Brereton Heath Local Nature Reserve is a 50 acre mosaic of mixed woodland, a lake, grassland, including some semi-improved, marsh and a few acres of heathland that are closed to the public. In the morning we focused on the heathland and meadow areas of the site and after lunch, we covered nearby Bagmere SSSI which includes lowland fen, grassland, and wet woodland habitats. Bagmere was the last known site for Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in Cheshire, though thought to have gone extinct a decade ago. Bagmere is closed to the public.
Bagmere
Brereton Heath
Notable Records:
Spider – Allomengea vidua, J. Sharp
- A Nationally Scarce and much declined spider associated with wetlands. There are few Cheshire records.
Spider – Entelecara omissa (Linyphiidae), R. Gallon
- New to Cheshire from vacuuming Sedge bed at Bagmere.
A Dance Fly – Empis scotica (Empididae), P. Brighton
- New to Lanvashire & Cheshire
- Mainly known from Wales and Scotland
Heather Shieldbug – Rhacognathus punctatus (Pentatomidae) – R. Gallon
- Nymph vacuumed by Richard Gallon, identified by Keith Fowler and confirmed by Maria Justamond. Photo by David Williams.
- This is one of the rarer shieldbugs in Cheshire, with most records coming from the classic invertebrate sites such as Wynbunbury Moss, Little Budworth Common and the Delamere bogs.
