Since my last post I’ve taken the opportunity to explore my square some more on just a few occasions. The hit rate for identifying new species is low, principally because I am having to work quite hard on each identification (limitations on my knowledge). I have also just taken on a new BTO Breeding Bird Survey square, which has taken me away from my own 1000for1ksq square. Again, in no particular order here are the latest additions to the list, and I've even tried to include some pictures this time!:

75.  Orchesella villosa (a springtail)

76.  Zelotes latreillei (a spider)

77.  Coal tit

78.  Common centipede, Lithobius forficatus.

79.  Pill woodlouse, Armadilidium vulgare.

80.  Common rough woodlouse, Porcellio scaber.

81.  Fox

82.  Broad-leaved dock, Rumex obtusifolius.

83.  Anthocomus fasciatus (a beetle).

84.  Whitethroat.

85.  Wild cherry, Prunus avium.

86.  Common hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna.

87.  Blackthorn, Prunus spinosa.

88.  Small tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae.

89.  Peacock butterfly, Inachis io.

90.  Reed bunting.

91.  Horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum.

92.  Small grape hyacinth¸ Muscari botryodes.

93.  White-legged snake millipede, Tachypodoiulus niger.

94.  Common wasp, vespula vulgaris.

95.  Sweet violet, Viola odorata.

96.  Hedge bindweed, Calystegia sepium.

97.  Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare.

98.  Yarrow, Achillea millefolium.

99.  White deadnettle, Lamium album.

100.               Green field speedwell, Veronica agrestis.

101.               Limax flavus (a slug).

102.               Common orange lichen, Xanthoria parietina.

103.               Silver birch, Betula pendula.

Ah, I seem to have hit a tonne.

SP5595ish - Ticking beetles (mainly)

A Whitethroat on the embankment adjacent to the garden was the first addition today. Nothing new moth-wise in the overnight traps, but I had Amblyptilia acanthadactyla flying around the garden about an hour ago. I had an hour or so at home during the day which yielded a few additions, and walk down the lane sweeping the verges this evening meaning I have got a lot of pots to check through. I'll update my total another time, and at the next update I'll also take off White-tailed Bumblebee as I understand that it isn't anymore. Bloody meddling taxonomists, the bain of wildlife recording .....

In the meantime here's some photos, and the first three are all full British tick beetles for me.

A good one for advocates of easy to remember and snappy vernacular names

Greater Thorn-tipped Longhorn Beetle

 

Pine Ladybird

Note - not photographed on pine

Rosemary Beetle

Found this on one of my garden lavendar plants, technically a tick as it's the first time I've found it, though I saw one last year that my youngest proudly brought home from school and stuck under my nose.

Up next will be a British tick, provided no one shouts up that I've got the ID wrong. But it's not a beetle.

Simulium sp. (poss. noelleri)

And some other bits, only the first being new for the year.

Vine Weevil

Harlequin Ladybird

Green Shieldbug

Eaton Bray SP9621ish

I've stepped up the fieldwork in the last week and seen a lot of invertebrates but mostly not in my square. Have added a round 20 to my total since my last posting this time last week. But I must confess to having counted 6 aggregates in that total which I should not be including: rules are rules. So my new total is 266.

A Muntjac on an early morning walk was the first I've ever seen in this square, though they have been drawing ever closer to the village. Chinese Water-deer should be a banker but I've not seen one yet.

A day's gardening allowed me to add a few more invertebrates:

• Aegopinella nitidula snails, alive (just seen empty shells previously)
• Quedius mesomelinus. A rove-beetle in the compost heap. A female, which is inseparable from Q. maurus except that maurus can be ruled out on habitat, and I've had male mesomelinus in the heap in the past. Keyed out with the RES Handbook.
• Archeboreoiulus pallidus LIFER. A female blind millipede with yellow spots and longer hairs than the common red-spotted Blaniulus guttulatus. Keyed out with Paul Lee's keys.
• Trox scaber. A very cool beetle and quite uncommon though this is the second time I've found it in our compost. Four on the dry carcass of a Wood Mouse that I found in the garden and chucked on the heap a few months ago.

