By Harry Green, John Meiklejohn & John Partridge
Having seen the list shown in the previous article we decided to do something about increasing the number of records in poorly covered tetrads. There were several reasons for this. First we were tired of being corralled by the Foot & Mouth epidemic and the spring urge to get out and about was strong! So we decided to visit one site in each tetrad for 30-60 minutes or so and search for invertebrates. With restrictions on movements in the countryside the only sites we could visit were road verges and we had to take care that no farm animals were in the vicinity. We chose SP05 mainly because it was between Redditch (where JP lives) and Pershore (near homes of HG & JWM). Also the numbers of records were quite low.
On the day the weather was overcast, mainly dry with a few showers, occasional brief glimpses of sun, and a cold N wind. Hardly any insects on the wing. Typical early spring weather!
During the day we managed to visit six sites.
The number of records for each tetrad before we started was as follows (molluscs not available yet):
| Tetrad A: | 2 beetles and 14 spiders only |
| Tetrad B: | rather better (see table) with 47 inverts plus 29 spiders because of records from Yeald Wood. |
| Tetrad C: | 15 inverts plus 15 spiders |
| Tetrad F: | 1 beetle, 1 bee, 20 spiders |
| Tetrad G: | 44 inverts, 31 spiders, thanks to records from Slade Wood. |
| Tetrad H: | No records at all, not even spiders! |
The relatively large number of spider records were almost all seen on previous visits by JP who has worked hard to transform spider recording in Worcestershire in the last few years.
As you can see from the following lists we improved the situation with relatively little effort. We also found some interesting things. An ancient oak at site 6 (Radford) had a big colony of shing black ants Lasius fuliginosus and also the brown tree ant Lasius brunneus. The latter appears to be more widespread that expected with a steady increase in records. Litter at the base of the same tree also contained the scarce woodlouse eating spider Dysdera erythrina.
Site 2 contained a another small tree ant Leptothorax nylanderi which is also quite scarce.
Sites 1 and 3 both contained Androniscus dentiger the Rosy Woodlouse which is not often seen
Site 4 was in rather bleak cereal country but skylarks were singing high above the un-ploughed fields.
We were very surprised to find adult Tetrix subulata, the slender groundhopper, at several sites. It is not often recorded, and few orthoptera are at an adult stage in spring - we now know from the books that adult groundhoppers are seen in spring!.
We did not record flowering plants. JWM noted some lichens, mosses and fungi.
JP identified the Araneae, Collembola, Opiliones. JWM identified all the Coleoptera and most of the rest! HG named some snails and woodlice (and birds) and spent many hours trying to work out the mysteries of centipede keys.
We obviously cannot identify everything we see! Some specimens await identification.
To encourage you to have a go John Meiklejohn’s simplified woodlouse key follows this article. HG has actually learned to do woodlice this year - if he can, you can!
Achenium depressum
Anthicus antherinus
Anthobium unicolor
Bembidion harpaloides
Chlaenius vestitis
Metabletus obscuroguttatus
Ocalea picata
Propylea 14-punctata
Psyllobora 22-punctata
Tachyporus hypnorum
Orchesella cincta
Lasius flavus
Aceria aceriscampestris
Harpactea hombergi
Segestria senoculata
Cryptops hortensis
Lithobius borealis
Lithobius forficatus
Julus scandinavius
Tachypodoiulus niger
Androniscus dentiger
Oniscus asellus
Philoscia muscorum
Platyarthrus hoffmannseggi
Porcellio scaber
Azeca goodalli
Arion hortensis
Cepaea hortensis
Clausilia bidentata
Cochlodina laminata
Discus rotundatus
Ena obscura
Lauria cylindracea
Monacha cantiana
Trichia striolata
Frog tadpoles
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Green Woodpecker
Carrion Crow
Rook
Wren
Physcia adscendens
Xanthoria parietina
Grimmia pulvinata
Tortula muralis
Agonum albipes
