Hi Ben

Great to see the range of different groups that you are recording, keep up the good work. Yes, you certainly can count the Head Louse Pediculus humanus. I have also struggled to work out where this should be placed in the PSL lists but I think it should go in Insects: remaining small orders.

I think I noticed recently that you had added Scorpion Fly to your list. There are actually three species of Scorpion Fly, two of which are very common, so you'll need to find another and work out which one you've got. The males (which have the curled up scorpion-like tail) are very much easier to identify than females.

Best wishes

Tony Davis

Hi Ben

Looks like you're way ahead of me! I'm sure that your Panorpa is correct if you looked at the male clasper shape - they are quite distinctive.

The way you're going I'm sure you'll reach 1000 by the end of the year. 5000 may seem like a dream to you at the moment but you'll get there in time. Graeme Lyons drew attention to your efforts on the PSL Facebook group and commented that if you keep going you'll overtake Jonty one day! Don't chase the ticks too much though, it's all about becoming a better naturalist - the ticks will come. I keep a PSL year list. I don't have any targets in mind for the year list but it encourages me to keep looking at things that I've seen before so that the identification features stick in my head.

If you're at the Bird Fair, do call in to the Butterfly Conservation stand and say hello, I'll be there every day.

Keep up the great work.

Tony