In spite of the terrifying weather, July was an outstanding month for butterflies. With everything brown and crispy after record breaking heat and drought, most species are now struggling, but careful detective work has turned up a decent list of new species (below).
As I keep saying, DNA is the future, like it or not. Obviously not without problems but fortunately, there are some no-brainers.
Cann, A. (2026) The Softly Singing Spider. British Arachnological Society Newsletter, 166, 9.
Notable Finds
Centrodora amoena, first record for VC55Gastrancistrus compressus, first record for VC55
Copidosoma cyaneum, first record for VC55
Gonatopus lunatus, first record for VC55
Hemiptarsenus ornatus, first record for VC55
Meraporus graminicola, first record for VC55
Aeolothrips albicinctus, first record for VC55
Euconomelus lepidus, first records for VC55
Omalus puncticollis, first record for VC55
News from Elsewhere
Using DNA barcodes from parasitoid wasps, the estimated total number of insect species just jumped three-fold to 20 million. Considering how little we actually know, the true total is likely to be even higher (depending on what you regard as a species of course).
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