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26th December

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No light.

Yet more work on the Species Index.

Foggy and cold.

Interesting facts and figures from the Species Index (up to end November)

Total number of identified and photographed species is 637. Around 2,500 images have been indexed.

These figures include:-

• 260 flowering plants

• 41 lichens

• 127  fungi

• 52 moths

• 19 hoverflies

• 19 beetles

• 17 butterflies

• 12 mosses

The number of index entries per species varies from 1 to 11.

The species with most entries is Hogweed - Spheraclium spondylium. It flowers over a long period (9 months) and is a valuable nectar source for insects including butterflies, hoverflies, wasps, beetles and bees. Its large leaves are home to a number of leaf-miners, too.

Two species are new to Ireland: Cerodontha sylvatica, an agromyzid fly and Gloeophylum sepiarium, a bracket fungus more commonly found in Scandanavia. One further species - Stigmella roborella - a micromoth - remains to be confirmed in 2006.

Three species are on the European red list (all fungi).