Nature in Avon
Volume 72

Bristol Naturalists’ Society

Registered Charity No. 235494
www.bristolnats.org.uk

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Editorial

It is one of the joys of being part of an old-established society that
you are always aware of treading in the footsteps of the past. In the
late nineteenth century the Society had an engineering section, which
seems odd until the connection between Geology, the principle
concern of the society in its early years, and the giant civil
engineering projects of the time, becomes clear. One of the most
distinguished members, and President of this section, was Charles
Richardson, who built the Severn Tunnel, and the longest
contribution in this volume describes his remarkable life and work.

The original purpose of the Society laid down by Adolph Leipner
was to achieve a description of the whole of the wildlife of the
region, and over the first century this was largely achieved. In more
recent times attention has turned to monitoring the process of
constant change which, it is now recognised, 1s basic to the structure
of life. Henri Audcent’s work on Flies published in this journal in the
1930s was a magnificent undertaking at the time, though few now
recognise his name, and it provides an opportunity to measure
change at least at the species level over sixty years, and John Kramer
has done this in Leigh Woods for one small group of invertebrates,
the Diptera.

We share our houses and gardens with thousands of species of
wildlife, and we are only fleetingly aware of the existence of any of
them. Mark Pajak’s article is the first on spiders that this journal has
carried in 150 years, and a vivid example of how expertise can open
a window on one small fraction of this complexity.

Staying with invertebrates Robert Muston’s microscopic study of
Chironomid larvae from the Sneyd Park Nature Reserve pond is
remarkable. And Ray Barnett continues to summarise the unusual
records for the year. Recording and publishing records is a key part
of the function of the Society. Ere

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“/BRARIES

Oliver Milburn has speculated in the past in our bulletin on the
evolutionary origin and significance of tails, and has followed this up
with a suggestive and fascinating excursion into the physiology of bi-
pedalism. The reasoning is dense, and provocative.

Sylvia Kelly charts the history of single ancient hedge. All hedges
are officially protected and preserved by the city planning rules, but
in practice developers hate them, and they often are left in a legal no-
mans-land. Yet they are precious both in terms of the history of a city
created from fields, and in sustaining wide biodiversity.

BRERC has published the latest in its series of Atlases, which began
in 2000 with the Botanical Atlas. The BNS has been closely
associated with all these productions, both by assisting in the process
of record, and helping with the costs of production. The latest, the
Dragonfly Atlas, is reviewed below. The BTO Bird Atlas of the
region, the successor to that published in 1992, summarises the work
of over 500 observers over four years, and charts in great detail the
pattern of population change and distribution. Finally there is a
review of Ian Wade’s beautifully illustrated Bristol Safari. Few
regions or cities can be better studied than ours.

There is a brief comment on the colour section on page 127 after the
accounts.

Charles Richardson, Civil Engineer

Trevor Thompson
ROCKTHOM@btinternet.com

PS

&

Born 14"

August 1814
Died 10" February 1896
Past President of the Geological and Engineering Sections of The
Bristol Naturalists’ Society

Sir John Hawkshaw's testimonial for Charles Richardson which
accompanied his recommendation that Mr Charles Richardson be
admitted into the Institution of Engineers

Was apprentice to I.K.Brunel in September 1834 for four years. Had
charge of sinking trial shafts for the Box Tunnel and in 1837 was for
some months an assistant engineer in the Thames Tunnel. Went to
Cirencester in 1838 and had charge of construction of the railway
from Swindon to Cirencester as Resident Engineer. Completed this
line and the shafts and headings of the Sapperton Tunnel by 1842.
Completed afterwards a further section of this line down the Stroud
Valley in 1846.

Had charge in that year as Resident Engineer of the Monmouth-
Hereford Railway which was held in abeyance but afterwards made
the Hereford, Ross and Gloucestershire Railway which was finished
in 1865. Was appointed Resident Engineer of the Bristol South Wales
Union Railway in 1858 After Mr I.K.Brunel’s death in 1859 Mr
Brereton and him were Joint Engineers of this railway. Became
Chief Engineer of the Bristol Harbour Railway in 1865 and
completed the first section of the line in 1870. Was appointed
Engineer of of the Severn Tunnel Railway with Sir John Hawkshaw
as consulting engineer in 1872.

Proposer: John Hawkshaw

18" Feb 1875

INTRODUCTION

Charles Richardson, born 14" August 1814, was not a Bristolian by
birth but could almost claim to be one by adoption having spent the
majority of his professional life living and working either within the
city or the adjacent counties of Wiltshire, Somerset and
Gloucestershire. He finally passed away at his house, No 10,
Berkeley Square, Bristol on the 10 February 1896.

Since childhood we have all had the achievements of the great
Victorian engineers presented to us as part of our education. Names
such as Stephenson, Barlow, Brunel, immediately come to mind, but
there are many others who designed and built great works but are
rarely mentioned when such are the subject of TV documentary
programmes. Bazalgette for sewers. Father and son George and
Robert Stephenson, with Barlow for railways. The Brunels, Mare and
his son Isambard Kingdom, for just about everything from the
Thames Tunnel to new docks and bridges, ships and the GWR. But
there are many others who fail to make the headlines and their
contribution to the complete picture was in no way insignificant.

One such person was Charles Richardson who was not only a
competent engineer qualified in the complexities of the design of
structures, but a geologist, visionary, businessman and in his younger
years an athletic man and cricketer of considerable talent. Having
had a successful career for 45 years in the profession of his choice
his reputation was dashed by a natural phenomenon which no one
could have foreseen. As a result his achievements and entire portfolio
of works are hardly mentioned and for the credit of his greatest work
to be ignored by his contemporaries. He thus spent the later years of
his life defending his reputation and seeking to correct the injustice
that he felt had been levelled against him.

The Life and Works of Charles Richardson

Charles Richardson was born on the 14"" August 1814 at Capenhurst
Hall Nr. Chester into a family of not inconsiderable means. He was
the third son of Mr Richard Richardson who was a J.P and Deputy
Lieutenant of the County and Chairman of the Quarter Sessions.
Charles was six years of age when his father died.

His primary education was gained at a private school in England and
further educated at a private school on the outskirts of Paris. He then
attended University of Edinburgh where he read mathematics.
Throughout his early years he showed exceptional ability in
mechanics and engineering.

At the age of 19 years his formal education was complete and in
1834 began his long association with Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Charles Richardson was indentured to him as an apprentice pupil.
From the testament given at his enrolment in 1875 as a M.I.C.E. it is
recorded that his first practical engineering experience was gained
working on sinking the trial shafts of the Box Tunnel. From the same
source it is stated that in 1837 he was for some months Assistant
Engineer to Brunel on the 2" phase of the excavation of the first
Thames Tunnel.

The scheme was initiated by Marc Brunel, (the father of Isambard)
on which work commenced in February 1825. In April 1826,
following the illness of Marc Brunel's resident engineer, Isambard at
the age of 20 years was appointed as his replacement. The work was
suspended in 1828 and remained closed until August 1835. It is
recorded that Charles Richardson demonstrated much _ physical
strength and courage whilst working on the Thames Tunnel and also
when working with Brunel on the Clifton Suspension Bridge in
scrambling down St Vincent’s Rocks to take Brunel's instruction to
those below when the first bar was carried across the gorge.

During the months June to September 1836 he worked on the Bristol-
Exeter line often accompanying Brunel on his travels, surveying,
setting out and inspecting work.

Swindon-Cirencester-Gloucester Railway

From September 1836 he was increasingly involved in the Swindon -
Cirencester line and in 1837 at the age of 23 years was appointed
Resident Engineer for the project. and took up residence, close to the
project in Flintham House, in the village of Oaksey complete with
two servants and a groom.

It was an amazing expression of confidence by Brunel in the abilities
of such a young man. It was a complicated project including
embankments and cuttings, a tunnel at Sapperton, a viaduct and
bridges. In addition the tortuous route through the Stroud Valley at
Chalford was complicated geologically and crowded. It already
accommodated a toll road, the Thames Severn Canal, a river and
numerous cloth mills with their mill-ponds and tail-waters.

From the outset the project was bedevilled with problems arising
from land slips caused by inclement weather and the poor material
used to form the embankments at the Swindon end of the line. On
this section the line required an embankment 30 feet high for a length
of almost 2 miles. Unfortunately there was insufficient arisings from
cuttings to make up the embankments. To overcome this problem
additional land was purchased for side cuttings 125 feet wide by 10
feet deep either side of the line. There was an additional allowance
for 12 feet of undisturbed land on both sides at the base of the
embankment. The problems arose from the material arising from the
excavation which was of Kimmeridge clay. In Richardson's own
words “an easily grafted material, but the most slippery stuff I have
ever had to deal with”. The combination of prolonged inclement
weather during the construction, coupled with the natural
characteristic of the clay and sub-strata resulted in major slippages of
the embankments when the line was due to be opened in 1841. The
clay was sliding back into the side cutting from which it had come.
The slips, the longest of which was up to 110 yards long,
commenced at the top of the embankment in a conchoidal pattern.

Brunel's resolution to the problem was to instruct the contractor to
drive stout beech piles along the base of the embankment with the
intention of pinning the slip to the undisturbed sub formation. This
proposal was quickly executed but failed to stop the progress of the
slips. The lateral pressure or super-incumbent load on each pile was
calculated by Richardson to be 200 tons on each pile. As a
consequence the piles were snapped clean at the slip plane. Other
solutions were tried such as fire holes to burn the clay but to no avail.

Richardson came to the conclusion that the problem arose at the
slipping surface and that the solution was to somehow break it. With
Brunel’s permission he proposed a series of pits 6 feet square dug at
6 feet intervals at the base of the embankment, taken down to 18
inches below the slip surface. His concern was speed in the execution
of the work to avoid undue stress at the slip surface whilst the
excavations were taking place. He therefore decided to excavate the
pits alternately. Immediately upon reaching the required depth the
pits were filled with rough stone from a coral rag formation
excavated from a cutting further along the line. The exercise proved
an immediate success. As a result Richardson decided not to
immediately proceed with alternate pits or counterforts and
eventually decided they would not be required.

The line in the Stroud Valley at Chalford Valley was cut through the
south side hill 50- 100 feet above the valley bottom. At this position
the geological formation was Inferior Oolite overlain at about 150
feet by a Fullers Earth formation comprising fullers-earth clay
interspersed with blue rock. The Fullers Earth formation was in turn
overlain with the Great Oolite. Richardson observed before
excavations began that there was an ancient slip through which the
line would cut. It extended for about a quarter of a mile but was
stable. He also observed three springs came to the surface but
disappeared in the ground above the line. He was concerned that the
railway excavations would promote instability in the ancient slip
should there be prolonged period of rain. He was also correct in his
assumption that the excavations would expose the slip surface and
discovered during the progress of the work that it was entirely
composed of Fuller's earth clay.

Richardson brought his concern to the attention of Brunel and
expressed his opinion that the excavations had removed the buttress
formed by the oolite mass and that in time the old slip would
advance. He proposed that precautions should be taken by providing
a drain above the line to divert the springs but Brunel would not
sanction the expense. Richardson's prediction was later proved
correct. After the line was opened for traffic and following prolonged
period of rain the old slip moved and raised the track some 3 feet in
one night causing extensive disruption and unnecessary expense in
remedial works.

Sometime during the course of the works a further unforeseen
difficulty arose for Richardson to resolve. A landowner and timber
merchant demanded a passageway across the railway cutting. His
requirement was for the timber logs from the woods above the track
to slide in an unbroken descent to the canal below. The slope of the
hill was | in 3. Richardson's solution was to design and construct a
bridge so slender in proportions and geometric design that it
impressed Brunel to such a degree that he would not allow parapet
walls to interfere with its beauty and proportions. Only light iron
rails were allowed. The bridge remains today as a fitting memorial to
the artistic talent Richardson brought to bear on his work. See Photo
|

Ross-on Wye
Following his work on the Swindon-Cirencester-Stoud line Charles

Richardson was appointed by Brunel to the position of Resident
Engineer on the Hereford-Ross-Gloucester line. He relocated his
place of residence from Chalford to Brookend House in Ross.

Immediately upon his appointment Richardson was not satisfied that
the best route had been chosen for the line and with an assistant, he
surveyed a new route. His revised proposal was approved by Brunel
and adopted by the railway company directors. As a result a new Act
had to be obtained and consequently work was held in abeyance.

9

It was whilst at Ross that his cricketing prowess was noted not only
in the reports in the local newspapers but also by the directors of the
company who complained to Brunel about his devotion to the sport.
Brunel was so concerned by the directors complaint that he wrote to
him. “As to the apparent want of energy on your part in attending to
the companies works...contrasted with the alleged devotion to
amusement and among other things to cricket I don't know why you
should be less of a slave to work than I am. I don't know why a man
having the advantage of country air and very light work should
indulge therein. You must endeavour to remove any such grounds of
observation ”’.

It was whilst he was at Ross that Charles Richardson designed the
first cane spliced cricket bat and invented a bowling machine.

This was not the only distraction for Charles Richardson as it was
here that he met and married his wife Mary Frances Thomson the
eldest daughter of C.E.Thomson, Surgeon on 19" Aug 1854. He was
40 years of age only three years younger than his mother in law.

The next landmark in his career came in 1858 when Brunel invited
him to be the Resident Engineer on the Bristol-South Wales Union
Railway. He was unemployed at the time and was _ therefore
agreeable to the rather low salary of £300-£450 compensated with
the offer of beautiful countryside and cricket.

Richardson sold his house at Ross complete with all furnishings and

his wherry river boat complete with blades and moved with his wife
and first child to Almondsbury in Gloucestershire

10

The Bristol -South Wales Union Railway

The scheme was complex and included embankments and cuttings,
also a tunnel and two large ferry piers, one at 545 yards long on the
Gloucestershire bank of the Severn and the other 236 yards long on
the Monmouthshire side.

Once again Richardson was confronted with problems of land slips,
this time in the Ashley Hill Valley where he again encountered lias
clay and running water in the form of Horfield Brook. However,
although subordinate to Brunel, he was not restricted in his
recommendations to resolve the problems as by now his reputation
for dealing with such matters had preceded him and the Board of
Directors, no doubt on the recommendation of Mr Brunel allowed
him to do whatever he thought was necessary.

Twelve months into undertaking this project an important event took
place which would influence the remainder of Richardson's career as
a civil engineer. It was the untimely death of Isambard Kingdom
Brunel on the 15" September 1859. Brunel's death resulted in
Charles Richardson, with Mr R.P. Brereton being appointed Joint
Engineer in Chief to the B&SWUR.

Work commenced on the project at the Almondsbury Tunnel (now
Patchway Tunnel) in September 1858 and it was here that Charles
Richardson noted that the arisings from the excavation was coal
measures shale clay suitable for the manufacture of bricks. As a
result of his discovery in 1865 he purchased Cattybrook Farm and
established on that farm the Cattybrook Brick Company for the
manufacture of vitrified bricks suitable for use in any type of
construction but in particular civil engineering projects.

11

he Portskewett Pier

It has previously been mentioned that the project required the design
and construction of two land piers on the banks of the Severn. These
large structures were constructed of bulk timber which required deep
anchor foundation into the exposed tidal rocks and foreshore. It was
whilst the excavations of the pits in river bed on the Welsh bank
were in progress that Richardson made a significant discovery in
respect of the peculiarities and nature of the Severn tidal flow.

Since time immemorial there had been a desire to have direct
communication between Bristol and South Wales for passenger and
freight traffic either by bridge or subaquatic tunnel. The B & SWUR,
although an improvement, was not the complete answer to the needs
of Bristol or South Wales. From his observations Charles Richardson
deduced that it would be possible to construct a tunnel for railway
connection between Bristol and South Wales under the Severn.

12

Brunel, in correspondence with the Duke of Beaufort in a letter dated
30" May 1854, said that it should be possible to overcome the
difficulties of the Severn and expressed a belief that “within 50 years
there would be a bridge or tunnel across the estuary”. The preferred
location for either a bridge or tunnel was at the site of the New
Passage Ferry. It was south of the River Wye with a direct access to
Cardiff and South Wales with rock formations on either foreshore.

incoming

qv

ff ST. TECLA'S
MONMOUTHSHIRE \\, “ele aga

Outgoing

The principle problem, be it for a bridge or tunnel, was not the 33
foot tidal range, but the section of the river known at The Shoots.
This is a deep trench in the river bed, 450 yards wide, visible at low
tide, situated half a mile from the Welsh shore.

13

Its precise depth was not known, neither was the condition of its bed.
What could be observed at low tide was the extensive bed rock of the
river comprising of trias, marls, and sandstones and a conglomerate
called dolomitic, a material formed of rounded pebbles and boulders
embedded in a hard matrix, the whole presenting a surface very
resistant to erosion.

Richardson discovered that, after every tide, the navvies had to
remove from the pits boulders and gravel brought in by the flow of
the water. He therefore deduced that if such material was constantly
flowing over the river bed then the surface condition of the rock
would uniformly apply whether exposed or submerged, consequently
any soft or deleterious material would have been removed over the
ages by the constant ebb and flow of the tide, including the Shoots.
He further deduced that any residual cracks or fissures would be
impervious as they would be filled with compacted sand and mud. It
was from these observations Richardson came to the conclusion that
it would be a feasible proposition to construct a tunnel under the
River Severn.

In the year 1862 Charles Richardson put his idea and proposals for a
tunnel to Mr Leonard Bruton, Secretary of B.& S.W.U.R with an
estimated cost of half a million pounds exclusive of inshore
approaches. He was encouraged to proceed by Mr Bruton, and the
contractor working on the B.&.SWUR, Rowland Brotherhood of
Chippenham. Brotherhood agreed with Richardson that his estimate
was correct, subject to a contingency sum for unforeseen water
ingress. As a result he produced a preliminary scheme and presented
it to the directors of the B& SWUR. Richardson's proposal was
favourably received by the directors and he was further encouraged
to proceed with a detailed section and survey of the river bed. From
this survey he produced his preliminary plans and estimates for The
Severn Railway Tunnel.

14

Cross Section of the bed of the River Severn and line of the proposed
tunnel.

On the Ist January 1863 The Bristol & South Wales Union Railway
was formally opened for passenger traffic. In the same year
Richardson's plans for a rail tunnel under the Severn were deposited
with Parliament but failed to receive a second reading through lack
of financial support.

His plans were again presented a year or two later but again failed for
the same reason. Meanwhile proposals, in competition with
Richardson's tunnel were being prepared for either a bridge or tunnel.
In the ensuing years there were eight alternative proposals tabled for
consideration. The most prominent being Fowler's Great Western and
South Wales Direct which although receiving Parliamentary approval
failed, as did Richardson's proposed tunnel, for lack of financial
backing.

15

In 1865 as well as establishing the Cattybrook Brick Company
Charles Richardson was also appointed Chief Engineer of The
Bristol Harbour Railway. This was a relatively small line but very
complicated. It required a viaduct, a tunnel and a bascule bridge,
very little of which remains today. Its route was from the railway at
Temple Meads to the Bathurst Basin. The viaduct was to traverse the
Bristol-Bath-Wells road. The tunnel was under the churchyard of St
Mary Redcliffe. The bascule bridge was located at the lock entrance
to Bathurst Basin, between the General Hospital and The Ostrich
pub. See photo 2. Note this was a broad gauge line.

Although he was involved in other projects such as preparing plans
for the Exe Valley Railway, Charles Richardson continued to pursue
his vision of a sub-aquatic crossing of the Severn Estuary. He was, to
some degree, encouraged by the absorption of the B&SWUR into the
GWR The board of the GWR was keen to exploit the coal trade of
South Wales and sought to promote a direct line either by tunnel or
bridge. Competition grew between Richardson's tunnel and Fowler’s
bridge; Fowler was at that time the engineer for the GWR, but his
scheme for a bridge was rejected in favour of a tunnel. The directors
of the GWR preferred the option of a tunnel as it avoided
confrontation with the Admiralty and the Severn Navigation lobby.
Accordingly in 1872 Richardson's proposals were again put before
Parliament this time promoted by the directors of the GWR. Under
their direction and at a cost to the company estimated at £750,000.

The directors had certain reservations about the undertaking and
insisted that Richardson obtained support from an engineer of the
highest standing. He first approached Thomas Harrison, of The
North East Railway who declined, His concern was the unknown
condition of the rock formation at the bottom of the Shoots where
fissures may be sufficient to render the tunnel impracticable. Sir John
Hawkshaw considered the scheme feasible and gave it his consent.

The Parliamentary Bill was passed. Charles Richardson was
appointed Engineer for the project with Sir John Hawkshaw as
Consulting Engineer.

The Severn Tunnel

“Tf it were above ground, the Severn Tunnel would be a Grade I
listed monument preserved as an example of Victorian engineering
enterprise and skill” Lord Crickhowell (Lords Hansard 1 as
February 1999)

Prior to work starting it was necessary to carry out a very accurate
survey of the proposed route as it was to be within a stipulated width
of 300 yards. At that time there was no recognised procedure for such
a task. It was left to the inventiveness and skill of Richardson to
devise a method which accommodated the rise and fall of the tide
and the fact that there was only still water within the Shoots for 20
minutes between tides. His method and procedure for the task he set
out in a paper which he read to The Bristol Naturalist Society on the
28"" June 1887.

The survey confirmed Richardson's earlier belief that the bottom of
the Shoots was free of fissures and something like the ridge and
furrow of a ploughed field. In his own words “as might have been
expected from the nature of the wearing away by gravel running
longitudinally up and down”.

He observed from his own experiences whilst working on the Union
Railway, and from historical facts, that under certain meteorological
and spring tide conditions extreme high tide levels could be reached
that would, unless precautions were taken, overwhelm the sea walls
and drown the mouth of the tunnel. He cited two recorded instances
one at Kingston Seymour where on 20" January 1606 the water lay
five feet high in the church and surrounding land and again in 1702 at
a church in Peterstone where a lead plug was let into the wall to mark
the height of the water following a great storm.

