2021 in Numbers

Okay, it's taken me longer than it should have to get to this point, but having got my moth records for last year sorted I've been able to sort out some numbers for last year.

First up, you may recall that I had set out to have another crack at square-listing. Despite my recovery from surgery and having chemo, it started fairly well but by the time I'd got back to working full time and had to juggle a bit more it fell by the wayside. Still, with the moth records in I was surprised to see the final numbers. Here's a couple of basic charts with the overall breakdown and a breakdown by insect orders:

I was not really intending to beat the overall total, and I'm in no way surprised that I fell short - though I was surprised that I'd smashed the 1000 species mark and was only 40 off the 2013 total. I had hoped to better my 2013 totals for Plants, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera. The Plants total is not bad at all considering that I'd pretty much thrown in the towel and avoided lots of grasses. Coleoptera and Hemiptera totals were good, and it's pretty obvious that I had no enthusiasm for Diptera. I've got no intention of doing this again any time soon.

As for my garden moth records, it turned out to be a pretty good year with a total of 423sp. (beating the previous best 421 set in, of course, 2013). Within that total were 28 new for garden species:

I'll be updating the Garden Lists page over this week. Then I'm done with 2021 from a recording/listing perspective. It's fin de l'année rather than fin de siècle, but there you go.

Fable of the Urban Fox

I take no pride in adding this to my PSL ....

At the same time, I have no shame in adding it! A Forsythia growing bold as brass along a rural lane significantly far away from any gardens. It is almost certain that I've seen Forsythia growing somewhere else away from gardens in the past and omitted it, but not convinced.

Also a NFG beetle to the moth trap last night, common but I doubt I'd find one in the garden other than at the light trap ....

Agriotes obscurus

Meanwhile, remember the Fox that visited the garden before Christmas? Well absolutely bugger all sign of it so far when it matters, ie during the square-listing year. I have noted Hedgehog doings on the lawn in the last couple of days so should see one any night soon, bit otherwise I'm going to have to get out walking the square after dark before long to see what is scuttling about and active.

And to balance my comments yesterday, City folk are just a capable of being as crass a Cuntry folk, as this neatly crafted tale details (a nod to Jolyon Maugham perhaps ....).

"One cold and hungry night, they find their dinner sitting pretty

The foxes can't believe their luck, who keeps chickens in the city?

But the chicken lover sees them prowl his pricey habitat

So he bashes both their heads in with his trusty cricket bat"