Trox scaber

Ran the MV light trap one night and added Early Thorn (1) and the sexton beetle Nicrophorus humator (1). The only other moth being a single Hebrew Character.

Other odds and ends:

• Chaetocnema concinna. A common flea-beetle. One on washing on the line. Dissected to rule out C. picipes.
• Bombylius major. First beefly of the year seen on 24th - woohoo!
• Vespula germanica. Queen wasp. Keyed out using the British Wildlife paper.
• Small White. First of the year today.
• Tachyporus nitidulus. Very common rove-beetle. One found at a window today.

Eight new plants make up the rest: Self-heal, Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, Black Currant, Common Mouse-ear, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Deschampsia cespitosa, Bristly Oxtongue and Agrostis stolonifera. Plenty more to come botanically as things grow and flower.

Limax flavus above a fully-grown Limax maculatus. Both in our black compost bin. Ignore the difference in contrast - I think that's variable in both species. The key difference is that flavus has much smaller pale speckles, especially on the mantle, whereas the pale markings on maculatus are bigger (blotches rather than speckles), again especially on the mantle. Pretty sure I'm right here but if anyone has a different view, would be glad to hear it.

I've also got seven aggregates which I'm not counting under the rules of the 1ksq challenge. There are four which I intend to identify to species eventually:
Quercus sp., Ulmus sp., Hedera helix agg. and the woodlouse Trichoniscus pusillus/provisorius,
and three which are probably beyond me, including White-tailed Bumblebee added this week:
Rubus fruticosus agg., Taraxacum agg. and Bombus lucorum/cryptarum(/magnus?).

TQ1666: 300 at last... and some spiders

After what seems like an eternity (4 months to be more precise), I finally managed to take the TQ1666 total past the 300 mark yesterday morning, with a smart Brimstone. The weather has really picked up down here in Surrey, and a bit of moth trapping last night added Black Sexton Beetle Nicrophorus humator, Early Thorn Selenia dentaria, and Elachista canapennella, putting my 1km square total on 309.

This challenge really is becoming a great way to get to know the patch more. I turned over a log in the boggy area of Stokes Field back on Monday evening and found a small population of the apparently very rare moisture loving springtail, Isotoma riparia, which seems to be only seldom recorded in Britain. Just goes to show how much may be lurking out there completely unnoticed...

I'll have to run it through the 'system' first, but this could be quite a notable record for Surrey.

I'll leave you with a small selection of unidentified spiders that have been pissing me off big time lately. My spidey knowledge is nothing compared to the other contributors, so if anyone could provide a little ID help with these (even if it's just down to genus), I'd be much appreciated...

Spider 1: Possible Philodromus albidus? Swept from my garden hawthorn tree the other day. Rare, I know, but I can't seem to find any other Philodromus at any stage of development with such a rosy abdomen?

Spider 2: Another Philodromus species perhaps? Also swept from garden hawthorn tree.

Spider 3: The age old question... Araniella curcurbitana or opisthographa? Would this underside shot help at all? Swept from garden conifer tree.

Spider 4: Swept from underneath an oak tree in deciduous woodland.

Spider 5: Pirata species found under a half submerged log, in a boggy area of Stokes Field. Markings don't seem right for piraticus. I was wondering whether it could be Pirata hygrophilus?

Bonus spider: I don't really know where to start with this one, so just put it in for funzies. It was under the same wet log as the Pirata above...

Cheers,

Bill

billsbirding.blogspot.com

SP5595ish : 300

The garden moth traps came good again, with three new for the year moths and three Black Sexton Beetles like the above ugly wotsit. Also managed to get an ID for one of the craneflies I posted yesterday (Rhipidia maculata) and added a spider from the garden. 300 up.

