Volume 4 Issue 2 November 2013 Welcome to the eighth issue of Scotland has to offer. Scottish Invertebrate News! This issue covers exciting It’s been a great summer for many new insect discoveries to Scottish invertebrates this year with Scotland, plus new finds from increased records of butterflies and Glasgow’s buzzing’s second year bees following the warm summer. of project work and Scottish brownfield invertebrate surveys. Hopefully you’ve all managed to Articles on the MSP Species enjoy the outdoors over the past Champion initiative and few months and have seen some of endangered fresh water mussels the exciting bugs and beasties also feature. Buglife Entomologist, Steven British bees Steven had not Falk, managed several trips to seen. The recording of the Scotland this year partly Hairy-footed flower-bee through Buglife work but also (Anthophora plumipes) and two family holidays based in the Maritime leafcutter (Megachile Aviemore area. The emphasis maritima) seemed relatively was on photographing iconic unremarkable to a southern species in iconic places rather entomologist, until Iain pointed than detailed inventory surveys. out that they may not actually However, it is amazing what be known from Scotland! Mike can turn up, even with this less Edwards of the Bees Wasps & intense approach. In June Ants Recording Society Steven visited the Ardeer (BWARS) kindly confirmed that Peninsula in Ayrshire with they were indeed new to the Buglife colleagues and Scottish list. volunteers, a keen squad of August saw Steven in the Spey Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) Valley for the second time with trainees and local recorder Iain Hairy-footed flower bee family, and was keen to check Hamlin. The initial highlight (Anthophora plumipes) © Steven Falk out the lovely wetland area at was seeing a good population the north end of Loch Insh near Kincraig. Lots of of Britain’s rarest leafcutter bee, insects were being attracted by stands of... Megachile circumcincta, one of the few (Article continues on page. 2) www.buglife.org.uk Tel: 01786 447 504 @buzz_dont_tweet Photo credits: Narrow-headed ant © Gus Jones, Flame shells © Calum Duncan, Great yellow bumblebee © Martin Scott (RSPB), Pine hoverfly (Blera fallax), Pine mason bee (Osmia uncinata), Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense), and amongst Bumblebee robberfly (Laphria flava), numerous workers of the Tree wasp Broken-banded bumblebee (Dolichovespula sylvestris), was one worker that (Bombus soroeensis), Cuckoo wasp (Vespula Steven recognised as a Saxon wasp (D. austriaca), Ribbed pine-borer (Rhagium inquisitor) saxonica), a wasp that was added to the British list and Northern rose-chafer (Protaetia metallica). in 1984 and has been spreading north ever since. The specimen was taken to be sure of its identity, and confirmed as new to Scotland well north of any previous known record. Maritime leafcutter (Megachile maritima) © Steven Falk You can see photos of all the species mentioned Saxon Wasp (Dolichovespula saxonica) here (and their habitats) on Steven’s Flickr site © Steven Falk (www.flickr.com/people/63075200@N07/)– simply search on ‘Steven Falk Flickr Collections’ and drill As well as these exciting and unexpected records, down the various folders. Steven did really well in photographing iconic species in often stunning habitats. This included Steven Falk, Buglife the Aspen hoverfly (Hammerschmidtia ferruginea), iSpot, You Spot, We all Once you register on iSpot you can gain points by spot together helping others with their identifications as well as suggesting your own and as your reputation grows you’ll receive online badges. There are also www.ispot.org.uk is the forums for discussions broken down by wildlife place to learn more about wildlife and to share type, location and interest groups. iSpot is your your interest in a friendly community. iSpot, place to share nature. What have you spotted developed by The Open University, allows you to today? upload photos of your observations and get help For more information or free training on how to get identifying what you have seen. the most out of iSpot, please contact iSpot It’s perfect for help with identifying a particular Biodiversity Mentor for Scotland, Emma Kemp at type of ladybird, beetle or bee and iSpot can be [email protected] used as an aid to educating children and adults iSpot is part of The OpenScience Laboratory. alike. Just make sure you have a camera with you and then at home, the office or Follow us on twitter @ispot_uk school, the photos can be uploaded on to iSpot. Emma Kemp, iSpot So when we first saw this bumblebee on our cotoneaster, we knew it was different, and Back in June 2013, the Bumblebee Conservation immediately got out our bumblebee chart to check. Trust (BBCT) office was a-buzz with excitement We then tried to get a photo, but the bees are very when one of its members reported a Tree active and very wary, so had to get help from our bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) sighting