Beetle’s poo shield and patient volunteers reveal Wales’s hidden wildlife

In a West Wales Wildwatch morning, volunteers and recorders identify a range of species—from a dark giant horsefly to marmalade hoverflies and a Rosa micrantha—before spotting a tortoise beetle larva whose prehensile anus forms a self-made fecal shield to deter predators, illustrating how dedicated citizen scientists uncover extraordinary wildlife in ordinary fields.