114 is not the story
One of the 114 - the striking and migratory hoverfly Helophilus trivittatus Last Sunday's field trip to Chipstead Bottom with Graeme Lyons produced a (provisional) total of 200 species. Of these I had not seen 114 of them - these comprising Bees (6), Ants (4), Wasps (3), Spiders (25), Beetles (20), Flies (9), Harvestmen (3), Bugs (24), Hoppers (5), Millipedes (1), Midges (1), Snails (5), Lacewings (2), Grasshoppers (1), Pseudoscorpions (1) and Springtails (2). It came as no surprise to me that there were so many 'lifers' as I rarely look at these groups and certainly do not possess the knowledge or patience of a professional field ecologist. As an aside, I still maintain my Pan-species list, although I rarely chase it. Recently Mark 'Skev' Skevington and I have been enjoying a friendly rivalry as we keep hopping over each other in the league table, but it is a bit of fun with a blunt competitive edge. I did, however, feel a tad guilty at adding such a substan...