Finally ...

For me this was not the year to take on a challenge like this with too many other things going on in my life but finally, after months of tortoise-like progress, I have somehow reached the 1000 species mark!

The morning started well with family commitments fulfilled by mid morning, and I felt like 1000 was in sight by the end of the day. A short walk to the station and back before lunch produced:

973      the very common spider Zygiella atrica from oak foliage

974      meadow pipit – one calling over my garden      

  975      common crossbill – 2 over the village   
  976      Adonia variegata (Adonis ladybird)  - swept from tall grass
  977      Himacerus mirmicoides (ant damsel bug) – swept from black horehound
  978      Meripilus giganteus (giant polypore) - on birch stump     
  979      Ustulina deusta (a crustose fungus) – ditto.        
 

I had great plans for a major sweep netting session after lunch but disaster struck – rain!  In desperation I resorted to a couple of hours photographing and collecting lichens -(something I had hoped to avoid) and out of about 40 species I was able to confidently identify 21: 

980        Caloplaca aurantia

981        Candelariella aurella

982        Cladonia coniocrae

983        Cladonia fimbriata

984        Diploicia canescens

985        Lecanora campestris

986        Lecanora dispersa

987        Lecanora muralis

988        Lecanora polytropa

989        Lepraria incana

990        Melanelia subaurifera

991        Neofuscelia verruculifera

992        Parmelia sulcata

993        Phaeophyscia orbicularis

994        Physcia adscendens

995        Physcia tenella

996        Punctelia subrudecta

997        Tephromela atra

998        Verrucaria nigrescens

999        Xanthoparmelia mougeotii

1000      Xanthoria parietina

 
I will carry on, though with invertebrates drying up and plants done to death, I don’t expect to get too many more – 1100 now sounds like a challenge, but who knows … I still have a fair few flies and beetles in alcohol, and I haven't had a go at bryophytes yet.
 

Tim