Mull and Iona

A short period on Iona and the Ross of Mull to look for red-shanked carder bee Bombus ruderarius, found on Iona in 2005 by BBCT Director Ben Darvill.  In Scotland, it is currently only known from the nearby islands of Coll and Tiree.  No luck with spring queens, though a 'black, red-tailed' bumblebee at the far north end proved, after careful stalking, to be a red-tailed bumblebee Bombus lapidarius.  New for Iona perhaps, but not the main target! In summer, there is a better chance to find workers and males, if one or more queens establish nests.  There were at least two queens of the moss carder bee Bombus muscorum, which was great. There were a few corncrakes calling, and if there are flower-rich grasslands managed for these, then this will also support the bees.  I also met up with the National Trust for Scotland volunteers, but the weather turned breezy and showery.  However, we did find a caterpillar of the belted beauty moth, and in a brief period of sunshine a narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth sped by.

 

The next day, I visited a very productive area of the Ross of Mull, where there were a couple more moss carder bee queens, a first dark green fritillary of the year, more belted beauty caterpillars, a couple of solitary bee species, an approachable golden-ringed dragonfly and another narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth, which was nectaring at bird's-foot trefoil a few inches from my boot.  Then, off to the north and Sutherland.

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