Latest news archive

Stuart Benn saw at least 17 Mountain Ringlets at 0915 this morning between 670m and 770m on the south slope of Carn Leac (NN 406967). He then had a further 3 on the southern slope of Creag a'Chail (NN 409954).

Thanks to Stuart for his report and permission to use his photo.

Thanks to Andy Scott for reporting at least 12 Northern Brown Argus feeding on rockrose on the cliff near Hilton (Balintore), grid NH884775. There were also 2 Ringlets at this site. A further 5 Ringlets were seen on the path to Kildary Loch (NH7675) - they are obviously spreading rapidly in Easter Ross.

Brian Neath carried out a moth trapping at Loch Duich Primary School, Inverinate, last night and examined the catch this morning with the staff and children.

The most amazing feature was a total of 63 Buff Ermine, 17 being the previous highest count for the whole of Wester Ross. Needless to say however it was the Elephant Hawk-moth and the 3 Poplar Hawk-moths that got the kids most excited.

112 macro-moths of 28 species were recorded including Pebble Hook-tip, Campion, Grey Dagger and Snout. Other firsts for the year included Riband Wave, Barred Straw, Triple-spotted Clay, Double Square-spot and Small Square-spot. Whilst releasing the moths along a nearby forest track Brian saw his first two Common Blues of the year.

Tony Mainwood photographed this striking Dark Green Fritillary at Loch Fleet today, whose black markings on the upperside are extended and confluent. A photo of a typical specimen, also taken by Tony at Loch Fleet, is shown below.

Tony also recorded 2 Ringlets at Camore Wood.

Please click on the images to enlarge them.

Tony saw his first Meadow Browns (2) of the year at Loch Fleet today. Marcus Conway also recorded 2 at Blackfold, Abriachan, near Inverness, just opposite Blackfold Cottage.

Near Findhorn beach, Bill Slater recorded 40+ male and 1 female Common Blue. Also 10 Small Heath, 2 Meadow Brown and 9 Six-spot Burnet moths.

In SE Sutherland, Tony Mainwood recorded 2 Common Blues on his Loch Fleet transect, and a Northern Brown Argus at Rogart.

Thanks to Tony for the photo of the Northern Brown Argus.

At Culbin Forest, Moray, Bill Slater counted 59 Dingy Skippers, 4 Green-veined Whites, 1 Green Hairstreak, 25 Small Blues, 6 Speckled Woods, 8 Small Heaths, and 4 Mother Shipton moths.

The route taken was the same as that on 16/06/2009 but on this occasion there were no Common Blues or Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. 6 of the Small Heaths were seen at Lake of Moy, along with 1 worn looking Dingy Skipper and the 4 Mother Shiptons.

Thanks to Brian Neath for the following report from the Dornie area: "After 10 days away I was interested to find that Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary had completely replaced Pearl-bordered on my transect on 8th June with 17 present compared with 7 Pearl-bordered on 27th May.

"The only other species present on 8th June were 18 Small Heath and a single Speckled Wood. However this gave me my highest total of butterflies on the transect so far this year, i.e. 36. I was surprised to see two Orange-tips at Camas-luinie today (10th June) - rather a late date for the Lochalsh area - and still a rather worn Peacock also present."

We were delighted to receive this message from Elliott Staley:

Two years ago, I emailed you with a photo of Chequered Skipper, which you kindly put on your website (see Latest News item dated 05/06/2008). This year I have been to Scotland again with my parents and had a great holiday. I have taken some different photographs of Chequered Skipper and Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary, the weather was extremely good considering that there was over a metre of snow at Easter! When visiting the area we saw a range of Butterflies: Green-Veined White - Lots Orange Tip - Lots Green Hairstreak – 1 Spean Bridge, 2 L Arkaig Speckled Wood – 1 L Arkaig Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary – 3 L Arkaig Chequered Skipper – 4 Spean Bridge 12 L Arkaig Plus Azure Hawker, plus lots of day time flying moths.

I have now seen all the British Butterflies, my last one was Heath Fritillary, I am sending you a copy of the report (PDF 278kb) I wrote for our Bird Club. I have been making bookmarks and key rings to raise money for Butterfly Conservation at Prees Heath in Shropshire (site for Silver studded blue) and last year I raised £70. If you send me your home address I would like to give you one of my bookmarks. I have attached photos of Chequered Skippers and Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary at Spean Bridge and Loch Arkaig,

Best Wishes Elliott Staley (aged 12)

Elliott's photos show one of the Chequered Skippers at Spean Bridge on 3rd June, and the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Loch Arkaig on the same day. Please read his article which you can access via the link above - it's well worth it!

Thanks for visiting our site, Elliott, and we wish you every success with your fundraising initiatives. Well done.