Richardson concluded from his observations that the height of the sea
banks around the cuttings in the meadows would have to be raised to
16 feet. His finding was derided by one of the directors during a site
inspection 1883 but he was later proved correct as on the 18"
October 1883 the entire works on the Welsh side were flooded as a
result of a severe S.S.W. gale coinciding with a high spring tide.

The October flood 1883

After the survey of the Shoots was completed and the centreline
established it was decided that the first objective would be a heading
under the Shoots to confirm the anticipated conditions of the rock
and thus the practicability of the project before the outlay of
expenditure for the entire work. Richardson's original plan was to
erect a watertight caisson on the edge of the Shoots of sufficient size
to accommodate a winding engine and pump and to excavate down
to invert level and drive out a heading under the Shoots.

18

His plan was thwarted by the Severn Navigation lobby, supported by
the Admiralty, who insisted on free passage without impediment for
their ships. Two further shafts which were intended to be placed on
English stones also had to be abandoned. Charles Richardson wrote,
“This opposition seemed somewhat captious on the part of the
navigation authorities who might have had to put up with piers of a
bridge all across the river and who had already been beaten in their
opposition to the bridge scheme of Mr Fowler, a few miles up.”

As a result of the objection a shaft, 15ft diameter was sunk on the
shore at Sudbrook in March 1873. It reached bottom in December
1874 and the heading was commenced in Pennant sandstone which
was very wet.

As a consequence of the navigation ruling Richardson realised that
the traditional method of aligning a tunnel would not be suitable for
the Severn Tunnel as the distance between the shafts would be too
great and lead to unacceptable inaccuracy. The traditional method
(as was Richardson's first experience with Brunel on the Box
Tunnel), was to set out the tunnel at ground level and sink a series of
shafts along its length. The centre line would be marked on head
trees across the shaft head, plum bobs would be dropped to the
bottom. A line of sight for the pilot, or bottom headings, which
would be advanced in two directions, would be taken and the centre
line marked on the head tree supports along the length as the pilot
tunnel advanced. As the heading was much smaller than the
completed tunnel (approximately seven feet square) any
discrepancies would be easily corrected prior to the excavation being
enlarged to its full size.

Ihe

Richardson's problem was that there would be no intermediate shafts
in the river, therefore the only points of setting out would be from
those located on the banks two and a quarter miles apart. Richardson
resolved it by purchasing a special transit instrument form Troughton
& Simms which could be rotated through 360 degrees in the vertical
plane, allowing vision through its base, as well as 360 degrees in the
horizontal plane. He then devised new apparatus consisting of piano
wire mounted on solid base plates with a unique method of
adjustment. He also introduced what was new and untested at that
time, electric light, which greatly improved the level of illumination
at the base of the shaft and headings Richardson describes in detail
his modus operandi in a paper he wrote in 1887 a précis of which is
set out below .

‘The instrument was set up on a special mounting on the top of the
shaft exactly on the centre line of the tunnel. The centre line was
projected to the bottom, negating the use of plumb bobs. After taking
several readings on the opposite bank to align-the instrument, which
as stated previously was two and a quarter miles away, the
instrument was rotated in the vertical plane to face down to view the
piano wires at the bottom of the shaft. The wires were brought into
the precise line by adjustment. The operation was repeated many
times until Charles Richardson was satisfied that all discrepancies
had been removed and the true centre line established within the
heading. This method was repeated throughout the entire project.
When the headings eventually met in the centre of the river, the
Engineer-in-charge reported them as meeting “dead true both in line
and levels” thus proving Richardson's expertise to be most perfect. It
must be born in mind that not only was the tunnel to be straight but
that the invert dipped 1-100 in both directions from the entrance
portals to its lowest point under the Shoots

20

After four years of work the heading had successfully passed under
the Shoots, thus proving the viability of the project. Richardson
prepared drawing and specification for letting the work out to be
completed by a contractor. All tenders returned were in excess of
Richardson's original estimate, due mainly to the contractor’s
contingency sums for the unknown ground conditions. It was then
decided that in order to negate this problem the heading would be
extended to the entire length of the tunnel. Contracts were let to
contractors for new shafts to be sunk and headings driven east and
west. The Sea Wall shaft on the Gloucestershire shore was begun as
were two new shafts on the Welsh side. The work under the Severn
from the Sudbrook shaft was continued with the existing GWR
labour force. Progress was disappointingly slow due to the excessive
water and the hardness of the dolomitic rock.

The directors of GWR were now keen to see progress of their tunnel
for them to exploit the South Wales coal trade, as their competitor’s
bridge at Sharpness was under construction. It is obvious that the
relationship between Richardson and Gooch (Chairman of GWR)
was becoming strained as Gooch records in his diary May 1° 1878.
“I went to the Severn Tunnel and spent the day there going up to the
face of the heading. All going on very well, but very slow. The day
was fine with some showers. This is an anxious job for me.
Richardson the engineer has no go in him and does not move without
consulting me, making me almost the engineer.

Springs, producing copious quantities of water, were encountered
necessitating a flood door to be built 340 yards into the heading. This
was a solid structure of brickwork with a substantial door and sluice
valve built to prevent flooding in the event of a pump breakdown.
This flood wall was to have a great significance later in the progress
of the work

ZA

Disaster Day
October the 16'" 1879 disaster struck when an enormous spring was

struck 354 yards east of the Sudbrook shaft causing the entire works
to drown with the exception of the Sea Wall heading. The heading
under the river had reached a length of 3,370 yards or nearly 2 miles
from the Sudbrook shaft and was within 138 yards of linking with
the Sea Wall heading. After six years the project was at a standstill.
The headings were drowned on the same day as the opening
ceremony of the Severn Railway Bridge at Sharpness.

i in 4

ae

The drowning of the work to all intent and purposes finished
Richardson’s career. The board of the GWR replaced him as
Engineer-in-Charge with Sir John Hawkshaw. Charles Richardson
was retained as Consulting Engineer.

Sir John Hawshaw Mr Thomas Walker

Sir John immediately appointed Thomas Walker of London as
contractor for the entire work. It took Walker twelve months to bring
the water under control and to clear the tunnel before work under the
Severn could proceed.

In the ensuing period, Sir John Hawkshaw made some major
alterations to Richardson's design. The first was to lower the invert
by 15 feet causing the existing heading to be now the top heading
and the drainage tunnel under the Shoots to be re excavated and for
all the shafts to be lowered by 15 feet. The gradient on the Welsh
side was increased to 1 in 90. The gradient on Gloucestershire
remained at 1 in 100. He changed the brickwork bond to ring work as
opposed to Richardson's preferred vertical bond and increased the
brickwork thickness from 27 inches to 3 feet.

23

After a further seven years the tunnel finally opened for goods traffic
on 1“ September 1886 and passengers on 1° December 1886. See
Photo 3. The story of the building of the tunnel following the
drowning is set out in a book by the contractor Thomas A. Walker
“The Severn Tunnel its Construction & Difficulties 1872-1887” in
which Charles Richardson's contribution to the tunnel is barely
mentioned.

Following the publication of Thomas Walker's account Charles
Richardson felt obliged to record the facts as he knew them, which
was published September 1888.

Extracts of some of his thoughts are;

“They then asked Sir John to undertake the main responsibility of the
work and made us Joint Engineers of whom he was chief. From that
time I could advise, but he could decide”

“T believe the spring could be shut back in a month by boring an
1Sinch hole into the heading and pouring in liquid cement till that
part of the heading was filled up but the Engineer-in Chief would not
hear of it.”

“My opinion was altogether against the depression of the gradient
after five years driving the heading at its then level, all across the
river, and finding under the Shoots the strongest and safest rock
possible. I suggested, in preference, the driving of a top heading 20
feet above along the 300 yards of deep water .....it could have been
done in 20 weeks: here again my advice was disregarded. ”

“The 15 feet lowering also increased largely the flow from the Big
spring; for when it was tapped a second time on October I 0” 1883,
at the 15 feet lower level, and 90 yards nearer to the shaft, it rushed
in in a fourfold quantity”

24

“It may be mentioned here, that when the contractor began to open
out the heading under the Shoots into the full size tunnel, he also
became of opinion that the 15 feet lowering had been unnecessary,
for on one occasion when he, Sir John and I were standing at the
shaft head, about to go below, he suddenly remarked to Sir John” “
We were afraid in the wrong place Sir John”

“the brickwork all through, both in the tunnel and in the bridges
outside was very much heavier than I think was needful, and that all
the arches have been built in rings of brickwork instead of the
vertical bond”.

“IT have long considered ring work both weak and untrustworthy. I
have not used it myself for twenty five years”

This kind of brickwork, and the depression of the gradient, are the
only departures from my original plans. The result of the 15 feet
depression is that;(1) the trains have 1,500feet more gradient to
climb; (2)The pumps have to raise the water 15 feet higher; (3) The
water pressure on the brickwork was increased 7lb. on the square
inch; (4) the flow from the Big spring was very largely increased by
tapping it at the 15 feet lower level; and (5) the additional cost,
together with that of the unnecessary brickwork, has been something
like half a million of money.

Charles Richardson September 1888.

In his later years Charles Richardson prepared several papers; an
account of the Severn Tunnel was read before the Clifton Scientific
Club in 1887, and in the same year he gave a paper on arches to the
Bristol Naturalist Society of which he was President for many years.
Charles Richardson died 10" February 1896, at the age of 81 years
six days after a paralytic seizure at his house in Berkeley Square,
Bristol. He was buried at Almondbury Church where there is a
window dedicated him as the originator to the Severn Tunnel.

25

From his obituary published in the Institute of Civil Engineers

“In temperament he was benevolent, genial, peaceful and
contemplative, while his straightforwardness and honour were such
as are rarely met with. His modest disposition prevented his being
known to fame and it is only those who were intimately acquainted
with him to realise the nobility of his character. “

From the Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers:

“A wealthy background meant that engineering was something of a
hobby, and a natural modesty meant that his undoubted engineering
talent was not known widely beyond those working with him. Better
known contemporaries achieved more with less ability”’

Acknowledgements and Selected references

Richardson, C. The Severn Tunnel; PBNS June 1887.

Richardson, C The Severn Tunnel;Its Origins and Construction
Paper : September 1888.

Richardson, C On Landslips PBNS May 1891.

J. Clarke Hawkshaw The Severn Tunnel Railway;
EngineeringPaper: 29 August 1884.

Wilson, R.B. Sir Daniel Gooch :Memoirs and Diary. Davis &

Charles

G. Body The Severn Tunnel British Rail Official History.

J. Norris The Bristol South Wales Union Railway Railway and

Canal Society.

Institute of Civil Engineers. Biographical Dictionary of Civil

Engineers

26

Charles Richardson's Life Time Line

1814
1833
1834
1838
1846
1858
1859
1863
1865
1865
1872
1873
1879
1886
1888
1896

Born.

Completed his schooling.

Apprenticed to I.K.Brunel, working on Box Tunnel.
Resident Engineer Swindon — Cirencester Railway.
Resident Engineer Hereford-Ross- Glos.- Railway.
Resident Engineer Bristol-South Wales Union Ry.
Joint Engineer i/c Bristol South Wales Union Ry
Presentation of proposals for the Severn Tunnel.
Created Cattybrook Brick Company.

Chief Engineer, The Bristol Harbour Railway.
Chief Engineer, The Severn Tunnel Railway.

Work started on the sinking of the Sudbrook shaft.
Replaced as Chief Engineer by Sir John Hawkshaw
Severn Tunnel opens for traffic.

Richardson publishes his paper in defence of his plan.
Richardson dies at 10 Berkeley Square Bristol. and
Buried in Almondsbury Churchyard.

24

Notes on Spiders Found in and Around a Basement Flat

on Worrall Road between 2010 and 2013
Mark Pajak
Bristol City museum and Art Gallery
markpajak.spider@gmail.com

Summary

During a four year period living in a basement flat in Worrall road,
23 different spider species were observed and identified. The list of
species 1s presented with accompanying observations on microhabitat
use and references to current distributions.

Introduction

Spiders are probably the most frequent macroinvertebrates to be
found inside our homes and the immediate surroundings. In return
we have awarded some species vernacular names including House
Spider (for Tegenaria spp.), Cupboard spider (Steatoda grossa) &
Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides & Nesticus cellunanus). For
some species the likelihood of encountering them in natural
surroundings away from buildings is so low that they must be
considered truly synanthropic, whereas other species occur in a
variety of habitats in nature and occasionally indoors. The relatively
little effort required to find spiders indoors is in contrast to the gaps
in the distribution records of many species, which may be explained
by a lack of recording inside buildings, probably due to a focus
instead on examining sites of natural interest (Russell-Smith 2002).
Spider surveys examining buildings and the nearby vicinity can
produce a total of 29 species (Russell-Smith et a/ 2013) and even 52
species over a 22 year period (Williams 2012). Given the increase in
urban land use it is interesting to try to understand how our homes
and outhouses are suitable as spider habitat and what effect
urbanisation might have on future spider diversity.

28

At the scale of a spider, a house provides a range of microclimates
with varying temperature, humidity, shelter and prey that may be
differentially suitable for each species. Our homes and buildings are
not homogenous: for a spider, a house can be a permanent home, a
temporary shelter or a perilous trap. Nor is every house the same — a
damp and unmaintained basement flat is quite a different place to a
modern double glazed house. As the distribution of spiders is
constantly changing, those that we encounter at home represent a
sample of their regional distribution. Presently spiders are under-
recorded, and this is illustrated by the fact that at the time of writing,
many of the species listed here have not previously been recorded in
central Bristol (BRERC 2013), though undoubtedly they are more
common than records would suggest.

Methods

During the four years an effort was made to identify each different
spider species that could be found within the house and the
immediate surroundings. This included grubbing in the garden,
pooting spiders from underneath furniture, and potting spiders from
the walls. Surveying was not systematic but extra effort was made to
collect species that at first sight looked new, and to thoroughly
investigate all areas. Immature spiderlings were reared in plastic pots
until they could be identified. Mature spiders were preserved in 70%
isopropyl alcohol and identified under a microscope with comparison
to illustrations in Roberts 1985 and 1996. Specimens of all but the
commonest species have been deposited in the collections of the
Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery. The need to retain voucher
specimens for nearly all species is a mandate of the British
Arachnological Society (Harvey 2008).

29

Description of the habitat

The flat occupied the entire basement of a Victorian terrace on
Worrall Road near to the Downs and included recessed concreted
areas outside to the front and rear and an external cupboard below
the street level. The bare concrete surfaces outside the front were
packed with potted plants and other garden furniture, greatly
increasing the diversity of surfaces and microclimates for
invertebrates and leaving some areas completely undisturbed
throughout the four year period. A cupboard-sized greenhouse
offered permanent shelter from rain, high summer temperatures and
protection from winter frost. Large outhouse compartments below
street level offered permanently dark, damp and deteriorating brick
work.

The front of the flat was south-facing and received some direct sun
whereas the rear was in permanent shade and damp receiving
rainwater runoff from the surrounding gardens at higher levels. There
were considerable gaps underneath the external doors, and the typical
Georgian window frames were decomposing leaving many small
entrances. Various ventilation bricks and a kitchen window fan gave
unobstructed access to the interior for slugs, woodlice and most
certainly spiders. The insides of the flat, although regularly
hoovered, provided areas of permanent shelter inside cupboards and
behind damaged skirting boards. Rising damp was clearly visible
around many walls providing permanent levels of high humidity, and
undisturbed recesses were quick to sprout various colours of mould.

Species list & notes

Many spider species lack widely accepted common names and so in
the following list a pluralised family name is given for these. No
common name has been given where the spider is atypical of the
family.

30

Araneus diadematus (Garden Cross Spider: Araneidae) Although
this species was clearly present from late spring onwards, it became
more noticeable towards August as large individuals made ever more
impressive webs to counteract the impending Autumn weather.
Height of support was probably a more important factor in
determining web location than proximity to human structures — the
steps down to the house offered a large open space across which to
construct a web, but a tall plant stem was equally adorned. Probably
the most well-known garden spider it would be a shame not to have
been encountered at Worrall Road, and the tiny yellow and black
spiderlings were a sure sign of spring.

Amaurobius ferox (lace-weaver spiders: Amaurobiidae) This
impressive looking spider is the largest in its genus (Jones 1989) and
was most abundant in the darker areas outside the front of the flat, its
presence immediately noticeable from the lacy web surrounding the
retreat in cracks in walls. The drainage holes of most plant pots were
home to a large adult female. Many sources refer to A.ferox as being
less common than A. similis (SRS 2013), though it has been noted as
being commoner in the south and abundant in cellars (Savory 1953),
so would be interesting to know if Bristol is a stronghold for this
species. A.similis is also said to occur in houses (Roberts 1996),
however humidity may be a determining factor in the exact
preference for habitat between A.ferox and A.similis (Bristowe 1971).
The Spider Recording Scheme website gives a graphical analysis of
the habitat recorded for every species and currently this shows that
A.ferox is more often found in and around buildings (SRS 2013).
A.ferox has been found in damp vaults such as those at Highgate
cemetery, also occupied by cave spiders (Milner 2013), and my
experience agrees with Bristowe (1971) that A.ferox prefers damp
and shady walls comparable to the entrance to a cave.

a

On several occasions I spotted a mature male running across the
walls indoors — males of A.ferox are immediately identifiable by the
white reflective area of the bulb of the palp when viewed from
above. They are distinguished from similar spiders by the rounded
carapace, large size, dark colouration and the velvet texture of the
abdomen, they are also very placid and easily handled, with no
display of aggression (to humans).

Clubiona terrestris (sac spiders: Clubionidae) A single specimen
was observed walking across an internal wall of the flat. This fits
with the SRS website description that is it found occasionally indoors
(SRS 2013). The slow and methodical ambulatory style of Clubiona
spp 1s interesting to watch as it appears most unlike other spiders
found indoors. The lighter colouration and silvery pubescence give
this spider a unique appearance, as do the prominent rear spinnerets.

Dysdera crocata (woodlouse-eating spiders: Dysderidae) Were it
not for the smaller in the genus (D.erythrina), this woodlouse-eating
spider would be unmistakable. D.crocata is larger than D.erythrina
which I have found in more natural habitats such the scree slopes of
the Avon Gorge gully. In contrast ot D.erythrina It has been said that
D.crocata is often synanthropic (Harvey 2009), and in my experience
it is most likely to be found on warm days by lifting up flower pots.
Although shunning light, D.crocata seems not to be put off by low
humidity and in captivity will spin a thick silken cell in which to
overwinter or generally not move for months on end: warmth is
perhaps more important than humidity for this species.

Whilst the location of the spider was predictable, unlike Amaurobius
ferox its presence was not reliable, indicating that individuals may
travel over larger areas in search of prey, even though the front of the
garden was permanently home to countless woodlice. Occasionally
specimens would appear indoors, where they are noted as being
casual visitors (Russell-Smith 2002),and upon their discovery cause
much commotion prior to defenestration.

32

Enoplognatha ovata (Candy-Stripe Spider: Theridiidae) In most
spider surveys this spider is encountered whilst sweeping low
vegetation and it is listed as being extremely abundant (SRS 2013).
The sunny patch of shrubs on the higher level of the front garden
next to the road was home to many individuals of the various
genetically determined colour morphs, and they were never
encountered in or near the flat. Although easily distinguished from
most other spiders, the coastal range of Enoplognatha latimana
which is virtually identical to E.ovata (Oxford 1992) necessitates
care when recording new populations - and closer examination of
assumed E.ovata often reveal E./atimana (Williams 2011).

Episinus maculipes (Y-Weaver Spider: Theridiidae) The presence
of this rare and unusual spider amongst potted plants to the rear of
my flat was a remarkable occurrence and required the identification
to be verified by Peter Harvey (British Arachnological Society). This
interesting Genus rests holding lines of web in each leg making
various shapes — I observed E.maculipes forming the Y-position with
two front legs each holding a strand and a single rear thread running
from the spinnerets. This species has a national status of RDB3 and
was first recorded in Britain in 1929, the male never having been
recorded in Britain up to at least 1971 (Locket et al 1971). I noted
several individuals of both sexes as immature in April 2013 and
reared them to maturity in June.

The reverse taper to the abdomen is easy to spot in comparison to
other small spiders, and in contrast to E.truncatus and E.angulatus,
E.maculipes has a pale area in the central part of the sternum. If not
endemic to Worrall road there is a chance that a gravid female or egg
sac of E.maculipes arrived on one of the mail-order trees that |
purchased recently. Further recording focussing on this species may
turn up more unusual populations along the south coast where its
range 1s increasing (STS 2013), having been found at Lyme Regis in
2005 (Cumming 2005). I have yet to investigate whether these
individuals moved with my bonsai trees with me to Southville.

33

Harpactea hombergi (Dysderidae) On_ several occasions I
encountered H.hombergi running erratically at head height across
interior walls of the flat at night. This extremely fast spider
superficially resembles a very small Dysdera sp. however it has a
much thinner abdomen especially in males, and less red colouration.
Strikingly patterned legs of alternating shades of brown are
noticeable at close range, and I immediately noticed the sensory
function of the front legs (Bristowe 1971) which were waved around
in front of the head in the search for prey. It seems likely that the
indoor spiders were opportunist night time hunters, as H.hombergi is
a known visitor into homes (SRS 2013) and other dry situations
(Russell-Smith 2011). I also came across more sedentary females
whilst lifting up bricks in the drier parts of the front garden, such as
underneath the greenhouse.

