Pan-species Ignoring

Back in 2011, I was drawn to the concept of PSL and duly compiled my list. Over the next few years, without making too much effort, I was able to grow the list just by being a bit more inquisitive when I was out and about and more dilligent in keeping tabs of what was new on a spreadsheet (as well as adding records to my MapMate). The 2013 '1000 species in 1km square' challenge added a fair bit, but it all slowed down in 2016 and I haven't updated my list on the PSL website at all since Jan 2017.

Even that was not a full update as there are records from the PSL meet-up at Holkham in June 2016 that still aren't included in my list ..... like these:

Arctosa perita

Dolichosoma lineare

Dactylochelifer latreillei

So after my recent period of illness and with renewed enthusiasm for everything, I will be updating it over the next few weeks. It won't be a big update, maybe 100 or so species, but at least I'll have a clean and known starting point before the peak season for invert action. Before any updates, I'm ranked 41 on 3283 species (whereas when first I submitted my original list of 1983 species in 2011 I was just in the top ten, albeit of the ten that were declaring lists at that time).

I still have a major weakness for green stuff (vascular plants, mosses, liverworts), I like lichens but can't identify them, and I've never properly pushed myself on fungi. In reality my list is only likely to grow at a slow rate as and when I see new inverts, which is just fine.


Post-script
Actually it didn't take long at all to update as my MapMate was in order. I may well have missed the odd thing but no matter.

Teasing Teasel

Last week whilst at Ketton Quarry I did two things with teasel heads. Firstly, I snipped a few heads into a ziplock bag to check for lep larvae, and secondly I put the bagged heads into the boot of the car where they have sat forgotten for a week. I remembered them yesterday, and had a go at pulling a few apart today.

I was specifically looking for larval feeding of either Endothenia marginana or Cochylis roseana, but fully expected instead to just find Endothenia gentianaeana. Gently pulling the heads apart, carefully looking for larval holes through the seeds, I found nothing until revealing the central pithy cavity where sure enough there was plenty of evidence of E. gentianaeana. I've tried this before with the same result.

Typical head with central pith cavity full of frass

A different head, with frass removed revealing silken chamber

Pupal cocoon within silken chamber

Another head full of frass and pithy particles

Same head, showing emergence hole pre-prepared by larva

Same head, frass moved to reveal full-fed larva

During this exercise I also discovered that the bag of teasel heads contained a lot of various small spiders, none of which looked remotely exciting (= easily identifiable) apart from this funky little beast .....

Diaea dorsata, immature male

Blue Planet Pre-recorded

I watched Blue Planet Live last week; some good stuff, some not so good - the Springwatch approach is no match for a proper Attenborough-esque epic is it. Anyway, good to see a variety of sharks, cetaceans and a few Green Turtles, even if the hatchlings of the latter were Silver Gull food.

Whilst in Barbados during our cruise last year, we had a chance to go on a 'swimming with turtles' snorkelling trip. Despite the tangle of legs and slightly contrived nature of the event (the tour leaders were baiting the turtles with feed pellets) it was a great experience and we got fantastic close views of lumbering Green Turtles passing by and beneath us. I managed to grab a bit of footage on my GoPro, from which I've grabbed the following frame - not Blue Planet live as this was in early December. Click for really big.

Green Turtle - Carlisle Bay, Barbados

And here's a short snippet without intruding legs ....

Bramble Nep

A few weeks ago on 11/03/2019 I found both vacated and tenanted mines on bramble at Martinshaw Wood that were right for Stigmella aurella ....

Vacated mine, very 'silvery' looking with reddening around the edge and (though you can't see it here) dispersed frass within the mine.

Tenanted mine

Tenanted mine

Tenanted mine showing larva and dispersed frass

I've only tried rearing nepticulid leaf-miners once before without success, but I decided to have another go. Both tenanted mines that I collected completed successfully to the larva leaving the mine and pupating in a tiny case, and both have emerged - one yesterday and one today.

Getting anything like a decent shot of these tiny beasts is nigh on impossible with my gear, although as per I've not helped myself by trying to zoom in too far. Anyway, here's one of the adults showing the punky orange head you'd fully expect for this species (Stigmella splendidissimella which also mines bramble, though the mine is discernibly different, has a black head).

Liking Lichens - Rhizocarpon geographicum

In an uncharacteristic liking lichens themed post, rather than lots of shots of stuff I don't know but just like the look of aesthetically - here's a couple of shots of one (I think) I do know. This is Rhizocarpon geographicum, very common on hard siliceous rocks apparently. Here I see it often on dry stone walls and big boulder stones in the Charnwood area

Bradgate Park - 26/03/2018

Altar Stones - 26/02/2019

D-sP

The garden moth trap has been quiet of late, and with the weather due to turn this week it probably won't pick up until next week / mid-April. Just one NFY since the last garden moth I posted on 25/03.

Double-striped Pug

Now this has appeared, there is every chance that I'll be seeing it pretty much every week until late September ..... provided the traps are running.