Jenny Mallett, Branch Organiser at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch, sent us the following observations from her recent holiday in the Highlands: "4 Chequered Skipper in the car park at Ariundle Oakwood (near Strontian). There were also Green-veined Whites and Orange Tips (with ova). We also saw 2 Chequered Skipper near Polloch (NM 795 685), north of Strontian."

On May 31st Jenny recorded 5 Green Hairstreak at Inverlaidnan Hill, near Slochd.

At Rogart today, Tony Mainwood recorded 2 Small Heath, at least 2 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and about 20 Pearl-bordered Fritillaries.

Tony's photo shows a fresh Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (lower) and a more worn looking Pearl-bordered Fritillary on the same flowerhead. The differences in the upper wing patterns are clear - connected black chevrons on the dark border and black spots closer to the border in the much fresher Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

On a route following the shoreline from Spey Bay to the Tynet Burn, there were 40+ Small Blue, the majority between the houses and the shingle bar. Further east, between the golf course and the shore, 2 Dingy Skipper were found, confirming it is still present in VC94 (Banffshire).

Other highlights on the coastal path included an extremely fresh looking Peacock, an early July Belle, 6 Silver Y (clearly an arrival of migrants), an early specimen of July Belle, and Grapholita lunulana, a scarce tortricid moth associated with bitter vetch and a new record for Banffshire.

Returning from the Tynet Burn on the Speyside Way, in the conifers next to the golf course, 8 Speckled Wood, a Tawny-barred Angle and a Bordered White were seen.

Tony Mainwood recorded 14 Small Blues on the Loch Fleet transect, the highest count so far at this recently colonised site.

He also saw his first Small Heath of the year at Loch Fleet.

Thanks to Tony for the photo of the Small Blue.

An interesting record of Dingy Skippers in woodland at Assich Forest on Nairnside, from Suzanne Gyseman:

'This afternoon (02 June) my son and I found Dingy Skippers (up to three seen at one time) along an open verge with lots of bird's foot trefoil in foresty, Assich Forest, at grid ref NH807468.'

Thanks to Suzanne and Rowan for permission to use the photo.

Another Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth sighting notified by Pete Moore - this time by an RSPB volunteer in the back garden of the Insh RSPB office this morning!

Thanks to Pete for the photo opposite.

Also, on the Black Isle at Bogbuie Wood, Margaret Currie and Andy Scott found at least 14 specimens within 100 yards, feeding on birds-foot trefoil.

Check out Moths of the Month, June 2008 for more information about this moth.

Today, Pete Moore checked out a well-known orchid meadow near Boat of Garten where he had previously noted plenty of Devils-bit Scabious, the foodplant of Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth, and within minutes of entering the field they saw their target species. With a bit of wandering they found several more at this site.

On 16th May, Pete saw one at Insh Marshes RSPB reserve, right next to the path near to the car-park during a visit by Tain and District Field Club. This was a "first" for the reserve.

Just a couple of days later, one was seen 1km away at Tromie Meadow, also on the reserve and Amy Huff, BTCV Moth Apprentice, saw two there shortly afterwards. Although this species might in some places be thought to be overlooked, there have been so many moth-ers visiting and working at Insh Marshes over the years, without previous records, Pete is sure this is a newly colonised site.

At Loch Garten, in front of the Visitor Centre, Marcus Conway saw 3 Green Hairstreaks.

Marcus Conway recorded 12 Dingy Skippers and 3 Peacocks at Ardersier this pm.

Thanks to Marcus for allowing us to use this fine image of the Dingy Skipper. (Copyright ebirder, www.ebirder.net)

Thanks to Scott Shanks of Glasgow and South West Scotland Branch for the following records from Culbin Forest: 74 Dingy Skippers, 23 Speckled Woods, 2 Small Coppers, 6 Green Hairstreaks, 9 Green-veined Whites, 2 Small Whites and a single Peacock. These were recorded during the afternoon when it was generally overcast.

At Findhorn Dunes, NJ 045 647, Bill Slater found 4 Dingy Skipper, 1 Small Copper and 1 Speckled Wood.

Thanks to Graham Crittenden for reporting his first Shears, Glaucous Shears and Flame Carpet of the season at Melvich, Sutherland, today.

Graham has also seen many Drinker caterpillars over past 5 weeks in many areas on the N coast - now up to about 70mm. Thanks to Graham for the photo.

See Moths of the Month, May 2009, for more information about the Drinker.

15+ Small Blues at Portknockie site; Kidney Vetch flower heads opening.

Fox Moth adult at NJ 490 687.

5 Small Blues reported at Portknockie (NJ 490 687) by George Mair. No Kidney Vetch flower heads open yet. Photo of Portknockie site opposite.

Also 10-12 Speckled Woods at Crannoch Loch, Cullen (NJ 522 664).

Helen Mainwood recorded 2 Small Copper on her Littleferry transect, near Golspie, today.

