tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53190701680264266172024-03-05T18:09:31.904+00:00Gilbert White's GhostGilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-14070549694290722792020-04-21T22:02:00.001+01:002020-04-21T22:06:14.921+01:00Chromatomyia paraciliataGilbert has been a bit quiet about the fly / beetle challenge of late but what can I say? Rubbish weather followed by lockdown in a crappy urban environment means there really hasn't been anything worth mentioning. On the few occasions that I've managed to get to any decent habitat, flies seem to have been really thin on the ground. Maybe it's normal for this time of year and I don't usually notice because the weather is sufficiently poor to discourage me from doing any fieldwork.<br />
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Anyway, within a reasonable walking distance of my house is a 'park' with loads of mown grass and far too many people and a wood which I've never been to because from the outside it looks like a horribly dark, dull conifer plantation. I did try going there once and it isn't quite as bad as that but it was crawling with people so I haven't been back. In desperation I thought I'd try the burial ground at the top of the high street. It's basically a churchyard without a church and sometimes churchyards can be quite interesting so it was worth a look.<br />
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A notice board at the entrance explains that part of the site is mown in early spring and part in the autumn and only a small area mown regularly so that seemed quite promising and there was quite a diverse sward, probably mostly originating from planting but still better than nothing.<br />
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One of the first things I noticed was lots of Ox-eye Daisy so I had a quick look for the moth <i>Bucculatrix nigricomella</i>. No sign of that but lots of fly mines. The pupae were in the mine so I brought a few back to breed the adult fly. A check of the <a href="http://www.ukflymines.co.uk/Keys/LEUCANTHEMUM.php" target="_blank">UK Fly Mines</a> web site suggested that it was most likely to be one of the common species pair <i>Chromatomyia horticola </i>/ <i>C. syngenesiae</i> which need dissection of the male fly to identify. There was a possibility that it might be <i>C. paraciliata </i>but there wasn't much information about that anywhere on the web.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chromatomyia paraciliata</i> mines in Ox-eye Daisy basal leaves</td></tr>
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A few days later a male and a female had emerged from the mines so I sent the male to the national recording scheme organiser for dissection. It turns out it didn't need dissection as it wasn't one of the common species pair but I'd never have identified it myself anyway as <i>paraciliata </i>isn't in the Agromyzidae key, having been described new to science in 1985. Barry identified the specimen and emailed me within a few hours of receiving it. He tells me that there are less than half a dozen records in the national database and all are from the original finder so I might be only the second person to find this species in Britain. Abroad it is known from mainland Spain and has recently been identified from Italy by Barry.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chromatomyia paraciliata</i> pupa</td></tr>
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Maybe urban recording isn't as pointless as I feared.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-7870463578923111142020-02-10T00:57:00.000+00:002020-02-10T00:57:42.751+00:00Sponge fliesI take a break from the fly/beetle challenge to post something about sponge flies because there seems to be very little about them on the web and the British key is a little misleading. Hopefully this blog might save someone a bit of time in the future.<br />
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For the uninitiated, sponge flies are no more flies than butterflies are. They have four wings and therefore cannot be Diptera (although much of the information about them on the web seems to be on Diptera.info). They are actually Neuroptera - lacewings. There are only three British species so how hard can it be?<br />
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The most recent British key is the lacewings AIDGAP key. It illustrates the male genitalia so there shouldn't be any difficulty with males. Unfortunately I had a female. The key starts by separating out the rare <i>Sisyra terminalis </i>on the basis of both sexes with ends of the antennae distinctly pale, as opposed to both sexes with antennae dark for their entire length.<br />
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Ok, so it's a fairly rubbish photo but you can see that the ends of the antenna are distinctly paler. Bloody hell, I've got <i>terminalis</i>! Apart from its rarity, the main problem with this as a determination are that it 'appears to favour streams that are overhung with trees' when I caught it by a large lake. But it does say 'appears' so maybe that isn't a problem. I am uneasy though about how distinctly pale does 'distinctly pale' have to be. The out of print RES key is a bit more precise; Antennae blackish with the apical fourth pale yellow; wings grey, almost colourless, cross-veins pale. Well my specimen certainly doesn't seem to have pale yellow tips to the antennae and a quick Google image search produced images that had much paler tips to the antennae than mine. BUT, these were live insects, how much does the colour change on two year old dead specimens? My specimen still cannot be said to have antennae 'blackish throughout' which is the alternative in the RES key.<br />
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I then came across a Spanish key. The Spanish fauna only includes one of the three British species, <i>S. dalii. </i>This key also starts with antennal colour but 'antennae of similar colour and tone' does NOT lead to <i>S. dalii</i>, instead that comes out if you follow 'antennae of different colours or tones'. So that opens up the possibility that my specimen is one of the other British species. The AIDGAP key separates these on 'forewings uniformly coloured, the cross-veins scarcely darker than the membrane' versus 'forewing not uniformly brown, membrane lighter than many of the veins and with small but distinct darker marks, at least around the cross-veins'. The RES key words it slightly better but has the same criteria.<br />
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My specimen clearly has darkening of the cross-veins and also the area where the anal vein meets the hind edge of the forewing so my specimen is <i>Sisyra dalii</i>. However the AIDGAP key says that this is extremely local and scarce, with most records from rock-strewn, fast flowing upland rivers (although it is also recorded from the slower and calcareous River Mole in Surrey). This description hardly fits with a lowland lake on clay in West Sussex but the RES key says that all three species are found in similar situations; 'frequents the sides of streams and less often ponds'.<br />
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Finally I include a picture of the female terminalia as there don't seem to be any images on the web. I have no idea if they provide any help with identification but at some stage I'll dig out my specimens of <i>S. fuscata</i> and see if they look any different.<br />
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<br />Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-17620581769160283252020-02-03T22:52:00.000+00:002020-02-03T22:52:23.912+00:00A slag of a ladybirdOn Saturday I visited the sand dune system at West Wittering with '<a href="http://analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Lyons</a>'. He had surveyed the site last year so had a pretty good idea of what we might find, albeit that there were bound to be new species for the site, even when the fauna is specialist but species-poor. The weather was not too bad for the time of year but an increasingly strong wind made life difficult and my net, which I carried round throughout, remained unused. Instead we relied on tussocking, sieving and his vacuum sampler; techniques that I very rarely use. The resulting catch was primarily spiders and beetles (hence why I rarely use these techniques) and the average size of the specimens was best measured in micrometers!<br />
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Graeme was able to identify a lot of what we caught but if I just ticked off everything he said, it would defeat one of the main objects of 'The Challenge' - learning stuff myself. So I took a bunch of specimens of things that I thought I might have a fighting chance of doing and made some notes of Graeme's suggestions so I'd have a pretty good idea if I'd keyed things properly. More than two days later and I'm not even a third of the way through the specimens and I've got three definites, a probable and an 'errrrr' out of the beetles.<br />
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Apologies for the poor photos but it's a case of spend time getting decent photos or write the blog.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_i4zNoQDfrZZplPIyMecG956GffLuj4Uj5oaHtbWY5yu3TUl_-m5KrVe3j9aPR9GeHNfNDvzhk9Fep9TSmar-ON1Z79aAacwGYh5dyUW8W9-XT4z4Ol6hl905Lt0A-r-6Vd1aLwjCLg/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_i4zNoQDfrZZplPIyMecG956GffLuj4Uj5oaHtbWY5yu3TUl_-m5KrVe3j9aPR9GeHNfNDvzhk9Fep9TSmar-ON1Z79aAacwGYh5dyUW8W9-XT4z4Ol6hl905Lt0A-r-6Vd1aLwjCLg/s320/001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pseudaplemonus limonii</i> - a rather nice weevil off sea-lavender</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cordicollis instabilis</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mOtIssKZblBpmhXvZCaxJDyQs-FIzVHjhEDXgzScwxQjFQfNcWQsJPlEk80TS57xj2W5e_DjrYjAoSGC6fsnzRiMWPl50pro8vrvBPW6bMDjRD8G6zicGZqrTQEYmdf7ykBe0dLRU_Q/s320/004.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Coccidula rufa</i></td></tr>
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All three of these were lifers for me! I then had a look at an <i>Otiorhynchus </i>weevil. I got as far as <i>ovatus</i> or <i>desertus</i> with something vaguely approximating to a degree of confidence. Duff separates these by the tooth on the hind femur being 'long and sharply pointed' or 'very small and obscure'. Well that's bloody helpful, how long, how pointed? The RES key was more helpful in that it says the tooth should be as long as the width of the tibia. Well the tooth is much shorter than the width of the tibia but other features don't fit well with desertus so.....<br />
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On to the subject of the blog title. The ladybird in question is less than 1.5mm long but it's a ladybird, how hard can it be? Well, my go-to book for ladybirds is the Naturalists Handbook but a bit of a Google had suggested the best fit for my specimen might be <i>Nephus redtenbacheri</i> and that isn't in there as it was found in Britain since the book was published. So I tried the Bloomsbury Field Guide which according to the 'celebrity' endorsement on the back is the 'definitive field guide to ladybirds'. Well it is the definitive guide only if your idea of identifying things is to look at a picture and say 'well it looks like that one, that'll do'. For a group of species that are extremely variable in appearance, to have no key, no clear cut features to separate similar species, etc. is far from 'definitive' to my mind. Anyway, Mike Hackston came to my rescue as he so often does; a decent key in intelligible language. So I fumbled my way through to couplet 18 which asks whether there are ridges on the process on the prosternum. Seriously? The whole beetle is <1.5mm! Even at 80x magnification I had no idea so I took a photo and looked at it on the laptop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FmRU1sd23fY9QIJfq_5ktdM0EI1vBXyiVgKI5DY2IQ_dgdXUt41Dm9gjVn6U79OS0TDFib9vLaZWqrjjTeF6tTdSWgxvK4A8m5cr0Hn5Y5tECPaW56MGpUuu0m7D2gqVy_AoHUyf_Z0/s1600/L004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FmRU1sd23fY9QIJfq_5ktdM0EI1vBXyiVgKI5DY2IQ_dgdXUt41Dm9gjVn6U79OS0TDFib9vLaZWqrjjTeF6tTdSWgxvK4A8m5cr0Hn5Y5tECPaW56MGpUuu0m7D2gqVy_AoHUyf_Z0/s400/L004.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So has it?</td></tr>
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I was hoping for a nice smooth process where it would be easy to see ridges. On this bloody thing I had no real idea but plumped for yes. This eventually took me to a group of <i>Scymus</i> species, none of which looked like my specimen so I tried no. This took me to the question of how many antennal segments does it have? Oh come on! Again, the whole beetle is less than 1.5mm.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEissUlo3sO_4x3EbGF4beC1-Ok7iO21S7qwwXxy1yfv6y1eIfta3emSj85-vlYIjxz_xGkLf4i9MsLhRY0u8JbjlqBi7fsDB4ApTmjL_knXlvf6EtXF6rWfzVvBckhFnmMIQ8lAom7Jpso/s1600/L006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEissUlo3sO_4x3EbGF4beC1-Ok7iO21S7qwwXxy1yfv6y1eIfta3emSj85-vlYIjxz_xGkLf4i9MsLhRY0u8JbjlqBi7fsDB4ApTmjL_knXlvf6EtXF6rWfzVvBckhFnmMIQ8lAom7Jpso/s400/L006.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How many segments then?</td></tr>
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One option took me to just one species and it didn't look right for that, the other took me to a pair which includes <i>Nephus redtenbacheri</i>. So I guess that's probably what it is but identifying things through a route where you cannot clearly identify features that you need to see is most unsatisfactory. It retains a ? on the label.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTm3F9epdalGnme3YWKauPQb-Qm2b203q20ETxdhmoY0CEyoaL9FOUkL9yH40i-WauBhdCwzuyQ9KP5VO1LFbotKlZeQ_eXlT6qulAPBbqZohxcydxnc3XPaPqjhR3zIx958b8RC3AaAk/s1600/L007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="1337" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTm3F9epdalGnme3YWKauPQb-Qm2b203q20ETxdhmoY0CEyoaL9FOUkL9yH40i-WauBhdCwzuyQ9KP5VO1LFbotKlZeQ_eXlT6qulAPBbqZohxcydxnc3XPaPqjhR3zIx958b8RC3AaAk/s400/L007.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nephus redtenbacheri</i>?</td></tr>
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Fortunately, I did pick up a few flies which have been much easier to key. Two <i>Lonchoptera lutea</i> and a <i>Geomyza tripunctata</i> both provided new families for the year, as did a Chloropid which I haven't tried to key yet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevRH0oK9s4k9c9kPfYEMDpPZG2u9uXA9F0XcUhOLmOsDIZKXx2hJLUblov5s0JMYZRUfx43T4Sz52yVTg0cpoD8Y6-mX16UjSXy0ZZ1VzNWaeBpMRW-HM8i-67GqE8zRZL-WWdcLX-no/s1600/002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevRH0oK9s4k9c9kPfYEMDpPZG2u9uXA9F0XcUhOLmOsDIZKXx2hJLUblov5s0JMYZRUfx43T4Sz52yVTg0cpoD8Y6-mX16UjSXy0ZZ1VzNWaeBpMRW-HM8i-67GqE8zRZL-WWdcLX-no/s320/002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Geomyza tripunctata</i></td></tr>
