Dalgety Bay, fife - gnats

A couple of fungus gnats I pulled off their pins (and, sadly, apart) which had been languishing since September. Both came up trumps - Boletina nitida (which I misidentified and was corrected!) and Mycetophila unitotata. Both, it goes without saying, are new to me.

I'll keep on at this site and see whether it can make 2000. I already have a bunch from last year, including another fungus gnat which is probably new to Scotland but was taken in 2016 (Megophthalmidia crassicornis).

Only 9 to go for Seth now. Come on!

Boletina nitida

Mycetophila unitotata

Mycetophila unitotata - ID features!

Numbers:

1016	Boletina nitida	A fungus gnat
1017	Mycetophila uninotata	A fungus gnat

Dalgety Bay - Schoenomyza litorella, a muscid fly

A very peculiar member of the Muscidae and a bizarre coincidence. Looking at the Muscidae list of most commonly recorded species I hadn't seen I googled some of the "gaps", once of which was this fly. Friday evening I pull a square of plastazote from the shelf and there it is! Sat there ignominiously bypassed by many others since September

Sehr shoen indeed :)

Number(s)

1015

diptera

Shoenomyza litorella

A muscid fly

Dalgety Bay, Fife - a few additions

Keeping the ball slowly rolling I've been picking up bits of this and that.

A Cladonia found on the edge of a lawn turned out to be C.chlorophaea. Suspected Phaonia pallida from a water trap in Bathing House Wood was confirmed by its underwing setae, and a couple of female Anthomyia turned out to be festiva. All these were preceded by a Field Blewit which was found in the grassy triangle behind Lumsdaine Drive.

Waxwings still not here and no sign of the Hawfinch invasion here yet, though I haven't been out much in the mornings due to other commitments. You never know!

P+ red

1010	Lepista nuda	Field Blewit
1011	Cladonia chlorophaea	A lichen
1012	Phaonia pallida	A muscid fly
1013	Anthomyia festiva	A flower fly

Dalgety Bay - Four digits!

On Thursday a small  patch of Nitschkia collapsa was found on (probably) ash, which left only one species to find. I had hoped it might be a passing flock of barnacle geese or a sea eagle or something but in the end it turned out to be another mushroom (fungus 130)!

This morning at 8:13 in in Chapel Wood I came across a few fruit bodies (mushrooms to "normal people"!) of  Laccaria laccata, which is the official species #1000!

Because I'm not at work and have no tools, here it is in all its unfocussed, uncropped glory

Dalgety Bay - a new dawn, a new day, a new fly ... again

Sorry about the repetitive theme but this is what we're working with now! Maybe another bird will show up at lunchtime today. Why not? (edit: another bird did not show up at lunchtime. hella windy too!)

Having found myself briefly locked out as I waited for the missus yesterday night I stumbled into this lovely Lactarius deterrimus on the edge of a garden. It has orange milk, which narrows it down very swiftly!

The fly, Suillia pallida, was only finally sorted out this morning though I had keyed the family and guessed the genus yesterday.

Lactarius deterrimus

Suillia pallida

The creeping count

988	Chloroclysta siterata	Red-green Carpet
989	Ocydromia glabricula	A fly
990	Lucilia silvarum	A fly
991	Phaonia rufiventris	A fly
992	Anser anser	Greylag Goose
993	Lactarius deterrimus	A milkcap
994	Suillia pallida	A fly

Dalgety Bay - Spring(tail) again!

A reprise of springtails with the common Ceratophysella bengtssoni found in the cap of a Mycena, maybe munching on spores. Also a not particularly exciting Oyster Gall on oak.

The springtail ID has been confirmed and only two prior records for Scotland - one from Dalgety Bay in 1934! Two prior Scottish records is about par for the course for a common springtail

Fungal foray

Ocelli/PAO

Mucron

Inflatable antennal section. But why?!

