Thousand species challenge – the results are in!
My thousand species challenge finished on New Year’s Eve, yet it felt more like a beginning than an end. This was an epic undertaking, but with the most amazing educational and obsessive attractants. The target was to find one thousand species, of any taxa, within a single kilometre square. The square that I chose included my garden, which also provided an interesting journey of discovery.
I reached one thousand species on 29th July 2013, and eventually ended up with 1,170. These included the following taxa:
- Amphibian 3
- Aphid 5
- Bird 86
- Bristletail 1
- Bryophyte 16
- Assorted bug 35
- Centipede 2
- Charophyte 1
- Coleoptera 42
- Crustacean 1
- Diptera 53
- Fish 3
- Fungi 30
- Hymenoptera 28
- Lacewing 3
- Lepidoptera 451
- Lichen 10
- Mammal 13
- Millipede 4
- Mollusc 22
- Odonata 12
- Orthoptera 6
- Leech 1
- Spider 27
- Trichoptera 5
- Vascular plant 305
- Woodlouse 3
- Worm 1
The moth trap was a major source of new species, and gave me valuable new skills, but it was the other taxa that really tested me (apart from birds). I never knew how difficult fungi were to identify, or caddisflies, or bees. Conversely, I found spiders, ground beetles, molluscs and hoverflies more straightforward.
It was also interesting to learn something about the habitats within my 1km square. A green lane was amazingly diverse, and the ponds, ditches and streams were an obvious source of new species. The garden was also terrific. These are important lessons for ecologists I think. Even small and isolated patches of habitats within a less diverse landscape are important for biodiversity, and not just protected species. Perhaps 3 out of the 1170 species I noted were legally protected!
It’s also the start of a great journey for me, as I start to become more knowledgeable about some species groups, and maybe even start finding some really rare and interesting things! It’s known as pan-species listing. Look it up, it may be for you!
Rosy footman moth, one of the 1170!