	Taxon	Vernacular	Date Added
300	Philodromus cespitum	(spider)	24/04/2013
299	Rhipidia maculata	(fly)	24/04/2013
298	Orthosia gracilis	Powdered Quaker	23/04/2013
297	Lycia hirtaria	Brindled Beauty	23/04/2013
296	Caloptilia stigmatella	(micromoth)	23/04/2013
295	Nicrophorus humator	Black Sexton Beetle	23/04/2013

Caloptilia stigmatella

This one was small ......

.... compared to this one.

Haven't noticed this massive size variance in Black Sexton Beetle before, as usually just get the odd one in the traps rather than three together.

First carabid

No moths last night at all but there was a very smelly black sexton beetle in the trap. Nicrophorus  humator. A lifer. Performs useful ecosystem services but served to completely disgust my wife and son.

More sunburn...more lifers!

Another day on Epsom Common before the next work shift kicks in. Not quite as hot as yesterday, but I've definitely got my "undercoat" sorted for this summer's sun tan! Hence flying insects were again a feature, swarming micros under the oaks were all Eriocrania subpurpurella - obviously enjoying a mass emergence. A Brindled Pug and several brown lacewings were knocked from branches, the lacewings all keyed out as the same species Hemerobius humulinus. The hoverfly Eristalis pertinax was prominent at sallow blossom. I found a crazily patterned black and white jumping weevil on the sallows, no idea what it is yet! A similarly black and white zigzagged Dermestid beetle, Megatoma undata, sunning itself on a wooden post was new for me. Apparently it is often seen with Zebra Spider, also zigzag black and white patterned. Is there a connection???

Linnet was an amazingly late addition to the site yearlist. Hopefully they will stay and breed again this year, they're a scarce breeder in these parts but usually fairly frequent as flyovers in the winter months. Everything seemed ideal for a highflying raptor or two, Osprey or Hobby would be nice. Red Kite was almost a certain so I did a spot of skywatching. A female Sparrowhawk and four Buzzards (yep FOUR - new site record!) - waaaay up high, but nothing else. Ho hum, I'll keep on trying!

I did a spot of bush-whacking and sweep-netting. Plenty of tiny beetles in the blackthorn blossom but no sign of Sloe Pug larva yet. 10-spot and 24-spot Ladybirds were my first of the year. Masses of small spiders (and plenty of ticks - boo!!!) but very little I felt confident enough to have a go at. 

Plantwise I realised I've overlooked Wood Forget-me-not as a garden escape all over the place near the housing areas. Bracken is starting to come through already. When it (and the brambles) get going properly my little shortcuts through the woods will be very severely restricted, bloody stuff...

Today's additions are:
439 - Brindled Pug - 1 knocked from oak branch
440 - Bracken - sprouting through all over the place, dammit
441 - Wood Forget-me-not - naturalised around housing estates
442 - Eriocrania subpurpurella (micromoth) - mass emergence today, many seen in cop
443 - Hemerobius humulinus (lacewing) - 3 knocked from oaks (LIFER)
444 - Carabus problematicus (beetle) - 1 under a log, elytral features seen well (LIFER)
445 - Enchanter's Nightshade - growing alongside a woodland track
446 - Apple - one large tree growing by a clearing, looks very old and established
447 - Megatoma undata (beetle) - one on bare wood in full sunshine (LIFER)
448 - Linnet - 1 over, then another an hour later, possibly returning breeders - fingers crossed
449 - Eristalis pertinax (hoverfly) - commonly encountered
450 - Creeping Willow - big patch just covered in catkins at Horton Heath, only known site in TQ1960
451 - 10-spot Ladybird - beaten from Cherry Laurel
452 - 24-spot Ladybird - found in short grass whilst on a break (me, not the ladybird...)
453 - Notiophilus bigutattus (beetle) - 2 in sparsely vegetated are, later keyed out