Labulla thoracica (Linyphiidae) Males of this large and ornate
money spider bear disproportionately large palps including large
spiral structures (embolus), which need no special equipment to see.
Even immature males bear noticeably large developing bulbs on the
palps in the penultimate instar. Both sexes could be found in the
darkest dampest areas outside to the rear of the flat, such as inside
the compost bin. Specimens were usually found hanging from the
underside of a large thin sheet web spreading out from a dark corner.
This species is known to inhabit damp and dark areas including
cellars (SRS 2013).

Lepthyphantes leprosus (Linyphiidae) Both sexes of this very small
money spider were often found individually indoors resting centrally
underneath a small sheet web low down amongst piles of shoes. As
L.leprosus is commonly found in buildings (SRS 2013) this was
probably a permanent resident, being small enough to remain
undetected and fast enough to avoid the hoover. Currently non-
existent in local records (BRERC 2013) it is probably quite common,
its minute size and similarity to many others in the genus probably
hindering further investigation.

34

Lepthyphantes tenuis (money spiders: Linyphiidae) Another very
small money spider known to occur indoors (SRS 2013), this species
was a permanent resident amongst plant pots outside in the sunny
area at the front of the flat. Amongst cacti in the cold-frame the web
of this species could easily be confused with that of red-spider mite
as it is precariously thin and lacks any strong supporting threads.

Linyphia hortensis (money spiders: Linyphiidae) A single male of
this species was found on the outside one of the front windows. A
fairly common woodland species (SRS 2013) this may have been an
accidental visitor from the nearby Downs and Gorge.

Linyphia triangularis (money spiders: Linyphiidae) This very
common, mid-sized money spider was a permanent resident in the
sunny parts of the garden where it hung underneath large sheet webs
below a amongst leaves of potted plants — the tangled network of
snares above the web causing flies to crash and be caught. Larger
webs were often occupied by a male and female in close proximity,
though the design was such that both individuals could have
previously built separate webs which merged over time. An adult
male was once found indoors on a wall and away from the context of
the web and mate was startling in its appearance - this species
exhibits sexual dimorphism in the chelicerae, which in the male are
greatly elongated and divergent and the cylindrical abdomen is so
thin as to appear redundant and quite un-spiderlike. L.triangularis
occupied a large range of habitats including gardens (SRS 2013) and
so its presence is not unusual.

35

Liocranum rupicola (wandering sac-spiders: Liocranidae) In
colour and pattern this spider superficially resembles a very small
Tegenaria sp, with striped brown legs and dark brown chevron
markings on the abdomen. It is however more closely related to sac
spiders and lacks the long 2 segmented posterior spinnerets of true
‘House spiders’. On separate occasions the male L.rupicola was
found running across interior walls of the flat, and although this
species has a national status of notable and has not before been
recorded in Bristol (BRERC 2013), it is known to occur indoors
(STS 2013).

Nesticus cellulanus (Cellar Spider: Nesticidae) In the dampest,
darkest places amongst composting vegetation outside the rear of the
flat, there was often at least one specimen of this attractive spider.
This could be confused with L.thoracica due to its similar size,
colouration and habitat — but the contrast of dark abdominal and
carapace markings against the pale yellow background colour and
lack of any white spots make N.cellulanus readily identifiable. On
some specimens observed the dark pattern was entirely absent, thus
making them the only large pale yellow spider to be found in this
habitat. Also, it does not spin a sheet web but instead a tangled
network of threads similar to the comb-footed spider family to which
it is morphologically related. As this spider is known to live in dark
and damp places (Nicholson 2007) and in cellars indoors away from
central heating (Russell-Smith 2002) and could reliably be found in
the rear outside area I would speculate that it is a common Bristol
resident which currently is under-recorded.

36

Pholcus phalangioides (Daddy Long Legs Spider: Pholcidae)
P.phalangioides was ubiquitous in every room throughout the year,
usually occupying a corner of the ceiling but also occurring low
down in generally undisturbed areas such as between the fridge and
cooker. This synanthropic species, originally from Asia (Hubert
1995), is found almost exclusively in buildings (SRS 2013), with
occasional record of individuals in hollows in trees (Russell-Smith
2011). The permanent residence of many adults in the flat would
indicate that there is an abundance of prey to sustain them. Whilst
there is evidence of Pholcus preying on spiders (Early 2007), clothes
moths and flies must also get caught. Although technically an
introduced species, P.phalangioides was noted as early as 1929 as
being ‘a common British spider’ (Savory 1928).

Psilochorus simoni (Pholcidae) P.simoni was a permanent resident
in dry situations indoors and also the outside cupboard. This species
is similar in overall appearance to the much larger Pholcus
phalangioides however it was only ever found close to the ground
and the abdomen is more globular in shape. Originally noted as being
associated only with dry wine cellars (Locket et al 1951), more
recently P.simoni has been found in other indoor environments
(Locket et al 1971). The ability to survive and reproduce in dry
conditions and occupy very small spaces make P.simoni likely to be
much more common than records suggest, and it is suggested that it
is an introduced species from the US (Huber 1995).

Salticus scenicus ( Zebra Jumping Spider: Salticidae) This very
active and attractive jumping spider was always found hunting in full
sun on the external walls at the front of the flat. The large flat
expanse of brickwork would seem a more fruitful hunting ground for
this visual hunter than nearby vegetation, and its occurrence is more
often than not stated as being on sunny walls (Locket et al 1951,
Harvey 2005).

37

Segestria florentina (Tube-Web Spider: Segestriidae) Several
large tube-webs of S.florentina could be seen protruding from gaps in
the upper woodwork of the front door frame and external cupboard.
Under cover of the porch, these areas received almost no rainfall and
were sunny for at least some of the day. The webs are similar in
design to S.senoculata but the large diameter of the tubular entrance
and height above ground are characteristic of the species, although it
was not always clear if the webs were occupied. I have seen a female
tube web spider on an external wall of the 4" floor of a block of
student flats in Clifton and specimens up to 9 meters above ground
are documented (Haigh 2010). In captivity I have observed a female
Sflorentina construct a silken retreat in the upper portion of the
available enclosure, adding to the design each night until the opening
tube and radial threads are finished. Large females do not seem well
adapted to the outside world and easily injure themselves once
evicted from their web. I did observe immature specimens indoors
occasionally and adult males are regularly encountered indoors in
Bristol where they attempt to bite if captured. The current known
published distribution of S.florentina appears scarce (SRS 2013)
although in places such as Bristol where it is has been known for
many years evidence suggests otherwise and almost every building in
central Bristol sports S.florentina webs in various states - usually in
large numbers and close proximity. The tube webs of immature
specimens are sometimes totally exposed, lining recesses in
brickwork - this leaves me to wonder at what point the spider decides
to embark on what must be an extremely perilous journey to find a
larger cavity in which to build a home. The size and microhabitat of
S.florentina appears to overlap with A.ferox and undoubtedly similar
sized individuals would be possible prey for each other, though
humidity might be a limiting factor for each species. It would be
interesting to see how known distributions of each species change
over time as S.florentina spreads having been first recorded in North
Gloucestershire in 2009 (Haigh 2009).

38

Segestria senoculata (Snake-Back Tube Web Spider:
Segestriidae) The small tubular entrances and radial threads found in
sunny locations amongst dry bricks were characteristic of the
presence of this spider. Lifting such bricks In August revealed a
female surrounded by young inside the exposed retreat lined with
thick silk. The shape, behaviour and web of S.senoculata are similar
to those of immature S.florentina, but the black abdominal markings
of S.senoculata are more pronounced and they are more usually
found near the ground. Males were encountered running across the
internal walls of the flat, presumably in search of females, and when
captured they had the behaviour of leaping from my hand on a
trailing bungee-line of silk which I would not normally have
expected for spiders from this family.

Steatoda grossa (Cupboard Spider: Theridiidae) Individuals of all
ages and sexes could be found by investigating dry cupboards, loose
skirting boards and gaps behind radiators in corners of rooms where
this species is usually found (Locket et al 1951). The web
constructed by S.grossa consists of a 3-dimensional tangled network
of threads, proportional in size to the individual, in which the spider
rests above a more regular curtain of vertical threads which alert the
spider to any prey walking underneath. This adaptation for catching
prey wandering below may be why S.grossa is usually found near to
the ground, especially as juveniles. The spider usually rests in the
vicinity of a narrow retreat such as a gap in a wall into which it will
escape if disturbed. The longer the area had remained undisturbed,
the greater the chance of finding one of the larger females, which in
terms of abdominal size is probably the largest permanent resident of
the flat.

39

Immature specimens and males had a striking pattern of pale
triangular markings on a reddish brown background colour, whereas
large females were a uniform purple-brown except for the single pale
band running horizontally across the front of the abdomen which is
typical for the genus. S.grossa is technically listed as non-native
(Wilson 2012) and populations are very easily transported by people
which may explain its occurrence in a guest house in North Wales
(Davies 2003), with one record of a population turning up in Orkney
after a move from Plymouth (Andrew 2002). Although it is nearly
always recorded from buildings (SRS 2012) S.grossa is showing an
increase in the South West where it can also be found in suitable
places away from buildings (Dawson et al 2008, Locket et al 1974).

Steatoda nobilis (False-Widow Spider: Theridiidae) A single very
large female S.nobilis was discovered whilst dismantling the
greenhouse outside to the front of the flat. Having neither expected
nor seen any individuals of this species in the four years previous to
this it came as quite a surprise, and a close investigation of the size,
overall colouration and genitalia confirmed that this was not simply
an aberrant S.grossa. Although the only reliable confirmation of the
species is the relative width of the middle of the epigyne (Roberts
1996), the abdomen is somewhat larger than S.grossa, the legs and
carapace are darker and the pale abdominal band is connected to an
irregular lattice of lighter dorsal patches. The area underneath the
greenhouse had not been disturbed in the four years of living at the
flat as it was inaccessible, so I cannot tell how long the female had
been there, however the summer warmth and winter shelter are
perhaps indicative of further places to search for S.nobilis in Bristol.
In other countries such as Italy S.nobilis has been shown to exclude
other species including S.florentina (Kulczycki et al 2012).

40

Evidence suggests that once introduced through human means,
S.nobilis is likely to establish a population and become naturalised
(SRS 2013). In ports such as Barry docks the exotic fruit trade has
moved on but S.nobilis still occurs in coastal public lavatories (Jones
2006). It will be interesting to see what the effect is on other
synanthropic species in Bristol if S.nobilis does become established.
This false widow spider receives annual press attention when
unfortunate specimens are forced to defend themselves, and its
presence in Bristol is unlikely to remain a mystery for long due to its
non-native status, purported toxicity, original provenance from the
Canary Islands (Wilson 2012) and anecdotal associations with
bananas (NHM 2013).

Tegenaria Sp. (House Spiders: Agelenidae) In contrast to its
common name, this genus was most notable for a total absence
indoors, having never been observed inside during the period of four
years — possibly due to predation by other spiders such as Steatoda
and Pholcus. There was however, usually a cobweb outside the front,
just above the drain cover where a male and female could be often
observed sharing the same web. One female collected and observed
in captivity constructed a white egg sac which she hung in hammock
fashion from her cobweb and decorated with material from the
underlying substrate. Spiderlings emerged and were released in
August. I did not identify the specimen but Bristol lies in a zone of
hybridisation between two possible’ species, 7 gigantea
(=T.duellica)and T.saeva giving the possibility that spiders with
intermediate morphologies may be found (Oxford, G. 2008). There
are also several other Tegenaria species that could occur indoors so
they are certainly worth recording.

4]

Zygiella-x-notata (Missing Sector Web Orb-Weavers:
Araneidae) This orb weaver was a permanent resident on the
external face of most windows, with several specimens constructing
a silken retreat in the shelter provided by the deep gap between the
upper window frame and external wall. The missing sector orb webs
overlapped each other where several specimens shared the same
window. Its preference for windows is well documented (Wilson
2008, SRS 2013) and although considered a native species, it shows
highest densities in urban areas and so is at least partially
synanthropic, with adults sheltering in their retreats over winter and
being spread around the world by man (BAS 2013).

Discussion

With the exception of L.hortensis and E.ovata all species
encountered show varying degrees of affinity for human habitats
either to live permanently in, to hunt or to build webs against. Of the
23 species observed, 12 were found indoors at least once and four
(L.leprosus, P.phalangioides, P.simoni & S.grossa) were considered
permanent indoor residents with adults of both sexes occurring
frequently in most months. Seven species (A.ferox, C.terrestris,
D.crocata, H.hombergi, L.triangularis,L.rupicola, S.florentina &
S.senoculata) were considered as passing visitors indoors, either as
hunters, searching for a mate or perhaps getting lost after mistaking a
ventilation hole for a temporary retreat. Externally, dark and damp
places were reliable indicators for the presence of four species
(A.ferox, N.cellulanus, L.thoracica & L.tenuis). Four species were
almost exclusively found on external walls (4.ferox, Z.x-
notata,S.scenicus & S.florentina). According to BRERC 2013 there
were no previous records in the central (i.e. urban) Bristol region for
six species (E.maculipes, L.rupicola, L.leprosus, N.cellulanus,
P.simoni, & S.nobilis). According to SRS 2013 Somerset currently
holds zero records for E.maculipes, four of L.rupicola, fourof
L.leprosus, nine of N.cellulanus, two of P.simoni and three of
S.nobilis.

42

We therefore don’t know enough about local distributions of these
species to understand if they prefer urban accommodation but further
records may illustrate the trend in years to come. Five species are
currently classified as introduced (P.phalangioides, P.simoni,
S.florentina, S.grossa & S.nobilis) though records exist for all except
P.simoni dating back to at least the early 1900s. Currently
E.maculipes has a National status of Rare (RDB3) and L./eprosus is
Notable (NB).

As demonstrated, the vernacular classification of spiders as either
house or cellar spiders provides us with little information about the
actual habitat preference or taxonomic identity of species likely to be
found around the home. The corner of a room, compost heap or
upturned flower pot offer sufficiently different niches for hunting and
constructing webs as to maintain constant populations of various
species. There is a large overlap in the ranges of domestic spiders,
however preferences for light, space and humidity can be used to
predict which species are most likely to be found in each zone, with
those spiders permanently indoors able to survive long periods of
complete dryness. Adaptation to such dry conditions is quite an
achievement given that humidity is so important for shedding skin
and development in most spiders — and it is no coincidence that the
most synanthropic spiders are found in the dry zones - recent
research (Dimitrov et al 2012) has shown that humidity loving
species are less likely to be spread by humans. Transmission of
humid or temperate species is however possible thanks to the trade in
nursery plants and this is one theory I have for the anomalous
presence of E.maculipes in my rear garden, and S.nobilis in the
greenhouse.

43

Evidence suggests that many spider species have shifted preference
for different microhabitats over evolutionary time (Dimitrov et al
2012), and with human influences on the environment greatly
increasing the pace of change it is especially interesting to monitor
exactly where each individual specimen is found and make suitable
notes when recording them — even brief notes such as height above
ground and position in a web may prove very useful in future, as this
information is otherwise completely lacking in preserved specimens.
The switch to a synanthropic lifestyle must be advantageous for
hunters such as Dysdera crocata where our garden furniture provide
warm and sheltered surfaces and plenty of prey. There is
considerable difference in the prey requirements and habitat size of
immature spiders in comparison to adults — minuscule gaps in the
fabric of a building may be the only entrance point for the offspring
of some of the larger species whose presence would be otherwise
unexplained (Milner 2013). Inter and intraspecific predation must
also occur, with generally larger individuals preying on the numerous
offspring and occasional wandering males — but currently which
Species is outcompeting the others is hard to tell, although in my
experience Tegenaria, the classic house spider has lost its traditional
internal territory in place of the more exotic Pholcus and Steatoda.

44

References

Andrew, R. 2002 Steatoda grossa (C. L. Koch, 1838) (Theridiidae)
in the Orkney Islands. Spider Recording Scheme Newsletter 43.
Bristowe, W.S. 1971 The World of Spiders. New Naturalist Series
No. 38 Published by Collins.

Cumming,R. 2005 Three Spiders New to Dorset. SRS News no 53 In
Newsletter of the British Arachnological Society 104

Davies, C. 2003 Steatoda grossa (C. L. Koch, 1838):New Record for
North Wales. SRS News 45 in Newsletter of the BAS 46

Dawson, I., Harvey, P., Russell-Smith, T. 2008 A National Status
Review — the draft results. SRS News No. 61 in Newsletter of the BAS
112 July 2008

Dimitrov, D., Astrin, J.J. and Huber, B.A. 2012 Pholcid spider
molecular systematics revisited, with new insights into the
biogeography and the evolution of the group. Cladistics 1 (2012) I-
iB)

Haigh, D. 2009 Segestria florentina (Rossi, 1790) — A Spider new to
North Gloucestershire. SRS News in Newsletter of the BAS 114
March 2009

Haigh, D. 2010 Spiders in Gloucestershire 2009. SRS News No. 67
in Newsletter of the BAS 118, July 2010

Harvey, P. 2005 Editorial. SRS News No. 52 in Newsletter of the
BAS 103

Harvey, P. 2008 Editorial. SRS News No. 62 in Newsletter of the
BAS 113

Harvey, P. 2009 Identification of Dysdera crocata and Dysdera
erythrina. SRS News No 63 in Newsletter of the BAS 114

Huber, B. A. 1995 Reproductive Biology and _ Functional
Morphology of the Copulatory Organs in Psilochorus Simoni
(Berland, 1911)(Araneae, Pholcidae).Proceedings of the 15th
European Colloquium of Arachnology. Institute of Entomology
Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic p.222 (1995)

Jones, D. 1989 A Guide to Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe.
Published by Hamlyn

45

Jones, G. 2006 Steatoda nobilis (Thorell 1875) a spider new to
Wales at Barry, Glamorgan (VC41). SRS News 55 in Newsletter of
the BAS 106

Milner, E. 2013 Cave Spiders in the London Area. SRS News No 75
in Newsletter of the BAS 126, March 2013.

Kulczycki, A., Legittimo, C. M., Simeon, E., Di Pompeo, P. New
records of Steatoda nobilis (Thorell, 1875) (Araneae, Theridiidae),
an introduced species on the Italian mainland and in Sardinia.
Bulletin of the BAS (2012) 15 (8), 269-272

Locket, G.H., Millidge, A.F. 1951 British Spiders Volume I.
Published by the Ray Society

Locket, G.H., Millidge, A.F. 1953 British Spiders Volume I.
Published by the Ray Society

Locket, G.H., Millidge, A.F. & Merrett, P. 1971 British Spiders
Volume III. Published by the Ray Society

Nicholson, P. 2007 Nesticus Cellulanus, is this as scarce as records
show? SRS News 58 in Newsletter of the BAS 109

Oxford, G. S. 1992 Enoplognatha ovata and E. latimana: A
comparison of their phenologies and genetics in Norfolk populations.
Bulletin of the BAS 1992 9 (1) 13-18 Bull. BAS (1992)9 (1), 13-18
Oxford, G. 2008 Identification of Tegenaria gigantea and T.saeva
Spider. Recording Scheme News No. 62 In Newsletter of the BAS
113 November 2008

Roberts, M. 1985 The Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland Compact
2-part edition. Published by Harley Books

Roberts, M. 1996 Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins
field guide

Russell-Smith, T. 2002 Spiders in Houses and Gardens. SRS News
in Newsletter of the BAS 95.

Russell-Smith, T. 2011 An elusive spider: Surveying for Midia
midas in 2011. SRS News 72 in Bulletin of the BAS 123
Russell-Smith, T. Burkmar, R. Carr, D. Hitchcock, G., Jones, E.,
Price, R. &Rigby, R. 2013 A Spider Survey of Great Dixter House
and Grounds. News/etterof the BAS No. 126, March 2013.

46

Savory, T.H. 1928 The Biology of Spiders. Published by Sidgwick
& Jackson LTD.

Savory, T.H. 1953 The Spiders & Allied Orders of the British Isles
(Wayside and woodland series). published by Frederick Warne &
Contd

Williams, H. 2011 More on Enoplognatha latimana. SRS News No.
69 in Newsletter of the BAS 120

Williams, H. 2012 Spiders in Houses (2012 update). SRS News No.
74 in Newsletter of the BAS 125,November 2012

Wilson, R. 2008 The Spiders of a Suburban Garden in Leeds, West
Yorkshire (Part 1) Newsletter of the BAS 111 March 2008

Wilson R 2011 Some Tropical Spiders Recorded in Leeds, West
Yorkshire and a Review of Non-Native Taxa recorded in the UK.
Newsletter of the BAS No 120, March 2011

Wilson, R. 2012 An American Jumper in Leeds, West Yorkshire and
an Update on Non-Native Taxa Recorded in the UK. Newsletter of
the BAS o. 123 March 2012

Websites

SRS 2013: Spider recording Scheme website
(http://srs.britishspiders.org.uk) N.B this website provides access to
all issues of the Spider Recording Scheme News referenced here.
NHM = 2013: Steatoda Nobilis (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-
online/species-of-the-day/biodiversity/alien-species/steatoda-
nobilis/distribution-habitat/index.html) BAS 2013: British Spiders
Wiki page of the British Arachnological Society

(http://wiki.britishspiders.org.uk/index.php5?title=Zygiella_spp

47

Weather report for 2012
R.L.Bland
Richard.bland123@btinternet.com

Data sources

The BNS began publishing weather data in 1872 with GF Burder’s
paper on rainfall in Clifton since 1853, and that led me to search for
temperature data back to that date. From 1920 until its closure in
2002 the Long Ashton research station provided that data that was
published, and since then I have used the Times daily report for
Bristol, though since 2000 I have used my own rain gauge. There is
an excellent website at www.afour.demon.co.uk which has also
traced records from some other sources back to 1853, and I have
used these to fill in gaps. A long series is crucial to any
understanding of the continuous process of climate change, which is
normally defined as the average of the previous thirty years. I use the
term “long-term average” to mean the average back to 1853. The
term “since records began” is often used without a clear date
reference, which can create considerable confusion. Most
meteorologists use the mean daily temperature as the basis, but many
sources only quote the daily maximum and so I have used that figure
throughout.

