Gloucestershire Naturalists' Society

Harvestmen Report 2001 by David Scott-Langley

There were sixty-seven records representing sixteen species seen during 2001, a few less than the previous year. It was interesting to note that the "harvestman season", which is normally between June and October, was prolonged by a couple of months thanks to the very late arrival of frosty weather. Several species were still around in reasonable numbers only two weeks before Christmas. Several county rarities were seen and these and one or two others are mentioned below.

Homalenotus quadridentatus. One specimen was found under a piece of Cotswold stone by Colin Twissell during a GIG meeting on Cirencester Golf Course in July. This is the first record for four years and the sixth for the county. This is a small, shy animal, not immediately recognisable as a harvestman and hence few records.

Oligolophus hanseni. This species was only recently added to the county list and there is usually a couple of new sites reported each year and 2001 was no exception with three new records. This species is said to prefer pine trees but this year's sites had no association with pines at all.

Opilio parietinus. A fairly common species although with few records from Gloucestershire. One specimen was found during a GIG tour of orchard sites in October.

Megabunus diadema. This species models the original "punk" hairstyle, characterised by a set of enormous spikes on its ocularium (that part of the body on which the eyes are mounted). It is widely recorded from the county and three more sites were found in 2001, Harvestmen are predators on small invertebrates, dead or alive, and Roger Gaunt caught two of this species in one night in his moth trap; presumably they were after an easy meal of small flies and micro moths.

Lophopilio palpinalis. An uncommon species, only found once in 2001 in a pitfall trap in Siccaridge Wood during a GNS field meeting in October, the seventh modern record in the county.

Dicranopalptis ramosus. This Spanish species, discovered new to this country in 1957 at Bournemouth and added to the county list in the early 1980s, continues its relentless march through the United Kingdom and is now one of the most widely recorded species in the county with another twelve sites recorded in 2001, more than any other species.

Nelima gothica. This species is widely distributed across England but only sparsely recorded, and there are a few old records from the west of the county. Modem records all seem to come from East Gloucestershire and two more sites were added in 2001 to the five from 2000. The coloration of this large species is very nondescript and consequently it blends into its background exceptionally well and, even when moving, it is very difficult to see.

Thank you to the various members of GIG who passed on specimens during the year.

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