Welsh Journals

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FIELD NOTES PLANTS Gwynn Ellis, Dept of Botany, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff CF1 3NP, is the compiler of plant notes and records, and reports of BSBI County Records should be sent to him at the above address. 10 km grid square references will be given in future and should be included with all records. They will only be omitted on the express instructions of the recorder. INVERTEBRATES All entomological notes and records and those dealing with any other invertebrates should be sent to Mrs. M. J. Morgan, Department of Applied Zoology, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd. MEDICINAL LEECH IN ANGLESEY A recent North Wales Naturalists' Trust Newsletter referred to a Con- servation Corps project last summer. Erecting a new boundary fence was a daunting task "more especially because of the fact that almost all of it stands in the fen. As luck would have it the days preceding the project were exceptionally wet and conditions became very difficult attacks by leeches were but one problem to be contended with." This last statement caused some interested comment from readers, especially from Prof. Reynoldson of Bangor. Further enquiries revealed that one intrepid Conservation Corps member had worked bare legged in deep water and on emerging found leeches attached to his legs. They were removed with some difficulty leaving a red ring and a wound from which blood still flowed. Prof. Reynoldson was able to identify Hirudo medicinalis from this description as it is the only British leech with hard calcareous teeth able to pierce human skin. This is not the first record for Anglesey as Prof. Reynoldson found the medicinal leech in a small lake near Beaumaris many years ago. SHEEP TICKS AND OTHERS The Sheep Tick (Ixodes ricinus L.) is only too common a pest in the sheep breeding areas of Wales. Apart from sheep it also attaches itself to cattle and other domestic stock. Dog owners frequently find it on their pets after walks among long grass and bracken where the young stages lie in wait, ready to jump onto passing warm blooded animals. Sometimes the ticks make a mistake and attach themselves to passing human beings and bare legged children are not uncommon victims. Recently, an entomologist who put his head inside a large butterfly net to examine his catch of Diptera, found later in the day that he had acquired several sheep ticks on top of his head, swept off the grasses and into the net. Several other less common species of ticks are also to be found in Wales. Five females of Ixodes canisuga Johnston were taken from a sheep-dog at Llanwrtyd Wells, Radnorshire, by W. J. Bevan on 5 November 1977. A very heavy burden of I.hexagonis Leech, including females, nymphs and larvae were collected from a male Polecat found dead on the roadside near Tregaron, Cards. by Dr. J. Hughes. It was noticeable that there were raw