2012 was the third exceptional year in a row. It had the highest
March temperature since 1853. The thirty year average for March,
the normal definition of climate, reached 14.03°C a figure last seen
in 1961. Annual Rainfall was the highest recorded since 1853 at
1420mm. The previous record of 1253mm set in 1882 was then
thought to be the highest in 150 years (Horton West country weather
book). And it was the wettest April and the wettest summer since
1853.

48

Ten year

av. °C

Table 1 Average mean maximum temperature and rainfall. The
second row is the average for the ten years up to and including the
year referred to.

Seasons.

The average for the winter (December. 2011 to February. 2012.) was
9.1°C, back to a more normal level after three cold winters. Rainfall,
at 77mm a month, was just below average. There were 30 frost
nights (October to April), the last on April 16th. A cold snap From
January 30th to February 13th saw 14 days of ice on ponds, and 2
days of snow.

Spring (March to May) Average temperature was 15.3°C, two
degrees above average, largely caused by the warmest March
since1853. Rainfall at 84mm a month was 50% above the long term
average.

Summer (June to August.) Average temperature was at 19.6°C, a
little lower than average and rainfall a record 149 mm per month, the
highest recorded since 1853, double the long term average. June had
a record of 187mm, triple the normal and was the wettest month of
the year. This was the fifth summer in a row with above average rain
fall.

49

Autumn (September to November.) Average temperature at 14.3°C
was normal, Rain fall was 50% above average, and November with
178mm was double its normal figure. On Sept. 24th 72mm fell, the
wettest Bristol day since July 11th 1968.

Seasonal Comparisons To put the 2012 seasonal average
temperatures into perspective, Table 2 shows the _ seasonal
temperature extremes, with their year, the average since 1853, and
the difference between 2012 and the long term average.

P| 2012, | Min | Max. |) Avg) since ssa aiie
| Winter (| 9.02 «| 1917 | 2.5¢_1),1920..40'6 sah ai Wai Soa aa es
20.2° i068. |

| Autumn "| 14'3° ,| 1915, 10.67, {1959.16.87 (ii
|

Les eg

Table 2 2012 seasonal average temperature compared with
minimum, maximum and average since 1853.

[Tana [min [vx [ave anes | i
[seine | ee [ves 17 [sei vor | oid

1978 26 | 1935 173
maaan 1864 49 | 2012 118

Table 3 Average monthly rainfall in mm for each season in 2012
showing the maximum, minimum and average since 1853, and the
difference between 2012 and the average since 1853.

50

Monthly percentage deviation in 2012 from the average since
1853.

Temperature January and March were warmer, the rest close to the
long term average. Rainfall February and March were dry, the rest
of the year very wet,

206
Table 4 Monthly percentage deviations in 2012 from the long term
average

Monthly Summary 2012

Rares

Table 4 2012 Monthly average temperatures and total rainfall

January The first two weeks were warm with westerly winds round
high pressure in Spain. Jan. 13th-17th was cold with frosts, light east
winds and high pressure. This was replaced for a week by warm
westerlies. On 26th temperatures fell sharply and snow fell briefly on
30th.

51

February The first two weeks saw frosts, ice on ponds and
reservoirs, and largely easterly winds driven by a Baltic high. The
second two weeks were warmer with westerly winds round high
pressure in Europe, and were almost completely dry.

March Warm south westerly winds dominated for the first three
weeks, and then switched to the east and temperatures soared to 23°C
from 24th-28". It remained dry, and drought orders were made.
Sunshine hours were 50% above normal.

April Winds switched to the north from the start of the month and
remained from that direction throughout. Temperatures stayed
around the normal of about 13°C. The long dry spell was broken
from 19th when low pressure too control and the last two weeks were
on the whole dull, cold and wet. Migration was seriously held up.

May. Began with northerly winds, and rain for the first week, but the
wind switched to SW on 6th and a huge flood of hirundine migration
poured through the area. Temperatures rose above 15°C and the rain
ceased for the rest of the month. On 21st temperatures rose abruptly
to 21°C and reached 29°C on 25th, 26th, which was to be almost the
highest temperature of the year.

June. Dominated by low pressure systems, SW winds and rain and a
maximum of 25°C on 28th. Only eight days were without sunshine,
but only three days had over ten hours. It proved to be the wettest
June since 1853.

52

July Temperatures only reached 20°C on five days in the first three
weeks during which it rained almost daily, and winds were mostly
from the NW, but from 21st the sun came out and temperatures
picked up to 30°C on 25th and 26th as high pressure took over.

August A dull month, temperatures consistently around 20°C, little
sunshine, winds in the south and regular out breaks of fairly heavy
rain.

September. Began fine and warm with high pressure but
temperatures fell below 20°C on 11th and were down to 14°C on
26th. The first three weeks were almost dry and then on 24th 72mm
fell, creating widespread flooding especially of the Somerset levels.

October. Began with the temperature at 18°C, and fell below 10°C
on 26th. A month’s rain fell between 3rd and 8th, though there was
little more for the rest of the month. NE winds set in on 22nd and the
first frost came on 27th.

November. Temperatures were around 10°C throughout, but there
were only three frosts. There was heavy rain on the first four days
and from 20th to 26th. Winds shifted to the North on 23rd and
temperatures fell to 5°C on 30th with frost and ice on ponds.

December. For the first two weeks temperatures were low, the wind
in the North and there were eight frost nights. On 14th the wind
switched to the west, and temperatures rose to 11°C. The last two
weeks saw over 150mm of rain, and it was the wettest December
since 1965.

53

Weather Extremes.

The table below gives figures for extreme annual events over the past
decade, enabling the extreme events of 2012 to be put into
perspective. There seems to be no pattern in these figures, except for
the number of days without any sun to increase from around 70 to
around 100. It is also interesting that, contrary to common
perception, two days in every three have no rain at all.

a eS ee
coussay |e [1 fs [ofo}?]?[al-
Sunniest day ie 1a HO RFS af 4.1 | 14.9 | 14.7

ats [8 (vol lip
13

Pas Pie [ae ar
Def [= Lo
263 231 248 234

Ww N —

—
Nn
on
hae
N

—

(oS)
Oo }n

pean [A ol
Wc bbis
oie

54

Lynmouth Road Allotments — wildlife and cultivation in
harmony.
Harry McPhilamy

Lynmouth Road Allotments are a small group of allotments nestling
between Lynmouth Road in St Werburgh’s, Bristol and the Severn
Beach railway line embankment. They have been worked as
allotments continuously since 1979 and off and on since WW1. Since
we Started recording the wildlife observed on the allotments over 15
years ago we have been struck by the range of fauna there. The
habitat is a sheltered, south-facing slope which can create a warmer
microclimate attractive to insects, including butterflies and moths.
The land, with calcareous soil, has always been open space so
biodiversity has had a chance to build up. It adjoins the wildlife-rich
area of Narroways Nature Area and the neighbouring allotments also
provide further local habitat. The allotments are connected by the
wildlife corridor of Narroways and Boiling Wells Valley to
Purdown, Stoke Park and the open countryside beyond. There is a
great diversity of habitat, as well as the cultivated allotments (in
various states of management!). This includes adjoining scrub,
hedgerows, and the embankment with grassland and woodland.
There are also several ponds on the plots, and a few beehives.
Several Plotholders feed the birds with bird feeders and there are
some nesting boxes in nearby trees. Most of the plots are managed
organically.

In summer the warmth brings out the reptiles and amphibians. Slow
worms are seen in compost bins, and under matting — up to six at a
time. Frogs can be seen in ponds and long grass. Smooth Newts
appear in numbers in local ponds. Common Lizards are often seen,
basking in the sun in spring. Toads, sometimes loiter in damp
comers.

55

Birds are often the most visible wildlife. Blackcaps sing from the
Elder trees, and Chiffchaffs can also be heard calling — one of the
early signs of spring. Even Willow Warbler pass through on
migration. Grey Wagtails fly over from the nearby stream, Song
Thrushes sing and several Jays live here, sometimes perching on
beanpoles. Goldfinches regularly feed on teasels and a dozen or so
House Sparrows live in scrub behind allotment. Frequent Long-tailed
Ttit parties pass through and other birds seen include Greenfinch,
Goldcrest and Coal Tit. Sparrowhawks hunt round here and in winter
Redwings, Fieldfares and even Waxwings have been seen.

Honeybees live in the beehives on the allotments and the bees
pollinate the fruit trees and other plants in the area. The nettle patch,
Garlic Mustard and Hop plants support the larvae of Red Admiral,
Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Orange Tip and Comma butterflies.
Sometimes Painted Lady, Holly Blue, Brimstone, Ringlet,
Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood even grassland species like Common
Blue and Marbled White occur. Rose Chafer beetles are often seen in
Cardoon and Teasel flowers in July and the ponds support Red and
Blue Damselfly species, and dragonflies such as the Common Darter.
Scarlet Tiger Moths have a colony here and appear in numbers in
June. There are also Red Underwing moths and even Hornets are
occasionally seen.

A family of foxes live in embankment behind the plots and there is
evidence of Badgers in the locality (unfortunately they seem partial
to sweet corn!). Bank Vole, Field Vole and Wood Mouse occur, as
do Pipistrelle bats.

These allotments are privately owned and under threat of
development. It is not just the allotment holders who would lose their
valued sanctuary. More information is available on the website at
http://www.lynmouthrdallotments.org

56

The design history of dinosaurs indicates that aves are
bipedal to avoid having to synchronise fore and hind

limbs at speed; flight came later.
Oliver Milburn
5 Union Street, Birstall
WF17 9ED

An often overlooked feature of birds is that they are bi-pedal. To
labour the point; the centre of gravity is balanced some height above
the ground on two stilts; the slightest pitching requires instant
correction. This may not seem too impressive for a Sparrow, where
the feet are relatively wide and errors never catastrophic, but it is
something remarkable for Ostriches, Moas, Cassowaries, Emus,
Elephant Birds and Rheas. Only one small group of mammals has
achieved bipedal posture control, and that only recently. Amongst the
others Mongooses and Bears alone rear up with any confidence, but
then hesitate to walk.

The first chordates on to land, newt-like amphibians, possessed fish
propulsion, in which a ‘contract’ command is passed from segment
to segment, in the form of a bucket brigade delay line (1). The
commands originate at the head end, presumably triggered by an
oscillator on the left side and its anti-phase on the right. The
segmental division of the muscle mass localises the influence of each
momentary contraction and so generates a smooth wave along the
body. It is uncertain whether the rate of transmission is pre-set, or if
each segment starts contracting when its predecessor has reached,
say, ten percent contraction. If the second the rate of transmission
would be determined by the viscosity of the surrounding water and
this could be verified experimentally. Newly-landed fish flap about
wildly in low viscosity air.

aT

The limbs of simple amphibians act as pegs to achieve purchase on
the terrestrial surroundings; in time they developed into articulated
limbs, and the old swimming movement became their sequence of
movement. Swimming - pushing water backwards - requires a wave
travelling down the body, whereas limb coordination involves the
body bent first left, then right. This is in fact the same thing, but with
all segments contracted at once. It is a great deal easier to lever the
bodyweight over obstacles by climbing one limb at a time. It so
happens that the sinusoid coordination did indeed apply one limb at a
time. However repeated squeezing and extending the body uses up
energy, possibly more than required to propel the body weight
forwards, and crawling must be very tiring. An upright stance
permits the whole limb to be applied to obstacles, larger rocks may
be traversed by smaller animals, but denies the use of sinusoidal
coordination.

For a four-wheel drive vehicle, travelling in a straight line, it is
imperative that all four wheels rotate at the same speed, otherwise
there 1s wheel-slip, and needless wear of the tyres. Quadrupedal
animals are also 4x4 vehicles, and all four limbs must propel the load
at the same speed. But also limbs must maintain the chosen phase
sequence, otherwise the animal topples over. To retain phase margin
over several strides the fore must keep the same stride length as the
hind, even though the geometry of the limbs differ.

For a sprawling Salamander the axis of the stride is, as it were, a pin
vertically through the pectoral and another through the pelvic girdle.
Sideways sinusoids of the trunk provide the correct limb phase and
speed by simple mechanics. An erect stance extends the stride, but
the axis is a pin now horizontally through each girdle. Sideways
movement of the trunk cannot possibly transmit coordination
prompts, and bending is in the wrong direction.

58

Vertical flexion (bunny hopping) coordinates front and hind but, as
we shall see, works for small animals alone. Early reptiles, newly
erect, came to this problem of speed and phase coordination with no
neural controls in place. They had no way of implementing the
desired control. The Archosaur solution was to go from four wheels
to two, skipping the entire crisis. Bipedal walking and running
demands only one limb to be in anti-phase with its neighbour, plus
some starting and parking programme. The oscillator could be at the
head end, as before, and the signal disabled for all but the pelvic
segments.

A bipedal Archosaur in motion avoids pitching forward by having
the counter-clockwise turning moment of the torso balance by a
clockwise turning moment of the tail. Hind limb coordination may be
neural, but the attendant posture control 1s mechanical. This has a
cost. Suppose the body forward of the pelvis, the active metabolic
part of the beast, weighs one ton. The counterpoise tail must be a
similar weight. So in motion each leg supports two tons alternately.
By contrast a cow of one metabolic ton trots on four legs, so each
hoof only supports half a ton, one quarter the load.

With this excess cost there should be every demand for neural
control of posture. Perfect control responses are instantaneous, of
exactly the correct magnitude, and yet never overshoot. This is a tall
order, and can be realised only a little at a time. There must be
halfway designs which nevertheless work well enough to sustain a
competitive animal. Suppose part of the weighty tail were replaced
by a fan of feathers. Its aerodynamic drag would slow the pitching
errors and allow the grace for a slower posture control to respond.
Tail feathers would also damp erratic overshoots. Any fan is always
going to be more effective damper for small animals for whom the
air is relatively more viscous, but it is never going to be any use to T
Rex, and indeed Archaeopteryx was the size of the smaller dinosaurs.

59

In addition the femur of birds has become bound to the body wall so
moving forward the pivot of the legs. This partly retains the moment
cancellation of dinosaurs, though becoming more efficient because
the body both before and behind the fulcrum contributes to
metabolism, however it is obviously unbalanced and neural control
will be required to make up the difference.

Pursuing this idea, aves are bipedal to enable locomotion, not
because the forelimbs have been co-opted into wings, so there is no
reason to suppose that all the ratites, flightless birds, once flew. Their
large cerebellum is to cope with walking on two legs without a tail,
although it must have come in handy for flight control later. Emus
are relict dinosaurs, retaining the dinosaur habit; the fossil
Hesperornis is an aquatic version. Aliferous birds by contrast are
dinosaurs that have moved on, flying, singing and what have you.
This interpretation was first advanced by TH Huxley and has been
ridiculed ever since.

In flight a large feathered tail applies drag behind the centre of
gravity, keeping the bird pointing forward in the manner of a Chinese
kite. Later fossil birds (Confucinsornis, Changchengornis and
Jibeinia ) are shown (2) with tail streamers which also would apply
tail drag but lack the weight to encumber flight or the strength to
contribute to posture control, indicating that posture control was by
then mastered, but unstable flight control (3) was still under
development. Of the other flying reptiles, the Pterosaurs, only the
small Rhamphorhynchus is supplied with a tail streamer. The
development of flight control in Pterosaurs and Bats looks to have
taken a different path

The cost of design for speed with dinosaurs is having to endure a

counterpoise tail. Mammals have achieved speed but retained all four
legs supportive, but usually just the hind are propulsive.

60

Modern quadrupedal mammals (start with horses) demonstrate
independent neural control of each limb. The body is essentially
rigid, so control is entirely neural. The phase relations of the limbs
can be altered from a walk, to a trop, to a canter, to a gallop, so the
limbs are controlled independently.

Amongst the mammal-like reptiles the skeletal evidence of an erect
stance is first seen in the Cynodonts (4). Reconstructions show active
carnivores with no difficulty of locomotion, which implies they came
pre-adapted to walking erect, with the neural controls already in
place. Their predecessors were Pelycosaurs, dangerous tigers of their
time, but skeletons show their limbs to be sprawling. Sinosoidal
coordination works for small lizards, but as species become larger,
the better to eat the smaller, there will be scaling problems. The force
exerted by any muscle is proportional to its cross-sectional area,
which in turn is proportional to the length of the animal squared. The
muscles of interest are those of the body wall pulling together the
ribs in order to coordinate the limbs. The volume of the body, which
necessarily becomes compressed, is proportional to the length of the
animal cubed, so as the tiger becomes a larger it becomes
proportionally weaker. Here is sufficient incentive to develop a
neural control system gradually to replace mechanical coordination;
as it becomes little by little more competent, each improvement
allows succeeding Pelycosaur species to become a little larger, even
though all the time they retained the sprawling stance. The same
scaling problem applies to bunny hopping (above) though real rabbits
don’t have limbs bound to the body wall.

The limbs are at opposite ends of the animal so animal-wide
coordination is essential. Consider a Cheetah, admittedly an extreme
mammal. It has a body length (BL) pelvic to pectoral, and travels at
45 mph = 20 ms’ Myelinated somatic nerve may conduct signals at
100 ms" so the transmission delay over the body length is BL/100s.
In this time the Cheetah travels 20xBL/100m.

61

A galloping animal covers approximately two body length per stride,
so during the transmission delay the Cheetah covers
(20xBL)/(100x2XBL)=1/10" of a stride. Additionally nerves have a
refractory period of 4ms during which a Cheetah will cover a further
1/35" of a stride. Evidently control of the hind limbs cannot originate
anywhere near the fore limbs.

Whereas arthropods are entirely rigid (a dead beetle is
indistinguishable from the living one) and their control loops are
very short (5), chordates have developed progressively looser bodies.
Dead fish, picture a mackerel on a fish mongers slab, are solid and
lifelike, but a dead mammal is slumped on the ground, head limp,
limbs askew. The morphology of advanced chordates is malleable,
but sustained muscle action is essential to retain the living form. The
layout (algorithm) for the control of locomotion and posture is surely
as complex as the structure we see controlled. With industrial
controls we see Boolean logic, coded signals, tree geometry, nested
patterns, sub-assemblies and all responses run parallel until a
microprocessor becomes involved, which, like a Turing machine,
works only series. For all the work done on cybernetics, the accounts
of how the coordination of quadrepedal animals is laid out feature
none of this, and are mostly trivial and disappointing.

Apart from early mammals, modern quadrupedal reptiles have also
developed more effective gaits. Prof Benton (6) reports four
terrestrial gaits in extant Crocodiles. 1 Tobogganing; 2 Sprawling
like an amphibian; 3 High walk in which the limbs are tucked well
under the body; and 4 Galloping in which the fore and hind limbs act
in pairs. If Crocodiles can do this, quadrupedal Dinosaurs may have
done the same, and it is remarkable that the overloaded bipedal
Dinosaurs remained successful until the K-T boundary.

62

References

I)
2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

Loveday, G. (1986) Electronics sourcebook for engineers.
Pitman Publishing London. Pp88-9 ISBN 0-273-02667-4
Long, J. & Schouten,P.(2008) Feathered Dinosaurs, OUP,
Oxford, pp 179-185. ISBN 978-0-19-537266-3

Smith, J.M. (1952) The importance of the nervous system in
the evolutuon of animal flight. Evolution 6, pp127-9.
Reprinted in On Evolution, Edinburgh Univsersity Press,
Edinburgh. (1972 and more recently) ISBN 0-85224-223-9.
Romer, A.S. (1966) Vertebrate Paleontology, University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, p 179. ISBN 0-226-72488-3.
Zbikowski, R. (2004) Sensor-Rich feedback control. JEEE
instrumentation & Meassurement Magazine, Sept 2004 pp
19-26.

Benton, M.J. (2005). Vertebrate palaeontology, Blackwell
Publishing, Oxford, pp234-5 ISBN 0-632

63

Phoenix Hedge, Henleaze
Sylvia Kelly
zen151788@zen.co.uk

Summary

The venerable history of this relic hedge is considered together with
its value as an important habitat for wildlife in a very built up area.
An estimate of its age using Hooper’s hypothesis indicates that a
hedge has existed on this site for some centuries. The current and
future management of this hedge should be related to its importance
as an amenity feature of significance to an increasingly urbanised
population detached from the natural environment.

Ancient history

Imagine, if you will, an area of South Gloucestershire in 1881 (sheet
LXX1 ) This agricultural landscape consisted of many small fields,
criss-crossed by footpaths, rights of way and “easements of way” and
dissected by a narrow lane. To the South of this there were several
large estates and on the north the land rose to the highest point in the
district called Golden Hill.

When Bristol’s merchants, newly wealthy on trade in sugar and
tobacco, aspired to owning a country estate they bought one of the
small farmhouses, demolished it and built a mansion on the site. The
surrounding land was not farmed as it had been previously but turned
into formal gardens with grottoes, small woodlands and extensive
kitchen gardens and greenhouses. It was customary to keep a few
cows and chickens to supply the household.

An elderly resident living on the high ground walked to school at

Bishop Road in the 30’s and always made a detour to talk to the
cows in the pastures belonging to Claremont.

