Right I have been back out at last after 3 years absence doing what I love doing at this time of year which is recording wild stick insect populations in the UK. Thought you might be interested in this population of now established Bacillus rossius that occurs in Hampshire. The only other populations I have seen for this species was two sites I discovered new for the Isles of Scilly on Tresco back in 2002 which Paul brock told me he found them at again those locations last year. At the Hampshire location I thought how many mins would it take me to find the first one? How about 2 seconds!! In all I found 15 individuals of which were mainly adults of both brown and green forms. Also they were all females. They were only on small pieces of low growing brambles as well. However some individuals were resting on nearby vegetation such as evening primrose or even nearby buildings. With all the stick insect recording I have done over the years in the south west of the UK it is only females that were present. Of course if any of you do come across a stick insect in the UK in the wild or a garden please send the records into the national recorder Malcolm Lee even if it is from the well known locations already. He is always updating his records. Pic shows adult green Bacillus rossius with the pale strip all down the body. I often see this in adult green forms of Bacillus rossius and also the New Zealand Acanthoxyla inermis.

Brian Laney, Northants.