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Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-40955643356775884442020-01-31T21:53:00.000+00:002020-01-31T21:53:02.578+00:00Time for an updateMost of my spare time at the moment has been taken up with working through my backlog of specimens. This is the most productive way to spend this time of year but I cannot let the competition think he's having it all his own way so I've done a bit of fieldwork in the few moments of decent weather to get the lists up and running.<br />
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Flies have been thin on the ground even then but I've picked up a few cluster flies attracted to the white walls of a friends house and on the windows of a barn at Knepp. Most of them have been <i>Pollenia</i> species which need a bit of work in due course to get to species but I have added <i>Calliphora vicina </i>to the year list.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg246oCoEe_hG80bP4FdtA9tW2EsZPz6WjKBV-mzeBNOGTGktTOLjLZmoukc2idausuGHu4flqoAOI1paL8QeAscoNLySYYLoLAWzFM2uzvkmYgc0F4hhBl8Vv3XAY39CfKa9zOYKh5T_0/s1600/Calliphora_vicina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="981" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg246oCoEe_hG80bP4FdtA9tW2EsZPz6WjKBV-mzeBNOGTGktTOLjLZmoukc2idausuGHu4flqoAOI1paL8QeAscoNLySYYLoLAWzFM2uzvkmYgc0F4hhBl8Vv3XAY39CfKa9zOYKh5T_0/s400/Calliphora_vicina.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Calliphora vicina </i>(Wikimedia Commons)</td></tr>
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Also attracted to the walls of my friends house was the Heleomyzid <i>Heteromyza oculata</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOpz8dNRjsPQl80ArfawBlS4GJjNmHlh1s8q-5r-Hz6tHS0d6QDkFaJOoyIVQrUdWdCHkp9AAZb5McrX9MiKWeGYsMT0iPbg2K1j_cK6q2OuJyzsafyIkeG9Z2YlCCv59Ox2Ixsk7n9w/s1600/106200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="750" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOpz8dNRjsPQl80ArfawBlS4GJjNmHlh1s8q-5r-Hz6tHS0d6QDkFaJOoyIVQrUdWdCHkp9AAZb5McrX9MiKWeGYsMT0iPbg2K1j_cK6q2OuJyzsafyIkeG9Z2YlCCv59Ox2Ixsk7n9w/s320/106200.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Heteromyza oculata </i>- BioLib.cz</td></tr>
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As well as the fly and beetle species challenge, I appear to have been roped in to a fly families challenge. This involves seeing how many different families we can find and identify. The identification only needs to be to family level, not to species. So as well as the families where I have identified a species, I can also add Scathophagidae, Phoridae and Muscidae from Knepp. I have never looked closely at Phorids before but they are fairly easy to identify to family level, having characteristic reduced wing venation. I was particularly impressed with their faces though, especially their antennae with mini-footballs for the third antennal segment and sideways pointing arista. I suspect that getting them to species will be a struggle but I've ordered the key so watch this space.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvV-vENgnyIVPQYqUJ1Jxiec6xKUJEfcrWlznIFTMQLqmXPa0qyT8ajBqNYLcMFQAhjrx-zMGVlIdzZer2Ebt7_h1__Qv4EtCEv7GKW0hkrogUm-xEmacitZ3HivRIX9yESNa1s1kyOU/s1600/phorid+head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvV-vENgnyIVPQYqUJ1Jxiec6xKUJEfcrWlznIFTMQLqmXPa0qyT8ajBqNYLcMFQAhjrx-zMGVlIdzZer2Ebt7_h1__Qv4EtCEv7GKW0hkrogUm-xEmacitZ3HivRIX9yESNa1s1kyOU/s320/phorid+head.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE0kE36Miji6zDZATVZ2cc22rueEkZJBO92Y3eZM3weZ2JNKe3bd7-L_uS0iuk-xwU3v2kdu-w2rSPxodaFji05MAj-lufxErSXpM-7zQX5KlphdxMUZOmKDOsirA09k71jc8yKnNeRI/s1600/phorid+wing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE0kE36Miji6zDZATVZ2cc22rueEkZJBO92Y3eZM3weZ2JNKe3bd7-L_uS0iuk-xwU3v2kdu-w2rSPxodaFji05MAj-lufxErSXpM-7zQX5KlphdxMUZOmKDOsirA09k71jc8yKnNeRI/s320/phorid+wing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phorid head and wing</td></tr>
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I also found a moth fly or drain fly (Psychodidae) in my bathroom and then, whilst lamping in Botley Wood the same evening, another species from this family. This family is normally a no-go area for normal people and they almost all need dissection and are horribly difficult but the specimen I found at Botley was unlike any I have seen before and I just wonder if it might be identifiable when I can access a decent museum collection in a week or so.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt_EevtbC9XUIKLdAu3T2QHgpBJH13KrJUfp7IkFOcG0Vc2MgXzXGUXIrbI0OvGFiYLaDGuduwoXJJxJePCMVB-UpwAtUAJBsPj_LiGk72NHJNtaw57YYuChYFAVzd8WXIUPqu4Ejav4/s1600/005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt_EevtbC9XUIKLdAu3T2QHgpBJH13KrJUfp7IkFOcG0Vc2MgXzXGUXIrbI0OvGFiYLaDGuduwoXJJxJePCMVB-UpwAtUAJBsPj_LiGk72NHJNtaw57YYuChYFAVzd8WXIUPqu4Ejav4/s320/005.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moth fly from Botley Wood</td></tr>
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Beetles will always be a secondary consideration for me in the challenge (mainly due to my inability to identify most of them) but I have picked up the very common Tenebrionid <i>Nalassus laevioctostriatus</i> which was crawling up a tree trunk at Knepp and the common ground beetle <i>Dromius quadrimaculatus </i>at Botley Wood.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDcvCJhLRCMK4VeonVv-WZb9WURo9-MD7Fknpzbok7yGtjvX_QUYNeS5Q1xEYT2s5HRhAfXGjLbyKgUKeUzOBee2DpJtuIZ0nKmpFpVPa46SneeCqmxM_S61i2s-VaBvduveSEKIn_cQ/s1600/P1253847c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDcvCJhLRCMK4VeonVv-WZb9WURo9-MD7Fknpzbok7yGtjvX_QUYNeS5Q1xEYT2s5HRhAfXGjLbyKgUKeUzOBee2DpJtuIZ0nKmpFpVPa46SneeCqmxM_S61i2s-VaBvduveSEKIn_cQ/s320/P1253847c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dromius quadrimaculatus</i></td></tr>
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So I finish January on the 'grand' totals of 3 beetles and 4 flies to species and 6 fly families. I may be trailing in last place at the moment but that could change tomorrow when I'm spending some time in the field with a Coleopterist (if I can stop him looking at bloody spiders). Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-71167408962320333532020-01-07T21:19:00.000+00:002020-01-07T21:19:07.117+00:00Challenge updateSeth has a weeks head start on me but I have managed to record a couple of flies and a beetle since the start of the year. Firstly the fly <i>Phytomyza ilicis</i>, the mines of which can be found on virtually every holly bush in the UK - apart from northern Skye (hahaha). Another fly in the same genus, <i>Phytomyza chaerophylli</i> mines the leaves of umbellifers such as Cow Parsley and I found large numbers of mines at Warblington cemetary when I called in to see the various paper bags there (aka 5 Cattle Egrets and 10+ Little Egrets).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUIsJTwh3Vr3nsNSI_-bas6ICqSU53Atn4JbpITcL7hbNZxFVHt25QFhpuYPalja5l_nnb-AJ4-vvxCax-2hzadZCpvw2qvwQ5kE5Bg81WwNaXBnjlrrlxyumOPQre6s1FveqG1X0XPo/s1600/P1043713c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1384" data-original-width="1600" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUIsJTwh3Vr3nsNSI_-bas6ICqSU53Atn4JbpITcL7hbNZxFVHt25QFhpuYPalja5l_nnb-AJ4-vvxCax-2hzadZCpvw2qvwQ5kE5Bg81WwNaXBnjlrrlxyumOPQre6s1FveqG1X0XPo/s400/P1043713c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Phytomyza chaerophylli </i>mines</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTa975TL_TVSDO1UbY5TUqjpIU3M_9FU3Df_NZBYJUOclFhlN9lj_MBsyPM4sobonYpV3i84Jh1dIjGf2K1PPg4VDtsKzSgUld0jki1TJVCM4jIT3uZHiZbBD4jkI-weOd7zEn3Iousk/s1600/P1043717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTa975TL_TVSDO1UbY5TUqjpIU3M_9FU3Df_NZBYJUOclFhlN9lj_MBsyPM4sobonYpV3i84Jh1dIjGf2K1PPg4VDtsKzSgUld0jki1TJVCM4jIT3uZHiZbBD4jkI-weOd7zEn3Iousk/s400/P1043717.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Assorted paper bags</td></tr>
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As I said in the previous post, I am utterly useless at beetles but I found one under a log whilst looking for springtails at Hindhead Common the other evening. Given its appearance and location I assumed it was a carabid and, being blue and orange I thought it would be relatively easy to identify. It very quickly fell out of the carabid key so I resorted to using a picture book to see if I could find something similar. Much to my surprise I quickly came across a suitable looking thing in the family Erotylidae - apparently called 'Pleasing Fungus Beetles'! Of the ones in the book, mine looked a good match for <i>Triplax aenea</i> and searches on the web haven't changed my mind but I would like to get confirmation before I count it as it would be a new species to me and identifying beetles by picture matching is seriously dodgy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhai2Se6AEblmeqPAYT8x3y-ywq4-RXrShRVPJX6JJwQGhz-tkTRvNlRwXSQCA3KY5zyiRF2ll5v4pjNuV4zOhG3-dpPbn1BLmKwePC7WqxvGWwJSHJ7Ku5LMyrWT4X1DlCYE8QL9YPBEU/s1600/P1073726c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1598" data-original-width="1600" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhai2Se6AEblmeqPAYT8x3y-ywq4-RXrShRVPJX6JJwQGhz-tkTRvNlRwXSQCA3KY5zyiRF2ll5v4pjNuV4zOhG3-dpPbn1BLmKwePC7WqxvGWwJSHJ7Ku5LMyrWT4X1DlCYE8QL9YPBEU/s400/P1073726c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Triplax aenea</i> - hopefully</td></tr>
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So I reckon that puts me on about 2 and a half combined total for the year. Not sure what Seth is on but I think he's ahead of me, for the time being.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-58271324020128664002020-01-07T20:28:00.003+00:002020-01-07T20:28:54.014+00:00Game OnMy mate (yes, I only have one) Seth comes up with a natural history challenge each year. He creates a new blog to document what he's doing and then by about mid-February he gives up! This year his challenge can be found <a href="https://psl2020vision.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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So his aim this year is to focus on beetles and flies and to identify as many species in each group as he can, with the aim of becoming more competent in the identification of these groups. This got me thinking. I am completely useless at beetles and slightly less useless at flies but would like to improve my skills in both groups. A little friendly competition might provide motivation to us both so last night I challenged Seth to a competition. The challenge was accepted.<br />
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The winner will be the one whose combined total number of species of flies and beetles recorded during 2020 is the higher. The species can be recorded in any life stage and we can get help with identification from other people as it is impossible to define a clear-cut line between doing it all yourself and just mindlessly asking people 'what's this?' that makes any sense. Neither of us is the type to just collect vast numbers of specimens and get others to do all the ID work anyway, and if we did it would sort of defeat our original object of improving our ID skills.<br />
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We both have advantages and disadvantages in this challenge. Seth is much better at beetles than me and I'm probably better at flies than he is although neither of us would describe ourselves as competent in either group. I live in the tropical south of England whilst Seth is in the tundra wastelands of Skye so I have access to a greater number of species, but Seth can largely devote his natural history time to the challenge whilst I have commitments with other taxa that I cannot ignore for the year.<br />
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It's going to be interesting to see how we get on. I honestly have no idea who will win and am largely relying on Seth giving up in mid-February to give me an easy win (and subsequent bragging rights for about the next 10 years). Whatever happens, there should be some good banter for the next five weeks (or however long Seth lasts).Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-21767478019616000172018-04-22T01:10:00.002+01:002018-04-24T10:38:30.376+01:00First for EnglandBack in August last year Mr Egg and I went moth trapping at a site in West Sussex. The purpose of our visit was to look for Crimson Underwings. Earlier in the year someone had photographed a Crimson Underwing caterpillar at the site but the photographs were inconclusive as to which species it was so we thought we'd have a go for the adults.<br />
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One of the first moths attracted to the traps was new for both of us.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2I5klo0Ab6N_lTQcDGBXlgNruPylCyZqXUMwZ2GrghU_phtGm4wF9xZr5rq3udWd00FeJFutF_u4ITkW8LVIQkYrJOw6w62RZTJormz0V7gWpvbxKMk-psJBNoJ_Rtv7vE6vv1DL1_0/s1600/P8080352c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="1500" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2I5klo0Ab6N_lTQcDGBXlgNruPylCyZqXUMwZ2GrghU_phtGm4wF9xZr5rq3udWd00FeJFutF_u4ITkW8LVIQkYrJOw6w62RZTJormz0V7gWpvbxKMk-psJBNoJ_Rtv7vE6vv1DL1_0/s400/P8080352c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gypsy Moth <i>Lymantria dispar</i></td></tr>
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The Gypsy Moth is now well established in parts of the London area and is known to be spreading but we certainly weren't expecting it this far west. Amazing antennae.<br />
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An underwing flapping round the traps got our hearts pumping for a moment but sadly it was just a Red Underwing <i>Catocala nupta</i>.<br />
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A somewhat less spectacular visitor was a Devon Carpet<i> Lampropteryx otregiata</i>. This didn't particularly surprise me as I'm used to seeing Devon Carpet whilst looking for Crimson Underwings in the New Forest. Mr Egg was on the ball though and remembered reading that there were only two previous Sussex records so we were able to get photographic evidence for the county recorder.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AN7YSxT2xD2GvsDv0_W5VqQ1aFhxiUNWC0KKhXGKm0JErhwmLY_CFSQabVFb8t5F5OjespvXJ-sjI5Pn44llyDXXURAlcC1tFiAk50xdNL0P4slyY6sH-Qc4PAjXEADynYNObkezKec/s1600/P8080348c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1500" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AN7YSxT2xD2GvsDv0_W5VqQ1aFhxiUNWC0KKhXGKm0JErhwmLY_CFSQabVFb8t5F5OjespvXJ-sjI5Pn44llyDXXURAlcC1tFiAk50xdNL0P4slyY6sH-Qc4PAjXEADynYNObkezKec/s400/P8080348c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devon Carpet</td></tr>
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As well as using light traps we used rotting banana lures but the only thing they attracted was a Dark Bush-cricket <i>Pholidoptera griseoaptera</i>.<br />