64

4 a

1 Stroud Valley railway. see page 9

© iitueopinae

es

li 0 dai ti freee:

2 Bristol Docks railway, see page 16

H

2

4 Chironimid eggs, see page 92

mouthparts

left i
mandible ~~ anterior
parapod
ene eel meee eee gut
| ~
,
F ~—_ anal
* tubule
posterior
parapods

5 Chironimid larvae, see page 92

7 Erosion in th . Gully, November 2012 |

co ee |

Pampas Grass, the Gully

i

10 Twiggy Mullein, St Vincent’s Rocks

11 Ragged Robin, R Muston

Helophilus trivittatus

12 By Tony Cottrell

13 By Tony Cottrell

icin,

n Sycamore leaf 2012

sein
dial

! \

15 Japanese Maple Westonbirt

This was built by the chocolate magnate Caleb Bruce-Cole and was
the home until the 1950’s of his wealthy widow, a far- sighted lady
who planted a wild flower meadow as well as her formal gardens.
The house is now a special needs school and Henleaze Infant and
Junior schools have been built in what was once the cows’ pasture.

Keeping the cows within their own pasture and preventing them from
straying onto the footpaths required solid barriers which in those
days meant a hedge. To keep a hedge stock proof required the
attention of a skilled labour force to annually prune it, keep it free
from bramble and once every 10 or 15 years to lay it properly. As the
estates were broken up for development features such as hedges were
too expensive to maintain and were mostly grubbed out and replaced
by walls and fences. These are not good habitats for wildlife
compared to the wonderful corridors of mixed species occurring in
an old hedge but by a miracle one of these hedges has survived — it is
known as Phoenix Hedge.

Location

The hedge in question lies on the boundary of the school playing
field and alongside a well used footpath once labelled as ‘Access to
the countryside’. Parish boundaries, which were originally
established by the Anglo-Saxons in c800 AD normally followed such
field boundaries, marking turning points with boundary stones and
the 1881 Ordnance Survey map of the area shows boundary stones at
either end of the hedge. It features on the Bristol map (visit
http://maps..bristol.gov.uk/knowyourplace) and has a website at
www.sites.google.com/site/phoenixhedge where the latest sightings
of wildlife are recorded.

65

Its situation has led to a strange situation regarding ownership. The
land on which the hedge lies is not part of the school estate and,
although it borders a footpath, which the council is responsible for,
successive councils have refused responsibility for maintaining the
hedge. By the 1980’s this once well managed hedge had become a
straggling line of hedge plants choked with bramble with large trees
overarching the path and cutting out light.

It was nevertheless a superb habitat for wildlife. It was well known
for early sightings of Small Tortoiseshell with Speckled Wood, Red
Admiral, Commas and Peacocks in season.

In 1987 it featured on a map exhibited at the Natural History
Museum for a competition The Wild Side of Town where people
highlighted on maps the often small wildlife sites that they knew.
When it was realised that this hedge contained so many native woody
species that it must be very old Max Hooper’s rule for approximating
the age of ancient hedges was researched. A species count was made
and an estimate of its age determined.

Establishing the age of an old hedge

The Hooper method depends on counting the number of woody
species in several 30m samples in the hedge and applying the
formula that the mean number of woody species gives the age in
centuries with in a limit either way of 200 years. Phoenix hedge is
only 90 m long and has been badly damaged in about one third of its
length and so there are not enough truly valid samples for vigorous
statistical analysis. Nevertheless the number of native species present
is impressive and its construction indicates an ancient structure.

66

Species present

Hawthorn Cratoegus spp

Mostly Common (Cratoegus monogyna) with some hybridisation
with Midland (C. laevigata) which is present on the Downs. This is
the plant of choice for hedges as it grows well after laying, tolerates
annual pruning to keep it shapely and is an excellent species for
wildlife. It seems not to sucker readily and is difficult to propagate
from seed but cuttings strike.

Blackthorn Prunus spinosa

The flowers and fruit of this plant suggest that it may be a hybrid
with the domestic plum, Prunus domestica. It responds to laying but
is very vigorous and suckers rather too well. The management team
have culled suckers outside the line of the hedge and prevented it
overcoming the hawthorn.

Ash Fraxinus excelsior

A few standard trees are often left in a hedge for shade and timber
and one of the Ash trees shows signs of being laid in the distant past.
It is now badly shaped and in need of a tree surgeon’s attention.

Field Maple Acer campestre

When the hedge was laid in 1994 an enormous bole was uncovered
within the hedge line. Exposed to light this produced healthy shoots
identified as Field Maple but it was fatally damaged when a gate was
installed. However a smaller bole further along the hedge in dense
shade was also found and this has grown shoots too. The young
foliage prefers shade. Whether this also was a dormant bole or a
sucker from the first is not clear. Historically, Field Maple generally
only occurs in hedges about 400 years old

67

English Elm Ulmus procera

The hedger managed to “lay” some Elm trunks in 1995 and these
survive well. There are also standard trees which may just be
reaching the age and height (10 to 15 years and about 3m tall) at
which they are susceptible to attack by Dutch Elm Disease. If so
these will be lost but the Elm rootstock is enormous and vigorous
and will produce new suckers. These Elms flower and produce
prodigious amounts of seed none of which is viable so regeneration
depends on suckers.

Holly [Mex aquifolium
This became a standard tree within the hedge line but was damaged
by building works. Seedlings from a tree a short distance away can
be used to replace this.

Dog Rose Rosa canina

Similarly the Dog Rose persists in the hedge in a rather straggly
form. It has spread into the school field and has made a hedge all
round the houses that were built there providing plenty of material
for replacement whips. Although not a very woody species this is
usually included in the list of plants used for dating hedges.

Spindle Euonymus europaeus

During the laying in 1995 the great extent of Spindle which was
known to be present was seen. The main trunk was the largest the
hedger had ever seen suggesting that it has been in the hedge a long
time. Spindle is not usually found in hedges less than 600 years old,
needing perhaps a particular mix of soil, shelter and adjacent species.
Although poisonous in all its parts birds eat the fleshy seeds and the
leaves are well chewed by September. It is difficult (may be
impossible) to propagate from seed but will strike from cuttings.

68

Dogwood Thelycrania sanguinea (Cornus sanguinea) and Elder
Sambucus nigra

Neither of these semi woody species are the hedgers choice as the
stems are too flimsy for laying yet both occur in hedges and some
scientists use them for dating.. The berries are abundant in the
Autumn and attract birds and probably small mammals.

Bramble Rubus fruticosus

An ubiquitous plant in any old hedge but it very soon makes an
impenetrable thicket and smothers the true hedge plants. All of it was
removed in 1994/5 and again in 2010 when several dumpy bags and
green bins were filled with stolons. Assiduous chopping of young
growth by the management team has kept it well under control since
the laying in 2011.

Establishing the age of the hedge

Assuming the length of the hedge provides three samples, the
average is eight woody species in each 30m, suggesting an age of
800 years. The 1840 Tithe map shows a field boundary at this
location which undoubtedly followed the line of the hedge. As a
species rich hedge it certainly precedes the Enclosures, 1750-1860,
when many new hedges were created, mostly planted with hawthorn.
The significant amount of Spindle within the hedgerow is also
indicative of it being an ancient hedge. And the fact that it is a parish
boundary suggests that it existed when the parish was created.

More than 800 years ago farmers created hedges by the mound and
ditch method. Stones removed from the cultivated fields were added
to a mound created from the ditch. A fence of sticks or whips of
hawthorn were often planted and soon formed a stock-proof hedge.
At the West end of Phoenix Hedge there is clear evidence of this as
the hedge grows on a stony mound beside a ditch (now partially
filled in). A local historian has also found evidence of a Saxon
meeting place in the school field.

69

Recent history

For ten years after the map was exhibited in 1987 I tried and failed to
arouse some interest in the hedge as a valuable historic site with
great wildlife value. The tutor from a hedging course run in Somerset
who was a judge of championship hedge laying competitions
examined the hedge and thought it well worth conserving but even
his valued opinion carried no weight with the local amenity society
nor with the many Council officials from various departments who
were contacted. By a lucky chance one of the many pleading letters
landed on the desk of an official in the then Avon County Council
who was keen on both wildlife and crafts such as hedge-laying.
Through her good offices Avon County Council admitted ownership
and agreed to finance laying the hedge professionally. This was no
mean task given the neglect of years and so to give the wildlife a
chance to relocate it was done in two sections, a year apart, in 1995
and 1996.

Although it looked a drastic not to say brutal treatment at first the
rejuvenation of the hedge plants was spectacular in the spring
following each laying in February. There were still problems which
did not help the growth of the hedge. The school planted a line of
Cupressus leylandii along the hedge in the school field in a
misguided attempt to give privacy to the children. As these trees
were never managed they grew into a very tall line of trunks with a
high crown which certainly did not give privacy and took a great deal
of light, moisture and nutrient from the hedge.

Part of the hedge was sadly removed during development of two new
houses on the site of the old school kitchens. A gate from the school
field to the footpath breached the oldest part of the hedge and was
sited on the mound at its most hazardous steep slope. Most of all it
was not possible to keep the new hedge clear of bramble and to prune
it annually so that by 2009 when it needed laying again it was in a
sorry state.

70

At this point neighbours with experience of hedging and others living
near the hedge took an interest in it, organised working parties of
guerrilla gardeners, and eventually became a formal group, the
Phoenix Hedge Preservation Group in 2011, with the intention of
conserving and promoting this unique feature. A local resident and
the BNS supported the Group with donations and what was even
more important with recognition of the value of this hedge and the
endeavours of the Group to preserve it properly.

A successful bid to the local Neighbourhood Partnership in February
2011 eventually resulted in the Council organising laying of the
hedge. The chair of the Group worked assiduously to establish
ownership (and thereby responsibility for upkeep) which has proved
difficult. However Bristol City Council has assumed responsibility
for one metre of the verge alongside the footpath. The rest has been
kept clear of bramble and the worst thistles by the Group’s monthly
working parties. Formal acknowledgement of this role in
maintenance of the hedge and its environs has been sought from the
Council.

Gaps in the hedgerow have been filled with whips of local
provenance. Some of these, donated to the Junior School, were
potted up and cared for by the school’s Gardening Group who
planted them in the hedge in April 2012 and these are now growing
well. An award from Wessex Water’s Watermark Fund and another
successful bid to the Neighbourhood Partnership Well Being Fund
enabled us to install an interpretation board in April 2013 to inform
those who pass along the footpath about the hedge’s history and
wildlife and raise awareness of the hedge’s unique value.

The Future

To quote a recent Times article. “City wildlife matters in a different
way to country wildlife. There are more people to need it, love it, and
nurture it. Wild places matter to people: the wild places on our
doorstep as well as the wild places we travel to. Such places
complete us.”

71

How true this is of the last little wild place in a very crowded part of
Bristol. Those who walk the footpath daily with small children
delight in the first Dandelion and the Bumblebees on White Dead-
nettle, the elderly couple say they are taken back to the countryside
of their youth, and the schoolchildren can use it as an outdoor class
room.

It could, or should, be a wildlife reserve, the smallest in the region
perhaps. In the meantime the Group is looking at ways to afford it
better protection and safeguard its future. To spread the hedge’s
genome saplings raised from its component plants could be planted
in out of the way locations such as on the boundaries of the sports
fields, maybe with wildflowers too. This would be a scattered
patchwork of a nature reserve but one giving pleasure to humans as
well as good habitat for wildlife. Maybe that will be the only way to
preserve our wildlife inheritance in the future.

72

BRISTOL & DISTRICT INVERTEBRATE REPORT, 2012
R.J. Barnett
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Queen’s Road, Bristol BS8 IRL
ray.barnett@bristol.gov.uk

INTRODUCTION
2012, what will it be remembered for? Freak weather that saw a
drought in the first quarter followed by rainfall levels that made it
one of the wettest years on record? Or a year that typified the
dramatic swings in weather that climate change has brought with it in
practice? Whichever, in entomological terms it will remain an
exceptionally poor one.

Looking back over previous invertebrate, and , prior to that,
entomology reports, in this publication, most years seem to have
been described as not particularly good. Perhaps entomologists look
back with rose-tinted spectacles on years in their youth when
everywhere seemed to be teeming with insect life or perhaps we have
been truly witness to a gradual (sometimes dramatic) reduction in
both biodiversity and abundance?

The report issued by Butterfly Conservation (BC) early in 2013 on
‘The State of Britain’s Larger Moths’ makes grim reading. It is not
just the loss of habitat specialist species but the decline of once
common species which raises alarm. On average in southern Britain
the data suggests a decline of 40% in abundance over a 40 year study
period. This type of reduction is no doubt echoed in other insect
groups but for which sufficient study data is unavailable. Certainly in
the Bristol region in 2012, numbers of common insects such as the
grass bugs Stenodema_ laevigatum, Stenotus binotatus and
Leptopterna dolobrata all seemed very low.

73

As key members of food webs, low numbers of such species must
have an impact on other more popular groups for study, such as
birds. More grim reading can also be found the BC report on
butterfly numbers nationally in 2012. This suggests many species
saw declines in number of over 50% on previous years. Despite all
this, on the positive side, BNS member Michelle Fowler was able to
comment on the large number of Rose

Chafers and Speckled and Dark Bush-crickets in her garden during
this year, so at least some species seemed to be coping. Also Sand
Point remains one of the better butterfly locations in the region with
Wall Brown and the introduced Glanville Fritillary population both
holding their own and significantly one report of Grayling butterfly,
now a great rarity locally.

In addition to depressed numbers for many of our endemic species,
2012 was also a very poor year for immigration. Usually common
migrants such as the Silver Y moth were few in number. There were
no great influxes of butterflies, moths, hoverflies or dragonflies such
as we have seen on occasion in recent years.

Aside from the doom and gloom, the sheer variety of invertebrate
species and the need to actively seek them out has still meant that
new and interesting records have occurred during 2012. In the Avon
Gorge, members of staff from the Bristol Conservation and Science
Foundation, based in Bristol Zoo, continued the annual monitoring of
the Red Data Book, Silky Wave moth population. This fairly
inconspicuous small white moth, easily disturbed by daytime, is only
known from three sites in the British Isles, the other two in Wales.
The Gorge seems to be the only site with a regimented scientific
programme of monitoring and the results are therefore even more
important. New habitat management in The Gully within the Avon
Gorge, primarily to assist the rare flora, has been introduced in the
form of a small flock of billy goats.

74

The impact of this grazing is being watched and recorded. So far
moth numbers seem to be holding their own very well. The
monitoring has shown a peak of emergence of the moth in early July,
a peak which is easily missed by random sampling and so a key fact
in terms of comparing year on year data.

Another rare moth species, the Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk,
continued to appear at its site south of Bristol, this year on the wing
from 25th May as witnessed by Nigel Milbourne. Species which still
seem to be on the increase locally include the once rare hoverfly,

Rhingia rostrata, the Scarlet Tiger moth, Small Ranunculus moth
and Dotted Beefly. As always, each year there are one or two species
of insect found which are new to the region, as listed in the species
account below.

It is always satisfying when you set yourself a target and actually
achieve it. There have been previous records of the Purse-web Spider
from the Avon Gorge in the past, but no reports for several decades.
Britain’s only representative of the mygalomorphs (the bird-eating
spiders of the tropics), the Purse-web spins a tube of silk on the soil
surface perhaps as long as 8cm which then passes under the soil for
as much as a further 50cm in some cases, in which it lives. Insects
landing on the exposed silk are stabbed from within by the spider’s
jaws and the prey then dragged through into the silken tube to be
consumed. Never having seen the species before, Andy Pym, Mark
Pajak and myself set out to try and find the spider at the end of the
summer of 2012. After much searching a silken tube was found and
although no living spider was seen, inside the tube was the shed skin
of this species. The target in 2013 is to see the living creature.

is

One important new publication during 2012 was a Field Guide to
Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland by Sterling, Parsons and
Lewington. This is the most comprehensive attempt ever to creating
a single, easy to use, volume on the micro moths and it is bound to
result in a considerable increase in recording of this group of insects.
New volumes of the New Naturalist series on plant galls and
grasshoppers and crickets also published in 2012 may again stimulate
new interest.

Corrections to the 2011 report —

My apologies for the following errors that crept in to last year’s
report.

Page 62: Aphelia viburnana — this record ascribed to Paul Chapman
should have been credited to Paul Bowyer.

Page 63: L-album Wainscot Mythimna I-album — Bob Fleetwood’s
record was from his Clevedon garden (ST47), not from Weston-
super-Mare, and was on 27 September 2011.

Furthermore, I have also heard of out of season records from 2011
not included in that report, namely Hebrew Character and Chinese
Character moths on the wing on 30th and 3st October of that year, in
Weston-super-Mare, as seen by Paul Bowyer.

Scientific nomenclature follows that used by the National
Biodiversity Network website (www.nbn.org.uk).

My thanks to all who have submitted records directly to the Society
(particularly to Jon Mortin, Andy Pym, John Martin, Nigel
Milbourne, Bob Fleetwood, Michelle Fowler, Jean Oliver, Dave
Nevitt, Chris Iles, Darrel Watts, Tony Smith, Tony Cotterell, John
Burton, Marcus Rhodes, the Bristol Regional Environmental Records
Centre (BRERC), members of the Clevedon Moth Group, Bristol &
District Moth Group and the Bristol Wildlife E-group.

76

The importance of receiving, not just the records picked out here, but
those of perhaps less noteworthy species cannot be understated in
terms of monitoring the ever changing status of the invertebrate
fauna.

Species of note in 2012

INSECTA

Psocoptera (booklice)

Valenzuela flavidus (Steph.) Poet's Walk, Clevedon (Cemetery), N.
Somerset (vice county 6) ST393 708 14 October 2012 Jon Mortin.
The only other records of this species held by BRERC are all from
Steep Holm.

Hemiptera (true bugs)

Brassica Bug Eurydema oleracea (Linnaeus) The Tow Path below
Leigh Woods, Avon Gorge, North Somerset (vice county 6) ST56 73
September 2012 Tony Cottrell. A recent colonist.

Reduvius personatus (L.) Newton St Loe, Bath & NE Somerset (vice
county 6) ST71 65 18 July 2012 Darrel Watts. Recorded at this site
previously but a relatively uncommon bug it seems.

Lepidoptera (butterflies)

Morpho ?peleides Kollar The Tow Path below Leigh Woods, Avon
Gorge, North Somerset (vice county 6) ST56 73 30 May 2012 Tony
Cottrell. Thought to be an escapee from Bristol Zoo.

Lepidoptera (micro-moths)

Bucculatrix thoracella (Thunb.) Farrington Gurney, Bath & NE
Somerset (vice county 6) ST632 566 17 September 2012 Chris Iles.
Leaf mines on lime. A very localised species in the region.

Vy

Coleophora asteris Mihlig Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset
(vice county 6) ST3 6 20 August 2012 Paul Bowyer. Confirmed
by genitalia preparation. The first record for the Bristol Region of
this Nationally Scarce (Na) species whose larvae feed on Sea Aster.

Coleophora ochrea (Haw.) The Gully, Avon Gorge, Bristol (vice
county 34) ST564 746 28 May 2012 Ray Barnett. Larval cases on
rock-rose of this very localised moth across Britain, one of the
Gorge’s special species.

Elachista subocellea (Stephens) Claverton Down, Bath (vice county
6) ST76 26 June 2012 Richard Pooley. A Nationally Notable
species (Nb) with the only previous records from the region being
from the 19" C and a report of one in 2001.

Pandemis cinnamomeana (Treits.) Keynsham, Bath & N E Somerset
(vice county 6) ST6 6 9 September 2012 John Aldridge. A local
and uncommon species in the region.

Acleris cristana (D. & S.) Bishopston, Bristol (vice county 34) ST58
75. 24 March 2012 Jean Oliver. A scarce species in our region
although recorded from Bishopston previously.

Acleris literana (L.) Bishopston, Bristol (vice county 34) ST58 75
12 March 2012 Jean Oliver. A thinly distributed species locally
which, as with the previous species, seems to be established in this
part of the city.

Dioctria abietella (D. & S.) Dundry, Bristol (vice county 6) ST5 6

26 June 2012 Dave Nevitt. Very few previous records of this species
associated with conifers.

78

Dioryctria_ sylvestrella (Ratz.) | Tyntesfield NT Estate, North
Somerset (vice county 6) ST50 71 11 August 2012 Paul Chapman er
al. The first record for our region of this species.

Nephopterix angustella (Hb.) Keynsham, Bath & N E Somerset
(vice county 6) ST66 9 September 2012 John Aldridge. A local
and uncommon species in the region.

Stenoptilia zophodactylus (Dup.) The Gully, Avon Gorge, Bristol
(vice county 34) ST564 746 13 June 2012 Ray Barnett. One swept,
one of only two sites we know of for this species in the region.

Lepidoptera (macro-moths)

Currant Clearwing Synanthedon tipuliformis (Cl.) Keynsham, Nr
Bristol (vice county 6) ST653 679 8 July 2012 Alan Bone. St
Andrews Park, Bristol (vice county 34) ST592 751 14 July 12 Des
Bowring. Not especially common so good to receive two new
localities for this sometimes overlooked day-flying moth.

Chalk Carpet Scotopteryx bipunctaria (D. & S.) The Tow Path
below Leigh Woods, Avon Gorge, North Somerset (vice county 6)
ST56 73 16 July 2012 Tony Cottrell. A Nationally Notable species
with a colony more usually noted from the Bristol side of the Avon
Gorge.

Brussels Lace Cleorodes lichenaria (Hufn.) Dundry, Bristol (vice

county 6) STS 6 13 August 2012 Dave Nellis. A very local species
in the Bristol region.

nD

Poplar Hawk Laothoe populi_ (L.) Kingswood, South
Gloucestershire (vice county 34) ST6 7 late September 2012 per Ted
Poulson. Adult female brought in by cat (identified by genitalia
preparation by Mike Bailey). Presumably a second generation
example of this moth which is usually on the wing May to July.

