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Post by davebutterflyman on Jun 9, 2018 8:08:34 GMT
Pleasure, Tim
Great find Brian. One for our insect challenge as well.
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Post by earthdragon64 on Jun 9, 2018 11:37:02 GMT
I saw these 3 small beetles on the 1st of June, near Loch Garten, climbing up a sedge leaf in a pond which has a lot of sphagnum moss and is a site for White-faced Darter, the pond is in a boggy pine wood. Two beetles were mating right at the top of the leaf, the other beetle walked up the leaf to the top, stayed for a few seconds, then walked back down. All 3 were quite small, 10-15mm long, and a couple of feet into the pond, so tricky to photograph.
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Post by earthdragon64 on Jun 9, 2018 11:44:30 GMT
Another small beetle on Nettle on the edge of mixed woodland by Aviemore.
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Post by Feedyourhedgehog on Jun 9, 2018 13:22:22 GMT
Audrey your soldier beetle looks like a Cantharis rustica, not sure about your other beetles.....such a tricky species to identify...looking at the colours, jewel beetles come to mind
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Post by davebutterflyman on Jun 9, 2018 14:56:39 GMT
Hi Audrey
The ones in your first three photos are a Donacia sp, and possibly Donacia simplex, but they would need much closer examination and possibly even dissection to be sure.
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Post by earthdragon64 on Jun 9, 2018 15:56:54 GMT
Audrey your soldier beetle looks like a Cantharis rustica, not sure about your other beetles.....such a tricky species to identify...looking at the colours, jewel beetles come to mind Thanks, I've had a look at that and it looks good, it hasn't been recorded from round here though, but a lot of things are under-recorded locally.
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Post by earthdragon64 on Jun 9, 2018 16:01:47 GMT
Hi Audrey The ones in your first three photos are a Donacia sp, and possibly Donacia simplex, but they would need much closer examination and possibly even dissection to be sure. Thanks Dave, I'll record it as Donacia sp, I had a look at the NBN Atlas and D. simplex hasn't been recorded anywhere near me, again though, it could be under-recorded.
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Post by geoff on Jun 9, 2018 18:38:08 GMT
Audrey. I would say your beetle is Cantharis nigricans but the division between that and rustica can be complex.
The key starts this division with the length of elytra hair but a double check is front tibia colour, which isn't visible on your image. However that dark patch on the pronotum is rather large which is more like nigricans.
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Post by earthdragon64 on Jun 10, 2018 6:37:30 GMT
Audrey. I would say your beetle is Cantharis nigricans but the division between that and rustica can be complex. The key starts this division with the length of elytra hair but a double check is front tibia colour, which isn't visible on your image. However that dark patch on the pronotum is rather large which is more like nigricans. Thanks Geoff, I had a look at the NBN Atlas and C. nigricans has quite a few local records. I've added a photo below that shows a slightly different angle to the first photo, don't know if it helps any though.
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Post by davebutterflyman on Jun 10, 2018 9:10:19 GMT
There are a couple of Donacina sp Audrey so i think it is wise to record it as a Donacina agg.
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Post by earthdragon64 on Jun 10, 2018 10:50:57 GMT
Thanks Dave, will do. I'm pretty sure I saw the same species in the same place last year, but they always seemed to be on stems in the middle of the pond so tricky to photograph. I'm sure I'll be back at the pond again, its my local White-faced Darter site, so I'll try for better photos if I see them again.
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Post by brianf on Jun 10, 2018 13:18:50 GMT
Thanks Geoff. Within the last couple of years, Suffolk has gained a County Recorder for Diptera, and I've sent in the occasional record, so I'll forward this one to him.
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Post by alan on Jun 10, 2018 17:21:51 GMT
This was in the moth trap last night I did know what they are called but have forgotten it soz
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Post by geoff on Jun 10, 2018 18:44:32 GMT
That angle still doesn't show the front tibia, Audrey, but the hind femora seem to be about half black which would be more in keeping with nigricans than rustica where only the tip of the femora are darkened.
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Post by AnnB on Jun 10, 2018 19:00:12 GMT
Might this be a Norfolk Hawker please?
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Post by Feedyourhedgehog on Jun 10, 2018 19:03:45 GMT
It certainly looks like one Ann
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Post by AnnB on Jun 10, 2018 19:16:29 GMT
Fantastic, thank you Paula. A first for me.
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Post by earthdragon64 on Jun 10, 2018 20:20:44 GMT
That angle still doesn't show the front tibia, Audrey, but the hind femora seem to be about half black which would be more in keeping with nigricans than rustica where only the tip of the femora are darkened. Thanks Geoff, that's great.
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jen
Posts: 22,764
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Post by jen on Jun 10, 2018 22:45:07 GMT
Thanks Paula ........... Geoff , if they're not easy to ID i'll reject them as possible Challenge beetles
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Post by Feedyourhedgehog on Jun 11, 2018 6:58:23 GMT
This was in the moth trap last night I did know what they are called but have forgotten it soz
Aphodius sp
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