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General searching with lamps also turned up the attractive (for a beetle) <i>Anthocomus rufus</i>.<br />
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Despite me getting a case of dodgy guts and Mr Egg managing to stand on two moth trap bulbs, it was an enjoyable and worthwhile evening, even though we never saw the hoped-for Crimson Underwing. But why am I writing about it now?<br />
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Today I attended a workshop on Ichneumonid wasps run by Gavin Broad from the Natural History Museum. Whilst looking through my specimens he said 'that's the second British record'. I didn't take him seriously at first, how could he know that without even looking at the identification keys? But he was serious and the specimen was <i>Ophion areolaris</i>. The man is an absolute genius.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2WtqNm_gLV2hTOuhSXzrWfxbJ_xScscut0_11md2NCsM0omFsg1TeRGdCv6R4Ufy2uiFe2B8UQ03-3a7Xc21zD4Xf0sBYtJ6SjU214umumsWZhmw6Z1HiAKNy868Uf8WmLDaVfjRsIU/s1600/Ophion+areolaris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1600" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2WtqNm_gLV2hTOuhSXzrWfxbJ_xScscut0_11md2NCsM0omFsg1TeRGdCv6R4Ufy2uiFe2B8UQ03-3a7Xc21zD4Xf0sBYtJ6SjU214umumsWZhmw6Z1HiAKNy868Uf8WmLDaVfjRsIU/s400/Ophion+areolaris.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ophion areolaris</i></td></tr>
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The only previous British record was from Scotland so as some smart alec pointed out that 'second is just the first of the losers' I will refer to it as the first for England rather than the second for Britain.<br />
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Update : Gavin tells me that the previous record was from Kinloch Rannoch in 1969. So what does a wood in West Sussex have in common with that site? Answers on a postcard please.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-60095009458034917092018-04-19T22:24:00.000+01:002018-04-19T22:24:11.723+01:00A mythical fishToday I saw a mythical fish. Why mythical? Well everyone else claims that it is common in the New Forest streams and report it on an almost daily basis at this time of year. Having failed repeatedly to see it, I came to the conclusion that this was nothing to do with my incompetence but was in fact due to a conspiracy to wind me up and that the fish in question did not actually exist. The evidence for this mounted last spring, 10 figure grid references were followed up without success and the final proof was that whenever I was with people who claimed to see it all the time, they couldn't find any. I'm not going to fall for this one guys, it is quite clearly is a figment of your imagination.<br />
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Now I finally have to accept that it is real. So what are we talking about? The Brook Lamprey <i>Lampetra planeri</i>.<br />
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They use the amazing suckers on their mouths to move small pebbles around to make their nest site.<br />
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There were only two fish making this nest, often there are more and they will cooperate to move larger stones.<br />
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Many thanks to Rich for finally proving that these fish do actually exist.<br />
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The other highlight of today was that there were the first three Wood Warblers back in the Forest. The obsession resumes.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-62952537403371599512018-04-17T22:06:00.002+01:002018-04-17T22:06:45.161+01:00What heatwave?The supposed heatwave has so far produced more in the way of rain than anything approaching summer but the sun did show itself for one afternoon so I headed up to Stanley Common to see what was around.<br />
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The total absence of worthwhile nectar meant that insects were thin on the ground, and in the air for that matter. Everything I netted in flight seemed to be a Staphylinid beetle so was promptly released. Life is too short.<br />
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I did get a few new species for the year. <i>Gymnocheta viridis</i> is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed in the larvae of Noctuid moths.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Gymnocheta_viridis._Tachinidae_%2833836100342%29.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="File:Gymnocheta viridis. Tachinidae (33836100342).jpg" data-file-height="2072" data-file-width="2544" height="324" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Gymnocheta_viridis._Tachinidae_%2833836100342%29.jpg/736px-Gymnocheta_viridis._Tachinidae_%2833836100342%29.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gymnocheta viridis </i>(Wikipedia Commons)</td></tr>
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A Striped Ladybird <i>Myzia oblongoguttata </i>was beaten from pine foliage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHjy4QiAxlNTC1FOihWJtxcdAaHMnAGDbKOxaEtHnGAbdwKs4VE5keMDEn7NVMQJQoFoTK_ow7ewfTCLPIk0AHi6lU8dYCbM2iiLBwAMpgsJZaesL4Wk8bhUEZccIDREb9hbmJWIBVLs/s1600/P4140734c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="1343" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHjy4QiAxlNTC1FOihWJtxcdAaHMnAGDbKOxaEtHnGAbdwKs4VE5keMDEn7NVMQJQoFoTK_ow7ewfTCLPIk0AHi6lU8dYCbM2iiLBwAMpgsJZaesL4Wk8bhUEZccIDREb9hbmJWIBVLs/s400/P4140734c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Striped Ladybird</td></tr>
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An Orange Underwing moth <i>Archiearis parthenias </i>whizzed past and a Psychid moth <i>Taleporia tubulosa </i>was hauling it's case up an oak trunk.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Taleporia tubulosa</i> larval case</td></tr>
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My first Willow Warbler was singing in the birch but after a while switched to a very wonky version of Chiffchaff. Before anyone gets over-excited it wasn't an Iberian Chiffchaff, just a Willow Warbler with an identity problem.<br />
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The highlight of the last few days however was the emergence of <i>Glyphipterix haworthana </i>from the cottongrass seed heads that I collected on Skye a couple of weeks ago.<br />
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<br />Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-10464254644898797042018-04-14T11:50:00.001+01:002018-04-14T11:50:22.457+01:00Snippets from the gloomGot out to do my first monitoring surveys of the year this week, with mixed success. First up was a trip to look for the larvae of the micro-moth <i>Coleophora wockeella</i> at its sole known UK site in Surrey. The larvae make cases which they live in and from which they make blotch mines in the leaves of Betony. The larvae feed for a period in the autumn before overwintering and then emerging to complete their development in the spring. I have recorded larvae more than a month earlier than this in previous years but a pretty thorough search of the main area produced no larvae or feeding signs. Hopefully this just reflects a late emergence due to the grim weather, rather than anything more serious. I'll be back in 10 days or so to find out. We found very little else, the shieldbug <i>Eurygaster testudinaria</i> being the highlight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimD6HEmQj46dTvi6EfvgUaGbrzBVK1gvbHfBVh-4hqKcDBGCl6sRg5IdH-E-sN4HCUaPVXzihVT8FX3LG-N3pzR9qiuIlxcSAYoGv1njyq_6XRjqQunvCe0aH_KpGZCJfXtt1DbTVUF6M/s1600/P4100707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimD6HEmQj46dTvi6EfvgUaGbrzBVK1gvbHfBVh-4hqKcDBGCl6sRg5IdH-E-sN4HCUaPVXzihVT8FX3LG-N3pzR9qiuIlxcSAYoGv1njyq_6XRjqQunvCe0aH_KpGZCJfXtt1DbTVUF6M/s400/P4100707.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Eurygaster testudinaria</i></td></tr>
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There was some litter on the site with a message on it.<br />
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The message read 'Please lift this up and look underneath', or something like that.<br />
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So I did as instructed and there were three Slow Worms underneath.<br />
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The following evening I went to a site near Shoreham to meet the new warden and look for Barred Tooth-striped moths. BTS larvae feed on Wild Privet which many conservationists view negatively as it can invade open chalk grassland. It is therefore frequently removed and the moth is lost. Just four known sites are left in Sussex, and none in Hampshire. So this was not just about finding the moth but also making sure that the warden was aware of the importance of privet and making sure that it was given due consideration when planning management.<br />
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In contrast to the previous day, we quickly found the target species and ended up with 11. Most were quite worn, as would be expected at this stage of the season, but a few were fairly fresh.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqjdSZm0sBRU8RvFw9gnrkFWbqfEb0W2vNF26IsuAfVRrZXONgvzyxXeJIcSb0n7FwC5qBw-rizI-ieXBgzEshH_kDZxdLtqfwV1aQ_QtCHwPxLvtcpsPhq9uloMM8uqrWNIWjd1js-Q/s1600/BTS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqjdSZm0sBRU8RvFw9gnrkFWbqfEb0W2vNF26IsuAfVRrZXONgvzyxXeJIcSb0n7FwC5qBw-rizI-ieXBgzEshH_kDZxdLtqfwV1aQ_QtCHwPxLvtcpsPhq9uloMM8uqrWNIWjd1js-Q/s400/BTS.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barred Tooth-striped <i>Trichopteryx polycommata</i></td></tr>
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A few hours in the New Forest on Thursday produced a surprisingly large number of singing Tree Pipits and Redstarts but generally it was very quiet; I didn't hear a single <i>Phylloscopus </i>warbler for example.<br />
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Finally, I ringed my first brood of chicks last night, three Robins in the ivy on my garden fence. Hopefully the fact that I was completely unaware of the nest until yesterday is a reflection of my lack of interest in my grotty little garden, rather than of my nesting skills.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-67840054191425046532018-04-09T00:09:00.000+01:002018-04-09T00:09:39.500+01:00As Arnie would sayAfter a great day out there was still time for some last minute searches. We headed up to a small bog on private land behind the hotel. My main target was Lesser Clubmoss <i>Selaginella selaginoides</i> but we were unable to find this. Instead my eyes were drawn to some manky old seedheads of Common Cottongrass <i>Eriophorum angustifolium</i>. By this time of year they should have been blown away and their continued presence indicates that a larva of the micro-moth <i>Glyphipterix haworthana</i> - new to Skye (and me) has spun the seeds together. Our initial attempts to find the actual larva resulted in a parasite larva and an apparently empty spinning but we were both able to find larvae eventually.<br />
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Some Delicate Stonewort <i>Chara virgata </i>was new to me and a micro-fungus on the dead stems of Bog Asphodel <i>Narthecium ossifragum</i> would also have been, but for the fact that it appears that no-one knows for certain what it is.<br />
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Seth revealed during the evening that he was 10 short of the halfway mark in his 1000 in 1km square challenge in 2018. With him having to work the next day, we just had to head out with torches and nets to see what we could find in Uig Wood in order to push him over that milestone before the end of March. A biting cold wind meant no moths, no Carabids scuttling down the path, not even an earwig on a tree trunk so eventually we had to concede that Seth would have to achieve his target by going through previously collected material the next day. A couple of new spiders did at least reduce his target.<br />
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So Saturday morning came and it was time for the long slog back south. Cheers to Seth for a great week, even at such an unpromising time of year. I had an absolute blast.<br />
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The drive home was punctuated by a quick stop up amongst the snow in the mountains to collect some <i>Sphagnum </i>samples for a mad friend and another to check the features of some Early Pampas-grass <i>Cortaderia richardii</i> that I had spotted by Loch Lochy on the way up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJI0jdQB0U-OuGVypgYl41VKE9KW0xLoxUPYyRemYAt1pU8ctTkbDqJV65TXwzMU8SOtv-ixXzHpu-nINTMFMyaZhO5SsHsVN51UUS64OBiSpvAzj_yA06aSITRbtsPC2hmX_N7ekWkM/s1600/P3310577c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJI0jdQB0U-OuGVypgYl41VKE9KW0xLoxUPYyRemYAt1pU8ctTkbDqJV65TXwzMU8SOtv-ixXzHpu-nINTMFMyaZhO5SsHsVN51UUS64OBiSpvAzj_yA06aSITRbtsPC2hmX_N7ekWkM/s400/P3310577c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good place to stop for <i>Sphagnum</i> mosses</td></tr>
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Before the trip I had set Seth a light-hearted target of 155 new species so that I could overtake the 'James Bond villain' of Pan Species Listing. It really wasn't a serious target, just a bit of a wind-up. Did I achieve this? No, at the time of writing I have 102 new species from the trip. This will no doubt rise as I work through some of the insects that I brought back but there weren't that many due to the time of year and the cold weather. Any target that I had, no matter how light-hearted was soon forgotten once I started getting out in the field. I learnt loads as much of what we what we were looking at were taxa that I don't know well but the thing that inspired me most was how under recorded everything is on Skye. In southern England you get a few new species for a county each year, on Skye you can get a few new species in a day. I haven't got such a buzz from biological recording since I recorded micro-moths in Radnorshire (then the worst recorded vice-county in England and Wales) in the late 1990's.<br />
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I'll be back.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-3839137496198980012018-04-06T23:54:00.001+01:002018-04-06T23:55:37.953+01:00Fried Mars BarsMy last full day on Skye and the county botanical recorder was coming over from Raasay to show me some of the interesting plants that can be found at this time of year. Not only that but he did all the driving as well. What thoroughly nice people naturalists are (apart from birders obviously). After a quick diversion to check out a report of American Skunk-cabbage <i>Lysichiton americanus</i> which sadly turned out to be correct, we headed out to Oisgill Bay.<br />
