Record Highlight!

Recently a Ladder-marked longhorn beetle (Saperda scalaris) was found in Coniston by Kerry Miligan and verified by Gary Hedges and Steve Hewitt. This is a nationally scarce beetle and here at the CBDC we only have 13 records with the earliest being 1900 from the Carlisle natural history society. This was a fantastic find as we have so few records of this species but also as this was the first record for this location (NY32) with most of the previous recording for this species being found at NY55.

Map shows previous records as well as the most recent (highlighted). Photo shows Ladder-marked longhorn beetle (top, middle) from the Tullie House collection.

Great to see new people getting the recording bug.

Our species of the week this week is the Pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca.

The Pied Flycatcher is a passerine which is a little bit bigger than a house sparrow. The male’s markings are distinctive: black and white with a white spot above the beak and across the wing whereas the females are brown with less distinct markings. Around late April early May each year the Pied flycatcher returns to the west of the UK, this is timed to coincide with the high number of caterpillars, which is excellent food for the flycatcher’s chicks.

Unfortunately, climate change is a big threat to the Pied Flycatcher as changes in temperature and weather mean caterpillar numbers in the UK are spiking each year at slightly different times. This means there is often not enough food for the newly hatched chicks. Though the population is still relatively stable worldwide, and flycatchers are still considered ‘least concern’. They are still at risk and become more at risk each year as climate change leads to unpredictable change in the flycatchers main UK food resource.

Here at the CBDC we have more than 1500 records of Pied Flycatcher, a large number of these where collected by the Cumbrian Bird Club who created a Cumbria Bird atlas with us between 2008-2013. Our records show that the best month to see them is May and the most recorded location is near Coniston.

The earliest record we have of the Pied Flycatcher was from 1783, of two individuals who were shot. This record came from John Heysham, a Doctor and more famously a Statistician. Heysham recorded births and deaths in Carlisle and carried out a city census in 1780. Some of the work he carried out was still relied on until 1851. As well as this he was a keen naturalist (a recurring theme amongst Doctors), in particular he was interested in design in nature and how that fit with the concept of a God.

Image below shows a male pied wagtail and a sketch of John Heysham.

Record Highlight!

It is well and truly recording season so over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some of the interesting records that we receive!

First off at the Keswick Mountain festival on the 18th of May this individual of Ctenophora pectinicorns was found by CBDC volunteer Daisy on a bug hunt. Ctenophora pectinicorns is a species of true crane fly, as well as an indicator of ancient woodland. This species is considered nationally rare and here at the CBDC we only have 20 records of this species in Cumbria with the oldest dated record being 1959.

Images below of the crane fly by Guy Broome and a map showing all past records as well as the most recent (highlighted).