YEARLY HIGHLIGHTS
Year: 2021
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Category: WOODY PLANTS
Where and when encountered: Anagach Woods on 17 June 2021
Comment: It seemed fitting to start the yearly highlights with a photograph of a Scots pine, a species of tree on which so many other life forms in the Cairngorms National Park depend for their existence.
♀ Blood-red longhorn beetle (Anastrangalia sanguinolenta)
Category: LONGHORN BEETLES
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 22 June 2021
Comment: This female blood-red longhorn beetle (a rare species in Great Britain) was ovipositing on a large, fallen, de-barked Scots pine trunk in a sunny spot beside the River Nethy.
Common bracken (Pteridium aquilinum)
Category: CRYPTOGAMS
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 22 June 2021
Comment: There is such beauty packed into the unfurling frond of a fern.
Common lizard (Zootoca vivipara)
Category: REPTILES
Where and when encountered: Nethy Bridge on 16 August 2021
Comment: This lizard was basking on a boardwalk on the edge of Nethy Bridge.
Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
Category: DRAGONFLIES
Where and when encountered: Boat of Garten on 27 August 2021
Comment: This member of the species had the striking blue eyes of a mature male.
Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)
Category: FUNGI
Where and when encountered: Nethy Bridge on 4 September 2021
Comment: This mature fruiting body was starting to lose the vibrant red colour seen in younger examples, especially around the edge of the cap, creating a fiery gradient.