Friday, May 31, 2019

Cullaloe LNR - (almost) end of May report

Well it didn't look like I was going to make it to 850, but happily I did it with a bit of room just as the rain set in. Slightly behind last year's total but that's still OK in terms of my overall year target (I hope!). The reserve is becoming more lush every day and invert numbers continue to increase at a rate considerably faster than I could hope to cope with in terms of identification. The key limiting factors on numbers are definitely time and ability, which I guess is always true.

Happily over the course of the month the reserve total has also crept over 1900 and is already heading towards the magic 2k. Not many people, I'm sure, have ever said they're happy to see the first caddis flies, given what a pain they are when what you want is moths. However, I was determined to make a go of them this year and that's at least started. Not as much as sawflies though. I'm a little bit in love with them right now. Especially the bright green ones. This is (new for county) Rhogogaster punctulata.



The numbers ...

Latest additions 2019 list
840 flowering plant Sparganium erectum Branched Bur-reed
841 R diptera Tipula vernalis A crane fly
842 fungus Triphragmium ulmariae Meadowsweet rust
843 R diptera Erioptera fuscipennis A crane fly
844 flowering plant Sonchus asper Prickly Sow-thistle
845 R gall mite Aceria pseudoplatani Sycamore felt gall
846 R gall mite Aceria macrorhynchus Sycamore gall mite
847 R flowering plant Elymus repens Common Couch Grass
848 R lep-moth Erannis defoliaria Mottled Umber
849 flowering plant Geranium dissectum Cut-leaved Geranium
850 diptera Pipiza noctiluca A hoverfly
851 R lep-moth Epinotia immundana Common Birch Bell
852 R gall mite Phyllocoptes populi Aspen Leaf galler
853 R gall mite Phyllocoptes sorbeus Rowan leaf galler
854 R diptera Heilna impuncta A muscid fly

Additions to the reserve list 2019
Category Count
alga 1
Protist other 0
slime mould 2
lichen 7
fungus 40
liverwort 1
moss 4
flowering plant 8
conifer 0
fern 2
cnidarian 0
mollusc 9
bryozoan 0
annelid 5
flatworm 1
harvestman 0
pseudoscorpion 0
spider 8
gall mite 4
tick 0
millipede 0
centipede 0
crustacean 1
collembola 4
bristletail 0
odonata 0
dermaptera 0
orthoptera 0
hemiptera 12
coleoptera 40
diptera 67
lep-moth 20
lep-butterfly 0
hymenoptera 9
insect-other 5
tunicate 0
echinoderm 0
invert-other 0
fish 0
reptile 0
amphibian 0
bird 0
mammal 1
251

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Bridport & Thorne - weeks 20 & 21

Having missed most of a week with an excellent trip to the Teesdale area this update covers both the last 2 weeks.

I now have a camera so can include a photo. A male Broad-bodied Chaser at Thorne.


The numbers for the two sites are shown below

Group
Thorne
Bridport
Group
Thorne
Bridport
Slime moulds
1
1
Hemiptera
17
2
Lichens
22
6
Coleoptera
21
3
Fungi
20
2
Diptera
22
5
Bryophytes
22
7
Hymenoptera
25
8
Plants
204
192
Butterflies
10
6
Molluscs
6
2
Moths
42
21
Annelids
2
0
Insects RSO
5
1
Arachnids
6
2
Fish
1
1
Myriapods
0
0
Amphibia
3
1
Crustacea
10
5
Reptiles
0
0
Springtails
2
0
Birds
54
46
Odonata
4
2
Mammals
7
4
Orthoptera
2
1
Total
508
320

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Cullaloe LNR - a meteroic rise

or just plugging away, really. But with this Hydroteaea meteorica as a nice bonus yesterday



Check out the distribution map from NBN:


That aside I have now fallen under the numbers achieved by this time last year. C'est la vie. On the other hand on current rate of additions the reserve list will get over 2k in about 80 days. Yahoo!

Latests:
781 diptera Siphona geniculata A  tachinid fly
782 R diptera Beris chalybata Murky-legged Black Legionnaire
783 odonata Enallagma cyathigerum Common Blue Damselfly
784 R hemiptera Drepanosiphum platanoidis Common Sycamore Aphid
785 coleoptera Cantharis nigricans A Soldier Beetle
786 R lep-moth Coleophora serratella A micro moth
787 R lep-moth Syndemis musculana A micro moth
788 diptera Empis stercorea An Empid fly
789 C R M diptera Hydrotaea meteorica A muscid fly

R - new to reserve
M - new to me
C - new to county

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Cullaloe LNR - thresholds

Pete's comment got me looking again at so many taxonomic groups that stand on the threshold of landmark totals. The dipteran 200 has been passed and the lepidopteran 300, but that still leaves the moth 300, the arachnid 100, the coleoptera ... let's say 150, the bryophyte 100 and the hymenopteran 50. The overall total on the reserve is closing fast on 2000, with over 200 species already added this year. It will shortly overtake the most recorded SWT site (most recorded site?) in the county which is Dumbarnie Links - a long term project of my friend, Gordon. Sometimes it all goes past so quickly that these landmarks are a blur. I was actually intending to go faster but I still have that nagging feeling that going slower will actually be more rewarding.