Humming-bird Hawk Macroglossum stellatarum (L.) Oldland
Common, Bristol (vice county 34) ST668 716 17 March 2012 Jack
Willmott. Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset (vice county 6) ST3
6 1 April 2012 and 18 July 2012 Paul Bowyer. Very few records of
this often common migrant during 2012.

Jersey Tiger Euplagia quadripunctaria (Poda) Abbots Leigh, North
Somerset (vice county 6) STS 7 26 August 2012 John Sparks. Elm
Farm, Burnet, Bath & N E Somerset (vice county 6) ST6 6 a9)
August 2012 Richard Pooley. In the last few years the Jersey Tiger
has moved out of its south Devon stronghold into parts of southern
England and even established itself in London. Records from our
region are still sporadic, such as these, and it will be interesting to
see whether it becomes more of a feature of our local fauna.

Lead-coloured Drab Orthosia populeti (Fabr.) Pilning, South
Gloucestershire (vice county 34) ST ST556 849 March 2012 John
Martin. Blagdon, Bath & N E Somerset (vice county 6) STS 5 29
March 2012 Nigel Milbourne. Moths of the Bristol Region, when
published in 2008 had no recent records of this moth, although it can
be easily confused with the Clouded Drab. It is intriguing to get
more than one record in 2012 which could suggest recorders
encouraging each other to look out for the moth, an overlooked
native population or possible immigration?

80

Ni Moth Trichoplusia ni (Hb.) Dundry, Bristol (vice county 6) STS
6 26 June 2012, Dave Nevitt. A rare immigrant but easily
overlooked as a Silver Y, the second time recorded at this locality,
other recorders should check their Silver Ys!

Buttoned Snout Hypena rostralis (Linnaeus) Burnett ST673 654,
Stanton Prior ST684 629, Priston ST693 608, Kelston ST696 683,
Carlingcott ST701 585, Withyditch ST704 593, Dunkerton ST707
595, Lower Swainswick ST762 675 Bath & NE Somerset (vice
county 6) 11-27 July 2012 Mike Bailey & Martin Hunt. These
records represent successful searches for the larvae of this moth (on
its food-plant Hop) which has occasionally been recorded at light
traps in the vicinity previously. It would seem to be a moth which 1s
not especially attracted to light and this larval searching has shown it
to be well established in this part of our region.

Coleoptera (beetles)

Ampedus balteatus (L.) Clarkencombe Wood, Ashton Court ST55 72
(vice county 6) 12 May 2012 Ray Barnett. One adult found in one of
the ancient oaks at this important woodland, first record for our
region of this species which lives in deadwood as a larva.

Agapanthia villosoviridescens (DeG.) The Gully, Avon Gorge,
Bristol (vice county 34) ST564 746 28 May 2012 Ray Barnett. A
distinctive species which has increased in the east and Midlands of
England and is slowly establishing itself in our region.

Stenurella melanura (Linnaeus) St Anne’s Park, Bristol (vice county
6) ST 619 721 August 2012 Michelle Fowler. A pair of this
localised long-horn species.

Black-headed Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa coccinea (L.) Middle
Wood, Englishcombe, Bath & NE Somerset (vice county 6) ST726
617 21 May 2012 Tim Corner. Much rarer than the usual P.
serraticornis with its red head, this species is usually an indicator of
good dead wood habitat.

8]

Tillus elongatus (L.) The Gully, Avon Gorge, Bristol (vice county
34) ST564 746 13 June 2012 Ray Barnett. An indicator species of
good deadwood habitat.

Ischnomera cyanea (Fabr.) Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol (vice
county 6) ST60 71 30 June 2012 Ray Barnett. Another species
whose larvae feed in deadwood.

Cryptocephalus moraei (L.) Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol (vice
county 6) ST60 71 30 June 2012 Ray Barnett. A local species
associated with St John’s Wort.

Rosemary Beetle Chrysolina americana (L.) St Anne’s Park, Bristol
(vice county 6) ST 619 721 June-September 2012 Michelle Fowler.
The first records from our region of this, originally Mediterranean,
species date from 2006 and 2007. I had been expecting it to have
become well established on both Lavender and Rosemary by now but
either gardeners are not reporting it to naturalists or it is genuinely
struggling to adapt to our particular micro-climate.

Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants)
Zaraea lonicerae (L.) Bishopston, Bristol (vice county 34) ST585
757 11 April 2012 Ray Barnett. A rarely seen but distinctive sawfly.

Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum (L.) Bishopston, Bristol (vice
county 34) ST585 757 1 March — 1 June 2012 Ray Barnett. A nest
in a roof space was very active until June, one of several such nests
reported anecdotally by members of the public attending the annual
Bristol Festival of Nature in June 2012 along with several sightings
by experienced recorders eg by Jon Mortin as follows: Ashley Down
College, Bristol (vice county 34) ST 595 753 1 March 2012 and 15
March 2012 Jon Mortin, both queens.

82

St Andrews Park Pond, Bristol (vice county 34) ST 593 751 11
March 2012 Jon Mortin, one seen. Narroways LNR (Ash Wood),
Bristol (vice county 34) ST600 750 10 June 2012 Jon Mortin, one
seen. Upper Belmont Road, Bristol (vice county 34) ST592 754 18
June 2012 Jon Mortin, one worker seen.

Diptera (true flies)

Mydaea corni (Scop.) Narroways LNR, Bristol (vice county 34)
ST600 750 11 November 2012 and also Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol
(vice county 34) ST602 755 18 November 2012 both Jon Mortin det.
Stephane Lebrun. The first and second records of this species from
the BRERC area.

Rhingia rostrata (L.) The Tow Path below Leigh Woods, Avon
Gorge, North Somerset (vice county 6) ST56 73. ~=September 2012
Tony Cottrell. Blagdon Lake, Bath & N E Somerset (vice county 6)
STS 5 16 August 2012 Nigel Milbourne. Chew Valley Lake, Bath
& N E Somerset (vice county 6) ST5 5 22 August 2012 Ian Stapp
and, same location, 23 August 2012 Richard Mielcarek. Previously a
very rare fly in the region but one which seems to be increasing
nationally as well as locally.

Volucella inanis (L.) Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol (vice county 34)
ST602 755 26 August 2012 and St Andrews Park Pond, Bristol (vice
county 34) ST 593 751 28 August 2012 both Jon Mortin. This
recent impressive addition to the local list continues to be present in
good numbers.

Sargus iridatus (Scop.) Breach Wood, Bath & NE Somerset (vice

county 6) ST726 628 29 May 2012 Jon Mortin. Only the 7” record
on the BRERC database of this soldier fly.

83

Dotted Beefly Bombylius discolor Mikan Blagdon Lake, Bath & N
E Somerset (vice county 6) ST5 5 27 March 2012 Nigel Milbourne.
A species which may be increasing in the region at present.

Phasia hemiptera (Fabricius) The Tow Path below Leigh Woods,
Avon Gorge, North Somerset (vice county 6) ST56 73 September
2012 Tony Cottrell. Just one report of this parasitic fly which
seemed to be common in 2008.

Arachnida

Cave Spider Meta bourneti Simon Abbots Pool, Abbot’s Leigh,
North Somerset (vice county 6) ST52 73 Andy Pym & Mark Pajak,
det Mark Pajak. The rarer of the two cave spider species.

Purse Web Spider Atypus affinis (Eich.) The Gully, Avon Gorge,
Bristol (vice county 34) ST564 746 07 October 2012 Mark Pajak,
Andy Pym & Ray Barnett. Cast skin found in purse web.

Amphipoda

Landhopper Arcitalitrus dorrieni (Hunt) Bishopston, Bristol (vice
county 34) ST585 757 26 February 2012 Ray Barnett. Common
under flower pots; an established alien.

Annelida

Blue-grey Worm Octolasion cyaneum (Savigny) Ashley Hill,
Bristol (vice county 34) ST597 749 4 March 2012 and Sefton Park
Road, Bristol (vice county 34) ST596 753. 26 April 2012 both
recorded by Jon Mortin. The first records of this worm on the
BRERC database although presumably overlooked.

84

In the Footsteps of Henri Audcent -Leigh Woods
John Kramer
john.kramer@btinternet.com

There are some entomologists from past decades who left a useful
record of the species that they, and their fellow entomologists, found.
It allows us to compare their records with what we can find today.
One such naturalist was Henri Audcent. (1875-1951) who collected
and recorded the Diptera (two-winged flies) in the Bristol area some
80 years ago. He left no field notebooks, but it is possible, from his
series of papers 'Bristol Insect Fauna Diptera’ in the Proceedings of
the Bristol Naturalists Society, to read the records compiled by him
between 1928 and 1949. In this last paper, for which he used the
Kloet & Hincks Check list of 1945, Audcent summarises the records
and helpfully lists all of the preceding papers about the Diptera of the
Bristol area. He did not describe the locations in any detail but I have
briefly re-visited and recorded the craneflies (Diptera, Tipuloidea)
from two of the sites for which his records exist, so that some
comparisons can be made.

The first of these sites is Leigh Woods NNR, an area of wet
woodland situated on Carboniferous limestone on the west bank of
the River Avon. [VC 6] It falls into three grid squares (ST5474,
ST5574, ST5573), lies at a maximum of about 100m and slopes quite
steeply down to the River Avon to the east.

Where the species was very common, Audcent records them as 'G
and S (Gloucester and Somerset), common’. It is probable that many
species recorded thus were also found at Leigh Woods. Where this
seems likely I have indicated these on the Table of Results as
‘common’ (See Appendix I )

85

H.J. Charbonnier published the first list of Diptera of the Bristol
District in the Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists' Society in 1912.
However, no names of locations were given, and there were none
listed from Leigh Woods. He did list the collectors who donated
records, like V.R. Perkins of Wooton-under-edge, and C.J. Watkins
of Painswick, and it would be interesting to read their notebooks.

Tipulidae (Daddy Long-legs) - 21 species

There are no Audcent records for the genera Ctenophora, Dictenidia,
Tanyptera, Dolichopeza and Prionocera from Leigh Woods. d'Assis-
Fonseca recorded Ctenophora pectinicornis in 1943, and I have
added Dolichopeza albipes

He recorded 13 species in the family Tipulidae and four of these
species were the black and yellow ‘Tiger Craneflies (genus
Nephrotoma) are listed: N. analis, cornicina, flavipalpis and
guestfallica. N. analis and N. guestfallica are both species of sandy
river banks which emerge in June -July, so may be found by the
stream that flows from the ponds at Paradise Bottom (ST5474). The
bed of this stream seems sandy, but perhaps it is silt, stained brown
with iron compounds? N. flavipalpis is a wet woodland species
which usually emerges in July, so searching then will probably find
this species. N. cornicina prefers drier habitats and so it may be
found on thinner soils on the limestone. He recorded N.
appendiculata as 'common' so he may have found it here. I have
added N. quadrifaria to Audcent's list from Leigh Woods, recorded
in Nightingale Valley (ST 55 73) He lists it as 'common and
widespread' and it is still a common woodland species.

13 species of Tipula are recorded from Leigh Woods and in addition
I have included Tipula lateralis, T. oleracea, and T. paludosa, which
are recorded as 'G. and S. common’. It may well be that, on my early
June visit, I was too late to record some of the Spring craneflies, such
as T. varipennis and T. flavolineata, both of which I recorded at other
sites in May.

86

Others such as 7. signata and T.pagana, emerge in the Autumn and
may be collected in late September or October. Tipula lateralis was
recorded by me from the bank of the River Avon. It 1s probable that
the rare Tipula (Vestiplex) nubeculosa was wrongly identified. Its
habitat is in mountainous regions. It is perhaps significant that
Audcent does not mention this record in his paper of 1940. However,
its close relative Tipula (Vestplex) scripta does occur in Leigh
Woods, and was recorded by Audcent. It is difficult to be certain
what Audcent meant by the name Tipula hortulana.

It is a synonym for Tipula pseudovariipennis Czizek but this is less
common. In his 1932 paper he also lists it as a synonym for the
commoner 7. submarmorata Schummel (Audcent 1932) and this is
probably what he meant.

I also added the 'White-footed Ghost' (Dolichopeza albipes) and
Tipula maxima to Audcent's list of Tipulidae. Both of these were
swept on different dates from the Cupressus at the bottom of the
'Waterfall’ (ST5474). The larvae of the former species feeds in
liverworts and the habitat of the adult is in the deep shade, often
beneath an overhanging stream bank, or beneath vegetation. 7.
maxima 1s one of our largest flies and has a very distinct pattern of
chocolate markings on its wings. It's larvae feed in the sediment in
streams.

Cylindrotomidae - | species

Diogma glabrata was recorded in Leigh Woods by A.E. Hudd,
though no date is given. This is a rare species and Gibbs (2002)
writes that a specimen caught in Monks Wood, north of Bath in July
1999, was the first record for the area since 1929, so it seems that it
has not been recorded in Leigh Woods since Audcent's time.

87

[ I must confess that when I saw the yellow thorax and black
thoracic stripes of Lipsothrix nervosa, together with the three medial
veins I thought at first that I had Diogma glabrata in the net. L.
nervosa was not added to the British list until 1938, and if A.E. Hudd
took it before then, he would certainly wonder what it was, and may
perhaps, like me, have identified it as Diogma. |

Pediciidae - 5 species

At that time these craneflies were grouped in the family Limoniidae,
sub-family Limnobiinae. Rather surprisingly none of this group of
'hairy-eyed craneflies' was recorded by Audcent from Leigh Woods.
The larvae of some species live in streams and are predatory on
smaller invertebrates. Presumably all of the streams now present in
Leigh Woods were flowing in Audcent's day.

The waterfall is an excellent habitat and the large, orange Pedicia
littoralis was common there at the beginning of June. The smaller
dark Dicranota species present more of a problem and genitalia
preparations are advisable. Two species were found by the stream
flowing northwards from the Paradise Ponds.

The larvae of species of Ula feed in fungi, and they were all grouped
together as Ula pilosa in Audcent's day, and later as U. sylvatica. It
was only in 1962 that two British species were separated. This is
recorded by him as 'bred' in 1923, and it emerged from a fungus,
Tricholoma album (Schaef) in February. (Audcent 1949) I collected
a specimen in early June which was identified as Ula sylvatica.
Tricyphona immaculata is a common wetland species.

Limoniidae - 53 species
For the full list see Appendix I.

88

Chioneinae:

Many of these species are small and require a good microscope to
identify them accurately. We are more aware today that differences
in the structures of genitalia may be minute, or concealed by bristles
and so identification in the field may be impossible so perhaps the
major difference in the earlier and later lists lies in the number of
these small species on the latter. The genus Rhypholophus emerges in
the Autumn. Gonomyia recta, and G. simplex are two local species
associated with limestone, as is the rarely recorded Molophilus
lachschewitzianus. This was added to the British list in 1973 by Alan
Stubbs. M. corniger and M. variispinus, both Notable, were also
found here. The latter was not added to the British list by Alan
Stubbs until 1977.

Limnophilinae

There is not much to be said about these common species. The two
species of Euphylidorea emerge in May and I may have been too late
to find them.

Limoniinae

Although records from wet woodland occur, Dicranomyia didyma 1s
a species which occurs near waterfalls and their larvae feed in the
surrounding damp mosses. Dicranomyia sericata, recorded by A.E.
Hudd, is associated with limestone quarries, so these would be worth
investigating. David Gibbs reports (pers. com.) that he has taken this
species in the limestone quarry on the opposite bank of the River
Avon, so Hudd's record is very plausible, although the quarries may
now be too scrubbed over to support this species. I have not yet
found either of these species in Leigh Woods

Species of the genus Lipsothrix are associated with wet rotting wood
in which their larvae feed and which is in plentiful supply around the
streams here. Lipsothrix remota is a common species, but L. nervosa
is more local and associated with calcareous habitats. It was
discovered as new to science in 1938 by F.W. Edwards (Edwards
1938)

89

Summary

There are now a total of 85 species on the check list for Leigh
Woods. One of these I have omitted as dubious, but 37 have been
confirmed by the recent visits. The most notable are those restricted
to wet limestone woodlands, of which this is an excellent example.

The other Audcent site that we visited was Shapwick Heath and I
will write a piece about that for the next volume. If anyone has
records of craneflies from there, or from Leigh Woods I would like
to hear from them so that we can build as complete a picture as
possible.

References

Audcent, H. 1929 - 34. Bristol Insect Fauna: Diptera. Proceedings of
the Bristol Naturalist’ Soc.

Audcent, H. 1949. Bristol Insect Fauna: Diptera. Proceedings of the
Bristol Naturalist! Soc. 27 (5)

Audcent, H. 1932. British Tipulinae (Diptera, Tipulidae) Trans. Ento.
Soc. of the South of England, Vol. 8 Part 1.

Charbonier, H.G. 1912. List of Diptera of the Bristol District. Proc.
Bristol Nats. Soc.

Edwards, F.W. (1938) British Short-palped Craneflies. Taxonomy of
Adults. Trans. Soc. Brit. Ent. 5: 1-168

Gibbs, D.J. 2002 Scarcer Diptera found in the Bristol Region 1999,
2000 and 2001. Dipterists Digest Vol. 9, No. 1.

Stubbs, A.E. 1973

Stubbs, A.E. 1977 Gonomyia limbata and Molophilus variispinus
new to Britain, from Wales Proceedings and Transactions of the
British entomological and natural history Society 10: 100-103.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mark Pajak for organising the site visits, and to members
of the Bristol Naturalists' Society for their company.

90

APPENDIX 1 - RESULTS

Ctenophora pectinicornis 1943

Dolichopeza albipes

errr
a eee!

Nephrotoma analis fee? Sen eee
Nephrotoma appendiculata | Common [| |
cemeber|

ime:

el

2013
Nephrotoma cornicina
Nephrotoma flavipalpis
Nephrotoma guestfallica
Nephrotoma quadrifaria
Tipula maxima ——— AS
Tipsta vittata [ay as eee
Tipula flavolineata [iimeues >) raed Pons cae
Tipula lunata | common | |
Tipula luteipennis Pani ee
T. submarmorata Schummel ae ee el
Tipula varipennis aie =
Tipula obsoleta iene >) eee Oecd
eres
el

Tipula rufina 1932
Tipula signata Staeg AE Hudd

Tipula variicornis

Tipula oleracea common

ares
eaannee
203

[Tipula nubeculosa AE Hudd

Tipula lateralis

Cylindrotomidae ee

Cylindrotoma distinctissima 1929 Sin een
Diogma glabrata AE Hudd a4
Dicranota bimaculata aT 2013

2013

9]

2013
Pedicia littoralis 2013

Tricyphona immaculata 1928 2013
Ula sylvatica 1923 2013

Cheilotrichia cinerascens AE Hudd 2013

Erioptera flavata _ 1918

Erioptera lutea
Erioptera lutea 2013
Ellipteroides lateralis ee es PAU)
Gonomyia recta ae 2013
Gonomyia simplex ee Ree S| 2013
ee

1918 2013

Dicranota pavida

Ilysia maculata

llisia occoecata 2013

Molophilus appendiculatus 1925 2013

Molophilus cinereifrons AE Hudd 2013
Molophilus corniger ane 2013

Molophilus griseus AE Hudd
Molophilus lackschewitzianus Fisted 2013

Molophilus medius 2013

Molophilus ochraceous [925 2013

Molophilus serpentiger 2013

sical ans
Molophilus variispinus apie ena 2013
Ormosia albitibia
Ormosia nodulosa 2013
Rhypholophus bifurcatus
Rhypholophus haemorrhoidalis
Tasiocera murina 2013
Limnophilinae ft ity ibe
Austrolimnophila ochracea 2013
Eloeophila submarmorata ale eieenaeee 2013
rece OD

Euphylidorea dispar 1920

Euphylidorea lineola 1925
Epiphragma ocellare [927

2013

92

Dicranophragma adjunctum 1925 hoa
2013

Dicranophragma nemorale
Limnophila schranki aE trick

Neolimnomyia filata inet vend Ease | 2013

Paradelphomyia senilis
Achyrolimonia decemmaculata 1937
Dicranomyiamitis var affinis eae er ee
Dicranomyia chorea
Dicranomyiamitis var lutea (oe cee anil bell ea de
Dicranomyia modesta [ee eas ae i ag
Dicranomyia sericata | AEHudd | |
Dicranomyia fusca Pe oe eetole |
Limonia flavipes
Limonia macrostigma Wels cdadletg 2018 a4
Limonia nubeculosa
Limonia phragmitidis
Limonia stigma AR Mudd |. == — |
Limonia trivittata Ne Ae atpoevi: jf eel
Lipsothrix nervosa gk te eel eo Otay 4]
Lipsothrix remota a baie lie as at
Metalimnobia bifasciata Rie ae ee
Metalimnobia quadrinotata a a
Neolimonia dumetorum
Rhipidia maculata ae eee ree ea iget 4

Pseudolimnophila sepium

93

Chironomidae in Sneyd Park
Robert Muston

Whilst pond dipping in Sneyd Park pond last Autumn (2012) I found
something which I had not come across before. I subsequently found
a few more and I took one home to photograph. Closer examination
suggested that they were an egg mass of some kind, and so they were
set aside to see whether they would hatch. See photo4. Placed in a jar
of pond water with a loosely fitting lid, and left outside to avoid any
additional undue warmth, small organisms, two mm in length
hatched out. Specimens were quickly isolated with only a few in
each glass container and were periodically fed on Volvox, a colonial
algae abundant in the pond at that time. See photo 6

Closer examination revealed that these organisms were midge larvae
belonging to the family Chironomidae. Once hatched, each larva
builds small tube from mud and detritus in which they continue to
live, emerging to feed and quickly retreating back into their mud tube
when only their head may be seen. .