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The first task was to look for Carline Thistle <i>Carlina vulgaris </i>which had been reported in the area but not seen for many years. As we worked our way towards the reported area the ground got steeper and steeper and eventually it got to the point where I decided that wellies, wet ground and my fear of heights dictated that a search of the scree lower down for Wood-sorrel <i>Oxalis acetosella</i> (which had never been recorded in this 10km square) was in order. It wasn't long before Seth and Stephen returned, having been unsuccessful. I was a bit concerned that they had aborted their search early because I had wimped out, when I was actually quite happy doing what I was doing. It was only when we moved round to the other side of the bay that the reason for their early reappearance became apparent.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3I_e5YwGoVc34-LpBqzYfUPJGeuvB4kBLg8nRAiwReisXNSSZnK0Y7_VBtU9W_7M4KfIUo_5dbBFzzsjKBloUoEliERiMen5oeghyOBu3j0hS1oUJdi9WC7hFH9hn88TqIwnyOo6Qhd8/s1600/P3300564c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3I_e5YwGoVc34-LpBqzYfUPJGeuvB4kBLg8nRAiwReisXNSSZnK0Y7_VBtU9W_7M4KfIUo_5dbBFzzsjKBloUoEliERiMen5oeghyOBu3j0hS1oUJdi9WC7hFH9hn88TqIwnyOo6Qhd8/s400/P3300564c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slightly tricky ground for searching for Carline Thistle</td></tr>
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The terrain on the other side of the bay was fortunately somewhat easier and Stephen took us to an area of boulders where Downy Currant <i>Ribes spicatum </i>bushes were able to grow away from the attentions of the resident sheep. They weren't exactly looking their best ......<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUkmJa5nFSrw9Vls1TyEeUeOZLHEu46RnHFeyJYTWsYpVEhCuESIeN0-8XUu_82cSDthkV2q-mY7PwR462KvT4kZd0bsO1deHAiuP08X2iBg8UUqig9RI_Cw8avfQDo3WXfuUo3EYhtM/s1600/P3300557c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="1600" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUkmJa5nFSrw9Vls1TyEeUeOZLHEu46RnHFeyJYTWsYpVEhCuESIeN0-8XUu_82cSDthkV2q-mY7PwR462KvT4kZd0bsO1deHAiuP08X2iBg8UUqig9RI_Cw8avfQDo3WXfuUo3EYhtM/s400/P3300557c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downy Currant asleep</td></tr>
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Shortly after, he pointed out Roseroot <i>Sedum rosea</i> which was similarly 'resting' but did at least give a vague indication of how it acquired its name.<br />
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I look forward to returning at some point in the future to see these plants looking a bit more impressive. It didn't take long though before Stephen called us over to the species I was really looking for.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9tDNMPOWIomrbr21kKGuDP2AGJRVZTij-9J5CnWTGU3UwZ5OYyfMPrbTLDR2fHfa2eG11Qw5sHx0emTuP85IHRgBBP3WzO56BwdXNvjBGok5Vqyf0HPlOci1nE-28kdiIBpjpXC3J7Qc/s1600/P3300566c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9tDNMPOWIomrbr21kKGuDP2AGJRVZTij-9J5CnWTGU3UwZ5OYyfMPrbTLDR2fHfa2eG11Qw5sHx0emTuP85IHRgBBP3WzO56BwdXNvjBGok5Vqyf0HPlOci1nE-28kdiIBpjpXC3J7Qc/s400/P3300566c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purple Saxifrage <i>Saxifraga oppositifolia</i></td></tr>
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Purple Saxifrage is unlikely to be flowering at times when I would normally visit Scotland so it would have been frustrating if I had returned without using this opportunity to see it. This was undoubtedly my highlight of the day but I suspect that Stephen's highlight came as we walked back to the car, when Seth spotted some Common Duckweed <i>Lemna minor</i> in a trickle of water. Apparently this is quite a scarce plant on Skye.<br />
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We headed off to a stream just outside Dunvegan, I can't remember if we were looking for something in particular but it gave me an opportunity to look for stoneflies. A search under the bridge produced an exuviae of <i>Perlodes mortoni</i> - a valid record but frustrating as it would have been a new species for me. Having spent a while looking round the site, we came to leave and Seth spotted something crawling up Stephen's cheek - <i>Perlodes mortoni</i>!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwxOrdkoVr0mcnT9JyC-4BBTvr4UGCXNi2BTOuKjTJD5loiI3n5WWj5j_Wl7HGzm4Jiyj2L25Lsgexhzx8DPfPqAQseNR6JPMx-LefrWuSqn4sZIewoe-SOhv6rVWaNmP9I1gPWIyMTY/s1600/Perlodes-mortoni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="1600" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwxOrdkoVr0mcnT9JyC-4BBTvr4UGCXNi2BTOuKjTJD5loiI3n5WWj5j_Wl7HGzm4Jiyj2L25Lsgexhzx8DPfPqAQseNR6JPMx-LefrWuSqn4sZIewoe-SOhv6rVWaNmP9I1gPWIyMTY/s400/Perlodes-mortoni.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male <i>Perlodes mortoni</i> (Photo taken after it was removed from Stephen's cheek)</td></tr>
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The males are flightless and this is the main reason why it is now considered a separate species from the continental one <i>P. microcephala</i> and therefore a UK endemic.<br />
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Our final stop was at a quarry just outside Dunvegan which had been used as something of a dumping ground. At the entrance Seth turned over some dumped material to reveal something that he got very excited about.</div>
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What is this rather gross thing? It is a New Zealand Flatworm <i>Arthurdendyus triangulatus</i>. You may have heard of it as there was a lot of media attention regarding this species a few years ago. As its name suggests, it is a non-native species and it is also a predator of earthworms. The media line when it became established in the wild in Britain was that it would 'wipe out' native earthworms, causing massive knock-on problems with things like soil fertility, and loss of species like thrushes which feed on earthworms. The media reaction obviously had an effect on some people, apparently there is someone on Skye who has killed over 30,000 New Zealand Flatworms! I am sceptical. We keep on hearing this sort of hype (e.g. Harlequin Ladybird) and I'm afraid that the little boys are crying wolf too often for my liking. An interesting article in the latest BSBI News showed that the impact of non-native plants on rare native species was much lower than a number of other factors, including invasive native species such as bramble.<br />
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The quarry held a number of alien (dumped) plants, including a couple which had evaded identification thus far. We also saw a couple of Field Voles <i>Microtus agrestis</i>. They're huge, I reckon they've been on the fried Mars Bars. On the way out I saw my second ever Water Cricket <i>Velia caprai</i> in a horribly polluted puddle, somewhat ruining my image that they inhabit the backwaters of pristine mountain streams.</div>
Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-24295184090469418352018-04-06T00:06:00.000+01:002018-04-06T17:05:07.735+01:00The tale of the missing flatwormToday was focused entirely on the Uig 1km square where Seth is trying to record over 1000 species in a year. There was a fairly decent low tide so we headed straight down to the bay.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJgklgLv_E8-Q4edYOnxeLXhpPTNGXYbYEroBGgXoeVvs6U3O9bEl4Zo4_AitAErlsrTdcuqsY-G0Yw8P9Gdw24XkOUPDv_7yFqbdDexKGK2O1MWqn9gePHcIANhdX5o0pZgILYlHUsc/s1600/P3310575c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1600" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJgklgLv_E8-Q4edYOnxeLXhpPTNGXYbYEroBGgXoeVvs6U3O9bEl4Zo4_AitAErlsrTdcuqsY-G0Yw8P9Gdw24XkOUPDv_7yFqbdDexKGK2O1MWqn9gePHcIANhdX5o0pZgILYlHUsc/s400/P3310575c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uig Bay</td></tr>
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Seth kept to type and turned rocks on the shore while I headed out into the water with a net, hoping for more exotic fare. Almost straight away I netted a Brown Shrimp <i>Crangon crangon</i> which was new for the square. A number of bug-eyed shrimps were also caught but these defied identification.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unidentified bug-eyed shrimp (Photo: Seth Gibson)</td></tr>
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The bay was like a mill pond and visibility was superb so a quickly spotted a couple of shells walking across the sand. Shells don't walk of course but they do if they have a Hermit Crab <i>Pagurus bernhardus</i> inside, another new for the square.<br />
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I saw of shoal of small fish in the shallows and, displaying remarkable stalking and pouncing skillz, I managed to secure four. Unfortunately I had forgotten to bring my tray and Seth's contribution to the field equipment was a container so small that two of the fish leapt straight out and burrowed into the sand. The remaining two were clearly sandeels. I've seen sandeels before but never been able to identify them to species. This time, armed with the necessary information we were able to quickly resolve that they were Lesser Sandeel <i>Ammodytes tobianus</i>. Unfortunately, before I could get a photo Seth decided to poke them and the were out of the container and buried in the sand in the blink of an eye. Doh! It was an eye-opener to me that they could, and did, bury themselves like this.<br />
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Seth did manage to compensate by finding me a second new fish; Shore Rockling <i>Gaidropsarus mediterraneus</i> hiding under the most unlikely of rocks, with virtually no water to survive in until the tide returned.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzFXYIRB-Xl4PLTVQKQ3FcjRsuxd6Srb9mQr_iLytDsFvSCwlTS0RnFgDsjPthJMXJofXio2o8y_1Wc2W9ssDkbQirNgV7QAb4TVVS_DQ93R0TDhjT1FOEGiP3SHNUCrvZ_KseImTWaQ/s1600/P3290549c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1600" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzFXYIRB-Xl4PLTVQKQ3FcjRsuxd6Srb9mQr_iLytDsFvSCwlTS0RnFgDsjPthJMXJofXio2o8y_1Wc2W9ssDkbQirNgV7QAb4TVVS_DQ93R0TDhjT1FOEGiP3SHNUCrvZ_KseImTWaQ/s400/P3290549c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shore Rockling in the company of an Estuary Ragworm <i>Hediste diversicolor</i> </td></tr>
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We saw a number of sponges but these are tricky to identify and Breadcrumb Sponge <i>Halichondria panicea</i> was the only one that could be confidently named.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkz6RvZKytPeMYR-BpK4IFJmv29nOLA15LmVWWiM4nBr8BYMplF7gXO8IpKVuDhvTYepi3GnVNxaoVKjGblMrn5A5ARfrcgFI57wfL5j4KStZveW2vfsfpETfQ_FEW5TnAu8kFGP9VQY/s1600/P3290551c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1600" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkz6RvZKytPeMYR-BpK4IFJmv29nOLA15LmVWWiM4nBr8BYMplF7gXO8IpKVuDhvTYepi3GnVNxaoVKjGblMrn5A5ARfrcgFI57wfL5j4KStZveW2vfsfpETfQ_FEW5TnAu8kFGP9VQY/s400/P3290551c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breadcrumb Sponge</td></tr>
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We seemed to have exhausted the possibilities in the bay and the temperature was reaching the heady heights of about 8C so I was keen to get into the wood to look for insects. Seth was becoming increasingly obsessed with finding me three species that he had failed to find; a micro-fungus on Herb Robert, a flatworm and the White Slug Mite <i>Riccardoella oudemansi </i>- a creature with a bizarre lifestyle which you can guess from it's name. So after looking at a few flies on some daffodils, we commenced turning over every rock within a 10 mile radius of Uig (OK, slight exaggeration). We worked our way down through most of the wood without success but finally, in a scrappy little patch at the end where a load of rubble had been dumped we scored the slug mite. I was, err, delighted, yes that's the word, delighted! We continued in the desperate search for the flatworm but instead came across this weird looking thing.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-uwsgoSVf1U64e0GuZExboBNckBonhnv7i7c6MfCtYBgxEcepLwPJ8EH-W2O4c1CQe7w6g7gZiuBoTLQfUiwKo_wGdvPGCTpmAh1tBzOmPXMH2ruTqAmv4fQsmg0jV7I5ghdVLGDKUh4/s1600/P3290555c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1175" data-original-width="1600" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-uwsgoSVf1U64e0GuZExboBNckBonhnv7i7c6MfCtYBgxEcepLwPJ8EH-W2O4c1CQe7w6g7gZiuBoTLQfUiwKo_wGdvPGCTpmAh1tBzOmPXMH2ruTqAmv4fQsmg0jV7I5ghdVLGDKUh4/s400/P3290555c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boreal Ensign Scale <i>Newsteadia floccosa</i></td></tr>
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Respect to Seth for a) seeing it (I just saw a bit of white fluff) and b) having a pretty good idea what it was, even though he'd never seen it before. That of course doesn't get him off the hook for failing to find me the 'guaranteed' flatworm. Just to rub salt into the wound, he texted me yesterday to say he'd just found two in Uig Wood.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-57280000908738952992018-04-04T22:28:00.000+01:002018-04-04T22:28:08.266+01:00Rusty RocksWednesday dawned cold but vastly improved on the previous day. We planned on a quick look at Uig bay before I dragged Seth kicking and screaming out of his beloved 1km square to explore a bit more of the island. The tide was quite high in the bay but Seth's intimate knowledge of the site soon produced some new species for me. It has to be said that some were more impressive than others. I thought we had plumbed the depths with the miniature full stop on Egg Wrack that he had shown me on the first evening (apparently a fungus called <i>Stigmidium ascophylli </i>- see <a href="http://www.aphotomarine.com/fungi_marine_stigmidium_ascophylli.html" target="_blank">this photo</a> and be truly amazed). Today though he surpassed himself.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZvP24IdkUwED_flKFFKpJYxiVlmbG3Dy2Dq8qRLPN1rfWGaUaipx3AMmRolZZgEUlEnSAkveXc-2sAxIFjVQQZHR_GkQdkLryjcd2tbBNV9iNtZafXjMHkuYANuhDcZpYnHC4eKOWmc/s1600/P3280538c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1429" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZvP24IdkUwED_flKFFKpJYxiVlmbG3Dy2Dq8qRLPN1rfWGaUaipx3AMmRolZZgEUlEnSAkveXc-2sAxIFjVQQZHR_GkQdkLryjcd2tbBNV9iNtZafXjMHkuYANuhDcZpYnHC4eKOWmc/s320/P3280538c.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seth modelling the most impressive species I will ever see - not</td></tr>
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It's a rock right? Well have a closer look.<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSnCBCAzh69NtKGhy-bFIHq4DCP6Bna36L2Fk8xe0Zt_STEmOrECpu1KOCs4IAHohk0781nDVbjsTMNkQh-wChWyuD2ZI6Tno1LhBUvVIEZEajhkHJ9Jy5z8Th6WpJpb4ihTDPhBS6bc/s1600/P3280540c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSnCBCAzh69NtKGhy-bFIHq4DCP6Bna36L2Fk8xe0Zt_STEmOrECpu1KOCs4IAHohk0781nDVbjsTMNkQh-wChWyuD2ZI6Tno1LhBUvVIEZEajhkHJ9Jy5z8Th6WpJpb4ihTDPhBS6bc/s400/P3280540c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Still a rock. But a rock with some reddish stuff on it. This is a marine alga called <i>Hildebrandia rubra</i>. I bet you're impressed.</div>
