The Cairngorms Up-Close: Gallery
[CAIRNGORMS UP-CLOSE] [DEEPGREEN.EARTH]
Group: ALL-TIME HIGHLIGHTS
♂ Timberman (Acanthocinus aedilis)
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 3 May 2024
About: Timberman beetles are remarkable for their long antennae: in males, three or four times the body length; and in females, close to twice the body length. Their larvae develop underneath the bark of dead or dying conifers, especially pines. Their stronghold in Great Britain is the Scottish Highlands (many of the scattered records from outside this region are likely to be a result of the commercial movement of timber).
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 3 to 24 May (22 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2024 (1)
Cow-wheat shieldbug (Adomerus biguttatus)
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 12 April 2024
About: Cow-wheat shieldbugs are a rare species in Great Britain, with very few sightings having been made in Scotland in recent decades. The present scarcity in Great Britain is thought to be linked to the decline of traditional canopy-opening woodland management.
Editor's note: It is funny that I spotted this rare species on the day I did, as the observation came during a brisk hour-long walk through the woods to make the start time for an activity in which I was engaged – a walk during which I was endeavouring to avoid any distractions. I stopped just once during the hour, to take a gulp of water, and it was then that I saw the beautiful insect photographed.
Years with at least one adult record: 2024 (1)
Northern brown argus (Aricia artaxerxes)
Where and when encountered: Speybridge on 15 June 2024
About: Northern brown argus butterflies may be encountered in parts of Scotland and northern England. In Scotland, most individuals are of the race artaxerxes, with a characteristic white spot in the middle of the upper surface of each forewing (as in the photograph). The main, if not the sole, larval food-plant is common rock-rose; and the species has a preference for well-drained unimproved grasslands with no more than light grazing.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 15 to 30 June (16 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2024, 2025 (2)
Five-spot ladybird (Coccinella quinquepunctata)
Where and when encountered: Sluggan (Carrbridge) on 15 June 2025
About: While encountered in various habitats in continental Europe, five-spot ladybirds in Great Britain have a strong association with low-growing herbs on unstable river shingle. Eastern Scotland and mid- and southern Wales are the comparative strongholds for the species.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 15 to 29 June (15 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2025 (1)
Red net-winged beetle (Dictyoptera aurora)
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 21 May 2024
About: Red net-winged beetles are insects of conifer forest (including that with Scots pines) – larvae develop in decaying trunks and stumps – and in Great Britain they are almost exclusively confined to northern Scotland.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 16 May to 21 June (37 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2024, 2025 (2)
Eremocoris plebejus
Where and when encountered: Glenmore Forest Park on 8 May 2024
About: The groundbug Eremocoris plebejus is a rarely encountered insect, not least on account of the insect's habit of spending time in moss or within the litter of pine needles. The pine forests of the eastern parts of the Scottish Highlands support the strongest population of this bug in Great Britain.
Years with at least one adult record: 2024 (1)
Three-banded longhorn beetle (Judolia sexmaculata)
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 29 June 2022
About: The larvae of this species develop under bark and in decaying wood, principally that of pine and spruce. Old Caledonian pine forest is crucial for the survival of this species in Great Britain, with woods in the Speyside area being the beetle's stronghold.
Years with at least one adult record: 2022 (1)
♂ White-faced darter (Leucorrhinia dubia)
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 13 June 2025
About: White-faced darters breed in nutrient-poor, fish-free, acidic bog pools that have rafts of Sphagnum moss at their edges. Nearby scrub or woodland – providing a site for roosting and feeding – is also important for these dragonflies. The species has declined significantly in England in recent decades but is still faring reasonably well in the Scottish Highlands.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 8 to 13 June (6 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2025 (1)
Heather shieldbug (Rhacognathus punctatus)
Where and when encountered: Boat of Garten on 26 August 2024
About: Heather shieldbugs are predatory insects with a strong link to heather and heather-dominated habitats. They may be encountered in various corners of Great Britain but are scarce where present.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 9 May to 26 August (110 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2024, 2025 (2)
Ribbed pine-borer (Rhagium inquisitor)
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 6 May 2025
About: This species has a vast range globally – stretching across Eurasia and from the desert south to the boreal north in North America. In Great Britain, however, these dead-wood feeders are mostly restricted to coniferous woodland (including that with larches, pines, or spruces) in the Scottish Highlands. An association with birches is also known.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 13 April to 20 June (69 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 (4)
Large poplar longhorn beetle (Saperda carcharias)
Where and when encountered: Insh Marshes on 29 June 2025
About: Large poplar longhorn beetles have a scattered distribution in Great Britain, with relative strongholds for their population existing in northern Scotland and eastern England. Larvae feed inside woody material (and adults consume the foliage) of trees in the genus Populus, in particular, as well as willows and some other species.
Years with at least one adult record: 2025 (1)
♂ Northern emerald (Somatochlora arctica)
Where and when encountered: Rothiemurchus Estate on 22 June 2025
About: Northern emeralds breeds in bogs and pools on moorland, especially those with Sphagnum mosses in abundance. The adult dragonflies may be seen patrolling wet meadows, openings in pine woodland, and moorland habitat with scattered trees. In Great Britain, the species is restricted to the Scottish Highlands.
Years with at least one adult record: 2025 (1)
Thanasimus femoralis
Where and when encountered: Nethy Bridge on 24 August 2025
About: Checkered beetles of the species Thanasimus femoralis mimic velvet ants, although the species' distribution in Great Britain – largely limited to Caledonian pine forest – does not overlap with that of the insects whom they imitate. The adults predate adult bark-boring beetles, especially those feeding on pine trees, while the larval diet includes pre-adult stages of bark-borers.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 23 to 24 August (2 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2025 (1)
Zygimus nigriceps
Where and when encountered: Anagach Woods on 26 June 2024
About: The plant bug Zygimus nigriceps is a rare species with a dependence on juniper scrub habitat in the north of Great Britain.
Years with at least one adult record: 2024 (1)
Selected galleries
[ALL-TIME HIGHLIGHTS] [ARCTIC ALPINE PLANTS] [BUTTERFLIES] [COLOURFUL MOTHS] [DRAGONFLIES] [FORBS] [GALLS] [GRASSLAND ORCHIDS] [HOVERFLIES] [INSECTS OF EXPOSED RIVER SEDIMENT] [LONGHORN BEETLES] [PINE-ASSOCIATED FUNGI] [PLANT BUGS] [SHIELDBUGS] [UNCOMMON PINEWOOD HERBS] [WOODY PLANTS]