in daughter, Claire, who eventually succeeded in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire. getting a clear shot.” The Tree bumblebee arrived in England in 2001 Stuart Roberts from the Bees, Wasps and Ants Common carder bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum) Tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) © Claire Taylor © Steven Falk (note the white tail) from mainland Europe and has been gradually Recording Society (BWARS), who runs the Tree making its way north ever since. Its arrival in bumblebee mapping project, added: “After a long Scotland had been expected in 2012, however no wait, we are thrilled to know that the Tree records were confirmed and, until this record, all bumblebee has finally arrived in Scotland. The submissions in 2013 had turned out to be the record shows just how important public Common carder bumblebee (Bombus involvement can be in tracking and monitoring the pascuorum). changing fortunes of our precious bees.” The Tree bumblebee differs in appearance from Now that the Tree bumblebee has arrived in the Common carder, which are usually gingery Scotland, BBCT is keen to track its spread. So, if brown, and never have a white tail. The Tree you spot one in your area, please take a photo and bumblebee on the other hand has a gingery brown upload it for free to BeeWatch, BBCT’s photo thorax, a black abdomen and white tail – it is quite survey tool - http://bumblebeeconservation.org/get- distinctive. involved/surveys/ David Taylor, who submitted the record to BBCT says: “We’ve been keeping track of the bumblebees in our garden for a number of years. Dawn Ewing, Bumblebee Conservation Trust Blomer’s rivulet (Discoloxia blomeri) from June to July. While on a day trip to Mull, members The caterpillars feed on wych of the Highland Branch of Butterfly elm. Conservation discovered a new The moth’s identity was species of moth to Scotland. confirmed from a photograph After missing their ferry to Mull, they by Banff-based moth expert came across an unusual moth low Roy Leverton. Leverton, author down in a hazel tree. They had no of the award-winning Enjoying idea what it was and fortunately took Moths said: “This is a most a photo. This has now been unlikely find. I could just about verified as Blomer's rivulet (Discoloxia Blomer’s rivulet (Discoloxia blomeri) have imagined it turning up in © Mary Eagleson blomeri), a new moth for Scotland. the Borders, or even Dumfries Blomer’s rivulet was named after the 18th century & Galloway, but not this far north”. naturalist Charles Blomer. The species occurs Shona Grieg, Butterfly Conservation Scotland sporadically throughout England and Wales in deciduous woodland habitats and is on the wing Haworth’s pug (Eupithecia haworthiata) Yorkshire and southern Cumbria. Moth expert, Roy Leverton, confirmed the Pug’s identity. In July 2013, Butterfly Conservation’s East Branch found yet another new moth to Scotland Haworth’s pug takes flight around June to July, with along the Berwickshire coast, known as the the caterpillar’s common foodplant being the flower Haworth’s pug (Eupithecia haworthiata). This buds of Traveller’s joy. was particularly exciting as the current distribution Barry Prater, Butterfly Conservation Scotland map showed no records of the moth north of The recording day, Devon carpet (Lampropteryx otregiata) organised as part of the In August 2013, a wildlife recording day local wildlife site was organised by Dumfries & Galloway programme, confirmed Environmental Record Centre the presence of the (DGERC), with several moth traps set moth’s foodplant Marsh at Glassoch, Wigtownshire. bedstraw (Galium palustre) in the ditches On the opening of the traps, the group around the site which of 9 people involved found 5 specimens comprised a mosaic of of an unusual Geometridae family moth, mire, wood pasture, believed to be a Devon carpet Devon carpet (Lampropteryx otregiata) ancient woodland and (Lampropteryx otregiata). The group © Keith Naylor unimproved/semi- were aware that Devon carpet moths improved grassland. The foodplant is quite widely had not been recorded much above a line distributed in Dumfries and Galloway and there is between the Humber and Mersey in England, with potential for this species to occur at other sites in this sighting being a new species for the region. the region. Photographs were emailed to Roy Leverton, who Keith Naylor, Moth Recorder for Dumfries and is the keeper of the Scottish macro Galloway, Butterfly Conservation Scotland -moth list, and confirmed it as the first Scottish record. Beautiful snout (Hypena crossolis) the Beautiful Snout. On 21st June 2013, Jane and Arthur Jones caught another 6 on the banks of Loch Ard. On 7th of July they caught another in their garden above the eastern end of the loch. The Beautiful snout had not been previously recorded in Scotland. Its distribution in the UK is mainly southern England, through Wales and in western England as far north as Cumbria.