Here we are... July. How did that happen? So we had better have a June round-up of wildlifey happenings since our last blog outing. It is another insect-laden post, but with a few other things thrown in for good measure. Nearing the end of the month, we welcomed Alan, an old friend of mine from the Milton Keynes days (aka The Admiral, for those of you with good memories), who arrived for a three week holiday. Just before he drove up to the house, Megan discovered a female Blue-tailed Damselfly egg-laying in our pond. Our second Odonata species, and already ensuring that there may be more next year. In the evening, we took Alan on a wander around Stromness Loons to stretch his legs after his long drive from Englandshire. We managed to hear a Corncrake and enjoyed the light from the setting sun giving a golden glow to the wet meadows. A couple of days later, I took Alan along on my monthly Sea Plantain Leaf Beetle survey. June isn't a time of year which produces many records for the ...
The weather in Orkney has finally improved a little, almost like it is Summer. Which means it is insect time! A Large Red Damselfly at Happy Valley (with less crime and drama), Stenness Tipula maxima , rather a large cranefly at Happy Valley, Stenness Cheilosia illustrata, a hoverfly at Lyness, Hoy A pool by the track to Wee Fea, Hoy. Home to many damselflies Three small holes in a sandy bank, each home to a larva of the Green Tiger Beetle. The heads (ok, jaws) of the larvae are visible, waiting for some poor unfortunate invertebrate to wander by. Wee Fea A Four-spotted Chaser which Megan found at Wee Fea Whilst there are historic records of this species at this site, we had never seen one in this location before Prime Odonata habitat, Wee Fea A female Common Blue Damselfly, Wee Fea An atrocious photo of (possibly) a Thistle Root Borer moth, Wee Fea A pair of Red-necked Footmans... er... Footmen... er... Feetmans... er... Podpersons. And yes, they are propagating the sp...