Additions

984	Ceratophysella bengtssoni	A springtail
985	Andricus anthracina	Oyster Gall Causer

Dalgety Bay - Forging forward with fungi

I knew that this part of the year was always going to be a time when fungi would come to the fore and as luck would have it I was able to time a meeting of fungi-bothering friends to coincide with a time of decent fungal diversity starting to emerge. I always hoped to have these guys involved at some point, and it would have been nice if I could have moved the piece along the board a bit more beforehand so that we could have gone over 1000 with a corticioid fungus (the main focus of the study group).

As it was I've moved considerably closer to the goal, with just over 20 species left to grab. It won't happen before end of September now, but it might yet happen before I go on holiday in October.

smorgasbord

Clouded Funnel

The alien-looking Stinkhorn "egg"

Pholiota

Fairy Inkcap (already recorded)

Botryobasidium vagum (aka botryosum)

B.vagum's short and wide hyphae

Additions to the list:

965	Phallus impudicus	Stinkhorn
966	Alauda arvensis	Skylark
967	Rhodocollybia butyracea	Butter Cap
968	Postia subcaesia	Blueing Bracket
969	Pholiota squarrosa	Shaggy Scalycap
970	Tomentella sublilacina	A corticioid fungus
971	Skeletocutis nivea	Hazel Bracket
972	Hyphodontia alutacea	A corticioid fungus
973	Stereum sanguinolentum	Bleeding Conifer Crust
974	Agaricus arvensis	Horse Mushroom
975	Agaricus sylvaticus	A mushroom
976	Marasmius oreades	Fairy Ring Champignon
977	Clitocybe nebularis	Clouded Funnel
978	Amphinema byssoides	Cratered Duster
979	Botryobasidium vagum	A corticioid fungus

Dalgety Bay - Flogging Molle

First of all congrats to Seth for sneaking past 900 in stealth mode (hopefully we might hear about it soon!)

Last night I visited the usual haunts with little success - hoping to connect with a Black Tern or perhaps some lovely full-spooned Pomarine Skuas ... anyway ... that didn't happen. So I took an unusual route home along the roadside. I haven't invested much time on that area, which is probably a mistake. It's better to cover diverse habitats obviously. Anyway, it came up trumps with a garden Birch producing a single Brown Birch Bolete, a short grass verge yielding Lesser Trefoil, which must have been there forever, and some nice Short-spined Puffballs (Lycoperdon molle). Really "spined" is a bit of an overstatement.

birch bolete

Lycoperdon molle

Lesser Trefoil

Numbers:

930	Lycoperdon molle	Soft-Spined Puffball
931	Leccinum scabrum	Brown Birch Bolete
932	Trifolium dubium	Lesser Trefoil

More details here: link

Dalgety Bay - Cracking Bolete, Grommit!

I had seen boletes in a bad state of repair on the way to my son's school before but finally got hold of one in good enough shape to identify (no doubt correction will follow now!) as the Red Cracking Bolete, Xerocomellus chrysenteron

So this lovely fungus will become the official 900th species, no matter what happens to the list after I put it through a heavily critical review.

The rest of the recent additions, which could be read about on my own blog ...

891	Stercorarius skua	Great Skua
892	Gavia stellata	Red-throated Diver
893	Syritta pipiens	A hoverfly
894	Anthomyia pluvialis	An anthomyid fly
895	Eristalis nemorum	A hoverfly
896	Alchemilla mollis	Garden Lady's-mantle
897	Apis mellifera	Honey Bee
898	Crossocerus annulipes	A digger wasp
899	Corvus frugilegus	Rook
900	Xerocomellus chrysenteron	Cracking Bolete

Dalgety Bay - Skool Daze

With the first day of school (my son's first day ever at school) summer is now officially over. Fortunately August's usually a good month for flies and I'm looking forward to the ivy bursting into flower.

A couple of days of picking up the pace has seen a spread of additions. Nothing spectacular but a lovely new wasp for me yesterday and a couple of missing hovers. Some things in pots too so should be able to creep over the 870 mark.

