31.08.18 - Charley Field

We're trying to monitor the natural regeneration of the field between Burrow Wood and Cat Hill Wood so I try to get up there several times a year to record. I also had it in mind that there was a small pond in the corner of the field and this might be a fruitful site.

I started off with a browse through Cat Hill Wood. No fungi at all, still far too dry, but browsing the leaf litter and clumps of terrestrial moss revealed large numbers of Orchesella cincta and quite a few Entomobrya nivalis. I got excited at one point thinking that I may finally have found a Willowsia, but on closer examination it turned out to be E. nivalis.

When the novelty wore off I went over to the pond and found it almost completely dried up. Sweeping pondside vegetation (lots of Juncus) was productive, giving quite a few Pogonognathellus longicornis and several Dicyrtomina ornata. The highlight though were good numbers of Desoria tigrina, the first time I have been able to confirm this species in VC55:



I'm finding lots of Desoria of various species on waterside vegetation and particularly on emergent Juncus at present - useful until springtail numbers finally recover after the drought.