Annie Irene

All things outdoors! Walking, climbing, always searching for bumblebees and the next adventure! Views my own.

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@AshWhiffin Got an email response from police within 24h! They asked local estates who said that rabbits were suffering haemorrhagic disease, they checked the site & injuries consistent so do not suspect poisoning. Estates will remove bodies. Not sure if that explains beetle deaths or not.

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@AshWhiffin please can you help ID this? It seemed much smaller than N. vespilloides that I've seen before but it might have been dead and shrivelled! On a rabbit, NO264947

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@AshWhiffin What a shame, but interesting to know for future. I'll report it now to SAAS and the wildlife crime team too. There were plenty of people walking dogs and children by as its a very popular tourist spot (next to Balmoral carpark!) so better to be safe than sorry.

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@AshWhiffin I didn't notice the elytra of the other beetle until I was looking at the photos later on. Thanks for that!

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@AshWhiffin Thanks for the ID. I'll add to iRecord. I did wonder about a poisoning event. There were dozens of dead rabbits around but we didn't think that any poison would also affect the beetles?

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@AshWhiffin @SilphidaeUk I'll irecord.

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@AshWhiffin @RichardComont @SilphidaeUk Will do Ash, thanks!

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

Please can I get some help IDing this beetle? Might be wrong but had the look of a carrion beetle. It was small, probably <2cm, 15/04/2024, NO59.
I thought it looked similar to Thanotophilus dispar but obviously it can't be that!

@AshWhiffin @RichardComont

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@RichardComont @AshWhiffin Thank you! That was the other sp. I was looking at (it feels like I always say that but it's true!) With the colour & amount of pubescence, they seemed the best options. Guess I knew it wouldn't be the rarer sp. but a nice idea to go to sleep with. Will add to irecord :)

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@LoveWilko Yet again, not listening! Please send me an email address that I can direct my complaint to. You can DM me if necessary but it would be better if you were transparent enough to have a publicly available contact email! My issue would have been easy to solve but is snowballing!

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@StevenFalk1 @BritishSpiders Thanks Steven. I was half hoping it might be something more localised but still super interesting :) Lots to learn about my new home!

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

Spotted a gruesome but awesome sight in a privet hedge today. ID guides still packed & still learning the local flora & fauna of our new home in NE Scotland. Any help with species ID for this Eristalis & crab spider? Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. @StevenFalk1 @BritishSpiders

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@BritishSpiders @StevenFalk1 Oh interesting! Thanks for your reply. Yes, it was a rather impressive catch! I'd assumed crab spider as they often go for large prey and I didn't see an obvious web... they were just hanging on a thread so I thought it must have been an ambush!

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

They fell off the hedge in the struggle so I gently put them back. Would be a shame for the spider to lose its dinner after all that effort, and hoverfly was incapacitated anyway.

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@StevenFalk1 @CRStipula Lovely, thanks. I'll add to iRecord :) not many records up here in Aberdeenshire. Would be interesting to know what it's feeding on!

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@StevenFalk1 Great pics Steven. I spotted a robberfly & prey (I think) on the shingle of the River Dee at the weekend. I was thinking Neoitamus cyanurus... with some kind of crane fly but confused by what looks like long antennae on the prey? Any thoughts?

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@dfgillie Exciting!

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@bumble_being @Eucera @StevenFalk1 @PaulWilliamsNHM I've found a few of Murdo's papers online but not this one. As Steven suggested, try emailing. I was in touch with Murdo earlier this year about our Skills for Bees: Scotland work, via [email protected] uk. Alternatively, is this the issue you are after? https://t.co/eQuNwvReMM

[Busy Bee @wildaboutnature]

'Must-have' weedkiller for 'dreaded' dandelions? @LoveWilko can you swap those adjectives (from your website) round please? It's 2022, #gardens & #lawns are vital habitats for our remaining #pollinators. You can make a difference, how about marketing a flowering lawn mix? 😀😍🐝

[Annie Irene @GroolyIrene]

@dfgillie Haha thank you Darcey :) Yep, we had a lovely day!