On a side note I recently found out that in the first 1ksq two years ago I found the first Scottish site for the broad-nosed weevil Pachyrhynus lethierryi - I had no idea! I even found a second site in the cuonty at a bioblitz. Maybe that's why it didn't occur to me it was of special interest.

I'm on 762 currently. Mostly a roundup of the usual suspects but some nice new ones.

Pachyprotasis rapae - a sawfly

Tibellus maritimus

Reserve totals by class 2019 2019-tgt
Algae 1 3
Vertebrate - Birds 141 142
Vertebrate - Other 25 25
Invertebrate - Lepidoptera 304 325
Invertebrate - Diptera 205 250
Invertebrate - Arachnid 93 95
Invertebrate - Coleoptera 137 200
Invertebrate - Hemiptera 61 70
Invertebrate - Other 134 135
Plants - Vascular 313 315
Plants - Bryophytes 99 100
Fungi 293 300
Slime Moulds 5 5
Lichens 56 60
Total 1867 2025

Monday, May 13, 2019

Bridport & Thorne Week 19

Steady progress but no real stand out species - which is kind of good as I still haven't sorted out a new camera yet. (but will have by next week)

So the numbers are;

Group
Thorne
Bridport
Group
Thorne
Bridport
Slime moulds
1
1
Hemiptera
15
2
Lichens
22
6
Coleoptera
19
2
Fungi
20
2
Diptera
20
5
Bryophytes
22
7
Hymenoptera
21
8
Plants
187
160
Butterflies
10
6
Molluscs
6
2
Moths
33
14
Annelids
2
0
Insects RSO
4
1
Arachnids
6
2
Fish
1
1
Myriapods
0
0
Amphibia
3
1
Crustacea
10
5
Reptiles
0
0
Springtails
0
0
Birds
52
46
Odonata
2
1
Mammals
6
4
Orthoptera
2
1
Total
464
277

Plus next weeks update will be a few days late due to a trip to Teesdale this week-end

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Cullaloe LNR - 200 squared

Water traps
So this last weekend saw both the diptera list on the reserve go over 200 and the new additions list for 2019. That was my target for 2019, so I guess it was a bit of a low one...

The 200th fly for the reserve was the hoverfly Neoascia tenur (my 98th hover). Additions to the reserve list stand now at 203, with the splendid new for county Luaxania cylindricornis (see pic below). Some water buckets in a paddock currently filled with sheep yielded some Hydrophilidae but the only one I've done so far is the Sphaeridium.

Sphaeridium scarabaeoides

Lauxania cylindricornis


Latest additions
718 R diptera Neoascia tenur A hover fly
719 spider Xysticus cristatus Crab Spider
720 R hemiptera Macustus grisescens A leaf hopper
721 hemiptera Stenodema laevigata A bug
722 R M coleoptera Sphaeridium scarabaeoides A water beetle
723 lep-moth Adela cuprella A micro moth
724 diptera Cheilosia fraterna A hoverfly
725 R diptera Pegoplata infirma A flower fly
726 R diptera Tipula varipennis A crane fly
727 C R M diptera Lauxania cylindricornis A lauxaniid fly

By group
Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Algae 1 1 1 1 1
Lichens 33 37 40 40 40
Fungi 67 93 103 108 115
Vascular 99 101 108 131 156
Bryophytes 53 54 58 58 58
Mollusc 11 20 21 21 23
Arachnida 23 31 32 36 43
Collembola 6 7 8 8 8
Hemiptera 5 9 11 19 25
Hymenoptera 4 8 9 13 15
Coleoptera 30 47 56 68 80
Diptera 4 19 44 82 125
Lepidoptera 4 14 22 38 76
Invert - Other 12 20 23 4 -121
Vert - Birds 48 56 64 70 75
Vert - Other 2 3 7 8 8
Total 402 520 607 705 727

Monday, May 6, 2019

Bridport and Thorne Week 18

Added quite a few species at Thorne, but very little at Bridport.
No photos this week as I somehow lost my camera somewhere on a long walk along the Dorset coast path! Droga!

Numbers are as follows

Group
Thorne
Bridport
Group
Thorne
Bridport
Slime moulds
1
1
Hemiptera
13
2
Lichens
22
6
Coleoptera
17
2
Fungi
19
2
Diptera
20
5
Bryophytes
22
7
Hymenoptera
21
8
Plants
175
155
Butterflies
9
5
Molluscs
6
2
Moths
33
13
Annelids
2
0
Insects RSO
4
1
Arachnids
6
2
Fish
1
1
Myriapods
0
0
Amphibia
3
1
Crustacea
10
5
Reptiles
0
0
Springtails
0
0
Birds
51
44
Odonata
1
0
Mammals
6
4
Orthoptera
2
1
Total
444
267