Cullaloe LNR - that escalated quickly...

So a chance meeting with the county moth recorder on the 1st meant we stayed up until the wee small hours bothering moths, running 7 traps in all. In addition to a few flies and beetles the sudden shot in the arm for moths means that I'm into the last 100. That includes, happily, another two hovers for the site and also a couple of nice big Tipulas (maxima and vulvipennis). Here's another lovey big crane that was in the trap - Pedicia rivosa. The stockpiling of sawflies and caddisflies continues. Should we have a rainy few days I definitely won't be short of things to do.

Last year the 100th species was on 21st June. Fingers crossed... after a slow end of May I see I'm now precisely 4 species ahead of where I was last year on 3rd June. So why not?

Pedicia rivosa

Latest additions

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
855					lep-moth	Thyatira batis	Peach Blossom
856					lep-moth	Pheosia gnoma	Lesser Swallow Prominent
857					lep-moth	Petrophora chlorosata	Brown Silver-line
858					lep-moth	Perizoma alchemillata	Small Rivulet
859					lep-moth	Oligia strigilis	Marbled Minor
860					lep-moth	Ochropleura plecta	Flame Shoulder
861					lep-moth	Notodonta ziczac	Pebble Prominent
862					lep-moth	Bupalus piniaria	Bordered White
863					lep-moth	Cabera exanthemata	Common Wave
864					lep-moth	Caloptilia stigmatella	White-triangle Slender
865					lep-moth	Colostygia pectinataria	Green Carpet
866					lep-moth	Deilephila elpenor	Elephant Hawk-moth
867					lep-moth	Diarsia rubi	Small Square-spot
868					lep-moth	Elachista argentella	Swan feather dwarf
869					lep-moth	Epirrhoe alternata	Common Carpet
870					lep-moth	Eupithecia pulchellata	Foxglove Pug
871					lep-moth	Eupithecia subfuscata	Grey Pug
872					lep-moth	Spilosoma lubricipeda	White Ermine
873			R		lep-moth	Platyptilia gonodactyla	Triangle Plume
874					lep-moth	Blastobasis lacticolella	A micro moth
875					lep-moth	Scoparia ambigualis	A micro moth
876					bird	Vanellus vanellus	Lapwing
877			R	M	lep-moth	Agonopterix arenella	Brindled Flat-body
878			R		lep-moth	Furcula furcula	Sallow Kitten
879					lep-moth	Chloroclysta miata	Autumn Green Carpet
880			R		lep-moth	Notocelia trimaculana	A micro moth
881					lep-moth	Rusina ferruginea	Brown Rustic
882			R	M	lep-moth	Capua vulgana	A micro moth
883			R	M	diptera	Tipula maxima	A crane fly
884			R		diptera	Tipula fulvipennis	A crane fly
885					insect-other	Glyphotaelius pellucidus	A Caddis Fly
886					insect-other	Phryganea grandis	A Caddis Fly
887			R	M	coleoptera	Exochomus quadripustulatus	Pine Ladybird
888			R	M	lep-moth	Coleophora albicosta	A micro moth
889					coleoptera	Aphodius rufipes	A dung beetle
890			R		lep-moth	Nola confusalis	Least Black Arches
891					diptera	Pedicia rivosa	A crane fly
892			R	M	lep-moth	Monopis weaverella	A micro moth
893					lep-moth	Pseudargyrotoza conwagana	A micro moth
894			R		diptera	Urophora jaceana	A gall fly
895					coleoptera	Pterostichus madidus	A ground beetle
896					flowering plant	Epipactis helleborine	Broad-leaved Helleborine
897			R		lep-moth	Korscheltellus lupulina	Common Swift
898			R		diptera	Eumera funeralis	A hover fly
899			R		diptera	Parhelophilus versicolor	A hover fly
900			R		diptera	Platycheirus scutatus	A hover fly

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
	251

Bridport & Thorne - weeks 20 & 21

Having missed most of a week with an excellent trip to the Teesdale area this update covers both the last 2 weeks.

I now have a camera so can include a photo. A male Broad-bodied Chaser at Thorne.

The numbers for the two sites are shown below

Group	Thorne	Bridport	Group	Thorne	Bridport
Slime moulds	1	1	Hemiptera	17	2
Lichens	22	6	Coleoptera	21	3
Fungi	20	2	Diptera	22	5
Bryophytes	22	7	Hymenoptera	25	8
Plants	204	192	Butterflies	10	6
Molluscs	6	2	Moths	42	21
Annelids	2	0	Insects RSO	5	1
Arachnids	6	2	Fish	1	1
Myriapods	0	0	Amphibia	3	1
Crustacea	10	5	Reptiles	0	0
Springtails	2	0	Birds	54	46
Odonata	4	2	Mammals	7	4
Orthoptera	2	1	Total	508	320

Cullaloe LNR - a meteroic rise

or just plugging away, really. But with this Hydroteaea meteorica as a nice bonus yesterday

Check out the distribution map from NBN:

That aside I have now fallen under the numbers achieved by this time last year. C'est la vie. On the other hand on current rate of additions the reserve list will get over 2k in about 80 days. Yahoo!

