Back garden safari

Lepthyphantes tenuis - unless you know otherwise

With a spare hour this afternoon I went out into the garden, beat a bit of Ivy and Euonymus with a stick, collected the beasties that fell onto a handily placed sheet on the ground and added three species to my pan-list* - Empoasca vitis ( a leafhopper), Clubonia corticalis (a spider) and Lepthyphantes tenuis (a spider). All appear to be common and have so far eluded my detection only because I've rarely looked at these groups before. I've often thought that if I borrowed Jonty Denton for a day he could most probably find me a couple of hundred new species in my back garden. Spurred on by this, I disturbed some leaf litter on the ground and found at least three different species of springtail, but could only feel confident in naming one of them, the hairy Orchesella villosa*

It's all out there, hidden from view, awaiting to be found and catalogued. I'm obviously not trying hard enough.

* If you detect any schoolboy errors on my part, please let me know.

Clubonia corticalis - I hope!

Comments

Trees Planet said…
Nice thinking.
Where they are on the tree?
Trees Planet
17 February 2014 at 16:03
Stewart said…
I've been doing something similar today too!
17 February 2014 at 18:53
Tim said…
Hi Steve. As you know I'm no expert but your picture of the putative Clubiona reminds me of one I posted onto the Spider Forum in January - see the reply.
http://srs.britishspiders.org.uk/portal.php/p/Forum/r/view/s/201401
Regards, Tim
17 February 2014 at 21:35
Steve Gale said…
Thanks Tim, maybe we ought to stick to birding... it's a lot easier!
17 February 2014 at 22:43
Steve Gale said…
Chipping away, it's fun, isn't it Stewart!
17 February 2014 at 22:44
Steve Gale said…
They hide within the leaves, at this time of year anything that is evergreen.
17 February 2014 at 22:45
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