Gannets

There have been numerous posts I should have made, I will try and back-date some shortly as there have been interesting invert' events.

Louise and I went to Westray for the weekend, well for Saturday night anyway. The weather was dire the boat trip somewhat bouncy. The plan had been to take our bikes but that idea was wisely abandoned and we managed to squeeze the car on the ferry.  It blew all night but stopped raining on Sunday and so we went off to Noup Head, having a brief look for the Snowy Owl and then to look at the seabird cliffs. We possibly briefly and distantly saw the Snowy Owl, it was a bad decision to move the car to get a better and safer viewing point, as in the moments that took it was gone.

However, a brilliant spectacle awaited us at Noup Head.

Later on we visited the Puffins at the south end and went for a bit of a tramp there.

A few insects were found, more of them later.

Yesnaby

Cotton grass, sea, cloud.

M and I walked, and just escaped the rain, more later but a lovely NFM moth Pyrausta despicata.

Flies, beetles and bath tubs (and a lot of baby Shoveler)

One of the places that yields a lot of interesting insects are the two bath tubs and one metal container in a field corner on the edge of the patch. There are water beetles living in these which I'm yet to tackle but there are always several drowned or drowning beasts there. Today was no exception and I came away with a couple of pots containing various interesting things. I'll be trying to sort out the ids shortly. This large Hymenopteran was represented by three individuals all of which were intent on dying this way, one plunged back in the water after I'd rescued it. I have a new key for these so may be able to get an ID. I'm starting to notice sawflies more, a primitive Hymenopteran, but they do seem to be pretty hard to identify, fortunately the county recorder is helpful.

A Hymneopteran of some sort...

 

Brachyptera risi - a stonefly, Plecoptera, c 10mm (thnaks for the ID JS).

Lovely broods of Shoveler on The Shunan, a 9 and an 11, totally brilliant.

I'm a week out of date posting here, where are the flies and the beetles?

Here is a very tiny soldier beetle found in the previously mentioned bath tubs a week later, Rhagonycha limbata. I was chuffed to id this correctly and have now found a new key here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B008cp9g-Pm8a3pET1BfejFERm8/view

This is a very common but nonetheless lovely thing easy to find at the moment.

 Gastrophysa viridula (Green Dock Beetle, a Chrysomelid)

And as for the flies,

Argyra sp, male top female bottom (Dolichopidae)

Beris chalybata - a soldier fly (thanks to DD for these IDs)

Helophilus hybridus, more in my realm, a hoverfly

Quite a distinctive Empid, Empis stercorea