The moth traps have produced little of anything over recent months due to cold temperatures and either drought or incessant rain. Over the last week, things have begun to pick up although still poor compared to recent years.
Not only moths have been turning up. There have been a number of flies, caddis and other inverts turning up too. Monday night also saw the first beetles of the year paying a visit and for me the beetles are always the best part of looking through the trap the following morning. I often see species that I never see anywhere else and so there's always the potential of something new turning up, and the last catch lived up to this.
First up were a couple of familiar faces....
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| Ernobius mollis. I've recorded this 3 times now and all have been to MV. |
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| Cypha sp. This was a female and is presumably longicornis. I normally find these through suction sampling or sweeping. |
There was also a third beetle scuttling around the bottom of the trap trying to remain hidden under egg boxes. At first glance it was obviously a leiodid and I initially suspected it was a species of Catops but closer inspection revealed it to be a Choleva and I've only seen a Choleva once before. There are 10 species in this genus and they are associated with mammal nests and runs, presumably feeding on some type of waste.
The physical differences in body shape can be quite subtle and as I found last time, a dissection can sometimes clinch the ID quite quickly.
This seems to be one of the more commonly encountered species of Choleva with over 200 records on NBN, the vast majority of which are south of the line between the Humber and the Severn. With odd records up to the Highlands I guess this southerly concentration may just represent recording bias. Anyway, a cool looking, long legged beetle to kick the light trapping season off. With 120 species recorded to light last year I wonder how 2021 will compare?
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