Canadian Fleabane new to Dalgety Bay, 31st August

 At least as far as I know. The Atlas does have a NT18 dot, so somebody has seen it somewhere around here. On this occasion there were a small handful of plants around the Sailing Club rough ground.

Agaricus xanthodermus, The Yellow Stainer, new to Dalgety Bay

Popped up in the garden in perfect condition, and showing the stunning yellow coloration that makes it an easy ID. Apart from the yellow, it looks a lot like your average supermarket mushroom. That's a shame because it's poisonous! If you're going to eat wild mushrooms you definitely need to be aware.

The root of the stipe (the yellow part here) smells very strongly of ink.

Endothenia nigricostana new to Dalgety Bay

 Stormy conditions last night let the moth trap surrounded by wet egg boxes, but inside was this 

Endothenia nigricostana

Times move on quickly sometimes in moth distribution but East of Scotland website has this in the micros distribution maps

It's definitely a good one, regardless

Three new additions in one day

 Yesterday at the new harbour (sailing club) area I noted White Campion and Long-headed Poppy. Neither are particularly scarce, but both had evaded recording in the Bay. The poppy had some interesting smaller plants in shallower areas, which surprisingly contained tiny versions of the flowers, That surprised me, though maybe it shouldn't have. Then last night Grey Pug put in an appearance in the moth trap - a long overdue record and also probably overlooked previously.

the smallest poppy in the world? 

Acleris cristana new to Dalgety Bay, 2nd VC85 record

 

24/02/2026

Two new lichens

 Braving the easterly wind, but without a telescope, I headed for Downing Point, really only to check that the bleach I had would work on Ochrolechia parella. It didn't. However, I was able to locate Arthopyrenia punctiformis on elder twigs and Lecanora fugiens on the coastal rocks. The former is a pioneer species of twigs, and was abundant on the Elder twigs. The latter glows an amazing flourescent orange under a UV torchlight.

Myriolecis (Lecanora) fugiens

Grassland fungi additions

A quick lunchtime "foray" onto the grass down by the coast turned up both Golden Spindles (Clavulinopsis fusiformis) and Parrot Waxcap (Gliophorus psittacinus), which are both unrecorded so far. Fungal investigations weren't even in my thoughts before I spotted an upturned Parrot Waxcap as I was wandering towards the water. 

Dalgety Bay cetaceans added

On the 29th and 30th August there were Bottlenose Dolphins off the sailing club and on the 30th a Minke was spotted later the same morning. Neither is listed already - surprisingly, at least for the dolphins

Additions to the Cullaloe LNR list

A double handful of additions from Angus in July Erysiphe pisi on Meadow Vetchling + Red Clover lower carpark platform
Pleuroceras pseudoplatani Sycamore along road to lower
Podosphaera clandestine Hawthorn along track just after house
Taphrina crataegi Hawthorn along road down to lower
Uromyces trifolii White Clover, widespread
Adia cinerella road to lower
Minettia fasciata under sycamore leaves track to lower
Phaonia palpata along track to lower
Rhagoletis alternata rose along track after house
Cynips quercusfolii Oak lower carpark
Neuroterus numismalis Oak lower carpark
Wesmaelius nervosus car park

Protapion fulvipes new to Dalgety Bay

A deliberate search after sweeping it from White Clover at Kinghorn Loch. This one swept from Downing Point at the first time of asking.

Scallop Shell new to Dalgety Bay from Braefoot

Came to Lepiled at about midnight 18/07

Lithobius melanops new to Cullaloe LNR

Taking the reserve list to 2385, this one dropped from the standing dead Horse Chestnut at the reserve entrance

Cullaloe list booster

This week I discovered a new record source in the form of Bubo Pan-species Listing site. A contributor there had several Cullaloe LNR records which had not been included. I haven't quite finished going through this process but so far we're at 2367 species (see that page for details).

Since I broke through the 2500 at Dalgety Bay last year it only makes sense to turn my attention to rounding out the 2.5k At Cullaloe. Beetles especially are under-represented, and since the Beetles of GB & I is finally complete it would be rude not to concentrate on them.

This is what ten years of accretion looks like:

As can be seen from the second graph almost everything has hit a plateau since I turned my attention elsewhere and got fed up of removing Ticks! Given the mild winter so far I expect that only to be worse in 2025.

Eudonia angustea (Narrow-winged Grey)

 

A relatively coastal species, and one I've been waiting for for a long time. Fairly mild overnight at about 13 degrees. Accompanied by Satellite, Black Rustic, Copper Underwing, Common Marbled Carpet and Light Brown Apple Moth

Mothy Magick

A remarkable evening on Saturday night in the fog produced lots of migrants at Charles Hill. Most notable were four Convolvulus Hawk-moths that came barreling into the Lepiled.

Additional supporting cast:

2 Rush Veneer

1 Dark Sword-grass

23 Silver Y

21 Angle Shades

7 Setaceous Hebrew Characters

2 Autumnal Rustic

1 Turnip Moth

Harlequin Ladybird in Dalgety Bay

A Harlequin Ladybird yesterday was the first for Dalgety Bay. Not the most welcome of additions, as there seems to be a correlation between the appearance of these and the reduction in other ladybirds. Time will tell.

Jersey Cudweed in Dalgety Bay, flowering plant #422

After finding Jersey Cudweed new to Fife at Stenhouse a couple of weeks back it now seems it's also a pavement weed in Dalgety Bay. iRecord shows that it seems pretty well established in Edinburgh, already way in advance of the Atlas distribution

Charles Hill (reprise) Athripsodes albifrons

Athripsodes albifrons - a Caddis fly - also new to Dalgety Bay and scarce records from Fife though it seems to be a more-or-less ubiquitous species. There were other Caddis present, but this is the only one I caught. Probably there are a good number of species that could be added to the Bay list.

Charles Hill

East of Braefoot point, below Monk's Cave, I staked out the moths from 22:00 for a couple of hours, adding 4 species to the Bay total. This is what I consider to be the eastern limit of Dalgety Bay. It skirts Aberdour golf course, but Monk's Cave is in the Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay administrative area and it ain't Inverkeithing. Anyway it has lots of lovely calcicole plants and a nice coastal grassland/heath feel about it. Enough Rock Rose to host NBA too.

Lepiled and Braefoot terminal

More than met expectations with more Annulet, which I expected, but also Lobesia littoralis and Agonopterix nervosa, which I hadn't.

As a bonus, on the way out I saw a badger galumph across the road and into the undergrowth.

Annulet

A.nervosa

Lobesia littoralis

Edit - I forgot about this Least Yellow Underwing! The DBY list now stands at 2507

Species 2500 for Dalgety Bay!

A last minute quick trip to Downing Point with the Lepiled produced an Annulet moth new to Dalgety Bay (and me) during a quick session from about 11 until midnight. This is a predominantly coastal species which is recorded from a handful of places on Fife's coast.

The broad make-up of the list:

And even broader: