30th March 2024
Norfolk lichen recorder Rob Yaxley had organised a few informal meet-ups to survey churchyard lichens, and I managed to attend one at Shotesham, a village a few miles south of Norwich. We looked at three churches (two 'proper' ones and a ruin) and as expected racked up a good lichen list. The presence of quite a few experienced naturalists meant that we also turned up various other species across a wide range of groups. The pictures below are a small selection of highlights, but things that spring to mind include a lichenicolous fungus that appears to be new to Norfolk (Spiloma auratum), my long-awaited first Bristly Millipedes, the inconspicuous ladybird Rhyzobius litura, Ashy Mining Bee and smut fungi on aconite and sweet violet and the pseudoscorpion Chthonius isochneles.