Ectemnius cavifrons

Eristalis horticola

LBBYU

Numbers:

860	Lycoperdon pyriforme	Stump Puffball
861	Anthus trivialis	Tree Pipit
862	Plagiognathus arbustorum	A mirid bug
863	Argyresthia semitestacella	Large Beech Argent
864	Lycaena phlaeas	Small Copper
865	Eristalis pertinax	A hoverfly
866	Ectemnius cavifrons	A digger wasp
867	Dasysyrphus albostriatus	A hoverfly
868	Noctua janthe	Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Dalgety Bay - Grilling mushrooms

A small mixed bag over the last couple of days with two lifer flies which also seem to be new-for-county despite being fairly common. This is par for the course - there are more undiscovered flies in Fife than in the Amazon basin. Well, probably ...

Last night was a definite bonus as I headed out for a walk while looking for evidence of any bird migration. As I returned home empty-handed I noticed a movement on the rocks below me and jammed into a Common Sandpiper. I've heard calls a couple of times that made me think Common Sand, but never laid eyes on the beast. In all probability these were different birds anyway with passage birds fairly common along the coastal rocks here but never hanging around for long. It's a nice one to catch though as it's an "importance of being there" kind of species. You blink, you miss it.

After grilling some mushrooms for three days -a long time for grilling mushrooms - I finally found what I was looking for in the Collins mushrooms and toadstools guide. An unlikely but welcome result! The Wood Woollyfoot is a fairly distinctive species but despite narrowing it to family my eyes apparently just missed the appropriate pictures every time. Anyway, it's all done now. Phew!

Throwaway factoid: 1 in every 4.5 species has been a lifer for me - not a bad return!

Fife's new blowfly...

Pollenia pediculata - Hairy-armpit Clusterfly

The easiest keying ever

And the Wood Woollyfoot ...

"fairy ring"

The woolly foot

August additions:

821	Torilis japonica	Upright Hedge Parsley
822	Angelica sylvestris	Wild Angelica
823	Sonchus arvensis	Perennial Sow-thistle
824	Lycoperdon perlatum	Common Puffball
825	Clitocybe gibba	Common Funnel
826	Mycena galopus	Milking Bonnet
827	Plagiomnium undulatum	Hart's-tongue Thyme-moss
828	Galeopsis tetrahit	Common Hemp-nettle

829	Tubaria furfuracea	Scurfy Twiglet
830	Chrysogaster solstitialis	A hoverfly
831	Larus argentatus	Herring Gull
832	Achanthiptera rohrelliformis	A muscid fly
833	Pollenia pediculata	Tufted Clusterfly
834	Scleroderma citrinum	Common Earthball
835	Collybia peronata	Wood Woollyfoot
836	Actitis hypoleucos	Common Sandpiper

Dalgety Bay - patch silver!

New in at 831 - Herring Gull! While doing a review of birds seen in the Bay versus birds seen in the square this year to highlight target species I discovered this embrassing omission.

Here's a pic from the RSPB so I remember what they look like.

Other additions:

827	Plagiomnium undulatum	Hart's-tongue Thyme-moss
828	Galeopsis tetrahit	Common Hemp-nettle
829	Tubaria furfuracea	Scurfy Twiglet
830	Chrysogaster solstitialis	A hoverfly
831	Larus argentatus	Herring Gull

Dalgety Bay, Fife

Not the best pic in the world as I couldn't see the screen for glare. Tree Bumblebee is a recent colonist and not many records in Fife - no records apparent on NBN, though I know it's in a friend's nestbox in his garden and is not uncommon in the town.

Most of the other stuff isn't very interesting photo-wise, but here are the latest numbers:

646	Senecio jacobaea	Common Ragwort
647	Vicia cracca	Tufted Vetch
648	Tenthredo livida	A sawfly
649	Enoplognatha ovata	A spider
650	Dolichopus ungulatus	A long-legged fly
651	Platycheirus angustatus	A Hoverfly
652	Phaonia angelicae	A muscid fly
653	Blastobasis lacticolella	A micromoth
654	Coenosia tigrina	A muscid fly
655	Bombus hypnorum	Tree Bumblebee

Dalgety Bay, Fife - end of May roundup

As usual it's actually one day early but what the hell. A 7-spot ladybird larva at lunchtime became the 49th beetle. Would be nice to round it off tonight but I am socially engaged and chances are I won't add anything this evening (unless my visitor can be persuaded to go moth hunting - a possibility).

