Here’s another find from my visit to Aberbargoed, though not from the grasslands. My friend and I also had a good wander around the adjacent spoil tip, a huge reminder of the coal mining industry that used to dominate much of the Welsh Valleys and now home to an amazingly diverse range of flora and fauna.

Last week’s walk produced my first ever Green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris), a species I’ve wanted to see since marvelling at the wonderful photos I saw on Liam Old’s Twitter feed. (Liam is the founder and force behind the Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative, which promotes the environmental value of spoil tips and the immense biodiversity these sites support.)