AQUATIC INVERTEBRATE REPORT
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FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATE RECORDER’S ANNUAL REPORT 2010 ADRIAN CHALKLEY This report covers the period from May 2009 to May 2010 and will follow the format used in previous years by dividing the freshwater invertebrate community into the major groups. Within the report wherever a common name exists for a species it is given before the Latin and the national status, if known, is given in brackets afterwards. In addition to reporting the more interesting or significant records made during this year I offer two aids aimed at increasing the number of records I receive for the county database. Both of these aids can be downloaded from my website at http://www.boxvalley.co.uk where links to both can be found on the home page. Help for non-specialists I mentioned in my last report that I put have a leaflet for non specialists on my website which will allow identification to species level of a number of invertebrates that can be found in ponds and streams. All of these are easily identified and for each we need more records. During the year I have given copies of this leaflet to small groups that I have talked to and several records have indeed come in. I hope more SNS members will try it out and send in some records during this coming year. Software for specialists Also on my website is a piece of software called SAFIS, Site Analysis for Freshwater Invertebrate Surveys. This, as the name implies, provides an instant analysis of the water quality and the biodiversity value of a freshwater site. However it does need the user to type in a full list of the scientific names of species recorded during a survey and as such is useful only to specialists and professionals. A full description of the software including screenshots can be found on the website. The Ephemeroptera (Mayflies) The two most commonly recorded mayfly larvae continue to be the Large Dark Olive, Baetis rhodani in flowing water and the Pond Olive, Cloeon dipterum in still waters. Both these species have been recorded wherever I have been across the county this year. Slightly less frequent but still wide spread has been the White Midge, Caenis luctuosa recorded from several locations including Glevering Bridge on the River Deben, Shelley Bridge on the Brett and the Little Ouse at Blo’ Norton. The Small Spurwing, Centroptilum luteolum has proved more elusive this year than last but was recorded again on the River Box and River Brett along with the Blue Winged Olive, Serratella ignita. The Turkey Brown, Paraleptophlebia submarginata, was common in the River Brett in April. In September I visited a favourite part of the River Box, a riffle area covered in fine stones in Boxford. Here I recorded particularly large numbers of the nymphs of the burrowing mayfly Ephemera danica. The fisherman’s name for this large insect is the Green Drake and it occurs there together with the related species the Drake Mackerel, Ephemera vulgata which is also common in many side streams of both the Box and the Brett. The Ephemera
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 46 (2010)