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If you want to help with a new national survey on blowflies, all the information you need is here. Instructions on taking part. A photographic key to blowflies (5MB, .pdf file). Not everyone loves blowflies, but we would be in a sad state without them! All help will be gratefully received. |
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 Oedemera virescens © Francisco Welter-Schultes [CC0]. |
Oedemera) in our area. Of the four species likely to occur in Scotland, only O. virescens has been recorded in Highland (on Skye, in 2018), but there is some evidence that it is spreading north so may become more obvious with us over time. Bruce Philp has produced a splendid profile and key to help recognise the beetles. If you find any, let both Bruce and HBRG know the details. Back to the top. | ||
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| The season has come round again for taking part in the Buglife survey for Brachyptera putata, a Scottish speciality. Details are here. Some of our members looked for it in 2017-18 with considerable success. The technique involves looking for the insects on fenceposts by a river, and taking a picture for confirmation. Please remember to report any finds to HBRG as well as to Buglife. Back to the top. |
%20Gus%20Jones.jpg) Photo © Gus Jones. |
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Two fungi on Self-heal. One of our successes at the end of 2018 was the rewriting of the map  of the parasitic microfungus Rosenscheldia abundans on old stems of Self-heal Prunella vulgaris after it was first found by Sue Tarr. Now another species, Leptotrochila prunellae, is easily recognisable on the living leaves of the same host. Self-heal is very common, and even in winter is easy to spot by virtue of the distinctive dead flower-heads (see image on left) and winter-green leaf rosettes. Rosenscheldia appears as oval clusters of black spore-bodies on old stems. Infected stems look much blacker and rougher than 'clean' ones, with little hint of brown or green. Leptotrochila produces black spore-bodies on green leaves, each with radiating ridges which give the appearance of a tiny eroded volcano. The only recent Scottish records are by Stewart Taylor from around Strathspey, and from Strathpeffer (map  ). Most of the Scottish records are from before
1910, including that near Inverness which was in 1908Both species are probably seriously under-recorded so please check any Self-heal you encounter, and let us know if you find either fungus. If in doubt, take a sample and pass it to HBRG. Back to the top. |
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| Fungi on
Self-heal
Prunella vulgaris. Top - Rosenscheldia abundans. Bottom - Leptotrochila prunellae. Photo © Murdo Macdonald. |
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| This is a bit of a long-odds punt, but long odds are the ones that hit the big money! Sandy Coppins has the Bay Sucker bug Lauritrioza alacris (formerly Trioza) in her garden in E Lothian, just confirmed as the first records for Scotland. This is an alien, introduced around 100y ago to England, and like several other species we have featured here this year it has spread northwards. Although we are a fair way north of E Lothian, things like this can be overlooked, and as a horticultural pest can easily be transported long distances with human help. More information is on the British Bugs page. So - if you have a Bay plant in your garden please check the leaves for the obviously thickened rolled leaf edges. There will be evidence of the bugs inside the roll. And let us know if you have it. By coincidence, while checking some Bay in Forres for this gall (unsuccessfully) it was obvious that the leaves were heavily infested with the scale insect Coccus hesperidum. It seems that there are few formal records, so check the information here and let us know if you find it. A photograph or sample will be needed for confirmation. Back to the top. |
 Lauritrioza alacris galls on Bay Laurus nobilis. Photo © Sandy Coppins. |
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