Today we had a fantastic trip out to Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve to hunt for minibeasts. In the moth trap we found some beautiful hawkmoths. We then went to the meadow and swept the long grass with nets. We learned to tell the difference between dragonflies and damselflies and crickets and grasshoppers. The bright blue damselflies were zipping around us and the crickets were very noisy! Before lunch we had a go at pond dipping where we found lots of young newts and several different types of nymph. After a picnic lunch, we went down to the river and caught some freshwater shrimp. A big thank you to Jim, Tracey, Chris and Lucy of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust for a great day.
