P. Brighton and K. Fowler

• A dry grassland species feeding on Asteraceae. Previously rare but now well-established across southern and central England.