With snow on the ground and temperatures barely above zero the bottle trap had no takers thus far. With the music of coppicing chainsaw in the Willows I opted for the side of the burn and a nice fat Deschampsia tussock, with the theory being that tussocks harbour species which haven't travelled far and like that particular area. One tussock doesn't equal another. And so it seemed.
Most obvious in the mix was a selection of wasps, including Ichneumon extensorius. However, beyond that are at least two other species awaiting determination. Nice to have were three additional beetles, including one new to reserve and two which are sort of expected. Expected were Chrysolina staphylaea, a Salix specialist which I just managed to delete the photo of while trying to upload it - duh - and Tachinus rufipes, which is a very common litter species.
Also probably expected, but still surprising, was the super tiny Encephalus complicans, which at first I thought might be a bug, or even a mite, with its weird habit of pulling its abdomen over itself so it looks like a ball. Very lucky I decided to pot it as I was delighted to see it was a beetle. That leaves me on 46 beetle species with a full week and two weekends left. I knew the reserve Coleoptera list was bad, but 14 new species in 22 days. Seriously? Long may it continue. I might even not have an embarrassing beetle list myself by the time this is over.
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| Ichneumon extensorius, female |
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| Encephalus complicans |
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| Tachinus rufipes |
One of the other 3 species of Ichneumonoids turns out to be Chasmias motatorius, also on the reserve list but nice for the year list.
I never knew tussock envy was a real thing....
ReplyDeleteHeh. It's a bit like kissing frogs. Right now in Dalgety Bay there's an enormous pile of woodchip. Might have to bring it home one bag at a time.
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