All-in I this year have added 945 records to iRecord of 739 species. Obviously not all are from the square or my total would be transformed! However, here are the numbers as they stand right now. Possibly to be slightly updated tomorrow.

Going into June I am looking at some reduced time - I'll be grinding through pitfall trap contents for St.Andrews bioblitz (we do process them after the 24 hour period for an overall total) and then I'll be going on holiday. Still, June ought to be productive enough that I can more or less make good. I kind of expect to reach 1000 during August-September so it will include the start of the vismig calendar and include exotica like Tree Pipit and Long-tailed Skua (bird gods willing). On the other hand those months could be so profligate in their affections that 1k comes and goes before the skuas appear (but not the Tripits which pass in July). The big decision - declare or bat on? Only time will tell.

(edit. I'd like my 1000th to be a Hobby. That'd be nice)(2nd Edit. Tree Pipits August. Dunno what I was thinking)

The numbers by "gross" taxonomic grouping

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
Algae	8	13	16	17	17
Lichens	37	41	43	44	46
Fungi	28	31	44	49	53
Vert - Birds	38	50	56	62	64
Vert - Other	2	4	8	9	9
Lepidoptera	1	2	9	14	29
Diptera	4	7	12	41	68
Arachnida	4	13	20	25	32
Coleoptera	6	17	17	21	49
Mollusc	9	24	27	33	33
Collembola	8	10	12	12	12
Invert - Other	22	33	51	62	78
Plants - Vascular	47	63	74	92	107
Plants - Bryo	22	29	30	30	30
	236	337	419	511	627

The numbers by, erm, numbers

	31-Jan	28-Feb	31-Mar	30-Apr	31-May
days remaining	334	306	275	245	214
species so far	236	337	419	511	627
species/day period	7.61	3.61	2.65	3.07	3.74
spec/day so far	7.61	5.71	4.66	4.26	4.15
species remaining	764	663	581	489	373
spec/day rqd	2.29	2.17	2.11	2.00	1.74
spec/week rqd	16.01	15.17	14.79	13.97	12.20

Count compared with previous reserve year counts

Dalgety Bay, Fife - 600 up!

One week ahead of schedule and a cracking species to round out on - my first Stiletto fly and one of only two species recorded in the county, beaten from gorse this morning ...

At first I thought robberfly but going through the back of my mind was Therevidae (too much browsing of the Soldierfly book!). After some research during quiet periods this morning it appears to be Thereva nobilitata - and species number 600!

Numbers:

596	Pegomya solennis	A Flower Fly
597	Aphidecta obliterata	Larch Ladybird
598	Psilolechia lucida	A lichen
599	Palloptera quinquemaculata	A Pallopterid fly
600	Thereva nobilitata	A Stiletto Fly

Breakdown (3 new additions at lunchtime)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	24-May
Algae	8	13	16	17	17
Lichens	37	41	43	44	45
Fungi	28	31	44	49	52
Vert - Birds	38	50	56	62	64
Vert - Other	2	4	8	9	9
Lepidoptera	1	2	9	14	27
Diptera	4	7	12	41	60
Arachnida	4	13	20	25	31
Coleoptera	6	17	17	21	42
Mollusc	9	24	27	33	33
Collembola	8	10	12	12	12
Invert - Other	22	33	51	62	77
Plants - Vascular	47	63	74	92	104
Plants - Bryo	22	29	30	30	30
	236	337	419	511	603

Dalgety Bay, Fife - Tach the high road - Winthemia quadripustulata

A decent day yesterday topped by re-keying and re-checking a nice tachinid fly which looks a likely candidate for a Scottish first (checking with NMS in case other records exist, as often turns out to be the case). It's the 6th tachinid I've added to the county's paltry list of 29 species (British list 267) and the third new county species from this 1km square since the 12th of April! There must be scope for a lot more. I feel a review coming on ...

