YEARLY HIGHLIGHTS
Year: 2024
Cow-wheat shieldbug (Adomerus biguttatus)
Category: SHIELDBUGS
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 12 April 2024
Comment: I spotted a member of this rare species during a brisk hour's walk through the woods, at the end of which was an appointment I intended to keep; I stopped just once during the hour, to take a gulp of water, and it was then that I saw this beautiful insect.
Colt's-foot (Tussilago farfara)
Category: FORBS
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 13 April 2024
Comment: This photograph was taken in the damp microhabitat of a former railway cutting on the Dava Way.
Gorse shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus)
Category: SHIELDBUGS
Where and when encountered: Glenbeg on 21 April 2024
Comment: This individual has the green coloration of the species' overwintered adults.
♂ Timberman (Acanthocinus aedilis)
Category: LONGHORN BEETLES
Where and when encountered: Abernethy Forest on 3 May 2024
Comment: Finding a member of this species of beetle had been a top priority for the year; to see two males running at each other, butting heads, was a spectacular bonus.
Violet oil beetle (Meloe violaceus)
Category: OIL BEETLES
Where and when encountered: Speybridge on 4 May 2024
Comment: It is an unfailingly lifting moment when one sees an oil beetle.
Eremocoris plebejus
Category: GROUNDBUGS
Where and when encountered: Glenmore Forest Park on 8 May 2024
Comment: I felt extremely lucky to spot this insect on a stone along a forest track, as members of the species are thought to spend most of their time hidden away in moss or within the litter of pine needles.
Green hairstreak (Callophrys rubi)
Category: BUTTERFLIES
Where and when encountered: Garlyne Moss on 11 May 2024
Comment: Even after seeing dozens and dozens of these butterflies, the extraordinary colour of their wings becomes no less delightful.
Four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)
Category: DRAGONFLIES
Where and when encountered: Rothiemurchus Estate on 20 May 2024
Comment: It was a true privilege to watch, at a respectful distance, the emergence of this dragonfly by the side of the lochan where the larva had developed.
Red net-winged beetle (Dictyoptera aurora)
Category: NET-WINGED BEETLES
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 21 May 2024
Comment: Happening upon this beetle – a member of a species rarely found outside the area – provided an unexpected highlight on a short evening stroll around Grantown.
Chequered click beetle (Prosternon tessellatum)
Category: CLICK BEETLES
Where and when encountered: Dulnain Bridge on 31 May 2024
Comment: The chequered appearance of this beetle's elytra results from hairs running at differing angles.
Twinflower (Linnaea borealis)
Category: FORBS
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 3 June 2024
Comment: Setting eyes on a patch of twinflower for the first time was a genuinely jaw-dropping experience.
Pebble hook-tip (Drepana falcataria)
Category: MOTHS
Where and when encountered: Garlyne Moss on 4 June 2024
Comment: There is something utterly spectacular to me about this adult moth.
Northern brown argus (Aricia artaxerxes)
Category: BUTTERFLIES
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 15 June 2024
Comment: I was told of a meadow near Grantown where this species of butterfly bred, but I did not want to have to trample any vegetation to take a photograph; I was thus delighted to find this individual on the very edge of the grassland, with my feet still on hard ground.
One-flowered wintergreen (Moneses uniflora)
Category: FORBS
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 20 June 2024
Comment: I do not know if there is a more gorgeous flower in Great Britain than this rare beauty.
Scalloped hook-tip (Falcaria lacertinaria)
Category: MOTHS
Where and when encountered: Rothiemurchus Estate on 23 June 2024
Comment: The caterpillars of this species of moth feed on birch foliage.
Lesser twayblade (Neottia cordata)
Category: FORBS
Where and when encountered: Cairn Gorm lower slopes on 24 June 2024
Comment: I must admit that I did not realize I had seen lesser twayblade for the first time until I looked at this photograph on returning home.
Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus)
Category: FORBS
Where and when encountered: Cairn Gorm lower slopes on 24 June 2024
Comment: The fruits of this Arctic alpine plant are a delightful food for the eyes.
Bronze shieldbug (Troilus luridus)
Category: SHIELDBUGS
Where and when encountered: Glenmore Forest Park on 24 June 2024
Comment: The shieldbug was feeding on the caterpillar of a common quaker moth.
Zygimus nigriceps
Category: PLANT BUGS
Where and when encountered: Anagach Woods on 26 June 2024
Comment: Given the similarity in size, shape, and colour of this insect to a needle of the host-plant, juniper – coupled with my refusal to beat vegetation in the name of entomology – finding this rare plant bug for the first time was a true labour of love.
Macrosaldula scotica
Category: SHOREBUGS
Where and when encountered: Sluggan (Carrbridge) on 27 June 2024
Comment: This species of shorebug belongs to a fascinating insect community specializing in life on exposed river sediment.
Birch shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus)
Category: SHIELDBUGS
Where and when encountered: Nethy Bridge on 5 August 2024
Comment: These early-instar nymphs were among the many hundred pre-adult members of the species on a single river-side birch tree.
Four-banded longhorn beetle (Leptura quadrifasciata)
Category: LONGHORN BEETLES
Where and when encountered: Nethy Bridge on 11 August 2024
Comment: One of these large longhorn beetles alone makes for an impressive sight, so a mating pair is nothing short of awesome.
Bronze shieldbug (Troilus luridus)
Category: SHIELDBUGS
Where and when encountered: Grantown-on-Spey on 11 August 2024
Comment: The metallic sheen of this last-instar shieldbug nymph was utterly spectacular.
Giant horntail (Urocerus gigas)
Category: HYMENOPTERANS
Where and when encountered: Glenbeg on 18 August 2024
Comment: These large and colourful sawflies are a sight to behold.
Heather shieldbug (Rhacognathus punctatus)
Category: SHIELDBUGS
Where and when encountered: Boat of Garten on 26 August 2024
Comment: I found this insect towards the end of a long weekend dedicated to locating a member of this species for the first time; but following a combined twelve to fifteen hours of looking on heather, it took a chance observation of an insect wedged under a small stone on a track for success in this quest.
Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
Category: DRAGONFLIES
Where and when encountered: Nethy Bridge on 30 August 2024
Comment: This was one of numerous damselflies and dragonflies I watched around a magnificent garden pond in Nethy Bridge.