The Overwhelming

As spring has sprung the Time of Overwhelming draws ever nearer, and there's no doubt I'm flirting dangerously with it. This morning I spent a happy lunchbreak at Land O' Tussocks, which was once known as "The Orchid Meadow" and is now a sea of Deschampsia and Juncus tussocks, intermittently mown by the occasional presence of a couple of sheep. It has a cracking damp/wet spot in the middle which is bordered by Water Avens and it holds Marsh Thistle, Marsh Willowherb, Big Yellow Trefoil (yeah, I'm sure that's what it's called...) and other such wet-bit plants. Also, in its season, shedloads of Tormentil and nice late season Scabious - if the sheep haven't eaten it. For a very fairly tedious-looking rectangle of grassland there's a lot going on.

Anyway, I digress. I carved up three of the 1000 tussocks today and had three new-for-year and new-for-reserve species, two of which were new-for-me. Huzzah! And I've only started on the minor collection I made. To be fair, I obviously started on what looked the most easy/juicy. The rest will probably add zilch.

One of the nice things which I think I've only seen tussocking, or maybe I also swept it before, is the little red ladybird .

2021 Beetle #73 - Coccidula rufa

More exciting, and at first I lost my bearings on this, was this little, diggy (under)ground beetle. I regret this pic doesn't show its fossorial forelegs. I had been looking forward to seeing Clivina fossor, and even though I clocked its obvious redness in the field (not as apparent here) I only latterly realised that meant it wasn't C.fossor at all, but in fact, C.collaris.

2021 Beetle #74 - Clivina collaris

Third new beetle for the day, and 2nd new beetle for me, was an unexpected click beetle - 

2021 Beetle #75 - Hypnoidus riparius

The latter was species #201 for the year, with species #200 taken by a long-awaited addition - the 35th fly - Pteremis fenestralis. I think I had this before but I never actually caught one so I never added it to the list.

 

2021 Fly #35 - Pteremis fenestralis

Mooned by a lesser dung fly

I will not, unless I'm prevented from getting to the reserve tomorrow, get through the remaining species before I collect even more. Which means tomorrow I will start the day with material in hand. AND I saw the first peeping flowers of Willow breaking out today. I have one baited bottle trap and two baited pitfalls. 

It's about to get real.