Invertebrate Report 2018
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An Inventory of Invertebrates recorded from Three Hagges Wood-meadow During 2018 Cercopis vulnerata Black-and-red Froghopper [a bug] adult Lithophane ornitopus Grey-shoulder Knot [a moth] adult Ochlodes sylvanus Large Skipper [a butterfly] male Leucozona lucorum [a hoverfly] female A Report to Hagge Woods Trust by Andrew Grayson The Author is a lifelong amateur naturalist who has been a professional invertebrate specialist since 2009. He has been involved with invertebrate studies at Three Hagges Wood-meadow since 2014, when the site was then known as Three Hagges Jubilee Wood, and has been very pleased to be associated with The Wood Meadow Project and the wonderful group of people involved in management of the Three Hagges Wood-meadow site. This association was responsible for his nomination for the Gilbert White Adult Award at the 2018 UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing held in Nottingham, where he was honoured to make the final shortlist, and for his appearance in the BBC Wildlife Magazine. These were both unexpected achievements. Andrew very much looks forward to being involved with studies at Three Hagges Wood-meadow during 2019. These will not be on the scale of the studies of the past five years, but hopefully will continue to provide useful invertebrate records, including some interesting and unexpected species, as has been the case since 2014. Andrew Grayson at Three Hagges Wood-meadow Invertebrates on the Front Cover Cercopis vulnerata Black-and-red Froghopper [a bug] Single examples of this small but conspicuous and distinctive bug have been seen roughly half-way along the A19 Strip (Area 12) every year since 2014. Elsewhere at Three Hagges Wood-meadow; it was photographed in the Coups 11, 12 & 12a compartment (Area 7) by Lin Hawthorne in 2016, and in an unspecified compartment by Pat & Jim Bone in 2018. The individual on the front cover of this report was photographed in the A19 Strip (Area 12) on 3rd June 2018. Lithophane ornitopus Grey-shoulder Knot [a moth] This moth flies during the autumn and spring: more specifically, it emerges as an adult during September and October, overwinters, and then flies again during the February to April period. The UK Moths website www.ukmoths.org.uk considers it to be ‘a woodland species which is found uncommonly in the southern part of England, Wales and Ireland’. This individual was encountered on 20th February 2018, whilst it was well-camouflaged at rest during the daytime on the bark of one of the tree-trunk pillars which support the roof of the Bodger’s Den (Area 8a). Ochlodes sylvanus Large Skipper [a butterfly] This easily-identifiable skipper is very infrequently seen at Three Hagges Wood-meadow, but its numbers onsite are very probably increasing. Eleven individuals were recorded during 2018, compared with two in 2014, 2016 and 2017, and none during 2015. This pristine male was photographed in Nick’s Field (Area 16) on 3rd June 2018. Leucozona lucorum [a hoverfly] This attractive and distinctive hoverfly was only seen once in each of the first three years of recording at Three Hagges Wood-meadow. It then became comparatively numerous during 2017 when twelve were counted. Only two were seen during 2018; however, the 2018 survey was carried out over far fewer days than previous surveys, so direct comparisons cannot be made. This female was photographed in the Coups 6, 8 & 10 survey compartment (Area 1) on 6th May 2018. In memory of Jim Bone (1937-2019) An Inventory of Invertebrates recorded from Three Hagges Wood-meadow During 2018 A REPORT TO Hagge Woods Trust Little Annexe, Estate Office, Escrick, York, YO19 6EA www.haggewoodstrust.org.uk www.threehaggesjubileewood.org.uk Hagge Woods Trust is Registered Charity No. 1151831 BY Andrew Grayson Invertebrate Consultant, ‘Scardale’, High Lane, Beadlam, Nawton, York, YO62 7SX Email: [email protected] REPORT SUBMITTED ON Thursday 24th January 2019 All PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS REPORT WERE TAKEN BY ANDREW GRAYSON DURING 2018 UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . 1 SUMMARY . 1 THREE HAGGES WOOD-MEADOW . 1 INVERTEBRATE RECORDING . 1 SURVEY METHODOLOGY . 2 SURVEY METHODOLOGY FOR 2018 . 2 SURVEY DATES, WEATHER CONDITIONS AND NOTES . 3 SUPPLEMENTARY RECORDING OF INVERTEBRATES . 4 PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS . 4 INCIDENTAL RECORDING OF PLANTS . 4 RESULTS FOR 2018 . 5 INTRODUCTION . 5 SPECIES OF NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONCERN . 5 SPIE [FORMERLY UK BAP PRIORITY SPECIES] . 6 JNCC-LISTED SPECIES . 6 SPECIES NEW TO VICE-COUNTY 61 . 7 DIPTERA NEW TO VICE-COUNTY 61 . 7 AN ICHNEUMON [HYMENOPTERA] NEW TO VICE-COUNTY 61 . 7 SUMMARY TABLES OF SURVEY DATA FOR 2018 . 8 ORDERS AND NUMBER OF SPECIES FOUND AT THREE HAGGES WOOD-MEADOW DURING 2018 . 8 FAMILIES AND NUMBER OF SPECIES FOUND AT THREE HAGGES WOOD-MEADOW DURING 2018 . 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 13 REFERENCES . 13 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: PLANS . 14 THREE HAGGES WOOD-MEADOW AND ITS ENVIRONS . 14 EXTENTS OF SURVEY COMPARTMENTS AND LOCATIONS OF FEATURES . 