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I've seen the centipede <i>Strigamia maritima</i> a few times before, it is fairly common on beaches around the UK but I usually see the odd one or two and the numbers on Uig beach are astonishing. These were just a sample from under one rock.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5i0Cix3F1hwx1wAudxSAytuwoC4nI9PfhZx_r9BoTW3vSqWbWPE0cILBi7Qd8q_uU0hljwZt3Al9Znuuw7VZMeAqnSjX1D_w2usNxh9WuKekrQGR7Ct1wYMeQ8LFl6MamIGktHu4qRM/s1600/P3280542c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="1600" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5i0Cix3F1hwx1wAudxSAytuwoC4nI9PfhZx_r9BoTW3vSqWbWPE0cILBi7Qd8q_uU0hljwZt3Al9Znuuw7VZMeAqnSjX1D_w2usNxh9WuKekrQGR7Ct1wYMeQ8LFl6MamIGktHu4qRM/s400/P3280542c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Another species that was in unusually high numbers was the Beadlet Anemone <i>Actinia equina.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOjpjvyq-OSj2upinkDufrpDjlf-cfrppwUzwomteVi30_WtI6u27RdDAIglAw6Z-pE5Ka264Yrqp1piCdB6nCVUl3Eg98UTf1XZcKYQ2HdGZ1yotC_OIm-3I5OMb3AbgomVDOZ6us3s/s1600/P3280544c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOjpjvyq-OSj2upinkDufrpDjlf-cfrppwUzwomteVi30_WtI6u27RdDAIglAw6Z-pE5Ka264Yrqp1piCdB6nCVUl3Eg98UTf1XZcKYQ2HdGZ1yotC_OIm-3I5OMb3AbgomVDOZ6us3s/s400/P3280544c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We left Uig and headed south. Seth got very excited about a possible Mute Swan on a small loch which, much to his disappointment, turned out to be a Whooper. It's a weird place Skye, I think if I'd found a Coot I'd have been in danger of being kissed. We ended up in Dunvegan Woods. A strange place and the first section we walked round was uniformly dense, dark conifers; not a ride to be found anywhere. Seth tried to show me a weevil that you can find under dead bark on fallen conifers but the only one he found was dead. He questioned whether it was really dead as 'they can play dead really well' but was convinced when I showed him that it's head had fallen off.</div>
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Perhaps the most interesting find in the woods for me was the fungus <i>Phytophthora ramorum</i>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSSTsmU_BTHuaWFQDwTOCQlw_krrp1TnVsVDV8UAL09CGvhzYIxluztKQFBXXcaojWGWnuwQoUNNZ3c_Y2tUkYzwH3HgRivJeQq-f4eBJi8OwdnfU8VW9Xj_td0xETXvScjb3vIumPIV4/s1600/P3280546c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1139" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSSTsmU_BTHuaWFQDwTOCQlw_krrp1TnVsVDV8UAL09CGvhzYIxluztKQFBXXcaojWGWnuwQoUNNZ3c_Y2tUkYzwH3HgRivJeQq-f4eBJi8OwdnfU8VW9Xj_td0xETXvScjb3vIumPIV4/s400/P3280546c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is known as Sudden Oak Death in the US where it is responsible for the death of millions of oaks. It was first found in plant nurseries in Scotland in 2002 and in the wild in 2007. There was the usual hype in the British media about how it was going to wipe out all our oaks but it seems that the native oaks in Britain are immune. It does infect a range of woody plants and in Britain its most serious impact has been on larch, resulting in the clear-felling of many larch plantations before the value of the timber is lost. Rhododendron is a major host of <i>Phytophthora</i> and this has caused the Forestry Commission to make attempts to eradicate this pernicious weed which has caused so much damage to the wildlife value of many woodlands, especially in western Scotland. It is of course possible that <i>Phytophthora</i> might start to infect other tree species but on the basis of its effects so far - the clearance of non-native conifer plantations and Rhododendron - it is a disease which I welcome with open arms.</div>
Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-69455822839216917522018-04-04T00:26:00.002+01:002018-04-04T00:26:37.810+01:00Charismatic megafauna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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An update on the ants. As I feared, they weren't what I keyed them to. Never mind, too many species new to Skye in one day would just be greedy.<br />
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Tuesday dawned wet and windy, and with little prospect of improvement during the day. Sensible people would have found a nice sheltered woodland but we decided to test how good our waterproofs were on top of the Trotternish Ridge (in case you're interested, the answer was not very). The main reason for going up there was to look for the moss <i>Sphagnum skyense</i> which is virtually endemic to Skye. One of Britain's best bryologists lives just down the road but unfortunately was too busy to join us. He did give us the useful tip that unlike most <i>Sphagnum</i> species it does not grow in wet areas but on grassy ridges.<br />
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Shortly after leaving the car park we found some potential <i>skyense</i> but continued up the ridge looking for anything different. Going by the criteria in the book we got some samples that looked promising so, thoroughly soaked, we headed back to the car. Seth had something else for us to look for before we returned to the hotel however.<br />
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We drove to a secret site where he had been told there were Freshwater Pearl Mussels <i>Margaritifera margaritifera</i>. Sites for pearl mussels are usually kept strictly confidential due to illegal collecting and this species wasn't even on my radar. If we could get this it really would constitute charismatic megafauna - for this trip anyway. Seth had only tried this site once before and a combination of high river levels and dodgy directions meant that he had failed. Ten minutes or so of searching though and<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bh2Vmn8lSBB0PvzWSBnWGG_GCZxK9VeJSubwGJBMpoqhMh65QpxGfX-2zHDcNCQE-lEIyo4Me0V2p4WweK2OjM1QQlULqFDXoW9O9OPT5f51xnNCIuY6iPc03X_233gT-hva2PaXvbs/s1600/P3270537c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1316" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bh2Vmn8lSBB0PvzWSBnWGG_GCZxK9VeJSubwGJBMpoqhMh65QpxGfX-2zHDcNCQE-lEIyo4Me0V2p4WweK2OjM1QQlULqFDXoW9O9OPT5f51xnNCIuY6iPc03X_233gT-hva2PaXvbs/s400/P3270537c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">success!</td></tr>
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Well chuffed, we headed back to the hotel to dry out and do some serious <i>Sphagnum</i> studying. Of the three books that we had, two don't cover <i>S. skyense</i> because it wasn't recognised as a separate species when they were written. That leaves the British Bryological Society book. This gives some information about similar species and we were able to conclude that at least some of our samples were not one of the main confusion species. The trouble was, nothing was said about how to separate it from one of the other species that, at least to us, looked very similar. It's a bit like telling you how to separate Ring-necked Duck from Scaup but making no mention of how it differs from Tufted Duck! Never mind, we'll use the <i>Sphagnum</i> key in the book. Or rather we won't because the key doesn't include <i>skyense</i>! So, would someone from the British Bryological Society care to explain what the point is of producing a key that doesn't include all of the species? Attempts to identify other mosses later in the week produced similar frustrations with this book. It looks impressive when viewed superficially but when it comes to serious use, not impressed. After a couple of hours of struggle we gave up and moved on to other things.<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigx4BuXPu1OOYuvC_oN-UcwJR5dLEzOAY3yhWynenygTgbF_9Jsx6zS_Duk8akRvUf8LEPiK3XFWi1pKRe-84qznOOa5Ht0zWzDNl1wBoE9oAUHMVogD0Tr-HFpR7QuUwwyZ6T5qtxVmg/s1600/P3270530c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigx4BuXPu1OOYuvC_oN-UcwJR5dLEzOAY3yhWynenygTgbF_9Jsx6zS_Duk8akRvUf8LEPiK3XFWi1pKRe-84qznOOa5Ht0zWzDNl1wBoE9oAUHMVogD0Tr-HFpR7QuUwwyZ6T5qtxVmg/s400/P3270530c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sphagnum skyense</i>? Probably not but we will never know</td></tr>
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Seth squeezed a few drops of water from the <i>Sphagnum </i>sample and from those few drops I got seven new species! What? How? Freshwater algae, that's how. This was a whole new world to me and I love 'em. I don't have any photos but you can see some of the funky shapes you get in <a href="http://uigboy.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/microscopic-freshwater-algae.html" target="_blank">Seth's blog</a> from last year. I was going to be saying that I'm considering getting the identification book but I am weak and earlier today I ordered it!</div>
Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-34156394716759330842018-04-03T00:35:00.002+01:002018-04-03T00:35:12.547+01:00Skye - MondayMy first full day on Skye but Seth had to work so I headed off to look for Purple Saxifrage <i>Saxifraga oppositifolia</i> as he didn't need to see it and it was the one flowering plant that should be looking its best at this time of year. I had a recommended 1km square, supplied by the County Recorder, so headed up the mountain towards some likely looking bare rocks. I hadn't quite bargained on how steep the ground would become and my fear of heights started to kick in. I sat down to contemplate my next move and spotted a sawfly crawling through the grass, then another one. I suspect they were <i>Poodolerus aeneus</i> as this is a spring species that I have found at high altitude before but I haven't had time to key it yet. Even given previous experience of this species, I was still stunned to find a sawfly at altitude at this time of year, especially as it was too cold for it to fly.<br />
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The only flowering plants I had seen so far were the Hazels at the base of the mountain.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNScdUHaSkERbrPigp3XAjaTbn5bjENP30YtlCgBPxaJBCIF4l9o2Yp-DNPSRTSEJZ4A4WWioyKvLpKCPZSk2M-yDhHf3l7MQw1Bh6OOkCuKTy9_aIW3L6sDQ0sHfAGH9R2pIXjUOLwDc/s1600/Hazel-flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="1600" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNScdUHaSkERbrPigp3XAjaTbn5bjENP30YtlCgBPxaJBCIF4l9o2Yp-DNPSRTSEJZ4A4WWioyKvLpKCPZSk2M-yDhHf3l7MQw1Bh6OOkCuKTy9_aIW3L6sDQ0sHfAGH9R2pIXjUOLwDc/s400/Hazel-flower.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hazel flower</td></tr>
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Given that, and the fact that I hadn't seen a hoverfly yet this year in southern England, I really wasn't expecting to get my first by sweeping along a little stream half way up a mountain on Skye but that is what happened. It was <i>Melangyna lasiophthalma</i> which we went on to find at several other sites during the week.<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gisc7HlRsLzOpIg6mgtMw-kxDJ-zkMmDDuTywypJ-RsBmlF5exfid36aYdy8rVTVbn2-Umt5sCgskY4fycx9px1041ss755GMreIOqrP17YNS4cRu629swCqERvKfssXJLFHfTV5aUk/s1600/Melangyna_lasiophthalma_%2528male%2529_-_Flickr_-_S._Rae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="698" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gisc7HlRsLzOpIg6mgtMw-kxDJ-zkMmDDuTywypJ-RsBmlF5exfid36aYdy8rVTVbn2-Umt5sCgskY4fycx9px1041ss755GMreIOqrP17YNS4cRu629swCqERvKfssXJLFHfTV5aUk/s400/Melangyna_lasiophthalma_%2528male%2529_-_Flickr_-_S._Rae.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Melangyna lasiophthalma</i> (Photo: S. Rae - Wikipedia Commons)</td></tr>
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An indication of the level of under recording on Skye is that our records of this species during the week more than doubled the total number of records on the island ever according to the Hoverfly Recording Scheme.<div>
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Despite checking out loads of rock faces and scree I failed to find any Purple Saxifrage, although it was good to reacquaint myself with Fir Clubmoss <i>Huperzia selago.</i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qlj08t0jYJpJO0_qMbYt1t7tYBxbwKV1gwr6zwgaW3x9a7YRMxKV2m6fjhGvsk1a9PZW0t76DGgNMLXsxvYJPkGssR_UFdtvlqEZXS32kBT82-QImYAPVDD1iV0cNV9hGOF-PTkE6xY/s1600/Fir-Cubmoss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1223" data-original-width="1600" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qlj08t0jYJpJO0_qMbYt1t7tYBxbwKV1gwr6zwgaW3x9a7YRMxKV2m6fjhGvsk1a9PZW0t76DGgNMLXsxvYJPkGssR_UFdtvlqEZXS32kBT82-QImYAPVDD1iV0cNV9hGOF-PTkE6xY/s400/Fir-Cubmoss.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fir Clubmoss</td></tr>
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I headed down the mountain but as Seth was still working I stopped off at a river to look for stoneflies. One <i>Leuctra hippopus</i> on a fencepost by the river appears to be the second Skye record but I then swept the very common planthopper <i>Empoasca vitis </i>from some young conifers - new to Skye.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnT3Ni1jpVZJkIuJ-mGhXCnEJKbjtBmP0d4nEF9anUW4v35TR4jU578Gezj2gus_uI4HosWQUMU46ksp1ScbWYToHF0ywy4soE7IbaqStC2UJi94937W-qgxm93GTmpz4M1TaS7EwprU/s1600/Empoasca_vitis_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnT3Ni1jpVZJkIuJ-mGhXCnEJKbjtBmP0d4nEF9anUW4v35TR4jU578Gezj2gus_uI4HosWQUMU46ksp1ScbWYToHF0ywy4soE7IbaqStC2UJi94937W-qgxm93GTmpz4M1TaS7EwprU/s400/Empoasca_vitis_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Empoasca vitis (Photo: Tristan Bantock www.britishbugs.org.uk )</td></tr>
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Leaving the river to head back to Uig, I had a Flying Barn Door (aka White-tailed Eagle) over the car. Back at Uig we headed down to the woods where I added 13 new species; lichens, fungi, a snail and a liverwort. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPcj-Qjop9FSpdnedl492-zz-MD2iE_4CLtRa7n663hodLZUpmU91BqMuRRvYfeC7PvUdz_d3zREvJVTZmgBEEs77sIGZXWjuq3I_MysiRZBWJd5UDfnNkf_ZtY4XSwqOvmqMPe9ulr0/s1600/Pyrenula-macrospora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPcj-Qjop9FSpdnedl492-zz-MD2iE_4CLtRa7n663hodLZUpmU91BqMuRRvYfeC7PvUdz_d3zREvJVTZmgBEEs77sIGZXWjuq3I_MysiRZBWJd5UDfnNkf_ZtY4XSwqOvmqMPe9ulr0/s400/Pyrenula-macrospora.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lichen <i>Pyrenula macrospora</i> showing the black lines along the boundaries between the colonies.</td></tr>
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<div>
Perhaps the best find of the day was still to come though. Seth had told me how rare ants were on Skye. I think he said he'd only seen ants once during his 15 months on the island - fairly amazing for someone who spends so much time turning over rocks, logs, etc. Walking back down the road behind the hotel, he turned over a rock and there were some ants. I took one specimen, it's a bit tricky to interpret the key with this one but if I'm right it will not only be new to Skye but only the third record for Scotland. I await verification or correction.</div>
Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-75289382650920043852018-04-01T22:31:00.000+01:002018-04-01T22:31:03.362+01:00In search of springSo what do you do when you're fed up with this cold, late spring and you really want to get out and do some fieldwork. You go to the north of Skye because it's bound to be better up there right?<br />
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Never mind though because I was heading for Uig; world famous home of Seth, chief finder of things under rocks, micro-fungi the size of pinheads and other things that you can still find in arctic weather.<br />
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After 17 hours on the road with little more than two hours sleep, I was pretty wasted when I arrived but we went out for a couple of hours in Uig Woods anyway. I forgot to take my camera with me but I was awake enough to get 24 new species. The highlight for me was undoubtedly the Water Cricket <i>Velia caprai</i>, probably the species I most wanted to see in advance of the trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkE7TCTScGVAOQ_ktt-waplHRBsL7i4UZggk6mqMpDqUSUdYNJkRtS46CY7dA8PlbPHMc46_0jA5_ApY7TUl4sij7Opm40jjLryGFerwpVdCeSohfKKGPttABzprTBJWB-TPS7v4Td_8/s1600/Water_Cricket_%2528Velia%2529_-_Flickr_-_S._Rae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="1600" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkE7TCTScGVAOQ_ktt-waplHRBsL7i4UZggk6mqMpDqUSUdYNJkRtS46CY7dA8PlbPHMc46_0jA5_ApY7TUl4sij7Opm40jjLryGFerwpVdCeSohfKKGPttABzprTBJWB-TPS7v4Td_8/s400/Water_Cricket_%2528Velia%2529_-_Flickr_-_S._Rae.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Velia caprai </i>(Photo: S. Rae - Wikipedia Commons)</td></tr>
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The Tree Lungwort <i>Lobaria pulmonaria</i> wasn't new for me but was impressive in its almost weed-like abundance on trees and anything else that stood still for long enough. I reckon if you sat sea-watching for long enough it would grow on your wellies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATdTVok3_qZHEZ22eSWDatQyC4FN_bd-GngG211Yy9UAcIK0axCt8NJvg8p5fE9znjubjeoYBJnCp7C3BTsNDsC82V2sBV0XOucjVgtiSE_rSwLEdWkKL1sOD9xNUlfNyKkiPQMebhX0/s1600/P3310574c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATdTVok3_qZHEZ22eSWDatQyC4FN_bd-GngG211Yy9UAcIK0axCt8NJvg8p5fE9znjubjeoYBJnCp7C3BTsNDsC82V2sBV0XOucjVgtiSE_rSwLEdWkKL1sOD9xNUlfNyKkiPQMebhX0/s400/P3310574c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lobaria pulmonaria</i></td></tr>
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We wandered down to the beach and amongst other things, found the ground beetle <i>Aepus marinus.</i> This has a bizarre lifestyle in that it lives under rocks on the beach that are submerged by the sea for several hours at high tide.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16gLLefeRYFUk3UXscFAqtY2gHeuh-AIS57rRvdPs4mDu6WtYtcHwyiJLODqpjIMrh6cIAca6_cgls9-JXzRi5Gr4egTC6YaUPep3OwtlWimXu_YezwUs3PM6UZe2H8z2onHIaYAardY/s1600/Aepus_marinus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="889" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16gLLefeRYFUk3UXscFAqtY2gHeuh-AIS57rRvdPs4mDu6WtYtcHwyiJLODqpjIMrh6cIAca6_cgls9-JXzRi5Gr4egTC6YaUPep3OwtlWimXu_YezwUs3PM6UZe2H8z2onHIaYAardY/s320/Aepus_marinus.jpg" width="177" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Aepus marinus</i> (Photo: U. Schmidt - Wikipedia Commons)</td></tr>
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Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-83030149147247557322018-03-23T23:45:00.003+00:002018-03-23T23:45:52.674+00:00Spring? Not reallyPrior to the latest batch of snow there was one day when it actually felt a bit like spring. After a long winter of staring down the microscope at specimens from previous years, I was desperate for some fieldwork so I stopped in at Stedham Common for a couple of hours. The sun was shining but there was still a cold wind. I had hoped the odd early sallow might have been in flower but the only flowers to be found on the site were gorse - a species which I always find to be poor for nectaring insects apart from honey bees.<br />
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However there were a few birch trees that had been felled during the winter which were oozing sap from the stumps and this was attracting a few flies. Surprisingly, despite the cool temperature they were quite agile and difficult to catch. The most common species were Scathophagids, mainly the 'Yellow Dung Fly' <i>Scathophaga stercoraria</i> but a few more interesting species were seen.<br />
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Sepsids are small, shiny, ant-like flies. They have varying amounts of dusting on the sides of the thorax which are important identification features and the males have interesting armature on the front femurs. Species in the genus Sepsis all have a small blackish dot near the apex of the wing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipITasgCSjUNxqYJ_J0X6h_Jt4Z2l61Z3erN5eoI-r8pDvYAth0mEcOG_zGrnZW2x6U2ibqtoUl2EmyIStYOoD5mUbBAl8y8oGxC8nIkGEoeYY2ktGtHPYyeD0Rktozt3Uew3m_NpA2s8/s1600/P3140427c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1246" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipITasgCSjUNxqYJ_J0X6h_Jt4Z2l61Z3erN5eoI-r8pDvYAth0mEcOG_zGrnZW2x6U2ibqtoUl2EmyIStYOoD5mUbBAl8y8oGxC8nIkGEoeYY2ktGtHPYyeD0Rktozt3Uew3m_NpA2s8/s320/P3140427c.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><i>Sepsis</i> species</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAk3D0hzPJXLtqB2UMD8kW8uBXjk2hUfi904fXN7HCp-tE2fOg8rO5N_dppxooY5diUkL6AKodDaMDnDl9IAcX98iOP7HIOBLWBM7RPO1y4GoVwzfx3GdJEs-qJYeW2wiAdWj7KMCOsSI/s1600/P3140433c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1228" data-original-width="1600" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAk3D0hzPJXLtqB2UMD8kW8uBXjk2hUfi904fXN7HCp-tE2fOg8rO5N_dppxooY5diUkL6AKodDaMDnDl9IAcX98iOP7HIOBLWBM7RPO1y4GoVwzfx3GdJEs-qJYeW2wiAdWj7KMCOsSI/s400/P3140433c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Sepsis sp. showing spines and tubercles on the front femur and silvery dusting on the side of the thorax</td></tr>
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Surprisingly, the three specimens that I took were all different species. Sepsids generally breed in nutrient enriched places and they can often be seen around dung or enriched mud. They wave their wings around in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaDFg2GPXJA" target="_blank">characteristic way</a>.<br />
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Also around the stumps were a number of cluster flies or blowflies (Calliphoridae). Species in the genus <i>Pollenia</i> were most frequent. These can easily be recognised as belonging to the genus as they have crinkly golden hairs beneath the black bristles on the thorax (although these do wear off and can become confined to the sides of the thorax only).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNmlnAcYtHiAl6FMSx2dTbIJSOXVYPphbfxiMsmBpwouJAdWIVGQojqxwouR9OZRuIctsMQtBK6I6d1eNkPki53wkZwB0TZyxXAHa-N8DqgYK_Fx1iwxZrLSXV_IPGs_BhUhodYKOG9I/s1600/P3140449c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1353" data-original-width="1600" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNmlnAcYtHiAl6FMSx2dTbIJSOXVYPphbfxiMsmBpwouJAdWIVGQojqxwouR9OZRuIctsMQtBK6I6d1eNkPki53wkZwB0TZyxXAHa-N8DqgYK_Fx1iwxZrLSXV_IPGs_BhUhodYKOG9I/s400/P3140449c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pollenia </i>sp. The golden hairs have mainly worn off the top of the thorax but can still be seen on the sides</td></tr>
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Paul Brock's photographic insect guide is highly misleading in respect of this genus. He illustrates <i>Pollenia rudis</i> and states that it is easily identifiable on account of the chequered abdomen and golden hairs. In fact there are 8 species of <i>Pollenia </i>in Britain, most of which are fairly common. All have the golden hairs and all bar one have a chequered abdomen. These can only be separated by examining microscopic features. The larvae of <i>Pollenia</i> species are predators of earthworms.<br />
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Aside from the Scathophagids, Sepsids and Calliphorids, I saw a few Drosophilids (fruit flies) which will have to await identification when I have more time, and a Mycetophilid (fungus gnat) which evaded capture.<br />
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There was little else around. A couple of the birch-feeding Lygaeid bug <i>Kleidocerys resedae</i> were active and two Yellow Horned <i>Achlya flavicornis</i> moths were found at rest on an old birch stump.<br />
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<br />Slim pickings and the subsequent weather has resulted in a return to the microscope.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-40193105488244120822018-01-25T20:59:00.001+00:002018-01-25T21:08:40.187+00:00Some thoughts on a Pondweed LeafhopperThere is of course no such thing as a useless biological record but some are undoubtedly more useful than others. I seem to average one really good record a year these days and I've just had my one for 2017. Having spent most of my spare time so far this winter dissecting moths for other people, I have finally cleared the backlog and been able to make a start on my own specimens.<br />
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I started with the plant- and leaf-hoppers as this is a group I want to prioritise in 2018. One specimen keyed to <i>Erotettix cyane, </i>sometimes known as the Pondweed Leafhopper. Now I knew that was a UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Species which is known from very few sites so it couldn't possibly be that. I re-keyed it but couldn't make it in to anything else. I had recorded around the pond at this site on one occasion in 2017 but upon checking, I found that this specimen came to MV light several hundred metres from the pond. I sent some photo's to the national recording scheme organiser, asking if he could point out my schoolboy error but instead he confirmed my identification.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPN3PJcNgmJ4Ze_WSifFyuOFSKa3J6eBqKsUDgAS4J1Mw89Qi0OGoDfGK0ZKJe6_3bzg41P9wXeSMRduqUaW-3lZGis-TTuGC3HmqHfCh55xoE3h34_CjXGfxZE0Jpdb0vmzdXw7gXw1M/s1600/P1250249-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPN3PJcNgmJ4Ze_WSifFyuOFSKa3J6eBqKsUDgAS4J1Mw89Qi0OGoDfGK0ZKJe6_3bzg41P9wXeSMRduqUaW-3lZGis-TTuGC3HmqHfCh55xoE3h34_CjXGfxZE0Jpdb0vmzdXw7gXw1M/s400/P1250249-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Erotettix cyane</i> - the Pondweed Leafhopper</td></tr>
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He also pointed out that the most significant feature of this record was not that I had found it at a new site but that it was the first evidence that this species can disperse and therefore potentially colonise new sites. So, a very rare species found at a new site and with some useful additional information about its dispersal ability, happy days, end of story right? Well not quite. I think it is worth examining how this record came to be made.<br />
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The first point is that I was moth-trapping and this isn't a moth! If I had ignored all the 'by-catch', the record would never have been made. Another point in favour of the pan-species listing approach. But why was I moth trapping at this site in the first place?<br />
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Back in the latter part of 2016, the Senior Ecologist for Sussex Wildlife Trust undertook a process of collating all the records of every species on every Trust reserve. He put all this information in a spreadsheet and offered to send a copy to absolutely anyone who was interested in recording on Trust reserves. What is this heresy? Surely the reserves will be over-run with collectors, twitchers and all manner of other people who are up to no good? Of course not, although such views do seem to be prevalent these days. The reality is that there are very, very few cases in which there is any justification for keeping quiet about where species are found.<br />
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Having received my copy of the spreadsheet, I spent many hours studying it, looking at gaps in recording where I could contribute something useful, etc. Like most people, I have a competitive streak. One of the first things that I looked at was which reserve had the biggest species list. Oh dear, it's Rye Harbour. That isn't even in proper (i.e. West) Sussex but in the frozen wastelands of East Sussex. It's virtually in Kent for god's sake! Second place was held by Ebernoe Common. Now that is in proper Sussex and is a reserve that I like and have done some recording on. Worse news was to come when I looked at the family that I know most about; moths. Once again Rye Harbour was in first place with Ebernoe second. This really wouldn't do and I made it my personal mission to get Ebernoe into first place! Ok, it's all a bit pointless and silly but it gave me motivation to go recording at Ebernoe which in turn led to the discovery of a very rare leaf-hopper.<br />
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I know that the Trust Ecologist hoped that his initiative would be copied by other conservation organisations but thus far there is very little evidence of this happening. Why is this? I fear that an awful lot of people responsible for nature reserves really don't care what species occur on their sites apart from the 'charismatic mega-fauna', and orchids. Worse still, I am increasingly finding wardens who don't want you to find rare species, especially from 'obscure' groups, because it might complicate their simplistic, text-book management. Don't believe me? Go and tell your local warden that you've found a rare spider, leaf-hopper or moss on their reserve and that it needs a particular type of management and see what reaction you get. Of course there will be some who are delighted and happy to engage with you but there are an awful lot who will be rather less positive. I sincerely hope that this situation will change but the signs are not great at the moment.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-33223523447715836412017-08-08T22:42:00.000+01:002017-08-08T22:42:01.051+01:00Malham wrap-upOn the Saturday we spent a couple of hours at Goredale Beck, ostensibly to look for a rare stonefly under stones around calcareous seepages. None were found, probably due to the continued foul weather. The highlight for me was finding the tiny soldierfly <i>Oxycera pygmaea</i> under a stone. This species is associated with calcareous springs so the habitat was right but under a stone is the last place I would look for a soldierfly. Presumably it thought about the same of the weather as I did.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="oxycera_pygmaea.jpg" class="photogallery_photo" height="260" src="https://diptera.info/images/photoalbum/album_48/oxycera_pygmaea_t2.jpg" style="border: 0px currentcolor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Click to view full image" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oxycera pygmaea</i> (Photo: www.diptera.info )</td></tr>
