Notes on Tapinocyboides pygmaeus

From The Newsletter No. 53 November 1988

This species has been taken in pitfall traps from two grassland sites. I trapped it myself at the Durham County Conservation Trust reserve, Town Kelloe (Nat Grid Ref. NZ 358373) in May 1986; however, recent analysis of earlier pitfall samples taken from this site by the Nature Conservancy Council has shown that this species was present in 1982. The Northumberland record is from the Farming, Forestry and Wildlife Action Group Link Farm at East Lilburn in North Northumberland (NU 045232) in May 1987.

Both records are from relatively short turf on well-drained, neutral to alkaline soils, the Durham site on Magnesian Limestone, the Northumberland site on boulder clay. The species was particularly abundant on the Durham site, where 31 individuals of both sexes were taken from 9 pitfall traps. In the past, this species may have been overlooked on these and other sites because of its small size and possibly restricted season (I have not taken it on either site after May, even though trapping was continued into the autumn).

I would like to thank Dr P. Merrett for verifying the Durham record, and Mr E. Wrangham and the D.C.C.T. for permission to sample their sites.
 
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