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 |
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 |
Hurrah!!! In the 2013 Challenge there were well over 30 of us taking part and I was a clear head and shoulders ahead of the rest at this point in the year. I hit 500 on 3rd May, so already you've recorded more than any of us had by this time 4 years ago. Congrats mate, you deserve it :)
ReplyDeleteTa. Looking forward to raking over the embers and picking out my faves from the first half. Been a lot of highlights and larking about on the shore has been great
ReplyDeleteHmmm ... 1407 ... that would be a reach!
ReplyDeleteYou guys are clearly going to smash my 2013 record, amazing progress. Think I might need to start planning for 2018...
ReplyDelete1407 is an incredible total, personally I don't believe I'll come anywhere near it, not in a single year anyway. There's a lot of sheep grazed fields/private land that I can't access and species diversity is nowhere near as rich here as down south. Though if I got myself a moff trap I could maybe reach 1000...come back into the fold, Andy. You know it makes sense :)
DeleteNonsense, of course you'll beat it. You've got the sea for chrissake. And the microfungus book - you can just keep notching them up that way, finding some gunk that grows in an earwig's armpit or similar.
ReplyDeleteI am actually maintaining a PSL year-list this year, but not just in the 1 km square. I'm not hammering it particularly hard, but am trying to make sure I don't miss too many really easy things. Currently on 586 and still need Toad, Rat and Gannet... Common Poppy today's addition by the side of the road.
Anyway, the key to the high final score is sheer bloody-mindedness. Can you keep up this level of effort for 12 months or will you burn out? Keep encouraging each other and you'll do fine I reckon.
You would need the companion volume "Microfungi on Miscellaneous Substrates" for earwig armpit obviously ;)
ReplyDeleteThere's one that is only known from the jaws and genitalia of a millipede (I shit you not, chaps) and I know Christian is on the look out for it. Bit like millipede herpes I guess, the dirty buggers.
ReplyDelete