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
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