Wild Weekend in the Cullaloe Hills

So I was intending to be at the BLS AGM this weekdn but for one reason or another that didn't happen. However I didn't waste the weekend, with an hour or two to play out on Saturday I went looking for this to add to the county list ...

Phaeoceros laevis

new-to-county hornwort

I had found hornworts in this field but had no luck cementing their ID - this ought to do it I think. Arable fields are a great place to find a range of bryophytes and I spent a good hour picking up this, Fossombronia pusilla, Bryum rubens, and some others before wandering along the side of a piece of marshy ground, where I found this ...

Pseudocyphellarium norvegicum (not...)

This is not only a new lichen to Fife but also new to the eastern half of Britain. If accepted it will definitely look like a mistake on any atlas from now on! (Edit: this is actually the closely-related Sticta limbata, the only previous record of which is from 1824!)

Yesterday I did a bit of tussocking (Juncus effusus, Deschampsia) and came up with this ...

Hydrothassa marginella

new-to-county leaf beetle

This new pet square is definitely delivering the goods. Looking forward to when it really kicks off