The first 600

Back in March I identified and recorded my 500th species of beetle. It had taken me about 5 years to get there, after a slow start. It has taken me just 3 months to see and identify the next 100 species. Which is averaging a tad over a new species a day.

I also have another 20-30 species sat in the fridge that I know are new but haven't got round to dissecting yet. There are also a few more that I'm not entirely confident on and need to have checked either by someone with more experience or by comparing them to known reference specimens.

I began the year with the desire to up my beetling game and to see and ID more species. I seem to be making some headway on that front. I've made good use of lots of different methods: sieving, sweeping, extraction and vacuuming. I've also expanded the sorts of places I look . The late winter beetling was definitely a highlight with my compost heap and flood debris sampling being particularly productive.

In February I told myself that 700 by the end of the year might be possible but then lock down hit and I gave up on that idea. It didn't matter as it's not really about the numbers for me, I just use it as a proxy for making sure that I continue to try and expand my horizons and learn new things. Although I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a kick from seeing new beetles. 😄

Having hit 600 half way through the year, I reckon another 100 or so beetles by the end of the year is a distinct possibility if I can keep my focus and not be distracted by other things.

So what was number 600. It was Hydrochus ignicollis, which came to light last week.