It’s always exciting to find a new beastie, though, in truth, they often find me and I don’t always know what they are when I first see them. That was the situation with this little creature, a Slender groundhopper (Tetrix subulata).

For a change of scenery, I’d taken a train up one of the local Welsh valleys for a wander around Parc Penallta, a former coal spoil tip. Though it was a warm, sunny day, wildlife was thin on the ground, so when something tiny hopped out of the way of my walking boot, I quickly bent over to investigate. The creature looked grasshopper-like but not one I recognised. Luckily, its shape is distinctive so, when I got home, some online searches quickly turned up a name.

Though the Slender groundhopper can be found in much of the southern half of Britain, it is not common in my area so I was very pleased to see this interesting species.