I was invited to this site and kindly guided around it by FM and AT, the owners. This is a site with a lot of interesting critters, and in sorting out my photos and specimens I learned about a Family of insects I had never come across before, solved a puzzle of a week or so and learned of an identification and taxonomic confusion.
As usual I forgot to take a general site shot...
However, FM did take some of us "in action".
Self (right) and AT (photo FM).
However, the site is in Mid-Perthshire and is a mixture of ancient woodland, mostly birch Betula, improved grassland that is returning to more natural grassland and some unimproved grassland. This was more a photographic reconnaissance rather than a specimen hunting trip, although I did assault on unsuspecting birch for the beating tray.
First off and in the roadside verge, where there was lots of Rock Rose I was directed to these...
This tiny "Polo Mint" is the empty egg of Northern Brown Argus, a butterfly that I may or may not have seen as an imago a long time ago. I will return in the flight season and attempt to see an adult, however, in the meantime that's a fairly unusual way to tick of a butterfly on the P-SL. (One of the species that I have, or may have seen in the past but have no notes or images, so not previously on my P-SL. It is now!)
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| The next thing of interest was this knotgrass. |
Knotgrass was on my PS-L but a bit of an ignorant tick as I would not have been aware of the complexities of Polygonum identification either when I saw it or when I ticked it. However, this photo seems to be good enough to confirm Polygonum aviculare s.s. As I learn more about botany I realise how tricky it is, on the whole, a lot more tricky than Coleoptera, for example.
We wandered up the hill and found a lot more of this going on in the birch.
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| I'd been seeing this at the CCW for the last 10 days or so and to this point research had failed to reveal the cause. |
I'd even taken some and put it in my rearing tent. However, the reason the cause was not coming up in my usual leafminer resources was because this is not caused by a moth or a fly but by a beetle. Birch Leaf Roller Deporaus betulae, a weevil. It would be nice to find an adult. Mystery solved!
As we walked through the trees a small blue-bottle-like fly was at eye height. I took a few, not very good, images.
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| Eudsyphora cyanicolor,
the lower image is pretty rubbish, but fortunate as it
shows the medial pale stripe on the mesonotum which is required for ID. |
Also found was a blister mine on alder which turned out to be Heterarthrus vagans. There were a good number of mines on a young, planted alder.
Heterarthrus vagans
AT has been instructing me on the subtleties of birch identification. I've seen a number of trees which are undoubtedly hybrids of the two = Betula x aurata, indeed perhaps all that I've seen are hybrids to some extent. So are any of these P-SL tickable? The problem probably lies more with B. pubescens and pendula, and in the end I think seeing the best examples of each is acceptable. Some may disagree, and suggest only Betula x aurata is tickable without some lab' work. However, I think most P-SLers have ticked these two species. It's worth reading Jon Stokes (WildGuides Trees) on this. Anyway, Deporaus betulae and Betulapion simile don't care, they just eat the tree, as long it is Betula. |
Betulapion simile, a very tiny weevil, 2mm, very common on Betula. I beat quite a few out of a single birch. Note the "eye-beard" and the colour of the antennae. Also beaten out of the birch was this which puzzled me greatly. |
At first I thought it was a scale insect, and then a mite, but it is actually the larva of Coniopterygidae
a family within Neuroptera (lacewings) called dustywings or wax flies.
(Thanks DB). I'd not come across these before. Only adult males appear
to be identifiable, there's a key here - https://www.laars.jamesjepson.com/british-isles-coniopterygidae-wax-flies-identification/Best from the birch thrashing was this sawfly, I really like sawflies, although they can be hard to ID. This is Tenthredo ferruginea, I've not yet asked the experts, but research leads me to think this is an ok ID.
Tenthredo ferruginea
And just prior to this the sun came out, and many butterflies and hoverflies appeared.
Always
a treat to see. There were also Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Copper,
Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White and Speckled Wood.
The best hover was tricky to photograph as it would not stay still for long, so this is a significant crop.
Chrysotoxum arcuatum
I've seen relatively few of those in the past. A bit easier to photograph were the many Eristalis pertinax.
And Episyrphus balteatus.
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| Most of these insects were nectaring at Calluna vulgaris, Cirsium arvense or Cirsium palustre. |
In
amongst these were quite a few Ichneumonidae, which I didn't really
bother with as I'd have needed to take specimens and a few common
Heteroptera.
I
do find it hard to remember all the names of species, AI does really
help, not just providing initial identifications, or giving ideas as to
what things might be, but as a memory jogger for those of us whose old
memories have scrambled ROM and RAM, too much clutter in the workings.
Likely consulting the AI to remind me of a name - Salix repens in this case I think. (Photo FM). Note the beating tray (old white umbrella) and stick (the handle of my dad's mallet, probably getting on for 100. Stenodema laevigata, a bit of an old washed out one.
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| Nabis rugosa |
Other than the weevils just two beetles were found a Red-breasted Carrion Beetle nectaring at thistle and Lochmaea caprea on Salix.
Oiceoptoma thoracicum
There were quite a few moths. Plenty of worn Agriphila tristella and Udea lutealis,
a Common Carpet, two Common White Wave caterpillars, Silver Y and a few
unidentified Geometrids that flitted off into the distance.
Common White Wave caterpillar, beaten from birch.
The just about final act was back down the hill by the track, a further search for more eggs of Northern Brown Argus, I found about 15 and photographing the Colletes bee colony.
The bees proved to be Colletes succinctus and there was a spider-hunting Hymenopteran working its way through the colony, probably Arachnospila sp (thanks AR). I also photographed a couple of large ants. In the end I got these to be Formica and either fulva or lemani. It was supposed that F. lemani was the commoner and more widespread of the two, but I was informed that the identification and distribution of these is currently being reviewed (thanks JS).
It
is possible there was another bee species around the colony, but I just
could not get any photos, something for another day. Indeed there is
plenty more to look for at this very interesting site, a return with a
light trap would be an interesting excursion.
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