2018 - Adding New Species to my List

I like to record the insects and other wild creatures that I encounter using tools such as iRecord. I also do plant surveys for the Sussex Botanical Recording Society.  Most of my observations were done in and around Uckfield (Sussex) and Leatherhead (Surrey).

In the dreary cold of a murky January, it seems impossible to imagine that my nature recording was seriously hampered by an implausibly hot summer. Most of insects that I like to record were largely absent and, to be honest, I was unwilling to leave the house except for some early morning plant surveys.

Hawthorn on the Dene, 7 May 2019, the start of a long, hot summer.

This year I recorded about 315 species of which nearly 80 were new to my lists.  Considering the weather conditions this doesn't compare too badly with last year's 350 (with about 100 new).  I focused more on plant surveys than previously because doing this is relatively new to me and practising my identification skills is time consuming - especially for things like grasses that I have been guilty of ignoring in the past.

This post is going to focus on "firsts" - i.e. species that are new to my lists this year or ones that I am seeing in a particular place for the first time.

Silver-washed Fritillary in our Uckfield garden, 13 July

One type of insect that did seem to like the hot summer was butterflies and of my most pleasing sightings was a Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia). This isn't new to my list but I had never seen one in Uckfield before and one came to our garden a few times in mid July. According to the Sussex butterfly atlas, it hasn't been recorded in our map square before. These are big, orange butterflies that live in woodlands and whose caterpillars depend on dog violets. For dog violets to thrive, there must be wide "rides" in the woodland that allows the sunlight to reach the ground when these flowers are growing. The Woodland Trust remove trees from the sides of certain paths in Views (Williams) wood to enable spring flowers to bloom and pollinators to feed on them. My guess is that this is where the butterfly came from but, of course, I don't know.

One new entry was due to my visits to Reading for work. Surprisingly, I often catch glimpses of Red Kites from the bus, quite close to the centre of the town. I never seen one in Sussex but they have been seen reasonably close to Uckfield in places such as Haywards Heath, East Hoathly so it is worth looking out for them. They are big, with a distinctive forked tail.

Magpie Inkcap, West Park, 28 October 2018

I was able to add four new types of fungus to the list - I recorded three of these, including the attractive and rather sinister-looking Magpie Inkcap (Coprinopsis picacea), on a fungus walk that I did with the Uckfield Nature Reserve Supporters group in the West Park Nature Reserve. Keep an eye on the Facebook group to find out about more walks.

Flea beetle, Luxford Field, 21 July 2018

While I was doing a plant survey on Luxford Field, Uckfield, I found the tiniest beetle that I have ever seen. It is a Phyllotreta, unflatteringly referred to as a flea beetle but it is nothing like a flea.

White Admiral, 5 July, Bookham Common, Surrey

While exploring Bookham Common in Surrey I encountered White Admirals (Limenitis camilla) for the first time, feeding on brambles. I had actually been looking for Purple Emperors (Apatura iris) and I was lucky enough to have one of those swoop by me as I walked along one of the woodland paths. In the more domestic environment of a Leatherhead Office, I saw my first Marbled White (Melanargia galathea). I'm told that, in the summer, you can see them by the dozen in Uckfield's West Park nature reserve. I live in hope!

Yellow Tail moth, Uckfield, 9 July

I saw 8 species of moth, including caterpillars, that are new to my lists. Given that there are over two thousand species of moth in the UK, it is not surprising that I keep seeing new ones. One of the prettiest this year was the dainty white Yellow Tail moth (Euproctis similis).

Juvenile Dark Bush Cricket, West Park Nature Reserve, 10 June 2019

While the Nature Reserve group was on one of its spring walks, I encountered my first Dark Bush Crickets (Pholidoptera griseoaptera). These were youngsters and there were about 10 of them.

Box Bug, Uckfield, 7 June 2018

I saw two new types of Bug. The one shown is a Box Bug (Gonocerus acuteangulatus) from our garden.  According to the British Bugs web site, it used to be very rare and found only at Box Hill in Surrey but has now expanded its range and become much more common.

Roman Snail, Leatherhead, May 2018

I only found one new type of mollusc but it was a whopper. I noticed the huge Roman Snail (Helix pomatia) while I was walking to work, along the River Mole, in Surrey.

Annual Beard Grass, 1 July 2019

This year, I have started doing plant surveys in earnest. I surveyed four of the local recreation areas and sports fields, contributing to nearly 80 new species for my lists. This has made me look much more closely at grasses. At our splendid local Uckfield Rugby Club, I found an Annual Beard Grass (Polypogon monspeliensis). This was not only new to me but new for the map square too.

Bog Stitchwort, sorry about the photo!

One of my favourite new plant species was the dainty Bog Stitchwort (Stellaria uliginosa). It was so small that, unless I was deliberately looking for plants, I would have missed it but the tiny flowers are exquisite and just like their bigger cousins, the Greater Stitchwort that we find in woodlands with the bluebells.