The larva’s head is provided with a pair of strong mandibles which
are used to catch the food before conveying it to the mouthparts
where the food is shredded and then eaten. Also on the head are
rudimentary eyes. Just below the head is a clawed appendage
(parapod), with a pair of similarly clawed parapods at the rear end.
These parapods are used to provide a strong grip whilst the organism
is inside its mud tube. Also at the rear end are pairs of gills which
have a good blood system thus enabling an adequate supply of
oxygen from the water without the need to come to the surface and
anal tubules through which it excretes. See Photo.5

The Chironomidae

This description is of but one example of this family of midges
which comprises 139 genera within which there are about 450
individual species. Chironomids are found in almost every form of
aquatic habitat and whilst most are found in freshwater, a few are

94

found in brackish water, and two species have been found in the
marine environment. Different species will tolerate extremes of
temperature, water current speed, and dissolved oxygen levels, in
addition to toleration of pollution. They are often associated with
degraded waters with low biodiversity having become adopted to
anoxic (low oxygen content) conditions. The Chironomids are
important as indicator organisms, i.e., their presence, absence or
relative abundance may indicate whether pollutants are present. They
are also important food items for fish and other aquatic organisms
including newts, water scorpion, water boatmen and diving beetles.

Midge larvae have turned out to be fascinating organisms to observe
and so it is hoped that this short article will be an introduction to a
more extended piece in the course of preparation.

References

1. W.J., Garnett. Freshwater Microscopy. London: Constable ,
1965.

2. Dobson M., Pawley S., et al., Guide to Freshwater Invertebrates.
: Freshwater Biological Association, 2012.

4. Cranston, P.S. 4 key to the larvae of the British Orthocladiinae
(Chironomidae): Freshwater Biological Association 1982

DD

Phenology Report 2011-2012
R L Bland
Richard.bland123@btinternet.com

The data upon which this article is based is derived from a standard
weekly walk through ST5673, from North to South, following the
edge of the Gorge as closely as is practical. The walk runs from the
Peregrine Watchpoint to the Clifton Rocks Railway below the
Suspension Bridge and is 1000m long. Every week all the plant and
tree species in flower, and the number of species with ripe fruit, are
recorded. This walk has been done since 2000. In all 263 species
have been identified though the maximum number recorded in any
one year is 229. The survey began in 2002, though there are earlier
records for some species back to 1997. Other significant events are
recorded for tree species, including bud break, and the date when the
leaves first turn colour, the date of first leaf fall, of full colour turn
and the date of becoming bare. The definition of first flower is that
the anthers be visible. For other events the criteria are more
subjective. The dates are all recorded as days of the year, starting on
January 1°. The relevant data are submitted annually to the
Woodland Trust’s Natures Calendar. The principle that is followed is
that a standard transect regularly repeated by the same observer will
give truly comparative results.

The problem for all our wildlife is that, though we have a temperate
climate, they have to deal with the extremes, and the years 2011 and
2012 were remarkable for this. 2011 was the second hottest year
since 1853. It had the third cold winter in a row, with an
exceptionally cold December 2010, (the coldest locally since 1916)
that saw three weeks of lying snow. A wet January was followed by
a warm February and April was the warmest since 1853. The average
temperature for spring, (March, April, May) was in consequence, the
second highest since 1853. This was followed by an average but wet
summer, the fourth in succession, and the warmest November and
autumn temperatures since 1853.

96

2012 was the wettest year since 1853. After an exceptional run of
three cold winters, winter had an average temperature, March was
the warmest since 1853, summer was the wettest ever, and autumn
had 50% more rain than average.

Table 1 A summary of the seasonal temperatures and rainfall
compared with the long term average

Spring first flowering.

Interestingly the response of spring plants was that both years had
normal springs. Chart | shows the average date of 18 common
species on the Downs that come into flower in the first four months
of the year since 2000. The two very late springs were 2006 and
2010. 2008 was the earliest. What is remarkable is the huge range
that these species show. The difference between the average earliest
date and the average latest date for all 18 species is 42 days, six
weeks, and individual species have a range of between 18 and 82
days.

Full details of the dates 2002-2012 are in Appendix |

of

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Chart 1. The average date of first flowering of 18 spring species,
2000-2012

The impact of the hot April in 2011 came in the plants that normally
flowered after the start of May. Chart 3 is based on the dates of 80
species and shows the average number of days that species came into
flower earlier than the decadal average in each ten day period of May
and June. In many cases this was the earliest date recorded since
2000. It was remarkable that the impact of a hot spell in April was
actually greatest at the start of June, and could still be seen at the end
of that month.

-10 11-20 21-31 1-10 11-20 21-30

Chart 2. The average number of days earlier than usual that species
came into flower in each ten day period of May and June.

98

New Year’s Day count.

The New Year’s Day count of all the species in flower recorded on
January | since 2000 now has found a total of 53 species. On New
Year’s Day 2011 there were only three species, as a result of the
bitter December in 2010. December 2011 had an average of 9.8C
maximum temperature, the warmest since this survey began, and the
count was 30 species, the highest since 2006. There were four new
species, Basil Thyme, Cow Parsley, Great Lettuce and Red Clover.
New Year’s Day 2013 had just 16 species, but Dog Mercury, Field
Speedwell and Meadow Buttercup were all new species.

Of the 53 species fifteen have only been recorded once in the 14
years, and only Daisy and Gorse have been recorded every year.
Each species has been recorded on average four times, and each year
there have been an average of 15 species in flower. Most of the
plants recorded are autumn survivors, but in 2013 both Hazel and
Dogs Mercury and Perennial Wallflower were new spring plants in
flower.

Clearly a combination of the rainfall and temperature in the two
months prior to January 1° will influence which species are able to
be in flower, and, because it only requires a single specimen of the
species to be recorded, there is a strong chance element involved.
The very low light levels of mid-winter, and the very small number
of pollinators, have the consequence that very few flowers are
pollinated, and seed production is in consequence very low, and that
species stay in flower for a long time. But for annual plants getting
an early start in the autumn is a good way to maximise production
when the light increases. In 1900 the thirty-year average of
maximum winter temperature was 7.0°C, and this increased to 8.3°C
by 1939. Since then it has fallen back to 7.3°C by 1985, then rising to
8.2°C by 2008. Should there be any further increase plants adapted to
survival should do well.

99.

hart 3 The correlation between average December maximum
temperature and the number of species in flower on January 1°

Tree growth. The active life of a tree depends partly upon how early
in spring it can leaf, and how late in the autumn it can continue, and
partly upon rainfall. In particular summer rainfall leads to a second
shoot production called Lammas growth, which happens in August
and September. Normally for most native trees the growth of shoots
happens in a rapid burst in early spring, and then the trees energy is
devoted to flowering, ripening the seed, and building the buds for the
following year. But if it is warm and wet enough the Lammas shoots
can be as long or longer than the spring ones, and Oaks and Maples
in particular produced spectacular lammas growth in 2012. However
in terms of the overall growing season, which for twelve native
species in Bristol averages about 220 days, both 2011 and 2012 had
average years. There was a months difference between 2005, the
longest growing season and 2009, the shortest, and it is a
combination of this and the rainfall that will create the difference
between annual growth rings. Each tree species also has its own
pattern. Whitebeam has the shortest average growing season at 186
days, Elm the longest at 244 days. The variation between the longest

100

and shortest growing season 1s also different for each species. Oak
has the least variation, 39 days, Whitebeam the most at 83 days.

Wild Harvest. The weather will also influence the productivity of
each species. In 2012 neither Beech nor Whitebeam flowered,
whereas Ash had a bumper crop that year, as did Sycamore and
Holm Oak. But in general tree productivity was poor in 2012, which
will have had an impact on the over-winter survival of many species
of mammals and birds. Since 2002 I have recorded each week the
number of species that still have nuts or berries available on the tree
for consumption. A small crop will be rapidly consumed, whereas a
large one will last longer. Some species such as Elder are always
consumed rapidly, and others, such as acorns, are long-lasting on the
ground after they have fallen from the tree, so the figure gives a very
rough estimate of size of the harvest. The annual pattern is clear,
with a peak in mid-October, (week 41), and a long gap from mid-
April (week 16) to the end of June (week 26).

30
25
20
15
10

5

0
16 11 6-21 26 3), 36 Al. 46 51

Chart 4. Weekly average number of species with fruit/nuts available,
2002-2012

101

It is possible to compare the annual pattern with the average, and
Chart 5 shows the number of species with ripe fruit between the start
of July and the end of the year for 2011 and 2012. 2011 had an early
harvest, caused in part by the early flowering dates that the April
temperature encouraged, and a subsequent wet summer with average
temnperatures. 2012 the harvest started late, and the number of
species every week was close to or at the minimum recorded since
2003. Chart 6 shows a comparison of the average number July to
December each year.

oe ® @

2/ an 30 o 15, 43 4/ S|

cae 40 li Mek saa BI

Chart 5 Comparison between the size of the harvest in 2011 and
2012, July to December

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Chart 6 Average number of species with fruit July-December, 2003-
2012

102

The dates of first flowering of 18 spring species, 2002-2012

Appendix |

Blackthorn

Chestnut

Sycamore

Hawthorn

103

Appendix 2 Species present on New Year’s Day count on the

Peer rae tt ett See |
eld 25/2 SSS aaa eee assess
ee ee te ee

FELECR OCC eeeeer | ese
Lae a ll a ee Md SF ES

2000-2012

Adria Bellflower
Bristly Oxtongue
Canadian Fleabane
Hairy bittercress

[Alexanders |_| | | dy

Hedge Mustard
Herb Robert
Hogweed

Field speedwell
Holl

Golden Rod
Gorse

a)
Oo
3
3
=
—_—
N
S
D
=
oS
aa)

Basil Thyme
Dog mercury
Great Lettuce
Hawkweed

Blackbe
Cow Parsley

Celandine
Chickweed
Dais
Dandelion
Feverfew
Groundsel

Cla
Hazel

—
5)
c
3

=4
<

Downs,

104

Se SSeS fie ee ee Ae

ESSE
as

Viburnum tinus [se

Wallflower

Ragwort
[RedClover |_| | |
[RedNettle | fy| |
[Red Valerian | fy ly ly

Rock Rose

Ivy-leaved Toadfla
Mexican fleabane
Trailing Bellflower

Nettle
Smooth Sowthistle

Meadow Buttercup
Nipplewort

Ox eye daisy
Oxford Ragwort
Petty Spurge
Shepherds Purse
Small Scabius
Snapdragon
Thyme

Wood Avens
Yarrow

Yellow Fumito

105

Book Reviews
Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Bristol Region, by R.J. Barnett,
R.M. Andrews, T. Corner, R.J. Higgins, J.P. Martin and A. Pedlow;
Published by BRERC.
A review by Robin Williams, www.insectsandflight.com.

On first glancing through this book I thought what a fine impression
it gave. A more detailed examination went on to confirm this. It is so
comprehensive that it is easy to forget this is a purely local study and
not a national one. The layout, first-class photographs and standards
of printing make it an extremely attractive book, as well as being
both practical and useful. The editors, authors and photographers
have much to be proud about.

The book is based around the records kept over the years by the
Bristol Regional Environmental Centre (BRERC) and is a
development from the previous book by Simon Randolph in 1992,
Dragonflies of the Bristol Region, although the actual area covered is
now rather less. Indeed my only sadness is that it no longer covers
much of Mendip, which is so rich in dragonfly life. The biggest
changes are recording vagrants and visitors instead of concentrating
solely on breeding populations. The area has seen some amazing and
unexpected visitors in recent years.

Interestingly, the book starts with the geological situation of the area
and describes ancestral developments, which does help set it all in
context. A chapter on Conservation and habitats is packed with
information on ponds, streams, levels and other wetlands enabling us
to understand the area in much more detail, as well as how local
plants affect populations. It goes on to discuss climate change, which
is already showing benefits to the Odonata population. It ends with
several case studies of particular locations and reserves which are
invaluable to visitors and local watchers.

The history of dragonfly recording in the area is well covered. It
takes in earlier efforts, going on to activities of bodies like the British

106

Dragonfly Society, as well as the growing interest from bird
watchers. The result of all this is that nearly 24,000 records have
been analysed, by 600 odd recorders, covering from 1921 to 2011,
which are now held in BRERC, as well as being used as the basis for
this book.

The large main section concerns species accounts for each of the
many Odonata recorded in the region. This an_ extremely
comprehensive and well thought-out package, laid out similarly for
each species and covering virtually everything that you might need to
know. (Inevitably, I yearn for a section on identification but realise
there are plenty of good books covering that, including my favourite,
A complete guide to British Dragonflies, by Andrew McGeeney, long
out of print). The text describes suitable habitats for the species and
where it is likely to be found in the region. Each has a very clear map
showing the main locations, together with a graph showing when the
insects are in flight. Above all, though, there are photographs
illustrating different stages and the sexes — and all are of the highest
standard. It is difficult to imagine what else is needed to plan outings
in search of particular dragonflies.

This remarkable and beautiful book is a credit to all who have been
involved in its production.

107

Avon Atlas 2007-11 by R.L. Bland and M. Dadds
Published privately, copies are available from the first author
A review by Harvey Rose.

Straight away I should say that this publication is an important
addition to the bird literature of the Avon area which would not have
been possible without the long hours spent in the field by an ‘army’
of volunteer observers and the hundreds of hours spent by the authors
and some others (including John Tully who unfortunately did not live
to see the final product) organising the project, collating the material
and writing the final report which runs to 197 pages.

During the period November 2007 to July 2011 the British Trust for
Ornithology (BTO) organised a national survey of the birds
occurring in the UK. Effectively this was two combined surveys, one
for summer (breeding) and one for winter, and so it covered the
major aspects of the birdlife of the country except for one, migration.
An Avon survey following similar lines was organised in conjunction
the national survey, and the Atlas under review provides an account
of this local survey. It begins with an introduction giving details of
the methods used, a description of the area covered, and a thorough
summary of the results including several tables listing the changes
over the past 30 years.

The main body of the text is the systematic list, 143 pages, which
provides data on 154 species. In the past there have been three atlas
projects also organised by the BTO, from 1968 to 1972 (for breeding
and using 10km squares), from 1981 to 1984 (for winter and again
using 10km squares, but locally including a tetrad survey), and from
1988 to 1991 (for breeding but now using tetrads). The new Avon
Atlas uses tetrads as the basic unit of study and compares results for
the 2007 to 2011 survey with those for the second and third of the
BTO surveys listed above.

108

So for summer and/or winter detailed information is provided on
how the species under discussion has fared over the past thirty years.
In summer the Barn Owl came out best having increased from a very
low ebb by 2667% and the Tree Sparrow came out worst with a drop
of 60%, and in winter it was the Canada Goose that came out best
(800%) but again it was the Tree Sparrow that came out worst (-
83%). For a good proportion of the species covered information
taken from the Breeding Birds Survey (BBS) and other projects is
also included and provides data on a yearly basis for at least part of
the period. But perhaps most importantly, for almost all species a
map is also given showing the distribution in each of the 400 plus
tetrads of the BTO Avon area. (This area follows the Ordnance
Survey 10km grid squares and so includes a part of Somerset, mainly
the Mendips, but excludes a small part of North Avon.)

For each species covered a detailed description is given of their
current status and how this has changed during the past quarter
century, and the fact that all this information is available in one place
is most welcome. The book ends with twelve appendices
summarising the data and providing some further information.

As I see it, there was one problem with the design of both the BTO
and local surveys, the exclusion of migration. Observers were asked
to record what they saw, so consequently migrants were recorded.
And with some species there is both a resident population and a
migrant one. For breeding species this did not matter because we
have a clear idea what species are involved, but for non-breeders it is
a different matter. The result was that the list of species included in
the main systematic list is a bit uneven. For example Whimbrel is
included, most pass through to their breeding grounds in Iceland and
elsewhere but a handful of non-breeders, probably immature birds,
do spend at least part of the summer here. On the other hand Grey
Plover is not included even though a sizable number (up to 100) do
winter regularly on the coast.

109

There is a table in the Appendix listing 90 ‘less common species’ and
some escapes, but some, like Grey Plover, do not really deserve this
description. Several other winter species could have been included,
for example Knot, Short-eared Owl and Water Pipit. A number of
species occur fairly regularly during the summer, for example some
pelagic seabirds, several raptors and Common Tern, but their absence
from the main list is not really a problem because they do not breed.
This is only a minor criticism but the project would have gained with
a clearer definition of what to include and what to leave out. Also the
text would have benefitted from the services of a good copy editor.
These minor niggles do not detract from what is very welcome
addition to the literature on the avifauna of the area.

Bristol Safari by lan Wade,
pubished 2011 by Redcliffe Press

Review by R L Bland

Bristol is a very remarkable city both for the variety of its wildlife,
and the extent that it has been studied both by this Society and
Bristol University over the years. A great deal is known about the
population and changes in a wide variety of trees, plants, birds and
mammals over the past 150 years, but this book adds a dimension to
this knowledge because of its remarkable photographs, and the
complex and subtle relationships that exist between the wildlife and
both the human and the built environment of the city that they
demonstrate.

The book emphasises the importance of species that are widespread
and abundant, especially the Foxes that have been studied in great
detail both by the University Biology Department and by the author,
who knows many of them as individuals. There are extraordinary
close-ups which reveal the patient skills of a born naturalist dealing
with an animal that is very much at home in the city, but remains
appropriately wary.

110

The Herring and Lesser Black-back Gulls, which did not breed in the
city before 1970, have been copiously ringed and studied for thirty
years, are revealed in astonishing detail. And throughout the book
invites the reader to open his eyes to the life of the gutter, the wall,
the pavement, as well as the 99 Sites of Nature Conservation Interest.

The rapidity of change in urban wildlife is often not appreciated, but
reflects the manner in which there are constant changes in the way
that we conduct ourselves. Subtle changes, such as the shift from
black bin bags to wheelie bins for our waste, or the use of bark
chippings as mulch in our gardens, or the creation of acres of flat
roofs, or a small switch in the mowing regime in our parks, all have a
huge impact on the pattern of wildlife species and populations. Urban
areas change much faster than rural ones, and have much a much
more varied range of habitats, and hence far higher biodiversity.
Every garden is different from every other, and, however manicured
or neglected they may be, gardens provide habitats for thousands of
species.

This book does much to illustrate why we have been chosen to be the

Green Capital of Europe in 2015, and to encourage everyone to
understand, appreciate and encourage the wildlife within the city.

111

Bristol Naturalists’ Society Annual report 2012

Organisation.

At the AGM on 3 March 2012 The Secretary, Mr Robert Muston, Treasurer; Mr
Stephen Fay; Membership Secretary, Mrs Hazel Nicholson; Bulletin Editor, Mr
David Davies; Editor, Nature in Avon, Mr Richard Bland; Librarian, Mr Jim
Webster; Archivist, Mr Roger Symes; were all re-elected as officers and Mr Mark
Pajyak, Mr Mike Johnson, Mr Peter Hilton, Ms Hannah Broughton and Mr Richard
Ashley were chosen to represent the sections, with T Corner, and N Hudson, as
ordinary members. The role of Website Manager remains vacant.

Grants.

£100: contribution towards the re-printing cost of the Downs Lichen Leaflet.

£5000 towards the publication costs of Wildlife of the Bristol Region:3
“Dragonflies of the Bristol Region”: this exceptional amount was approved as a
special contribution during the Society’s Anniversary Year. Recognition of this
donation will be acknowledged on the front cover. (Publication: February-March
2013)

£150: to the Cam Valley Wildlife Group to fund the provision of 150 Barn Owl
breeding boxes.

£450: application from Alex Rhodes, on behalf of the British Trust for
Ornithology, for the purchase of mist nets.

£2040: was approved for the production of the Avon Bird Atlas.

Library Report.

We must thank all the library committee members for their help and support during
another very productive year, but special recognition must be given to Cathy
Barron who has now finished reorganising the lending library and the classification
numbering of all the books. Heritage value books have been stored separately
from the lending area and will be carefully assessed next year for future care and
conservation.

Other members of the committee have been busy releasing space from the shelves
by finding suitable new homes for journals of little or no interest to existing or
future BNS members. A long run of journals of the Marine Biological Society
Association was given to Bristol Museum and a few journals to other distant
Natural History Societies replacing volumes missing from their own collections.
Fourteen books were bought during the year covering diverse subjects from Micro-
Moths to Mushrooms and Geomorphology to Freshwater Invertebrates. In addition
many books were generously offered as gifts and accepted into the library
collection.

112

A major reorganisation and clearance of redundant paperwork from the stock
room was also carried out, allowing further storage space and recording the
contents on the computer for efficient retrieval.

2013 is expected to be another busy year with the completion of the reorganisation,
before moving on to the challenge of promoting the greater use of this valuable
asset.

Archives

2012 was a fairly quiet year with archives because of significant changes which
were being made to the Library stock and layout, and of personal circumstances.
The Library computer is being used to record archive material and some further
progress was made late in the year. An unruly accumulation of boxes of recently
donated material, and of others “discovered” in the store room, is now under
control with sorting and documentation becoming simpler during 2013. Further
donations of material such as records of meetings and Committees, notebooks,
collections, photographs, and mementoes, would be welcomed.

Society General talks

In January, Jessica Kandlebauer, a PhD student from Bristol University, gave a talk
on the 1815 Tambora eruption which was one of the largest explosive eruptions in
the last 200 years, and discussed whether our society faced similar consequences
today if such an eruption were to happen again.

In February, Roger Symes gave a talk on Badgers and Bovine TB showing how the
debate reveals a surprising mixture of elements of science, animal health, politics,
animal welfare, opinions, conservation, official enquiries, prejudice, hatred,
legislation, media, and children’s stories.

At the Annual General Meeting in March, the outgoing President, Richard Bland,
talked on the impact of weather on the plants of the Downs. This talk discussed the
results of a weekly standard walk across Clifton Down during the past decade. The
Bristol climate is almost a degree warmer than it was a century ago when White
published his Flora and this survey should improve our understanding of the way
our flora has changed in that time.