15 APPENDIX 2: TABLES . 16 FULL INVERTEBRATE LIST (2014 TO 2018) . 16 INVERTEBRATE LIST FOR 2018 . 42 DISSECTION OF INVERTEBRATE DATA FOR 2018 . 53 PLANT LIST FOR 2018 . 62 APPENDIX 3: PHOTOGRAPHS . 63 SURVEY COMPARTMENT DETAILS . 63 SURVEY COMPARTMENT MONTHLY CHANGES . 79 PHOTOGRAPHS OF INVERTEBRATES . 175 PHOTOGRAPHS OF EVENTS AND FEATURES . 216 APPENDIX 4: SPREADSHEET . 223 INVERTEBRATE DATA FROM THREE HAGGES WOOD-MEADOW 2018 . 223 The spreadsheet is not paginated (pages 223 to 252) 1 INTRODUCTION SUMMARY Five years of continuous invertebrate recording have now been completed at Three Hagges Wood-meadow. During that time, nearly 1,000 invertebrates have been recorded, including some which are of national conservation interest. It seems appropriate that a special report should be produced to cover the first five years of invertebrate recording at Three Hagges Wood-meadow. Consequently, there will be two invertebrate reports produced during 2019, the first of which is the current report. The current annual report divulges all 2018 invertebrate survey data, but does not give all the usual additional notes which were included in the four previous annual reports, which were: Grayson (2014) [the report for 2014], Grayson (2016) [the report for 2015], Grayson (2017) [the report for 2016], and Grayson (2018) [the report for 2017]. The usual additional notes are omitted from the current report, as they will form part of the special five-year report. The current annual report is therefore packed with tables and photographs from 2018, but is relatively short on text. THREE HAGGES WOOD-MEADOW Three Hagges Wood-meadow, formerly known as Three Hagges Jubilee Wood, is situated on the eastern side of the A19 road between the villages of Escrick and Riccall in the county of North Yorkshire. It is entirely within the National Grid 1km square SE6239, and its approximate central 1m square is SE6267039610. Given alternatively, its approximate central latitudinal and longitudinal geographic co-ordinates are 53°50’55.96”N 1°02’56.00”W. For invertebrate recording purposes, the boundaries of the Three Hagges Wood-meadow site are as shown on the plan on page 15. This plan also shows the boundaries of the sixteen survey compartments, and the locations of the following structures: the Bee Hotel (Area 1a), Bodger’s Den (Area 8a), and Crombie Roundhouse (Area 9a). The sixteen survey compartments basically comprise: a main meadow/plantation area (areas 1 to 9), which is enclosed within a high fence, and which was an arable field until as recently as summer 2012; a pond (Area 10), which was a feature created as part of The Wood Meadow Project; About Thyme Wood (Area 11), which is a small, well-established, managed woodland; strips of land, some with plantations (areas 12 to 15), which surround the main meadow/plantation area (areas 1 to 9); and part of a field known as Nick’s Field (Area 16), which was used as a ‘control’ area to enable comparisons to be made with the main part of the Three Hagges Wood-meadow site. INVERTEBRATE RECORDING Invertebrate studies have been carried out at Three Hagges Wood-meadow since 2014, leading to an overall site list of 990 species. This full invertebrate list is enumerated on pages 16 to 41. Most invertebrate surveying has been carried out by Andrew Grayson, principally by sweep-sampling, ground-searching, and the recording of conspicuous and easily-identifiable species in the field. This surveying was carried out between April and September every year from 2014 to 2017; and, as a one-off exercise, was extended in 2018 to include all months of the year. Other recording work at Three Hagges Wood-meadow has included: official visits by members of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union; light-trapping, principally carried out by Dave Chesmore and Lin Hawthorne; pond-dipping, principally carried out by a team led by Martin Hammond; and photography, principally by Pat and Jim Bone, Dave Tate and Mike Cowling. The level of invertebrate studies and achievements to date at Three Hagges Wood-meadow would not have possible without funding support kindly provided by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. This funding support is a direct consequence of the considerable work and enthusiasm for the Three Hagges Wood-meadow project shown by Rosalind Forbes Adam [chair of the Hagge Woods Trust] and also Lin Hawthorne, who was heavily-involved with the project until early 2017. 2 SURVEY METHODOLOGY SURVEY METHODOLOGY FOR 2018 Andrew Grayson has been responsible for continuous systematic invertebrate surveying at Three Hagges Wood-meadow since 2014. As the years have advanced, and the site has developed to provide habitats which support ever-increasing numbers of invertebrates, it was inevitable that the tasks involved in carrying out surveying and ultimately producing annual reports would become progressively more onerous. This resulted in the surveyor paying progressively more visits to Three Hagges Wood-meadow during the summer months each year, which created progressively more indoor work, and considerably delayed the production of reports, as happened with the reports for 2016 and 2017.