Species of the Year 2023

Obviously the prize for fungi goes to the Papillate Waxcap (Hygrocybe papillata), a rare Waxcap not far from my back door. Perfect. Pretty much scoops the prize for Overall Species of the Year as well. Butterfly wise it has to be the very brief appearance of a Silver-washed Fritillary, one of the UKs largest butterflies. Other species that deserve a mention include the Palmate Newt which have been glimpsed previously but this year were in hand and could be formally indentified. Lastly I think the Lesser Horseshoe bat that lives in our shed has survived another year and deserves to be recorded. I first spotted him (it is a 'him' as it is the males that lead s solitary existence) in 2014 as an adult so he is ten years old at least and may be a lot more. Photo of the Papillate Waxcap.