Report of the Essex Field Club for 2001-2002
Scientific achievements
Once again our Recorders have continued the flow of up-to-date information on interesting and i mportant
discoveries in the county, published each year in the Essex Naturalist and our Newsletters.
The current status and distribution of major taxonomic groups within the county is being addressed by
the publication of series of comprehensive papers in the Essex Naturalist, as well by associated
publications such as The Bumblebees of Essex, The Mammals of Essex and the forthcoming Moths of
Essex, to be published by Lopinga books. The Scarce Plants of Essex are being covered in a series of
parts with a view to publication in book form when complete. The ants, beetles, gall-inducing Cynipids,
harvestmen, snake flies, alderflies, lacewings, scorpion flies and myriapods (millipedes and centipedes)
have been covered in Essex Naturalists 16-18, and an account of the woodlice is in preparation.
Datasets covering other major taxa, such as the spiders and aculeate hymenoptera, in the form of draft
distribution maps and county status categories, are being circulated informally to interested parties for
comment, with a view to formal publication in the near future.
The first national atlas of British Spiders, incorporating the EFC Recorder's Spider database of over
46,000 records [referred to in last year's report], has now been published, making Essex probably the
best recorded county for spiders in Britain, and the vascular plant check lists for Vc 18 and Vc 19 have
now been completed in preparation for the national Census Catalogue being prepared by Professor
Cl ive Stace. The Botany Group is eagerly awaiting publication of Atlas 2000, having put in a tremendous
effort to bring our vascular plants records up to date over the period 1998-2000.
Publications
Three further issues of the Newsletter were published. This lavishly, colour illustrated ISSN publication
is fast becoming an important scientific record in its own right, with reports of new taxa occurring in
the county as well as local flora and fauna surveys of individual sites. As from May 2002 the Club's
meetings program card will be as a separate sheet with the Newsletter, giving a very significant financial
saving.
The Essex Naturalist has once again expanded in size, with 218 pages to the No: 18 issue and
contributions from 30 different authors, many of them very recently joined members, attracted to the
vehicle for their publications that the Naturalist provides. Sadly, this issue opens with an obituary for
our honorary member Lt Colonel Arthur Maitland Emmet who died in March 2001 having spent the
last 40 years of his life recording the Lepidoptera of Essex and publishing books on the Lepidoptera of
national importance. Chris Gibson's wildlife and conservation review 2000 article once again provides
an extremely valuable and comprehensive snapshot of wildlife in Essex, an invaluable record against
which to compare changes in our flora and fauna in later years. Hopefully it will be possible to maintain
this level of coverage annually from now on into the new millennium. Colin Plant's review of the status
of the Lacewings and their allies is a major contribution, which together with his recent AIDGAP
publication on this group will ensure that their future status is kept under review. The editorial team
were pleased to welcome no less than three papers from members at Writtle College, and the section
wildlife review of the year contributed by our Recorders continues to expand in volume.
The Essex Field Club Website
Details of the club and its activities are now available on the Club's own website at
www.essexfieldclub.org.uk. As well as general information about the Club, what we do, news items,
our field meetings, contacts, how to join, and details of our publications are all available. All old-style
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 19 (2002)