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There were few plants flowering which was rather disappointing, perhaps the hot weather earlier in the summer had pushed things through quickly. I did manage to pick up a few new species:<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFQYAlgJT3Vz5k7TAa0bxEXqriklGhw7fCj4Mf7ME-dETrbGDtsLdoLlmRBjFyO2FbGzzPEjTwyxe-6s8E1yR-ZbkaH2JIe97LgCtqIHxaRYurT5hDZspBp2toc44rsmsMg5zhAnH2zc/s1600/P7300277-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="1600" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFQYAlgJT3Vz5k7TAa0bxEXqriklGhw7fCj4Mf7ME-dETrbGDtsLdoLlmRBjFyO2FbGzzPEjTwyxe-6s8E1yR-ZbkaH2JIe97LgCtqIHxaRYurT5hDZspBp2toc44rsmsMg5zhAnH2zc/s400/P7300277-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knotted Pearlwort <i>Sagina nodosa</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7qxQBag9NyK3Yq_yJh2Lb_R2-7jt_M7B2de7Kws6TGUjINpaan0v2OGCmd001szlaUSbnqtW3LVK6v-RlgV0syr7uRmv6s_lenUDpqpmhkdFaMSfybV4sUdzt1vOeeFCZ6qi10PD11s/s1600/Bloody-Crane%2527s-bill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1358" data-original-width="1600" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7qxQBag9NyK3Yq_yJh2Lb_R2-7jt_M7B2de7Kws6TGUjINpaan0v2OGCmd001szlaUSbnqtW3LVK6v-RlgV0syr7uRmv6s_lenUDpqpmhkdFaMSfybV4sUdzt1vOeeFCZ6qi10PD11s/s400/Bloody-Crane%2527s-bill.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bloody Crane's-bill <i>Geranium sanguineum</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkL_gpc02IB1Gi5LQt8HD6YAEg0sJm3Op9G1f-ejVFHqJIiYCu6AFGENWjYANeI7u5mVytZgjZrY7XXpHxP3STcV03r4OZP0eh5NLFrTLWrnyPxxQDiOmACAdjCq8UpDqkvwTSSQafyM8/s1600/Green-Spleenwort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkL_gpc02IB1Gi5LQt8HD6YAEg0sJm3Op9G1f-ejVFHqJIiYCu6AFGENWjYANeI7u5mVytZgjZrY7XXpHxP3STcV03r4OZP0eh5NLFrTLWrnyPxxQDiOmACAdjCq8UpDqkvwTSSQafyM8/s400/Green-Spleenwort.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Spleenwort <i>Asplenium viride</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Not new for me but I haven't seen it for many years and had to look up what it was as I had no idea initially:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipF72aikDbZwt2AXsfLO7tQNwTH4EQmF2G52cmshjy15EUN_J7fhLfHtXgeqo01BsoXNUq73oT7AuXQXdhXkBJVwNC3NlXexDZRFCsltThcqTdOzjNoB0zeGaLne7VnjnGRBTEt6nIFuE/s1600/P7300275-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipF72aikDbZwt2AXsfLO7tQNwTH4EQmF2G52cmshjy15EUN_J7fhLfHtXgeqo01BsoXNUq73oT7AuXQXdhXkBJVwNC3NlXexDZRFCsltThcqTdOzjNoB0zeGaLne7VnjnGRBTEt6nIFuE/s400/P7300275-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grass-of-Parnassus <i>Parnassia palustris</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
The flower in the background of the photo above was a particular highlight though. I had written off any chances of seeing Bird's-eye Primrose as the books say it flowers in May and June and the fact that most flowers seemed to have gone over didn't increase my expectations but there were loads of them. No idea why this species should buck the trend, maybe the books are wrong, not that I'm complaining on this occasion.</div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJi3NRfHBwFUQAVAthGCYuwqrqwpy49K2ZoK1BVrHspKgFceFS-2AhTSvlxf-9ltys_1-mAoxqu1Sq6UTzBe3h0OWadZKWbm7b_jI9n9m1LVRCTlLBYC_dlVhU_E4zOrYH89XKhOcxB7I/s1600/P7300261-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJi3NRfHBwFUQAVAthGCYuwqrqwpy49K2ZoK1BVrHspKgFceFS-2AhTSvlxf-9ltys_1-mAoxqu1Sq6UTzBe3h0OWadZKWbm7b_jI9n9m1LVRCTlLBYC_dlVhU_E4zOrYH89XKhOcxB7I/s400/P7300261-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bird's-eye Primrose <i>Primula farinosa</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
The roadside verges in the area had frequent clumps of Giant Bellflower.</div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hYM559RpbzEwIK7pm2jvavLwyc_EfjjDVBZusby2ZVnn1vE2NgWvroccihH7K-9FtuMKv0HrBEiY__4mNFOV6xZMbpUbRiZxpxeWbDdIaXHae1D50GT38Xs9IauRkp3JSdt6QmpuS1k/s1600/Giant-Bellflower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hYM559RpbzEwIK7pm2jvavLwyc_EfjjDVBZusby2ZVnn1vE2NgWvroccihH7K-9FtuMKv0HrBEiY__4mNFOV6xZMbpUbRiZxpxeWbDdIaXHae1D50GT38Xs9IauRkp3JSdt6QmpuS1k/s400/Giant-Bellflower.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant Bellflower <i>Campanula latifolia</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Finally, a mystery object. Anyone got any ideas what this is?</div>
<div>
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Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-5776825301693144852017-07-29T23:33:00.002+01:002017-07-29T23:33:50.418+01:00The Malham SedgeI am currently doing a course on 'river flies' (caddis, mayflies and stoneflies) at FSC Malham Tarn. A really grim journey up meant that I was unable to do any fieldwork yesterday and most of today was spent in the lab looking at specimens that I brought with me. However a quick outdoor session in fairly poor weather this morning provided an opportunity to see one of the rarest species in Britain; the 'Malham Sedge'. This isn't a sedge as in the group of plants but rather the caddisfly <i>Agrypnetes crassicornis</i>. In Britain it is only known from Malham Tarn and I believe it was said that it was only known from eight sites worldwide. It is far from guaranteed that you will see it at Malham as the national recording scheme organiser found out when he did a programme about it on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b013fjqs" target="_blank">Radio 4</a>. However the bad weather worked in our favour as there were few sheltered places for them to hide. We must have seen about 20 including two females, which are rarely seen, and I found three males and a female myself. A number of exuviae of the species were also found. It isn't exactly a looker but I was delighted to see it nevertheless.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JZa9dyMgOgw4Nlie8ugpJk6idNl6yT3eGrEJg6-j84_UJ7lkuBIeAEAdCMzrssvvGlC1_Nn3lmFdbO6EH5GB4SwmATZ3m3GikYFN_NwDW0Zw3eXqge8LzksdDd3DcLiyG_fgpS5wTEc/s1600/P7290321-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1180" data-original-width="1600" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JZa9dyMgOgw4Nlie8ugpJk6idNl6yT3eGrEJg6-j84_UJ7lkuBIeAEAdCMzrssvvGlC1_Nn3lmFdbO6EH5GB4SwmATZ3m3GikYFN_NwDW0Zw3eXqge8LzksdDd3DcLiyG_fgpS5wTEc/s400/P7290321-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agrypnetes crassicornis - The Malham Sedge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Although it looks perfectly capable of flight, the adults never fly but can run across the water remarkably quickly.<br />
<br />
I had no time for looking for anything else but did manage to stumble across half a dozen plants that I've never seen before including<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8MMtwJD0feJPw8MWYvi72WsJoJ_vFVnMzcy_wNOn0KosKxNpj2ADcl70o4zxB-9xoSfWsfu-8nnwDkIgLjVlS7SdPekThvIBLy3qPnNSl6FUfFNZ9Lejx4zPP3hp1OxZw_uihb61b5o/s1600/P7290350-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8MMtwJD0feJPw8MWYvi72WsJoJ_vFVnMzcy_wNOn0KosKxNpj2ADcl70o4zxB-9xoSfWsfu-8nnwDkIgLjVlS7SdPekThvIBLy3qPnNSl6FUfFNZ9Lejx4zPP3hp1OxZw_uihb61b5o/s400/P7290350-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shining Pondweed <i>Potamogeton lucens<br /></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcarsQBQ4nneU80-x_CdfLDOKuPfMLV0iC-q8pTEx6PjA03VUAU4Vhw17VjLJ5yUF9BWSXRLt-wp5-IrPJVYclUE2gjUy2-PyPlywD5xA-xcrEAkkpPAxO7mkt572kU_0Up9r7mpuefs/s1600/P7290352-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcarsQBQ4nneU80-x_CdfLDOKuPfMLV0iC-q8pTEx6PjA03VUAU4Vhw17VjLJ5yUF9BWSXRLt-wp5-IrPJVYclUE2gjUy2-PyPlywD5xA-xcrEAkkpPAxO7mkt572kU_0Up9r7mpuefs/s400/P7290352-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monk's-hood <i>Aconitum napellus</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfuqziZtKglmox5Io_QMnU6pMJOHfkNB60c9lNkT5w57xadAFlsj8Pa6IEIf1BxDSNRObGukOmXRSoa6aN4RxWKZd8FUWiZbyEri-slU5kWD6PKWD_WRdgUGSNE92ZGClaQW65-E7j38/s1600/P7290307-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfuqziZtKglmox5Io_QMnU6pMJOHfkNB60c9lNkT5w57xadAFlsj8Pa6IEIf1BxDSNRObGukOmXRSoa6aN4RxWKZd8FUWiZbyEri-slU5kWD6PKWD_WRdgUGSNE92ZGClaQW65-E7j38/s400/P7290307-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Marsh-orchid <i>Dactylorhiza purpurella</i></td></tr>
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Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-65465123860478503482017-07-24T01:16:00.001+01:002017-07-24T01:31:59.708+01:00Handbags at dawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not really very interested in dragonflies. I don't know why, they just don't fire my imagination. Having said that, when a huge invasion of Yellow-winged Darters <i>Sympetrum flaveolum </i>occurred in the 1990's and a friend offered me a lift to Dungeness to see them, I felt I ought to go. It was something of an 'event' and I might be really in to dragonflies in the future and regret having missed out if I didn't go. That choice paid dividends as I also saw Vagrant Darter <i>Sympetrum vulgatum</i> and Camberwell Beauty <i>Nymphalis antiopa</i> that day.<br />
<br />
Twenty-odd years later and I have little more interest in Odonata than I did back then but news of 30+ Southern Migrant Hawkers <i>Aeshna affinis</i> at Canvey Island was mildly tempting, more so because of the guarantee of Scarce Emerald Damselfly <i>Lestes dryas</i> at the same site. I was working in Kent on Friday and really couldn't face driving all the way home, only to turn around and head to the other side of the river first thing on Saturday. So I stayed in Kent till after 10pm to avoid the hassle of working out how to pay the Dartford crossing toll and then made the short hop round to the A13 where I managed a few hours sleep in a lay-by.<br />
<br />
For once the weather did the decent thing and the overnight rain stopped at 5.30am and I was on site half an hour later (with my handbag of course, I felt I should try to fit in with the locals). It was still cloudy and cool but I soon found some roosting Scarce Emeralds. I soon learnt that my new camera doesn't like taking pictures of Odonata but you can at least tell what it is.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FMXW8ddsUQRbio9ATrAhYgijJnbUx2mtkFRvT5g8-q2PmC5KRuB-RbU1B0HoijtAj4Vd84PAJqpGO2vBXRXUW1ck8CNeuUc6WnRuKBR9FPq8YYdYePT_aYAEmG8tpNxpiBiGm7aGE1Y/s1600/Scarce-Emerald.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="1600" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FMXW8ddsUQRbio9ATrAhYgijJnbUx2mtkFRvT5g8-q2PmC5KRuB-RbU1B0HoijtAj4Vd84PAJqpGO2vBXRXUW1ck8CNeuUc6WnRuKBR9FPq8YYdYePT_aYAEmG8tpNxpiBiGm7aGE1Y/s400/Scarce-Emerald.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It took another hour and a half for the sun to come out and apart from a few Blue-tailed Damselflies <i>Ischnura elegans</i> and a few darters, one of which I managed to convince myself was Ruddy <i>Sympetrum sanguineum</i>, I had seen nothing else. The arrival of the sun did the trick though and a male Southern Migrant Hawker was suddenly there, a few feet from me, basking on a bramble stem. It only allowed one photo before departing and over the next half hour I saw no more. Returning to the original spot, I found that he was perched in exactly the same place but again his stay was fairly brief and then the cloud returned.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsppLYg8_v8SiKOHtVRQDrrV4x4idMC9R6Jq1l4IKguHPiDBVZoK5g9uucAkhq_d29Si2wBvpFaSKUZbNLfC7trjdi29yUTbj_gfACFbJ1Fl8IrcLulWZvoDxPpXEeRa-PpyYWPp3Cfg/s1600/P7220253-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1071" data-original-width="1600" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsppLYg8_v8SiKOHtVRQDrrV4x4idMC9R6Jq1l4IKguHPiDBVZoK5g9uucAkhq_d29Si2wBvpFaSKUZbNLfC7trjdi29yUTbj_gfACFbJ1Fl8IrcLulWZvoDxPpXEeRa-PpyYWPp3Cfg/s400/P7220253-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This was the best I managed but you can find much better on the web.<br />
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The cloud looked quite extensive so I headed off as I wanted to have a look around the Canvey Wick reserve which was just a couple of miles away. This brownfield site was threatened with development but a long campaign by Buglife saved it, much to my surprise I have to admit. It is now in the ownership of the Land Trust and is managed by RSPB and Buglife. I see that the idiots in the marketing departments have been hard at work and describe Canvey Wick as having 'as many species per square metre as a rainforest'. This of course is patent bollocks. Please give us your evidence for this statement, which square metre, which rainforest?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pPWQu-yZt1_p9bEvR3kXFNi2as48rdF_g-BSXrHcKsQUC58WDNRR0RjA2Dptckyk8BHofVsw6fMbc_d80eT2NzV4DMDabQtbvZ15vBpG03WMGSoI_0Sl8IiEVVku8Jm1DXuUw27TED8/s1600/P7220286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pPWQu-yZt1_p9bEvR3kXFNi2as48rdF_g-BSXrHcKsQUC58WDNRR0RjA2Dptckyk8BHofVsw6fMbc_d80eT2NzV4DMDabQtbvZ15vBpG03WMGSoI_0Sl8IiEVVku8Jm1DXuUw27TED8/s400/P7220286.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I reckon my backside has more species than this square metre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Despite this nonsense, Canvey Wick does have a number of interesting species and I have wanted to visit for some time. The site is more heavily scrubbed than I expected and with less disturbed ground. It will be interesting to see how Buglife and RSPB manage to retain the interest of the site, much of which will be dependent upon large-scale disturbance. As expected, there were large amounts of invasive non-native plants. Some, such as Goat's-rue <i>Galega officinalis</i> are a problem and need dealing with before they get totally out of control but others are things that I don't see very often. Narrow-leaved Ragwort <i>Senecio inaequidens</i> is a species that I have only previously seen on the Isle of Sheppey but it was abundant here. Surprisingly it did not seem to be very attractive to insects as a nectar source.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1n4Xme9OptkLpOzWhRSQdkSmzp_3iesG6OPz7yq3IeZKMkQ6cGoJ-fzlMrmYvCc5wnqMTWg2i4-CsrB9OzOOyX2gIgNtrKd6BggkrqCIdgv2hngFD8DlCvQnloecd1m7KTuStNMvkT9k/s1600/Narrow-leaved-Ragwort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1n4Xme9OptkLpOzWhRSQdkSmzp_3iesG6OPz7yq3IeZKMkQ6cGoJ-fzlMrmYvCc5wnqMTWg2i4-CsrB9OzOOyX2gIgNtrKd6BggkrqCIdgv2hngFD8DlCvQnloecd1m7KTuStNMvkT9k/s400/Narrow-leaved-Ragwort.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Narrow-leaved Ragwort</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Both Rose Campion <i>Silene coronaria</i> and Rock Stonecrop <i>Sedum forsterianum </i>are species that I have only seen occasionally before.