Globular Springtails ROCK!!!!!

Spent most of the daylight hours in TQ1960 today, desperately trying to hit 250 species by the end of January. Did I manage it? Not quite, dammit - but I came close.

Spent most of my time realising how crap a botanist I've become but managed to recognise a few 'new' plants. A Marsh Tit in a mixed tit flock was a very welcome sight. After several years of no sightings at all I've now seen a pair once and singletons about 4 times, all since last November. Good news!!

Found two of my favourite beetles today, a Glow Worm (larva) in an area previously unrecorded for them and a huddle of 15 Flat Bark Beetles, very flat beetles which I found under bark. Cool.

Two lifers for me were the woodlouse Haplopthalmus danicus (7 under a wet log) longitudinal raised ridges along the pereonites present, bumps on 3rd pleon absent, all on a 3.5mm beastie...and the absolutely STUNNING globular springtail Dicyrtomina ornata. Google it! What a crazy mad wee fella it is! The dark mark on its bum differentiates it from the very similar Dicyrtomina saundersi. I also rescued a Smooth Newt from 5ft up a sallow pollard (!) then found another one in a grass tussock. Some crazy amphibian antics going on around here...


245 - Purple Hairstreak - just 1 solitary egg found after 15mins search, Epsom Common. Worrying.
244 - Siskin - 1 overhead (heard only but 100%), Epsom Common
243 - Spear Thistle - Blake's Pond, Epsom Common
242 - Smooth Newt - 1 5ft up a pollard, 1 in grass tussock, Blake's Pond, Epsom Common
241 - Marsh Tit - near Highest Point, Epsom Common. Cool.
240 - False Brome - Epsom Common
239 - Curled Dock - Epsom Common
238 - Clustered Dock - Epsom Common
237 - Flat Bark Beetle Uleiota planata - 15 under loose bark, Epsom Common
236 - Glow Worm - under a log, Horton Heath grazing area, Epsom Common (good range expansion)
235 - DICYRTOMINA ORNATA - mental globular springtail, under fallen bark (A WOW LIFER)
234 - Even Scalewort Radula complanata - on tree trunks, Epsom Common
233 - Fairy Beads Microlejeunea ulicina - on a tree trunk, Epsom Common
232 - Walnut Orb-weaver Nuctenea umbratica - under loose bark, Epsom Common
231 - Holly Leaf-miner Phytomyza ilicis - finally found a tenanted mine, Epsom Common
230 - Leopard Slug - 2 under an abandoned tent (!), Epsom Common
229 - Cross-leaved Heath - Horton Heath, Epsom Common
228 - Pine Ladybird - 1 hibernating in fence cracks, Epsom Common
227 - Hairy Curtain Crust/Hairy Stereum - on logs, Epsom Common
226 - Turkeytail Fungus/Many-zoned Polypore - on trees/logs, Epsom Common
225 - HAPLOPTHALMUS DANICUS (a woodlouse) - 7 under wet log, Epsom Common (LIFER)
224 - Tachypodoiulus niger (a millipede) - under logs, Epsom Common
223 - Pill Millipede Glomeris marginata - under a log, Epsom Common
222 - Oxychilus draparnaudi (a snail) - 5 under logs, Epsom Common
221 - Common Knapweed - Epsom Common
220 - Dove's-foot Cranesbill - urban streets
219 - Henbit Dead-nettle - urban streets
218 - Petty Spurge - urban streets
217 - Firethorn Leaf-miner Phyllonorycter leucographella - larva in mine, urban streets

I've still a few mosses and 2 beetles to identify, so will probably hit 250 with those factored in. But I'm very pleased with the first month's results. It'll slow down drastically now until things start happening in the spring. Be nice to reach 300 by the end of February, but I've other commitments stopping me from recording what's out there next month.