In October Michael Pocock described the history of the recent invasion of this
country by the Horse Chestnut Leaf miner moth, examining how it has spread so
fast, the impact on Chestnut trees, and the slow increase in parasites that may
check its activities in time.

In November Jackie Garner, a wildlife artist, outlined the range of her work, and in
particular her interest in the history of wildlife art, with some fascinating examples
from Egypt where she has done a lot of work, and here enthusiasm for penguins.

In December Oliver Smart produced a series of stunning images of his recent visit
to Alaska.

113

Mid-week walking Group

For the year starting January 2012, there has been one walk organised on the first
Thursday of the month. This very healthy activity always includes one steep-ish
gradient as exercise for cardiac muscles, when all the other muscles are warmed
up, producing that pleasurable ‘glow’. This is not to forget the sharing of wildlife
expertise among fellow naturalists and enjoying the countryside. Each walk is
serendipitous, such as walking in Cheddar Gorge and being amazed by the
towering cliffs in January; or the jerky movements of the Nuthatch searching oak
bark crevices in a crouching stance at Midford in February; the fog turned white by
the distant sun as we looked at lichen-bright shrubs at Clevedon in March; the
buzzard nest in a pine tree at eye-level as we walked on the Bristol-Bath cycle-
track in April; readers of the Bulletin may remember our account of trying to get a
meal at the Lock-Keeper, ‘And, as the cock crew, those who stood before The
Tavern shouted — ‘Open then the door! You know how little while we have to stay,
And, once departed, may return no more.’; flocks of both Swallows and Lapwings
as we walked on the levels near Tickenham Court in May; seeing the Swifts in the
lee of storm-tossed Sycamores swooping to catch aphids shaken from the twigs at
Horton in June; meeting a BNS photographer in the Avon Gorge in July and being
shown Bee Orchids and a Wasp Orchid; a superb avenue of ancient beech trees off
Dolebury in August; a beautiful day by the river Boyd at Doynton in September;
being shown how to recognise the Wheatear from its upright stance revealing an
apricot area beneath the beak, during the Littleton-upon-Severn walk in October; a
hidden brook near the top of Dundry and extensive views north, south, east and
west in November; and mud, very steep slopes, fruits on the bushes and great
Mendip views at Croscombe in December. Only in June did we get wet through
and then had a good lunch at the Dog Inn, Old Sodbury, sitting by the fire grate but

with imitation flames!

Photographic Exhibition

As part of our 150th Anniversary celebrations, a photographic exhibition was held
on 14th April in the Bradbury Hall, Henleaze. In the first of his two appearances
for the society, the event was opened at by the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of
Bristol, Councillor Geoffrey Gollop. The bright modern hall housed a display
taken from an entry of over 200 photographs submitted for exhibition by Society
members and members of the public. A further display of photographs was
provided by members of the North West Bristol Camera Club. Additionally,
further digital images were projected on a screen at the back of the hall, giving
visitors the opportunity to sit down and enjoy them. Local environmental groups

also attended.

114

There were local nature reserves displayed, giving food for thought for future
visits. The Bristol Environmental Records Centre also provided a display,
illustrating its valuable work. In the adjoining café, a friendly crew served tea,
coffee and homemade cakes throughout the day. The exhibition attracted an
attendance of over 400 visitors, many of whom were members of the public.

None of this could have happened without the help of a number of, ever-willing
volunteers notably: Tony Smith, with his perception and original ideas; Sheila
Quin, who organized the catering and a team of helpers; and special mention to the
indefatigable Sylvia Kelly for mounting and arranging the photographic displays.
Above all, the brains and driving force of the exhibition was Robert Muston. As
the exhibition date drew near, he put in more hours than there seemed to be
available, to make it all work. I am sure that all who attended will agree with me
that it was a splendid effort. On behalf of the Society, thank you all.

150" Anniversary Dinner

On 8th May, the society held its 150th anniversary dinner at the Freemasons' Hall,
Park Street, Bristol. This date and venue were chosen as it was in this building, on
8th May 1862, where the society was founded. The dinner was the brainchild of
Roger Symes who also devised the finely produced menu booklet provided for all
who attended. He and Ann Wookey between them proved yet again how well they
merited their Honorary Memberships, by organising the whole event.

The dinner was attended by 80 guests, including The Right Honourable Lord and
Lady Mayor of Bristol. The keynote speaker Nigel Marven (of TV fame), who was
accompanied by his wife. Nigel Marven was also accompanied by a sturdy and
almost immobile Australian companion, a Blue-tongued Skink, which proved an
entertaining challenge to any photographer wanting to catch a shot of its main
moving part — the blue tongue.

The BNS President, Roger Steer conducted us through the proceedings and
introduced the three main speakers. We heard from the Lord Mayor of how the
Society's activities benefit Bristol’s community. Roger Symes gave a a short
“eight-minute history of BNS” and Nigel Marven gave us on an account of his
many travels and occasionally hair-raising experiences.

Thanks are due to Nicholas Wray, Director of the Bristol University Botanic
Garden, who with his colleagues Peter & Anne Girling brought a display of
exquisite botanical drawings, displayed in the entrance hall a small foretaste of the
five day exhibition of prints which took place later in the month at the Botanic
Gardens.

The Society's thanks are also due to Roger Symes who organised the whole
occasion together with the help of Ann Wookey, Hazel Nicholson and Mandy
Leivers. Between them they did so much to make our 150th Anniversary Dinner
such a success.

bid

The award of the H. H. Bloomer medal to Libby Houston

This year, the Society congratulates one of its own members on receiving the H. H.
Bloomer medal by the Linnean Society awarded to "an amateur naturalist who has
made an important contribution to biological knowledge." This prestigious award
was made in recognition of her exceptional contribution to the knowledge of the
Avon Gorge. Her early studies looked at Avon Gorge rarities such as Spiked
Speedwell (Veronica spicata) and Bristol Rock-cress (Arabis scabra) and much of
her recent work has been on the endemic Avon Gorge Whitebeams (Sorbus sp).
This outstanding achievement results from many years of study.

Reading Group

Biodiversity, genomes, the food chain, black holes, habitat, ecology, the
environment, etc. Ideas may be devalued and many pronouncements are made by
the media which are misinterpretations of important ideas. Members of the BNS
(and others are invited) may read a particular (natural history) book over a three-
month period coming together at least twice within that time to share thoughts,
fostering understanding and developing criticism of ideas that are discussed within
the scientific and philosophical atmosphere we breathe. The reading group
members collectively discover books on shelves, on the internet, from reading the
papers and getting into discussion with other people and our reading therefore
reflects this broad perspective.

This year we have enjoyed reading And the Earth Moved by Amy Stewart, which
delved into the lives of earthworms, their importance, as Darwin discovered, and
the high levels of damage they do in the deep leaf-litter layer in North American
forests, destroying a whole habitat and its component organisms. We then moved
on to Trilobite! by Richard Fortey, all of us being delighted by the high literary
merit of this monograph on a remarkably diverse group of crustacea known only
from fossils.

Life on a Little-known Planet by Howard ensign Evans covers the world of insects
in about a dozen chapters but is a book from the 1960s. Very enlightening (and
therefore more or less up to date) for all of us on the insect orders it discusses but
we were astonished at the author’s dismissive attitude to Rachel Carson’s Silent
Spring, a book now universally regarded as the wake-up call for the environment
movement. The final book this year is The Driving Force, written in the 1980s, by
Michael Crawford and David Marsh, which argues that evolution is not governed
by the caprices of chance but by underlying laws of chemistry mediated through
different forms of life consuming particular foods, in particular predators gaining
essential metabolites, rather than producing their own. We welcome new members
and details of Reading Group appear regularly in the BNS Bulletin.

116

Publicity.

In January we joined forces with the Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project to
run a joint stall at Bristol Museum’s Big Wildlife Fair. 206 people of all ages took
part our What am I? wildlife quiz and visitors could also get a close-up view of
aquatic wildife using a mini camera projected onto a laptop. We also took along
our display, publications, new pull-up sign and re-designed membership leaflets.
The Society’s 150th Anniversary photography exhibition acted as a focal point for
raising our profile during the year. In the run up to the event in April, posters were
produced and articles written for local magazines. A press release was also issued
which resulted in a couple of very nice articles in the Evening Post and on the This
is Bristol webpage. The President also gave an interview on BBC Radio Bristol on
the morning the exhibition opened. The Downs Lichen trail (produced as a
collaboration between BNS member Sheila Quin and the Avon Gorge and Downs
Wildlife Project, and part funded by the Society and the British Lichen Society),
proved to be more popular than expected. A re-print of 2,000 copies was done in
May.

In June, the Society attended the Bristol Festival of Nature (the UK’s biggest
celebration of the natural world which attracts more than 25,000 visitors). Posters
advertising Society events were produced on a regular basis and displayed in
libraries. The Society's new website was also well used. The Society was
represented at the “Big Wildlife Fair” organised at the City Museum in June,
providing a children’s quiz and a stand providing views of pond life observed
using a USB microscope connected to a computer. Also in June the Society was
represented at the Abbots Leigh “Mini Bioblitz’, and the “Urban Pollinators
Evening” organised at the University Botanic Garden.

Sectional reports

Geology Report

The Geology Section AGM was held on 25 January when the following Officers
were elected: - President - Roger Steer, Secretary - Richard Ashley and Field
Secretary — Chris Townson. The AGM was followed by presentations on the
Geology of Stockwood, Bristol by Richard Ashley and Geological Maps by
Gordon Hobbs.

LEZ

The following meetings took place during the year-

22 February: Lecture on “Understanding the Diversity and Evolution of Life
through time” by Rachel Warnock, Bristol University.

21 March: Lecture on “Time travel in the Gravel and Jurassic delights of the
Cotswold Water Park” by Dr Neville Hollingworth.

26 May: Field Meeting “Looking at Liassic Rocks in the vicinity of East
Quantoxhead and Kilve” led by Richard Ashley.

30 June: Field Meeting “Stowey Quarry” led by Simon Carpenter.

18 August: Field Meeting “Beachley Point, Tutshill and Tidenham Chase” led by
Dave Owen.

24 October: Lecture on “The Forgotten Engineer” by Trevor Thompson

28 November: Lecture on “The Lias and its Fossils” by Prof CRC Paul

In addition to the field meetings listed above some members also attended field
meetings organised by Bath Geological Society. At a meeting held in August at
Box between representatives of BNS Geology Section, West of England
Geologists Association and Bath Geological Society it was agreed to organise a
joint programme of field meetings for 2013.

The Section would like to record its thanks and appreciation to Bristol University’s
Department of Earth Sciences for allowing the use of the S H Reynolds Lecture
Theatre for its winter meetings and other support

Mammals Group

2012 has been the first full year for the newly formed ny ea Group. We have
had several field meetings including two dormouse monitoring surveys (during
which dormice were seen on both occasions) and a badger watch (unfortunately the
badgers were too stealthy for us but we were invited by the University of Bristol
Grounds Maintenance team to try again next year). We have made some progress
towards setting up a bat monitoring site. We have also organised several talks,
including a bat talk by national expert Daniel Hargreaves and a hedgehog talk by
ecologist and author Hugh Warwick. We have made some progress towards
working collaboratively with the Bristol and Gloucester Mammal Group, and the

hedgehog talk was an example of this collaboration.

118

Botany Report

Approximately 25 Field Meetings were arranged.

In the depths of winter over 20 members joined Sheila Quin to explore the recently
established Lichen Trail on the Downs. A Bryophyte meeting followed in February
led by our section President, Nick Hudson. An indoor meeting in March inspected
the herbarium at the Museum which attracted much interest and was facilitated by
the Collections Curator, Rhian Rowson.

At the first of his two meetings, the Society archivist and student of the history of
Bristol Botany- Dr Clive Lovatt- led an urban walk following in the footsteps of
James White (who produced his famous flora of Bristol in 1912). Later in the year
the rather fitter members of the botanical section accompanied Clive on the classic
White Walk from Pill to the Suspension Bridge.

A huge turn-out greeted Tony Titchen for his tree gazing trip around the lovely
gardens at Goldney House in Spring with a second meeting at Canynge Square in
Autumn again attracting a sizeable attendance. A limited number of spring flowers
were in evidence for a Harbourside walk in early Spring and a joint meeting in late
May with Somerset Rare Plants Group at Sand Point yielded spectacular records
including Poa bulbosa, Koeleria vallesiana and Erodium maritimum. A joint
meeting with Gloucestershire Rare Plants Group was organised to search for
Anacamptis morio (on the threatened plant list) at a previously recorded site near
Hawkesbury Upton. Although unsuccessful, a good range of other plants were
found including Hippocrepis comosa, Orchis mascula and Paris quadrifolia. Nick
Hudson led a walk on Rodway Common. A number of members of Bristol
Naturalists were involved in the Botanic Garden Local Rare Plant Group special
event. A meeting on Dundry Hill was cancelled because of the on-going poor
weather conditions. In June Tony Smith led a beginners meeting for identification
of wildflowers and grasses of the Durdham Down to which members of Friends of
the Downs were invited. David Hill led a trip to the botanically rich Wavering
Down in June. A joint meeting with Gloucestershire Naturalist’ Society at
Painswick on a rare beautifully sunny day was led by Ellie Phillips attracting the
crowds and revealing good colonies of Musk Orchids amongst other delights. A
trip to the Royal Portbury Dock failed to materialise but the warden of nearby
Portbury Wharf, Bernie Darcy, permitted access to unrecorded areas of this very
new reserve and yielded some interesting new records including Sanguisorba
officinalis (the only site in VC6).

N19

At a late August evening meeting, Libby Houston showed that the Great Quarry in
the Gorge possessed a quite excellent flora. An impromptu meeting was held at St
Catherine’s Valley led by Ellie. Mark and Clare Kitchen led a meeting at
Shirehampton in August walking along the salt marsh and river cliffs where a
second location for Sorbus domestica was found along the Avon. At the Portbury
Wharf and St Catherine’s Valley meetings sizeable lists were also made of insects
seen and these with some additional records from other meetings contributed to a
‘naturalists’ approach.

The speakers programme for the year 2012 included a talk by Sharon Pilkington,
the Wiltshire Vice County Recorder, about the special plants of Salisbury Plain. Dr
Camilla Lambrick talked about plants of the drawdown zone. A workshop on
Conifers led by Clare and Mark Kitchen was a hands-on experience using material
blown down by winter storms and a follow up meeting is proposed for 2013. This
Autumn Clive Lovatt gave a unique presentation about an era of early Bristol
botany (1835 to 1869) and following this Dr David Hill will talk about Natural
Dyes from Plants.

Invertebrate Report

Mark Pajak was elected President and Tony Smith was re-elected Honorary
Secretary at the AGM held at the Schools Room, Bristol City Museum and Art
Gallery.

The following indoor meetings were held:

January 15 Section AGM and Presidential Address by Ray Barnett
May 3. Why Everybody Should Hug an Octopus by Matt Wale.

Sept 7 The Behaviour and Ecology of British Ticks by Professor Richard Wall.
October 23 British Slugs: Can we forgive them? by Dr. Ben Rowson.
and the following field meetings:

April 28 Colliter’s Brook, Ashton Vale

May 13 Crow Lane

June 9 Grassy slopes, Westbury-on-Trym

July 8 Stanton Wick

July 22 Velvet Bottom

August 5 Create Centre

August 28 Hanging Hill Wood

September 22 Abbots Pool Nature Reserve.

October 7 Avon Gorge

120

Online Activity: a new blog entitled 'Bristol Loves Bugs' was set up to publicise
the section's activities to a wider audience and increase the traffic of visitors
through to the main BNS website. Visitor statistics show 887 unique visitors to the
site.

Ornithology Report.

Tthe Section held thirteen field meetings. There have an impressive number of
interesting bird sightings. Highlights have been a Lesser Scaup at WWT
Slimbridge; Ring Ouzel at Brean Down; Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Bittern, Jack
Snipe, Great White Egret and Cranes on the Somerset Levels; Nightingales at
Highnam Woods; Nightjars and roding Woodcocks in the Forest of Dean; A
singing Lesser Whitethroat at Stockwood Open Space. A walk over the Bath
Skyline produced forty-three species in largely woodland, meadow and urban
habitat. The Lecture Meetings produced a wide variety of interesting and well
presented talks. Richard Bland presented the results of the surveys compiled for the
Bird Atlas for the Bristol region and highlighted some dramatic changes and
interesting conclusions. Roger Lucken gave an account of the Crane Project on the
Somerset Levels. Philip Mugridge showed some brilliant images of birds and other
wildlife on Iceland and John Sparks gave a beautifully illustrated account of the
birds and other wildlife of Svalbard and the potential problems affecting that area
due to climate change. Members of the Section took part in the BTO Breeding Bird
Survey and Birds in Garden Survey and also the National Nightingale survey.

Relations with other organisations.

The Society sends its records to the Bristol Environmental Records Centre, and
supports the Avon and Bristol Biodiversity Action Plans. It supports the Avon
Wildlife Trust. It is involved with the city Environmental Officer and the
monitoring of the Avonmouth Wind Turbines, and carries out surveys for The
British Trust for Ornithology, and the RSPB.

Thanks.

The Society is grateful for the help and support it received from the Earth Sciences
Department, University of Bristol, and Mrs Julie Finch, Director of Museums,
Galleries and Archives, Bristol City Council, for continued support of the Society
Library located within the City Museum & Art Gallery. It is also grateful to all
those members of the society who gave so willingly of their time and energy in the
course of the year to support the aims of the Society.

(ZI

Bristol Naturalists’ Society
Statement of financial activities for the year ending 31 December

2012

INCOME (Incoming

resources)

Membership Subscriptions

Gift Aid

Bequests & Donations |

Trading
Interest Received ree

Miscellaneous 100.00]

Total 9,980.66 8,587.39
EXPENDITURE |

(A) Direct Charitable

Meetings (Room Hire & 1,612.81 1,245.78
Speaker Costs)

Books & Periodicals (Library)
Nature in Avon (Proceedings) 1,540.00| 1,531.00
Avon Bird Report 1,536.00} 1,470.00)
Bulletin Production 1,323.22
Publications Distribution Costs 1535.21 1,453.95
Subscriptions to other 63.00 60.00
Organisations |
150th Anniversary Events 1,492.72 0.00
(Note 2) a}
Publicity 756.42 1,415.80
Grants Awarded 2,740.00 182.70
Total 13,311.52 8,918.94

p93

(B). Administration

Print & Stationery 80.66 119.03
Postage & telephone 111.49 13.73
Council Meetings (Room Hire) 240.00 135.00
Insurance S92 133:02
Miscellaneous 2719 457.43
Total 717.86 958.21
‘Operating Surplus (Deficit) -4,048.72) -1,289.76

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126

Comment on the picture section

Pictures 1 to 3 are illustrations from the account of Charles
Richardson’s work. No | shows the log slide bridge referred to on
page 9, built over the Stroud valley railway to enable the owner of
the woodland to move his timber from the wood.

No 2 is the tunnel of the Bristol Harbour railway under St Mary
Redcliffe church. Note that the system was designed for broad gauge
track.

No 3 is the entrance to the Severn Tunnel from the Bristol side. The
difference in levels is the result of the decisions taken after the
catastrophic flood.

No 4 is a micro photograph of the midge eggs in Sneyd Reserve
Lake, page 92

No 5 Is the hatched midge larvae, with named parts.

No 6 is the Volvox which the larvae feed on.

No 7. The extreme rainfall in 2012 led to a river forming down the
Gully on the Downs, and on Sept 24" 2012 72m m fell, creating a
flood that dug the path out by about 30cm.

No 8 The Red Oak on the triangle of Downs outside the Lord
Mayor’s house.

No 9 Pampas grass , a rare garden escape, in the Gully.

No 10 Twiggy Mullein has several colour forms, and flowered in
2013 on St Vincent’s Rocks.

No 11 A fine picture of Ragged Robin by Robert Muston.

No 12 and 13 Tony Cottrell’s insects pictures are magnificent.

No 14. The exceptional conditions in 2012 enables a very rare fungus
that affects Sycamore leaves to become very widespread indeed. The
normal Tar Spot fungus is also present.

No 15 The Japanese Maples at Westonbirt are justifiably famous.

27

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Instructions for authors

The editor welcomes original papers or short notes on the
natural history of the greater Bristol region for
consideration for publication in Nature in Avon. All papers
for consideration should reach the editor by the end of
February. All Society Reports and Biota should reach the
editor by the end of February in the year of publication.

Whenever possible, text should be submitted electronically
in Word. The data for graphs should be sent in Excel,
separately from the graph, as graphs have to be recreated to
fit the page size of the journal. Any other illustrations
should be submitted electronically.

The Editor welcomes digital photos of any natural history
subject taken in the region, whether relevant to an article or
not. They should be of the largest pixel size possible.
However as the number of colour illustrations is strictly
limited he cannot promise to print any

The copyright of all newly published material will belong
to the Bristol Naturalists' Society, whose Council may
authorise reproduction.

WN

VOLUME 72 (2012)
CONTENTS

Editorial
Charles Richardson T Thompson
Notes on Spiders M.Pajak
Weather in 2012 R Bland
Lynmouth Road allotments H McPhillamy
Bipedalism O Milburn
Phoenix Hedge Sylvia Kelly

Invertebrate Report 2012 R Bamett
In the footsteps of Audcent J Kramer
Chironimids in Sneyd Park R Muston
Phenology 2012 R Bland
Annual Report

Annual Accounts.

Rerum cognoscere causas - Virgil

Cover. Huntingdon Elm on the Downs,
Winter Solstice dawn.

Printed by Taylor Thorne Print Ltd
www.taylorthorne.co.uk