Anyway W.quadripustulata is the most common of the British members of the genus, so would have to have been voted "most likely". NBN has no other Winthemiae north of Leeds.

With the other, almost inconsequential, additions ...

561	Adela reaumurella	Green Long-horn
562	Winthemia quadripustulata	A Tachinid fly
563	Clubiona lutescens	A clubionid spider
564	Paranchus albipes	A ground beetle
565	Dasysyrphus venustus	A hoverfly

Dalgety Bay, Fife - bee aggressive, bee bee aggressive

This year my two surprise groups have been Collembola and Molluscs, but coming up on the rails has been the Hymenoptera. I surprised myself by being able to identify two sawflies but even more so probably by managing to find four species of Andrena (almost half the known county fauna!). In large part this is due to this book:

I bought it two years ago now, having been getting solitary bees in my hoverfly bye-catch. Naturally last year I caught fairly few. Yesterday, though, I keyed out my fourth Andrena species and I'm expecting to continue to add bees to my list which I wouldn't have bothered trying before. Of course the illustrations are nicely done too. This combination of author and illustrator on this subject matter made it almost inevitable it would be fantastic. There are many awesome books out there but generally their awesomeness is in line with their cost. This book is one of those rare bargains which manages to be both awesome and very affordable at the same time. This is Andrena haemorhhoa

Anyway, in other news birds are trolling me now as a Whitethroat started singing beside my office. I have heard not a peep from all my coastal scrub. Also I embraced the ecology yesterday and swept some nettles for Nedyus quadrimaculatus. It was there in spades.

Numbers bit:

537	Nedyus quadrimaculatus	A weevil
538	Lotus corniculatus	Common Bird's-foot-trefoil
539	Andrena haemorrhoa	A mining bee
540	Tetragnatha montana	A spider
541	Anthocoris confusus	A flower bug

Dalgety Bay, Fife, NT1582 - 500 not out!

This morning's news is all about Seth's big find so I'm sure this will rightly get gazumped shortly! Congrats to him (and another example of just how useful a 1km square survey is! Scandinavian birders ... pfft)

So this morning Nebria brevicollis became my 500th species for the square. I tried very hard last night to make it a muscid fly but it was refusing to lie down!

Nebria brevicollis

I must have a bit of a review later but it's great to be at the half way stage and 4 days before schedule.

Also I really should mention how good Duff was in sorting out a flea beetle I never thought would happen, although to be fair the FSC guide was if anything more direct.

And so without further ado, here are the final entries of the end of the beginning

497	Gongylidium rufipes	A Linyphiid spider
498	Tipula varipennis	A cranefly
499	Psylloides napi	A flea beetle
500	Nebria brevicollis	A ground beetle

NT1582, Dalgety Bay: Staph meeting

Reached 10 Staphylinidae on Saturday as I creep towards the one third mark. Throwing leaf litter into a white tray has been a lot of fun and makes me think I want a bigger and more robust white tray. When I ordered it a couple of weeks back I though it was a bit indulgent to pay for a tray but now I'm thinking of buying an upgrade!

Another thing maybe worth mentioning was that i found another two spiny snails - one under a rock in a different place and one from shaking leaf litter in another place again. There must be a decent population here.

Anyway, quickie update just to keep the numbers updated on the board

Sepedophilus nigripennis

Othius punctulatus

Stenus impressus

The numbers bit:

326	Neobisium carcinoides	Common Neobisid
327	Vitrina pellucida	Pellucid Glass Snail
328	Stenus impressus	A rove beetle
329	Sepedophilus nigripennis	A rove beetle
330	Derocerus reticulatum	Netted Field Slug
331	Lepthyphantes zimmermanni	A Linyphiid spider
332	Othius punctulatus	A rove beetle