The Cairngorms Up-Close: Gallery
[CAIRNGORMS UP-CLOSE] [DEEPGREEN.EARTH]
Group: ALL-TIME HIGHLIGHTS
♀♂ Timberman (Acanthocinus aedilis)
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 28 April 2026
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: 28 April to 24 May (27 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2024, 2026 (2)
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.
Years with at least one adult record: 2024 (1)
Aradus depressus
Where and when encountered: Anagach Woods on 21 May 2026
About: Flatbugs are seldom-encountered insects, and while those of the species Aradus depressus are seen more frequently than members of some of the other species, there are very few Scottish records of them in the NBN Atlas. The flatness of the bodies of these insects enables them to live under bark – especially of broadleaved trees such as beech, birches, elms, oaks, and willows – where, unusually for true bugs, they feed on fungi.
Years with at least one adult record: 2026 (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)
Bolitophagus reticulatus
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 30 May 2026
About: Darkling beetles of the species Bolitophagus reticulatus develop in the fruiting bodies of hoof fungus (an organism associated with birches, especially, in Scotland but also beech, sycamore, and some other trees). Almost all records of the insect in Great Britain come from the Scottish Highlands.
Years with at least one adult record: 2026 (1)
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: 30 April to 29 June (61 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2025, 2026 (2)
♂ Northern damselfly (Coenagrion hastulatum)
Where and when encountered: Nethy Bridge on 29 June 2022
About: Northern damselflies have an extremely restricted distribution in Great Britain, being known only from a small number of lochans in the centre and east of north Scotland.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 1 June to 7 July (37 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026 (4)
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 abietis
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 12 June 2026
About: The groundbug Eremocoris abietis is a rarely encountered insect associated with the litter beneath a variety of woody plants, including bearberry, crowberry, juniper, and Scots pine. Most sightings of the species in Great Britain occur within the Scottish Highlands.
Years with at least one adult record: 2026 (1)
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)
Gonioctena decemnotata
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 28 May 2026
About: Beetles of the species Gonioctena decemnotata feed on aspen, especially, but also willows and perhaps other trees too in openings in woodland and along woodland edges. Most records in the NBN Atlas for this species are from southern England, but there are a small number of sightings reported from the Scottish Highlands.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 28 May to 8 June (12 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2026 (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.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 28 May to 29 June (33 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2022, 2026 (2)
♂ 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)
Northern rose chafer (Protaetia cuprea)
Where and when encountered: Nethy Bridge on 12 June 2026
About: Adult northern rose chafers feed on the pollen and nectar of various woody and herbaceous plants and also eat foliage and fruits. Larvae are detritivores, often developing in the lower layers of active wood ant nests. Outside of Strathspey, this is a rather rare beetle.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 25 May to 12 June (19 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2026 (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, 2026 (5)
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)
♀ Emperor moth (Saturnia pavonia)
Where and when encountered: Duthil Plantation on 16 May 2026
About: Emperor moths are primarily insects of moorland and other open habitats, and they can be found from the far north to the far south of Great Britain. Larval food-plants include birch, blackthorn, bramble, hazel, heather, and meadowsweet.
Editor's note: Outside of Great Britain, the English vernacular name for this species is the small emperor moth, on account of the female's wingspan reaching a 'mere' eight centimetres. Another member of the genus, the giant peacock moth, can reach twenty centimetres.
Years with at least one adult record: 2026 (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)
Bee beetle (Trichius fasciatus)
Where and when encountered: Sluggan (Carrbridge) on 15 June 2024
About: In Great Britain, the bee beetle has two major strongholds: one in Wales and the other in the Scottish Highlands. Their larvae develop in the rotting wood of deciduous trees such as birches, but the adults can be easily seen visiting flower-heads in late spring and early summer.
Date range for live (non-diapausing) adult records: 15 to 29 June (15 days)
Years with at least one adult record: 2024, 2025 (2)
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] [BUMBLEBEES] [BUTTERFLIES] [COLOURFUL MOTHS] [DRAGONFLIES] [FORBS] [GALLS] [GRASSLAND ORCHIDS] [INSECTS OF EXPOSED RIVER SEDIMENT] [LONGHORN BEETLES] [PINE-ASSOCIATED FUNGI] [PLANT BUGS] [SAWFLIES (ADULTS)] [SHIELDBUGS] [SOCIAL WASPS] [TRUE FLIES: AWL-FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: CRANEFLIES] [TRUE FLIES: DANCE FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: DUNG FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: FRUIT FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: HOVERFLIES] [TRUE FLIES: MARCH FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: ROBBERFLIES] [TRUE FLIES: SNIPEFLIES] [TRUE FLIES: TACHINID FLIES] [TRUE FLIES: THICK-HEADED FLIES] [UNCOMMON PINEWOOD HERBS] [WOODY PLANTS]