Tony Mainwood observed at least 3 Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Rogart. Thanks to Tony for the photo opposite.

Thanks to Barbara Brodie for reporting a Green Hairstreak at Culbin Forest, Moray (NH 975 619); also 20 Orange-tips at nearby Muirtown (NH 994 596).

Photo of Green Hairstreak by Barbara Brodie.

First reports this year of Pearl-bordered Fritillaries from Tony Mainwood (at Rogart) and Brian Neath (near Dornie) today.

Brian also recorded his first Green Hairstreak and Speckled Wood at Dornie today. Other species were Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock

In our Spring Newsletter we wrote about a new guide to butterflies in the Gairloch area.

The guide is now on sale at the following outlets in Wester Ross:

• The Tourist Information Office in Strath, Gairloch
• The Gairloch Marine Life Centre, the Pier, Gairloch Harbour
• Gairloch Heritage Museum, Achtercairn, Gairloch
• The Treasure Chest gift shop, Gairloch Harbour
• The Beinn Eighe Visitors Centre (SNH), Kinlochewe
• The Ullapool Bookshop, The Quay, Ullapool
• Bridge Cottage Cafe and Gallery, Poolewe

The guide contains a month by month look at the butterflies that may be found in the area, descriptions of recommended sites with a map and comments on footpaths. There are also charts showing flight periods, the nectar plants favoured by adults, and caterpillar foodplants. Photographs of butterflies, grouped according to general colour, help to complete the identification process.

Other publications in the series are: Part 1, Wild Flowers, Part 2, Spring and Summer Birds.

The price is expected to be around £3.95 per copy.

Brian Neath saw an Orange-tip at Plockton today along with a Green-veined White.

He also recorded 4 Peacocks on the Carr Brae transect today but no other species present.

Large Drinker caterpillars are very conspicuous just now.

Helen Mainwood saw 2 Green-veined Whites in her garden in Golspie.

Photo by Helen Mainwood.

Thanks to Eoghain Maclean for sending details of Peacock sightings today:

Rassal National Nature Reserve, 3 seen by nearby resident Jenny Baker.

Talladale Gorge SSSI (beside Loch Maree) 1 seen and photographed by Eoghain Maclean (SNH Kinlochewe).

Ardlair, Letterewe Estate several seen by Peter Duncan (SNH Aviemore) who was holidaying in the area.

Thanks to Graham Crittenden for this report: 'Peacock with "see-through" wings at Melvich, Sutherland on 10 and 11/4, plus Small Tortoiseshells. Only Common Quakers (see Moths of March) and Mottled Greys (see Moths of January and February) trapped so far'.

Thanks to John Kemp for the following report: On South Uist some early records during April with Puss Moths from 10th ( 7 to light on 11th), Pyrausta despicata on 11th over a month early. Belted Beauties showing well at a number of west coast machair sites on Eriskay and South Uist. A Peacock butterfly on South Uist on 12th.

John's photos show, left to right, Belted Beauty, male and female, Puss Moth, and Pyrausta despicata.

Brian Neath reports 16 Yellow Horned attracted to his trap at Dornie along with the first 3 Common Quakers. However there was only one March Moth in contrast to the high count a fortnight ago on 6th March.

Please click on the links above to see more information about these moths (Moths of March).

We're delighted to receive another report from the Outer Hebrides, this time from John Kemp, who writes "Here on South Uist the open habitat with often breezy conditions and colder than normal weather has meant a slow start to light trapping. Reasonable conditions on 6th March produced 13 Dotted Borders and 2 Acleris hyemana."

Brian Neath carried out his second moth trapping of the season on 6th March, attracting 52 moths of 6 species including 27 March Moths. Initially Brian thought this was a record count but on checking back found that he had 30 on the early date of 11th February 2004. Subsequently the highest count was 12 on 14th March 2006 until today's. The March Moth has a limited distribution in Wester Ross with only 6 records north of Lochalsh. In fact there are only 9 records in the Wester Ross database other than his own. There are four records from the Rothamsted station at Raasal in 1987 and 1988 and one from Beinn Eighe in 1994. However Max and Sue Pittman recorded one as far north as Ullapool in 2009 so the moth may be under recorded or possibly in the process of extending its range.

Thanks to Brian for providing the photo.

The other moths trapped were 12 Chestnut, 6 Dotted Border, 4 Mottled Grey, 2 Pale Brindled Beauty and a splendid Satellite.

Brian also had another March Moth and Dotted Border indoors. Surprisingly no Orthosia species as yet.

(Click on the links for more information about these species on the Moths of the Month pages, January and February and March.)

Mike Taylor found a fresh-looking Mottled Umber resting on one of the doors of the wooden toilet block at Wellhill car park, Culbin Forest, at midday.

The photo, by Roy Leverton, shows a male. The female is flightless. This is an unusually late sighting for this moth.