Sunday, May 14, 2017

Sand Point VC6

Been making some progress with the grasses since my last post. I had the one I was stuck on identified via ispot and reverse keyed it. Turns out that a needle like leaf is a rolled one and to measure it you don't roll it out. It probably says in the book somewhere about this but I generally head straight for the keys when a book comes through the letter box. I still think Poland and Clement Vegetative Key to the British Flora is better than all the other books on grasses I have.

Soft-brome Grass
Beetles next and with no carcasses to stake out I've been reduced to checking dog poo which gave me a rather nice Ontholestes murinus. I watched for quite some time hiding on the side of the poo and twice very successfully catch two flies. At the same poo I found Demetrias atricapillus. This one gave me terrible problems to ID mainly down to the fact that it has lobed hind tarsi so it won't key to carabidae in D.M.Unwins Families of British Beetles. Another one to thank Ispot for.

Demetrias atricapillus

Ontholestes murinus
Moths are starting to kick off but yet to run the trap so no big jump for this group yet. By day I've found Phyllonorycter stettinensis, Pammene rhediella, Diamond-back, Silver Y and 3 long horns: Adela fibulella, reaumurella and rufimitrella.
And back to my favourite group diptera, plenty of lifers from this group with 11 this month alone.

Argyra argyria

Chyliza extenuata

Limonia nigropunctata

Neurigona quadrifasciata
Algae 7
Slime Mould 1
Lichen 49
Fungi 12
Bryophytes 64
Vascular Plants 133
Cnidarians 1
Molluscs 7
Arachnids 3
Myriapods 2
Crustaceans 3
Springtails 3
Orthopteroids 1
Hemipteroids 8
Hymenoptera 20
Coleoptera 37
Diptera 96
Butterflies 11
Moths 31
Remaining small orders 1
Birds 63
Mammals 5
Others 1
Total 559



3 comments:

  1. Some cracking photos. Who wouldn't love an Argyra!

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  2. Thanks Ali, yes a very striking heavily dusted fly that looks completely silver when viewed from back to front and all green the other way.

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  3. I like when they zip low across the ground like little silver streaks, though I think diaphana is the one I see most (maybe misremembering that). I have plenty of dog poo - far, far too much dog poo, but I'm mostly trying to avoid it!

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