Latests:

781					diptera	Siphona geniculata	A  tachinid fly
782			R		diptera	Beris chalybata	Murky-legged Black Legionnaire
783					odonata	Enallagma cyathigerum	Common Blue Damselfly
784			R		hemiptera	Drepanosiphum platanoidis	Common Sycamore Aphid
785					coleoptera	Cantharis nigricans	A Soldier Beetle
786			R		lep-moth	Coleophora serratella	A micro moth
787			R		lep-moth	Syndemis musculana	A micro moth
788					diptera	Empis stercorea	An Empid fly
789		C	R	M	diptera	Hydrotaea meteorica	A muscid fly

R - new to reserve
M - new to me
C - new to county

Cullaloe LNR - thresholds

Pete's comment got me looking again at so many taxonomic groups that stand on the threshold of landmark totals. The dipteran 200 has been passed and the lepidopteran 300, but that still leaves the moth 300, the arachnid 100, the coleoptera ... let's say 150, the bryophyte 100 and the hymenopteran 50. The overall total on the reserve is closing fast on 2000, with over 200 species already added this year. It will shortly overtake the most recorded SWT site (most recorded site?) in the county which is Dumbarnie Links - a long term project of my friend, Gordon. Sometimes it all goes past so quickly that these landmarks are a blur. I was actually intending to go faster but I still have that nagging feeling that going slower will actually be more rewarding.

On a side note I recently found out that in the first 1ksq two years ago I found the first Scottish site for the broad-nosed weevil Pachyrhynus lethierryi - I had no idea! I even found a second site in the cuonty at a bioblitz. Maybe that's why it didn't occur to me it was of special interest.

I'm on 762 currently. Mostly a roundup of the usual suspects but some nice new ones.

Pachyprotasis rapae - a sawfly

Tibellus maritimus

Reserve totals by class	2019	2019-tgt
Algae	1	3
Vertebrate - Birds	141	142
Vertebrate - Other	25	25
Invertebrate - Lepidoptera	304	325
Invertebrate - Diptera	205	250
Invertebrate - Arachnid	93	95
Invertebrate - Coleoptera	137	200
Invertebrate - Hemiptera	61	70
Invertebrate - Other	134	135
Plants - Vascular	313	315
Plants - Bryophytes	99	100
Fungi	293	300
Slime Moulds	5	5
Lichens	56	60
Total	1867	2025

Bridport & Thorne Week 19

Steady progress but no real stand out species - which is kind of good as I still haven't sorted out a new camera yet. (but will have by next week)

So the numbers are;

Group	Thorne	Bridport	Group	Thorne	Bridport
Slime moulds	1	1	Hemiptera	15	2
Lichens	22	6	Coleoptera	19	2
Fungi	20	2	Diptera	20	5
Bryophytes	22	7	Hymenoptera	21	8
Plants	187	160	Butterflies	10	6
Molluscs	6	2	Moths	33	14
Annelids	2	0	Insects RSO	4	1
Arachnids	6	2	Fish	1	1
Myriapods	0	0	Amphibia	3	1
Crustacea	10	5	Reptiles	0	0
Springtails	0	0	Birds	52	46
Odonata	2	1	Mammals	6	4
Orthoptera	2	1	Total	464	277

Plus next weeks update will be a few days late due to a trip to Teesdale this week-end

Cullaloe LNR - 200 squared

Water traps

So this last weekend saw both the diptera list on the reserve go over 200 and the new additions list for 2019. That was my target for 2019, so I guess it was a bit of a low one...

The 200th fly for the reserve was the hoverfly Neoascia tenur (my 98th hover). Additions to the reserve list stand now at 203, with the splendid new for county Luaxania cylindricornis (see pic below). Some water buckets in a paddock currently filled with sheep yielded some Hydrophilidae but the only one I've done so far is the Sphaeridium.

Sphaeridium scarabaeoides

Lauxania cylindricornis

Latest additions

718			R		diptera	Neoascia tenur	A hover fly
719					spider	Xysticus cristatus	Crab Spider
720			R		hemiptera	Macustus grisescens	A leaf hopper
721					hemiptera	Stenodema laevigata	A bug
722			R	M	coleoptera	Sphaeridium scarabaeoides	A water beetle
723					lep-moth	Adela cuprella	A micro moth
724					diptera	Cheilosia fraterna	A hoverfly
725			R		diptera	Pegoplata infirma	A flower fly
726			R		diptera	Tipula varipennis	A crane fly
727		C	R	M	diptera	Lauxania cylindricornis	A lauxaniid fly

By group

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
Algae	1	1	1	1	1
Lichens	33	37	40	40	40
Fungi	67	93	103	108	115
Vascular	99	101	108	131	156
Bryophytes	53	54	58	58	58
Mollusc	11	20	21	21	23
Arachnida	23	31	32	36	43
Collembola	6	7	8	8	8
Hemiptera	5	9	11	19	25
Hymenoptera	4	8	9	13	15
Coleoptera	30	47	56	68	80
Diptera	4	19	44	82	125
Lepidoptera	4	14	22	38	76
Invert - Other	12	20	23	4	-121
Vert - Birds	48	56	64	70	75
Vert - Other	2	3	7	8	8
Total	402	520	607	705	727