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODrFM92QFlbfuooAmUyQFxhpYo2aaI6Y3dsUz-6pzkNYVsEdIdb_CUlwyUJYIVLRg534kncVvhcfUUC8FzYBVRwewZBN4R8v9kvAVCk9FIXMrfuZDH3SGcwxFyuTrUchUqoMtRBmFm6s/s1600/P7220285-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODrFM92QFlbfuooAmUyQFxhpYo2aaI6Y3dsUz-6pzkNYVsEdIdb_CUlwyUJYIVLRg534kncVvhcfUUC8FzYBVRwewZBN4R8v9kvAVCk9FIXMrfuZDH3SGcwxFyuTrUchUqoMtRBmFm6s/s320/P7220285-crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rock Stonecrop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I spent an interesting few hours on the site but I wasn't blown away as I expected to be. Maybe the marketing hype had got to me after all and I was expecting too much, maybe it is better for groups that I don't focus on, maybe the weather was reducing activity. Hopefully there will be some more interesting species amongst the material that I have brought back for identification but in the mean time here are a couple of the more notable species that I did find.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UJg7a7EL64dGLdC7IesivUe1rPE2YyNT_rZS31oyuvEvM_nmMaODooashqMFXFvxM74Fs7wizI9fL3pznz7BF6VptaMzWBc-pYbycPhKmtTlnWJ3vihjvt73BGcLHQ4LKZmlvaXpi60/s1600/P7220265-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1105" data-original-width="1600" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UJg7a7EL64dGLdC7IesivUe1rPE2YyNT_rZS31oyuvEvM_nmMaODooashqMFXFvxM74Fs7wizI9fL3pznz7BF6VptaMzWBc-pYbycPhKmtTlnWJ3vihjvt73BGcLHQ4LKZmlvaXpi60/s400/P7220265-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adonis' Ladybirds <i>Hippodamia variegata</i> clearly enjoying the site.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4h_-B9BDp_6fcWx-zHFGAZImp5jo3L2fDyED9InjEqB08GK2OWz-ydjBBGwFP3-r1aTvYUzU1ZATwnAegiyqxNLAlX_xujEpWbutc-sztuMNosTGrXBP4bRlBqHyQgC6QEz7NeoX1Ok/s1600/P7220276-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4h_-B9BDp_6fcWx-zHFGAZImp5jo3L2fDyED9InjEqB08GK2OWz-ydjBBGwFP3-r1aTvYUzU1ZATwnAegiyqxNLAlX_xujEpWbutc-sztuMNosTGrXBP4bRlBqHyQgC6QEz7NeoX1Ok/s400/P7220276-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'Tumbling Flower Beetle' <i>Variimorda villosa</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don't bother much with spiders (remember, six legs good, eight legs bad) but this one was quite funky so I took a photo and a friend has kindly named it for me.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKddutmy3y9En1_g-b9pSf5GHr-HvPXKWQax-M2crLLac4XThvxsWfqPPQQIsGKkpuLKNoEIoCE_6TNbbmS7aflW0_1MlOfiQ9BcM9VegNOUrLQ7fZ53sUgLJKM0naTnCoevq2QGG01qg/s1600/Neoscona+adianta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKddutmy3y9En1_g-b9pSf5GHr-HvPXKWQax-M2crLLac4XThvxsWfqPPQQIsGKkpuLKNoEIoCE_6TNbbmS7aflW0_1MlOfiQ9BcM9VegNOUrLQ7fZ53sUgLJKM0naTnCoevq2QGG01qg/s400/Neoscona+adianta.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Neoscona adianta</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When I returned to my car a Buglife staff member was starting a guided walk and I was pleased to hear her say that participants were welcome to collect specimens as long as they sent records in afterwards. So I didn't need to hide my net after all!Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-42845059556620685852017-07-18T14:49:00.000+01:002017-07-18T14:49:10.838+01:00Tail end of the nesting seasonIt's getting towards the end of the nesting season, during which I spend most of my spare time finding and monitoring nests for the BTO's Nest Record Scheme. In terms of how we have done, it has been a successful year with over 120 nest record cards completed. The picture is somewhat more complicated in terms of how the birds have done, some species rearing good numbers of young but others such as Wood Warblers suffering very high levels of predation. Brood sizes in recent nests have also been rather poor which I cannot explain, given the generally good weather.<br />
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The weekend produced what may be the last Stonechat nest of the year, containing 4 healthy chicks about 8 days old.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jytUFKTX7y-2RkUt-hiie9cN4XtTen6mNWCcTFlYvacZZbae5jJzdudAUFu1whNQ7Jpi0LPd8_HakbEr74QVxDoEg5iPA8NyG9JRj_6hiS12ZkJ1anbVXCuw3-unFDma5dSafbVzia0/s1600/P7150182-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jytUFKTX7y-2RkUt-hiie9cN4XtTen6mNWCcTFlYvacZZbae5jJzdudAUFu1whNQ7Jpi0LPd8_HakbEr74QVxDoEg5iPA8NyG9JRj_6hiS12ZkJ1anbVXCuw3-unFDma5dSafbVzia0/s400/P7150182-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I then checked on the last Wood Warbler nest of the year and its fate matched that of the species generally this year. Four eggs produced three chicks, one disappeared before ringing and the final check produced two dead chicks. The contents of the nest were too gruesome to show you as they were being consumed by a couple of <i>Nicrophorus vespilloides</i> beetles and the larvae of the Calliphorid fly <i>Protocalliphora azurea</i>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5DqpAJ71UobQxWDA5fdEherqmwMLRK0IsiZks5Utq7jiMIBVknKQSLykBmAldk92Ft67FH_ypUsMMuzFFd-v8dXzpIl5FE3Fqoop8k1sSRp0E2fWQ3tR-6KJ2wtaY-tss9SqKfhPsk4/s1600/P7150186-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5DqpAJ71UobQxWDA5fdEherqmwMLRK0IsiZks5Utq7jiMIBVknKQSLykBmAldk92Ft67FH_ypUsMMuzFFd-v8dXzpIl5FE3Fqoop8k1sSRp0E2fWQ3tR-6KJ2wtaY-tss9SqKfhPsk4/s400/P7150186-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Nicrophorus vespilloides</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Sunday evening we got a bonus nest, found by a friend who was searching for his lost mobile phone!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3ULJRWbulXzgkyInVDTuJLxRbYQR21P1GmhFAy98DA2SAoZ5zVCxhv4RteTOxSZYpvL7YknLFjXwd96HHTx2sZ-VnwMMCAR7ELQFt8hcuCD3MBUYt1AJsTBB34VE8XdpA1oD5ASXRbk/s1600/Nightjar-chicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3ULJRWbulXzgkyInVDTuJLxRbYQR21P1GmhFAy98DA2SAoZ5zVCxhv4RteTOxSZYpvL7YknLFjXwd96HHTx2sZ-VnwMMCAR7ELQFt8hcuCD3MBUYt1AJsTBB34VE8XdpA1oD5ASXRbk/s400/Nightjar-chicks.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nightjar chicks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Earlier on Sunday I had been at a site where a male Red-backed Shrike is hanging around. It's presence is being kept quiet, just in case, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence of a female there. Here is my entry for the worst bird photograph of the year competition.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0Cbwm2O0goQGJ3HWKdqehK-uqTmWlqAJEgAfqVdQsLgSwKe-8TwB0dWIJlX_qmYJMG3Rpttdx2RPmjIaOpe9c8PMKYoIupKtL-v86YqnLqxx-HLbc1rv4a1kQKAP5USAluoXrX3DOB0/s1600/P7160187-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0Cbwm2O0goQGJ3HWKdqehK-uqTmWlqAJEgAfqVdQsLgSwKe-8TwB0dWIJlX_qmYJMG3Rpttdx2RPmjIaOpe9c8PMKYoIupKtL-v86YqnLqxx-HLbc1rv4a1kQKAP5USAluoXrX3DOB0/s400/P7160187-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult male Red-backed Shrike!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Don't believe there's a shrike there?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1pRaBSg2wBuU-BB1AY7feyJlqaPXxightybtfx7PoQZc7X9yr49zRLuvGRNld_vOIVaY5-SF6U1o7bkr02Q_WBk8zYl-2nFRQsRUfGReKDK9eSuB6TrQUWgA-ItTZ37704Ia70GoJnk/s1600/RBS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="505" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1pRaBSg2wBuU-BB1AY7feyJlqaPXxightybtfx7PoQZc7X9yr49zRLuvGRNld_vOIVaY5-SF6U1o7bkr02Q_WBk8zYl-2nFRQsRUfGReKDK9eSuB6TrQUWgA-ItTZ37704Ia70GoJnk/s400/RBS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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See!Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-22209440116235275882017-07-12T22:26:00.003+01:002017-07-12T22:26:42.863+01:00Is there anybody still out there?Gilbert has noticed that all the more interesting natural history blogs are rather moribund and felt pangs of guilt that none are more moribund than his own. So a quick blog to see if either of his readers is still out there.<br />
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Today I carried out the annual monitoring of the rare moth <i>Coleophora vibicella</i>. This species is now known from just two sites in Hampshire, one in West Sussex, one in Dorset and one on the Isle of Wight. One Hampshire colony became extinct a couple of years ago and the Dorset one is heading in the same direction. Only the West Sussex and Isle of Wight sites could be described as secure.<br />
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The larvae make a silken case about an inch long, from which they feed on the foliage of Dyer's Greenweed <i>Genista tinctoria</i>. The cases can be all black or can have pale sections like this one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLxvF9Pl6CAJ8e5mj8bo0HoFMCqGm1NCfhcBPHTFo0a3x8WcfcH37ebXCX4EMzfpy6-wLMKZhk9vYKhgpGOP2-39RH19dCyuRGtVhQZVgU5Tu6ZuJ9OxqI4eB8e35DyRzkVdXzq-YhLA/s1600/P7120245-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLxvF9Pl6CAJ8e5mj8bo0HoFMCqGm1NCfhcBPHTFo0a3x8WcfcH37ebXCX4EMzfpy6-wLMKZhk9vYKhgpGOP2-39RH19dCyuRGtVhQZVgU5Tu6ZuJ9OxqI4eB8e35DyRzkVdXzq-YhLA/s400/P7120245-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The number of larval cases has been in decline at the West Sussex site for a couple of years, for reasons that are not entirely clear so it was pleasing to record over 1300 cases during the timed counts today. This is the highest total since I switched to timed counts from a 'full' survey.<br />
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The early season was reflected in the fact that I also saw a couple of adults.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjD0NsZgwVqCD1MZJe07QSu_3rsauyK6cMbxAdqBVLLpqvlfatzzA-B2V80yYCrn94XUJatIJua0AoeB9rBl6SSrYa28TPTixQUFnhGscaakdSvYItzoJl4nGxhBWD71ZV7fXupffTgw/s1600/P7120270-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjD0NsZgwVqCD1MZJe07QSu_3rsauyK6cMbxAdqBVLLpqvlfatzzA-B2V80yYCrn94XUJatIJua0AoeB9rBl6SSrYa28TPTixQUFnhGscaakdSvYItzoJl4nGxhBWD71ZV7fXupffTgw/s400/P7120270-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319070168026426617.post-80656065222688671502016-03-22T20:06:00.000+00:002016-03-22T20:06:26.137+00:00The day I found out that I'm no badgerThe geneticist and evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane said that 'if he exists, god has an inordinate fondness for beetles', due to the fact that there are more species of beetles than any other group. I have never developed such a fondness, preferring moths, flies, true bugs, etc. and only really bothering to take beetles when there were few of my favoured groups around. I think that this was at least partly due to the relative lack of identification resources but that is improving and they are starting to grow on me.<br />
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Last night I was working through my large backlog of unidentified insects. Having slogged though keys for several hours, for the last specimen of the evening I thought I'd look for something a bit easier. A small red beetle caught my eye and under the microscope it had a distinctive net pattern on the wing cases and an oddly shaped thorax. This should be easy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAK7S-vnst4v17Qsl5tsweyfuhW9VdYoMsL5_uv5OPZdkpo1bPyn3IGs5hcJngbbi2rMRYnK7NaPrDCNKhKrTIjuSk1Kljaw2mA2S6hrEJVD8RJB69niYf2CW5DWoAXXJuuOKCsKDNJw/s1600/Erotides.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAK7S-vnst4v17Qsl5tsweyfuhW9VdYoMsL5_uv5OPZdkpo1bPyn3IGs5hcJngbbi2rMRYnK7NaPrDCNKhKrTIjuSk1Kljaw2mA2S6hrEJVD8RJB69niYf2CW5DWoAXXJuuOKCsKDNJw/s400/Erotides.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Scanning through Brock's insect guide led me to the family Lycidae - the net-winged beetles. There are only four species in this family and three are illustrated in Brock. <i>Platycis minutus </i>occurs in the south but that has an all-black thorax and yellow tips to the antennae. Brock states that <i>Dictyoptera aurora </i>is the only member of the family with the thorax red but that is confined to Caledonian pine forest and my specimen came from deciduous woodland in West Sussex! Now I know there is still much to be learnt about the ecology and distribution of many invertebrates but this seemed a stretch too far.<br />
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I resorted to Google to see if there was any variation in the appearance of any of the species but could find no matches so checked the Coleoptera checklist to find out what the name of the 4th species in the family was. This was <i>Erotides cosnardi</i> and bingo, that's the one. Further Googling revealed that this is a very rare (or at least rarely recorded) species but it is known from the Downs in West Sussex. I sent a picture to a proper Coleopterist to check that I'd got the identification right but couldn't resist further research into the small hours and by the time he replied today I was already convinced.<br />
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My thanks to Mark Telfer for sending me a copy of his report on <i>Erotides cosnardi</i> for the Species Recovery Trust, from which the following information is derived. The larvae of <i>E. cosnardi</i> develop in the white rot heartwood of Beech trunks, presumably large dead trees. There are only 11 verified records of the species in Britain, from the Wye Valley and the South Downs in West Sussex. My specimen was from a new site but within the wider landscape from which it had previously been recorded.<br />
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This is another important find resulting from the <a href="http://www.brc.ac.uk/psl/?q=home" target="_blank">Pan-Species Listing</a> approach. Would I have retained the specimen, resulting in discovery of a new site for this very rare species, if it hadn't been for PSL? Probably not. Some people are a bit sniffy about PSL, probably due to a misconception that it is all about twitching, rather then the reality that for most people it is about improving your natural history skills. This approach has already resulted in the discovery of at least <a href="http://gwghost.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/new-to-britain.html" target="_blank">one new species to Britain</a> and <a href="https://undergrowthecology.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/probably-the-pinnicle-of-ponking/#more-1955" target="_blank">one new species to science</a>. Hopefully such finds will convince the doubters of the value of PSL.<br />
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So why the blog title? The day that I found <i>cosnardi</i> I was taking habitat photographs for an imminent funding bid. It's quite a long walk from one end of the project area to the other and when I'd got all the images that I wanted I found myself on the wrong side of a deer fence which meant I had to walk in the wrong direction before I could start heading back. I spotted a place where Badgers had pushed up the bottom of the deer fence and decided that I could squeeze through there and take a short cut back. I'll leave the rest of the story to your imagination.Gilbert White's Ghosthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06471810181486871935noreply@blogger.com1