Dune

Posted by Graeme Lyons , Monday 17 March 2014 21:00

I spent the weekend up north and went to the sand dunes at Blyth Bay in Northumberland. Now, I've not got much experience at working sand dunes and given how windy it was, the only thing I took with me was a sieve and a tray. It didn't take long to find invertebrates though. My highlight was loads of these quite large pseudoscorpions that even have an English name being the Marram Grass Chelifer Dactylochelifer latreillei. It's associated with Marram Grass on the east coast. Now, it's hardly a 400m long Shai-Hulud but another dune specialist I sieved from litter was the millipede Cylindroiulus latestriatus. I had a carabid tick too, all the Bembidions I saw were the same one, Bembidion aeneum. I'll be back in the summer.

I kicked up a single Snow Bunting from the dunes too, which was a nice surprise, it might even be my first for four years.

4 Response to "Dune"

Skev Says:

Need to get yourself to Arrakis, best site for sandworms.

Graeme Lyons Says:

The ticks must flow.

Unknown Says:

Hey, I might be going on a family holiday up here soon! Another place to fail to see a pseudoscorpion? (I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration...)

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