Agonum obscurum
Bembidion harpaloides
Bembidion obtusum
Demetrias atricapillus
Dromius linearis
Plagiodera versicolora
Pterostichus vernalis
Tachyporus hypnorum
Tachyporus nitidulus
Nemoura cinerea
Orchesella cincta
Tomocerus longicornis
Drymus sylvaticus
Scolopostethus affinis
Leptothorax nylanderi
Tetrix subulata
Armadillidium vulgare
Oniscus asellus
Porcellio scaber
Trichoniscus pusillus
Anisus leucostoma
Azeca goodalli
Balea perversa
Cepaea hortensis
Clausilia bidentata
Cochlicopa lubricella
Discus rotundatus
Ena obscura
Helix aspersa
Lauria cylindracea
Oxychilus cellarius
Trichia hispida
Trichia striolata
Diplocephalus cristatus
Nemastoma bimaculatum
Rilaena triangularis
Neobisium muscorum
Clethrionomys glareolus
Great tit
Blue tit
Dunnock
Wren
Rook
Ganoderma applanatum
Diploica canescens
Bembidion aeneum
Cidnorhynchus quadrimaculatus
Coccinella 7-punctata
Megasternum obscurum
Phaedon tumidulus
Psyllobora 22-punctata
Stilbus testaceus
Tachyporus chrysomelinus
Bibio johannis (det DMG)
Forficula auricularia
Lasius niger
Tetrix subulata
Strigamia crassipes
Julus scandinavius
Tachypodoiulus niger
Androniscus dentiger
Armadillidium vulgare
Oniscus asellus
Philoscia muscorum
Porcellio scaber
Arion subfuscus
Balea perversa
Candidula gigaxii
Cepaea hortensis
Clausilia bidentata
Cochlicopa lubrica
Discus rotundatus
Ena obscura
Trichia striolata
Ero cambridgei
Bathyphantes gracilis
Pelecopsis parallela
Lepthyphantes pallidus
Diplostyla concolor
Lepthyphantes tenuis
Oedothorax fuscus
Porhomma microphthalmum
Rilaena triangularis
Tomocerus longicornis
Orchesella villosa
Orchesella cincta
Dicyrtoma fusca
Great tit
Blue tit
Chaffinch
Wren
Blackbird
Agonum dorsale
Agonum obscurum
Amara aenea
Anotylus rugosus
Astenus immaculatus
Badister bipustulatus
Bembidion quadrimaculatum
Chaetocnema concinna
Demetrias atricapillus
Dromius linearis
Lathrobium fovulum
Sepedophilus marshami
Stenus bimaculatus
Stenus clavicornis
Stenus geniculatus
Stomus pumicatus
Tachyporus chrysomelinus
Tachyporus hypnorum
Trichocellus cognatus
Myrmica rubra
Scolopostethus affinis
Tetrix subulata
Harpactea hombergi
Tegenaria silvestris
Microneta viaria
Micrargus herbigradus
Diplostyla concolor
Tomocerus longicornis
Orchesella villosa
Orchesella cincta
Rilaena triangularis
Neobisium muscorum
Cylindroiulus britannicus
Cylindroiulus punctatus
Julus scandinavius
Polydesmus angustus
Polydesmus denticulatus
Tachypodoiulus niger
Oniscus asellus
Philoscia muscorum
Porcellio scaber
Trichoniscus pusillus
Aegopinella nitidula
Azeca goodalli
Discus rotundatus
Lauria cylindracea
Skylarks x3 singing
Agonum albipes
Astenus immaculatus
Ceutorhynchus pollinarius
Demetrias atricapillus
Dromius linearis
Epurea melanocephala
Metabletus obscuroguttatus
Metabletus truncatellus
Phyllotreta nigripes
Stenus levies
Stilbus testaceus
Myrmica rubra
Orchesella cincra
Scolopostethus affinis
Tetrix subulata
Pisaura mirabilis
Trochosa terricola
Diplostyla concolor
Episinus angulatus
Walckenaeria nudipalpis
Porhomma microphthalmum
Porhomma pygmaeum
Tomocerus minor
Rilaena triangularis
Cylindroiulus punctatus
Polydesmus angustus
Tachypodoiulus niger
Armadillidium vulgare
Oniscus asellus
Philoscia muscorum
Arion ater
Azeca goodalli
Clausilia bidentata
Discus rotundatus
Helix aspersa
Limax maximus
Oxychilus helveticus
Trichia stilt
Bembidion quadrimaculatum
Paederus litoralis
Tachyporus chrysomelins
Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale
Andricus quercuscalicis
Halictus sp (ID follows)
Lasius brunneus Na
Lasius fuliginosus
Lithobius forflcatus
Cylindroiulus punctatus
Glomeris marginata
Julus scandinavius
Polydesmus angustus
Tachypodoiulus niger
Porcellio scaber
Discus rotundatus
Helix aspersa
Oxychilus cellarius
Microneta viaria
Lepthyphantes minutes
Harpactea hombergi
Dysdera erythrina
Metellina mengei
Nemastoma bimaculatus
Orchesella villosa
Orchesella cincta
Dicyrtomena minuta
PS
The number of Mollusc records for the county are listed as
species, number of records, and year of last record on our web
site www.wbrc.org.uk
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