Back to work tomorrow. The BIG news is that I'm moving house next month - AWAY from the square!!! We haven't got a move date yet, probably within a couple of weeks time though. That's gonna spoil my fun a tad :(









 

Aviemore NH8913

I’m a bit late starting the challenge, I was all set to go at the start of March when I caught a chest infection followed by a pretty nasty head cold.  Then as I was feeling better, the weather wasn’t good.  That wouldn’t normally bother me, having lived here for 20 years, I’m certainly used to the cold, but I was still feeling a bit fragile after my illnesses, so didn’t want to risk any set-backs.

The weather is slowly improving and I’ve managed a couple of trips out round some parts of my square.  I live in my square on the west edge of Aviemore.  Just over half of the square is built up, but there is some grassland and woodland, which has the main A9 trunk road passing through.  The woodland is mostly Birch with some other native hardwoods and a bit of Pine.  There’s a small river running through the square, I’ve seen Brook Lampreys there in previous years.  There are also a couple of boggy areas and one small pond where I’ve seen quite a few Odonata in the past.

My particular interests are birds, plants, butterflies and moths, but I also have a passing interest in most wildlife and record everything that I can identify.  I send my records to the appropriate VC recorders or other recording schemes such as BirdTrack.  Whilst I wasn’t able to get out I had a look at my previous records and I’ve recorded over 450 species within the square since I began recording in 2005.  The largest species groups are moths, plants and birds, although I’ve only really looked at flowering plants, not grasses, so there is room for a few more species there.  I’ve also not really looked at either fungi or lichens, nor general insects beyond some easy ones.

So far this year I’ve only recorded 51 species, but I expect this to quickly increase once I manage a few more walks, most of the 51 are birds I’ve seen in and around my garden.  I also run a moth trap every Friday evening as part of the Garden Moth Scheme, although I’ve only recorded two species in eight weeks of trapping so far due to the cold weather.

	Taxon	Vernacular	Date Added
1	Turdus merula	Blackbird	1st of Jan
2	Parus caeruleus	Blue Tit	1st of Jan
3	Buteo buteo	Buzzard	1st of Jan
4	Corvus corone	Carrion Crow	1st of Jan
5	Fringilla coelebs	Chaffinch	1st of Jan
6	Periparus ater	Coal Tit	1st of Jan
7	Streptopelia decaocto	Collared Dove	1st of Jan
8	Prunella modularis	Dunnock	1st of Jan
9	Parus major	Great Tit	1st of Jan
10	Carduelis chloris	Greenfinch	1st of Jan
11	Larus argentatus	Herring Gull	1st of Jan
12	Passer domesticus	House Sparrow	1st of Jan
13	Aegithalos caudatus	Long-tailed Tit	1st of Jan
14	Erithacus rubecula	Robin	1st of Jan
15	Carduelis spinus	Siskin	1st of Jan
16	Accipiter nisus	Sparrowhawk	1st of Jan
17	Sturnus vulgaris	Starling	1st of Jan
18	Certhia familiaris	Treecreeper	1st of Jan
19	Corvus frugilegus	Rook	2nd of Jan
20	Corvus monedula	Jackdaw	4th of Jan
21	Dendrocopos major	Great Spotted Woodpecker	7th of Jan
22	Columba palumbus	Woodpigeon	8th of Jan
23	Carduelis carduelis	Goldfinch	9th of Jan
24	Troglodytes troglodytes	Wren	9th of Jan
25	Oryctolagus cuniculus	Rabbit	9th of Jan
26	Motacilla alba	Pied Wagtail	10th of Jan
27	Phasianus colchicus	Pheasant	21st of Jan
28	Fringilla montifringilla	Brambling	22nd of Jan
29	Ardea cinerea	Grey Heron	27th of Jan
30	Carduelis cabaret	Lesser Redpoll	29th of Jan
31	Anas platyrhynchos	Mallard	7th of Feb
32	Bombycilla garrulus	Waxwing	10th of Feb
33	Apodemus sylvaticus	Woodmouse	10th of Feb
34	Corvus cornix	Hooded Crow	25th of Feb
35	Haematopus ostralegus	Oystercatcher	2nd of March
36	Turdus philomelos	Song Thrush	2nd of March
37	Larus canus	Common Gull	24th of March
38	Larus marinus	Great Black-backed Gull	29th of March
39	Orthosia cerasi	Common Quaker	12th of April
40	Regulus regulus	Goldcrest	13th of April
41	Chroicocephalus ridibundus	Black-headed Gull	13th of April
42	Fomes fomentarius	Hoof Fungus	13th of April
43	Piptoporus betulinus	Birch Polypore	13th of April
44	Crocus vernus	Crocus	13th of April
45	Bellis perennis	Daisy	13th of April
46	Juniperus communis	Common Juniper	13th of April
47	Chrysoslpenium oppositifolium	Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage	13th of April
48	Polypodium vulgare	Polypody	13th of April
49	Betula pendula	Silver Birch	13th of April
50	Achlya flavicornis	Yellow Horned	19th of April
51	Sylvia atricapilla	Blackcap	21st of April

