6000 species in 2026: Week 2 summary

Posted by Graeme Lyons , Friday, 16 January 2026 16:51

I reached 774 species (12.9% of the challenge) by the 14th January, 372 of which are invertebrates (there's so much to see in mid winter). I had a great day out at Binstead Woods with James Chisnall last Saturday and then went on to Burton Pond for a couple of hours. On the 14th I went to Old Lodge with Matt Secombe, targeting a whole load of spiders and we got most of them!

First up though, it was a surprise to beat a Corizus hyoscyami off a pine! That's me on 43 species of hemipteroids (my target is 500 for the year).

One of the key targets was Micrommata virescens. This spider is identifiable as an immature if you know how to separate them from Tibellus! I flushed a Woodock just as I found this (still not seen a Greenfinch but I did finally unlock Sparrowhawk in the park when I was training this afternoon).



Nice to get the bog specialist shore bug, Chartoscirta cocksii. There is so much to be found at the base of mature tussocks of Purple Moor-grass in January.


Back to the spiders. So I am now on 129 arachnids for the year (or 25.8% of my 500 species target). This 129 includes 122 species of spider. Taranucnus setosus is pretty much guaranteed at Old Lodge in Molinia.


We found just one immature Raft Spider Dolomedes fimbriatus but you only need one for the list! I really need to start taking photos of people and landscapes to illustrate this challenge, or an future talks or articles I do on it are all going to have photos with grey backgrounds.


Like this one! Centromerus arcanus is really common in Sphagnum at Old Lodge. It has such an incredible distribution, check out the SRS page for it and you'll see why I think of Ashdown Forest as 'Sussex's upland'.

Other spider targets all found included: Notioscopus sarcinatus, Hypselistes jacksoni, two male Theonoe minutissima (only the 2nd time I have recorded it there) and a bonus Thanatus striatus (which is new to Old Lodge)! It was a four species of Walckenaeria day too! I love it when you show stuff to someone and they keep saying 2 "I have wanted to see that for ages!" And any day you get to shove a Garlic Snail up someone's nose for the first time is a good day.

Matt found this Cychrus caraboides under a rock. I so very rarely see this big beetle, in fact it is only my 9th record in 17 years of beetling! I am on 94 beetles for the year, that's 7.8% of my 1,200 species target for beetles. Gulp.


And now the exciting find of the survey, vacuumed from a bog I have surveyed many times before, a couple of these small narrow beetles. It's Corticaria umbilicata, very obviously long and narrow. Last recorded in Sussex from Broadwater Warren in 1985 and not recorded since. It's not only new to Old Lodge but to any SWT reserve. These sort of records are important at demonstrating how worthwhile challenges like this are, every time I go to one of these reserves I find something new.


A huge thanks to everyone has donated to the Just Giving page so far, and please do consider donating something at some point throughout the year. It's all going to help the management of the Trust's reserves.

If you want to take part in pan-species listing, you can sign up for free here!

Off to Ebernoe Common for a big day out tomorrow. Watch this space!

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