Beetles, birds and a bug

 A few new beetles. A few new birds. Surprising result in a tussock yesterday was Fife's 2nd Blue Shieldbug.

Count	Family	Species	Location
1	Carabidae	Agonum fuliginosum	Cullaloe LNR
2	Carabidae	Agonum thoreyi	Cullaloe LNR
3	Carabidae	Amara plebeja	Cullaloe LNR
4	Carabidae	Bembidion guttula	Dalgety Bay
5	Carabidae	Bembidion mannerheimii	Cullaloe Hills
6	Carabidae	Cychrus caraboides	Loch Fitty
7	Carabidae	Paradromius linearis	Moss Morran
8	Carabidae	Pterostichus nigrita	Cullaloe LNR
9	Carabidae	Pterostichus strenuus	Dalgety Bay
10	Carabidae	Trichocellus placidus	Dalgety Bay
11	Chrysomelidae	Crepidodera fulvicornis	Cullaloe LNR
12	Chrysomelidae	Oulema melanopus s.l.	Moss Morran
13	Chrysomelidae	Phaedon tumidulus	Loch Fitty
14	Erotylidae	Triplax aenea	Cullaloe LNR
15	Silphidae	Silpha atrata	Dalgety Bay
16	Staphylinidae	Anotylus rugosus	Dalgety Bay
17	Staphylinidae	Lathrobium brunnipes	Cullaloe LNR
18	Staphylinidae	Philonthus decorus	Moss Morran
19	Staphylinidae	Quedius fuliginosus	Cullaloe LNR
20	Staphylinidae	Stenus juno	Cullaloe LNR
21	Staphylinidae	Tachyporus dispar	Cullaloe LNR
22	Staphylinidae	Tachyporus hypnorum	Cullaloe LNR
---	---	---	---
24	Carabidae	Bembidion saxatile	Dalgety Bay
25	Chrysomelidae	Phyllotreta nigripes	Cullaloe LNR
26	Coccinelidae	Coccidula rufa	Cullaloe LNR
27	Dryopidae	Dryops ernesti	Cullaloe LNR
28	Staphylinidae	Sepedophilus nigripennis	Cullaloe LNR
29	Staphylinidae	Sitona lineatus	Cullaloe LNR
30	Staphylinidae	Stenus bifoveolatus	Cullaloe LNR
31	Staphylinidae	Stenus clavicornis	Moss Morran
32	Staphylinidae	Stenus picipes	Cullaloe Hills
33	Staphylinidae	Tachinus rufipes	Dalgety Bay
34	Staphylinidae	Xantholinus longiventris	Moss Morran
35	Apionidae	Exapion ulicis	Cullaloe LNR

(below the line beetles not found in Jan '21)

Bird latest totals: 13th January

Dalgety Bay birds 2023: 61 spp. (GSW)

Inverkeithing birds 2023: 41 spp.

Conomelus anceps, with or without wings, now also available in Fife

From the same damp meadow as yesterday's Blue Shieldbug. today's new Fife species is from the admirably alien-looking Delphacidae.

Blue Shieldbug, Zicrona caerulea , first for Fife.

A bug I wanted to see for a long time, I didn't expect to sweep one during a lunchtime walk. But that's how it often happens. Happy days!

Conifer-loving bug Tetraphleps bicuspis at Cullaloe LNR

Beaten from Scots Pine, this Tetrapleps bicuspis looks to be a new addition to the county fauna, though it's probably massively under-recorded. Looking at the Highland Biological Recording Group area "dots" on NBN is usually a good indicator. 

It overwinters on conifers as an adult so maybe it's missed. Or maybe not that many people are beating conifers in spring. I suspect more dots could be put on the map with a bit more conifer bashing.

What on earth ...

Me and the man child have been bingeing Star Wars (and spin offs) over the Xmas break. This would have fit right along. What a crazy looking thing, especially for a land animal. I took it for a seed at first, but that's what they want you to think ...

I can't see past it being Eupelix cuspidata right now, but if that changes I'll post an edit

https://www.britishbugs.org.uk/homoptera/Cicadellidae/Eupelix_cuspidata.html

This was picked up today in a serious win for bone-headed stubborn invert searching in the snow at Cullaloe LNR.

Tansy bug Megalocoleus tanaceti at St.Monans

On a reasonably large patch of Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) at St.Monans, the specialist Tansy bug Megalocoleus tanaceti. You can see the relationship between bug and plant in their scientific binomials. Sadly I didn't have a net to sweep for Tansy specialist micromoths.

The plant:

The bug:

Acalypta parvula from Cullaloe Hills

Spotted under the microscope on a specimen of Bulbous Rush, this very small bug is a moss lover which overwinters as an adult