This is part of the Birch woodland taken on a frosty morning.

200 at last - Slow Progress (Lincolnshire)

Finally reached 200 species from my square in Lincolnshire, however it is tough going here with most of the square being arable farmland . The neighbours think I am going mad with me searching for new species under every log, stone and paving slab I come across. Yesterday I potted up a Ground beetle and after close scrutiny I am pretty sure it is Asaphidion flavipes not a common beetle. Also photographed a Devil,s Coach-horse beetle a mighty beast that can give a nasty bite I believe.

Finally mothing has starting adding new species with Pale Pinion being the highlight although it is my 33rd record for the garden. Trapped Brindled Beauty last night but after tonight the nights are again going to be somewhat colder. Total species list now 202.
Below is a spider that was numerous whilst sweeping sedges,any clues?

COMMON SNIPE 9/4/13

LINNET 9/4/13

HEBREW CHARACTER 9/4/13

COMMON QUAKER 9/4/13

LORD AND LADIES 9/4/13

RED CHESTNUT 12/4/13

EARLY GREY 12/4/13

OAK BEAUTY 12/4/13

TWIN-SPOTTED QUAKER 12/4/13

NICROPHORUS HUMATOR 13/4/13

LORICERA PILICORNIS 14/4/13

HARPALUS RUBRIPES 14/4/13

SWALLOW 15/4/13

WILLOW WARBLER 15/4/13

MOLE 15/4/13

HARE 15/4/13

SMALL TORTOISESHELL 15/4/13

COW PARSLEY 15/4/13

GLOMERIS MARGINATA - PILL MILLIPEDE 15/4/13

STENODEMA LAEVIGATA (PLANT BUG) 15/4/13

OXYPSELAPHUS OBSCURUS 15/4/13

SATELLITE 15/4/13

BROWN-LIPPED BANDED SNAIL 15/4/13

OULEMA MELANOPUS/RUFOCYANEA 15/4/13

EUTROMBIDIUM ROSTRATUS (RED VELVET MITE) 16/4/13

DEPRESSANIA HERACIEI (PARSNIP MOTH)

AGONOPTERIX ALSTOMERIANA 16/4/13

GARDEN SNAIL 16/4/13

CHESTNUT

EARLY THORN 16/4/13

WOOD FOR-GET-ME KNOT 17/4/13

WAVY BITTER-CRESS 17/4/13

PTEROSTICHUS MADIDUS 18/4/13

OCYPUS OLENS (DEVIL,S COACH-HORSE BEETLE) 19/4/13

BEMBIDON TETRACOLUM (BEETLE) 19/4/13

22-SPOT LADYBIRD

CUCKOO 20/4/13

ANDREA FULVA (TAWNY MINING BEE) 20/4/13

BRIMSTONE 20/4/13

LITTLE GREBE 20/4/13

COMMA 20/4/13

BOMBYLINUS MAJOR (BEE FLY) 20/4/12

BOMBUS LAPIDARIUS (RED-TAILED BUMBLEBEE) 20/4/13

AGONUM THOREYI 20/4/13

STREAMER 20/4/13

2-SPOT LADYBIRD 21/4/13

POWDERED QUAKER 20/4/13

DEMETRIAS ATRICAPILLUS 21/4/13

TACHYPODOIULUS NIGER (WHITE-LEGGED SNAKE MILLIPEDE) 21/4/13

TWENTY-PLUME MOTH 21/4/13

PALE PINION 21/4/13

WHITE DEAD-NETTLE 22/4/13

IVY 22/4/13

EMMELINA MONODACTYLA 22/4/13

BRINDLED PUG 22/4/13

ERISTIS TENAX (DRONE FLY) 23/4/13

EARLY BUMBLEBEE 23/4/13

COMMON CARDER BUMBLEBEE 23/4/13

ENOPLOGNATHA OVATA (SPIDER) 23/4/13

ASAPHIDION FLAVIPES  23/4/13

202 - BRINDLED BEAUTY 23/4/13

SP5595ish - Late afternoon blitz

Yesterday I managed to name a couple of lichens from weekend, along with a cranefly I found alongside the stream. Also the garden moth traps picked up three extras last night along with a couple of new moths taking me up to 283 before breakfast:

	Taxon	Vernacular	Date Added
283	Sylvicola punctatus	(fly)	22/04/2013
282	Musca autumnalis	(fly)	22/04/2013
281	Ophion scutellaris	(ichneumon)	22/04/2013
280	Selenia dentaria	Early Thorn	22/04/2013
279	Semioscopis steinkellneriana	(micromoth)	22/04/2013
278	Tricyphona immaculata	(fly)	22/04/2013
277	Lecidella stigmatea	(lichen)	22/04/2013
276	Tephromela atra	(lichen)	22/04/2013

late Early Thorn - latest spring record for the garden for 10 years

This afternoon when I got home from work, it was lovely and warm with bright sunshine and it was immediately clear that the garden was busy with inverts. With a few swipes of the net and pots at the ready, over the next hour I added 11 species alongside another 15 or so that I've already seen this year. Brilliant stuff. I was pleased to see this in the garden (a garden tick as far as I can remember):

Bee Fly

Scarlet Lily Beetle - maybe not so welcome, but now annual on my cultivated Snakes-head Fritilaries

Fairly compliant today though

After the spontaneous garden blitz I'm up to 294.

	Taxon	Vernacular	Date Added
294	Adalia bipunctata	2-spot Ladybird	23/04/2013
293	Meligethes aeneus	Common Pollen Beetle	23/04/2013
292	Harmonia axyridis	Harlequin Ladybird	23/04/2013
291	Epuraea aestiva	(beetle)	23/04/2013
290	Osmia rufa	Red Mason Bee	23/04/2013
289	Andrena haemorrhoa	Early Mining Bee	23/04/2013
288	Eupeodes latifasciatus	a hoverfly	23/04/2013
287	Epermenia chaerophyllella	(micromoth)	23/04/2013
286	Araneus diadematus	Garden Spider	23/04/2013
285	Tachyporus hypnorum	(beetle)	23/04/2013
284	Lilioceris lilii	Scarlet Lily Beetle	23/04/2013

A good night in the garden may just get me over 300. I did see a bat this evening which I am sure is 45k Common Pipestrelle but it had fluttered off before I got the bat detector sorted out. Also have some bits which may eventually get an ID including these craneflies (shout up if you know them):

Here's a long leggy centipede to sign off.

Western Yellow Centipede