The Lyons Share

I found myself nearly waist deep in a stinking black bog today known ominously as the Black Hole, part of our Burton Pond reserve. It's a dangerous place but we had to have a good look around to discuss alder, willow and birch management there. It wasn't all bad though. I did a wee bit of sweeping on the edge of the bog and came up with this striking nationally scarce (Nb) spider, Araneus alsine. I have wanted to see this for years and was glad to finally chance upon it. There are only three records on SxBRC and the last in West Sussex was in the 1890s! Considering how distinctive this thing is, and apparently how hard it is to find, perhaps this is the first record since then! The only Araneus I have not seen now is Araneus marmoreus.

I also swept a carabid new to me, the nationally scarce Demetrias monostigma being my 4029th species. Here is a shot of Cranberry flowering in the bog, there is more there than I have seen anywhere else in Sussex.

Now this is the last post before I go to Ireland. See you on the flip side!