Female linnet (Linaria cannabina) on a small branch of a young Scots pine in July.
From a couple of linnets, a ‘zombifying’ fungus and fly that’s been recorded only twice in Scotland so far, there have been some significant biodiversity discoveries in the Hinterland this summer.
As part of my role as the charity’s Land Trustee, I carry out detailed photography and research to identify the biodiversity on the land we have responsibility for. It’s an ongoing process and I’m constantly adding to our knowledge of the range of species that live here. Summer is the season when the greatest number of species are visible and active, so there have been quite a few significant discoveries recently.
In July I was delighted to see a couple of linnets (Linaria cannabina) on some trees out near the wind turbines. As far as I know there have been no records of this small bird in the finch family on the Hinterland before, although it is a widespread and common species – it has almost certainly been present on our site for a long time.
Two dance flies (Hilara scrobiculata) inside the flower of a harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).
On that same day in July, I made an interesting discovery when I was looking at some harebells (Campanula rotundifolia). When I turned some of the downward pointing flowers upright to look at them, I noticed some small black flies inside a couple of them. These were subsequently identified as being a dance fly (Hilara scrobiculata) that is Nationally Scarce. I found more of them inside other harebell flowers in the following weeks, so this may be a notable behaviour for the species that hasn’t been documented before.
Male fly (Pegomya deprimata) on a flower of a sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa).
Another fly I found that day has proved to be even more significant. It was feeding on the flowers of a sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa) near the Green Burial Site, and after photographing it, I sent it to Peter Chandler, an expert in flies who helps me with their identification. He said it was a male fly (Pegomya deprimata), and when I checked for that species in the online National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas database, it showed there are only 11 records for it in the whole of Britain, with just two in Scotland, both from near Aviemore.
Calum Maclure from the James Hutton Institute setting a pitfall trap for a beetle survey on the Hinterland in early July.
Over the years we’ve commissioned various biodiversity studies for such groups as spiders, aphids and fungi etc, but one important omission so far has been beetles. I’m very pleased therefore that we have two staff from the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen carrying out a beetle survey for the Hinterland area as part of our Dune Restoration Project. There are some specialist beetles that live in the bare sand habitat that we’re restoring, and we hope the survey may reveal their presence.
Tiny beetle with a fungus (Cordyceps sp.) erupting out of it, on the underside of a leaf of a hazel tree.
It will be some time yet before we receive the results of the beetle survey, but in the meantime I made an interesting beetle-related discovery in August, when I found a tiny beetle on a hazel leaf with a fungus erupting out of it. I suspect this is one of the ‘zombifying’ fungi (Cordyceps sp.) that alter the behaviour of the insects that they parasitise, causing them to climb up trees or other vegetation. There, the fungus fruits, releasing its spores to rain down and infect other insects, which then behave similarly, enabling the fungus to spread to other hosts.
Fox (Vulpes vulpes) near the wind turbines.
Finally, one highlight for me in recent months was photographing a fox (Vulpes vulpes) early one morning near the wind turbines. Although we’ve known foxes are on the site from finding their droppings, this was the first time we’ve had visual proof of their presence.
New species in the Hinterland
Female linnet (Linaria cannabina) on a small branch of a young Scots pine in July.
From a couple of linnets, a ‘zombifying’ fungus and fly that’s been recorded only twice in Scotland so far, there have been some significant biodiversity discoveries in the Hinterland this summer.
As part of my role as the charity’s Land Trustee, I carry out detailed photography and research to identify the biodiversity on the land we have responsibility for. It’s an ongoing process and I’m constantly adding to our knowledge of the range of species that live here. Summer is the season when the greatest number of species are visible and active, so there have been quite a few significant discoveries recently.
In July I was delighted to see a couple of linnets (Linaria cannabina) on some trees out near the wind turbines. As far as I know there have been no records of this small bird in the finch family on the Hinterland before, although it is a widespread and common species – it has almost certainly been present on our site for a long time.
Two dance flies (Hilara scrobiculata) inside the flower of a harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).
On that same day in July, I made an interesting discovery when I was looking at some harebells (Campanula rotundifolia). When I turned some of the downward pointing flowers upright to look at them, I noticed some small black flies inside a couple of them. These were subsequently identified as being a dance fly (Hilara scrobiculata) that is Nationally Scarce. I found more of them inside other harebell flowers in the following weeks, so this may be a notable behaviour for the species that hasn’t been documented before.
Male fly (Pegomya deprimata) on a flower of a sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa).
Another fly I found that day has proved to be even more significant. It was feeding on the flowers of a sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa) near the Green Burial Site, and after photographing it, I sent it to Peter Chandler, an expert in flies who helps me with their identification. He said it was a male fly (Pegomya deprimata), and when I checked for that species in the online National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas database, it showed there are only 11 records for it in the whole of Britain, with just two in Scotland, both from near Aviemore.
Calum Maclure from the James Hutton Institute setting a pitfall trap for a beetle survey on the Hinterland in early July.
Over the years we’ve commissioned various biodiversity studies for such groups as spiders, aphids and fungi etc, but one important omission so far has been beetles. I’m very pleased therefore that we have two staff from the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen carrying out a beetle survey for the Hinterland area as part of our Dune Restoration Project. There are some specialist beetles that live in the bare sand habitat that we’re restoring, and we hope the survey may reveal their presence.
Tiny beetle with a fungus (Cordyceps sp.) erupting out of it, on the underside of a leaf of a hazel tree.
It will be some time yet before we receive the results of the beetle survey, but in the meantime I made an interesting beetle-related discovery in August, when I found a tiny beetle on a hazel leaf with a fungus erupting out of it. I suspect this is one of the ‘zombifying’ fungi (Cordyceps sp.) that alter the behaviour of the insects that they parasitise, causing them to climb up trees or other vegetation. There, the fungus fruits, releasing its spores to rain down and infect other insects, which then behave similarly, enabling the fungus to spread to other hosts.
Fox (Vulpes vulpes) near the wind turbines.
Finally, one highlight for me in recent months was photographing a fox (Vulpes vulpes) early one morning near the wind turbines. Although we’ve known foxes are on the site from finding their droppings, this was the first time we’ve had visual proof of their presence.