Two nice surprises

 I have been attempting to convert a lawn into a wildflower meadow over the last two years.  I am taking a "slowly, slowly" approach and just seeing what comes up, though I have sown Yellow Rattle and Devil's Bit Scabious which are becoming established.  Of their own accord, Meadow Buttercups, Heath Bedstraw, Germander Speedwell, Fox and Cubs and  Cat's-ear have appeared as well as a multitude of grass species.  But the best appearance so far was a single orchid:

Northern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella)

I have no idea how it got here.  The lawn had been regularly mowed for many years by the previous owner so had this plant kept trying to grow and been mown down each time? The same species of orchid  grows on the golf course but that is a fair distance away for seed to have travelled. (I  walked around the Golf Course 10 days ago and there were plenty of orchids either blooming or in bud, so now would be a good time to walk round.)

I have been stuck at home since catching Covid after a trip to London. However, before I tested positive, I went for a walk up Glen Banchor and saw an insect I had never seen before. It was on an old fallen tree. Can you spot it?

Spot the insect...

Here's a closer look.

This is a view from the back end - the head is at the top.  I can't help thinking that the two shiny black blobs at the rear end are meant to fool any predators that this is really the head end of a bigger insect.

To get an idea of size, here is a video with my finger for scale.

It is quite hairy so looks a bit like a cross between a bee and a beetle.  In fact, it is a Bee Beetle (Trichius fasciatus) and its larvae develop in old rotten birch logs so it may have either been wanting to lay eggs or had just "hatched."  Or maybe it was just visiting! They are uncommon but are usually found on flowers (which they eat). According to my book, they also make a buzzing sound when they fly.  So keep your ears and eyes open and let me know if you see one.

Up Glen Banchor

A walk up Glen Banchor will show you an interesting collection of flowers at the moment.  As you go over the first cattle grid, before the car parking lay-by, there is a clump of Mountain Everlasting (Antennaria dioica).  It has white flowers in this photo, but it also has a form with pink flowers.

Mountain Everlasting with some Bell Heather in the foreground and Alpine Bistort behind.

Pink Mountain Everlasting

White Mountain Everlasting

The dioica part of the name means that it  has separate male and female plants. It is unusual to find it up the Glen, and the main population is down by the Spey in the shingly areas. It likes dry areas with good drainage.

Further up the Glen, by the turnoff to the Calder footpath, stop and look at the wet area by the stream.  Wet areas are always worth a second look as interesting flowers grow there.  At the moment there are two kinds of orchids in this patch.  Heath Spotted-orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata) and Heath Fragrant-orchids (Gymnadenia borealis). 

Heath Spotted-orchids (pale pink) and Heath Fragrant-orchids (darker pink)

Heath Spotted-orchid in front and Heath Fragrant-orchid behind

There are also some plants that will only grow in wet areas, and they are all flowering at the moment.  

Butterwort showing the basal rosette of leaves

Butterwort seed

Butterwort flower

A tiny Sundew about to flower - you can see a Butterwort behind, and some Sphagnum moss

Sundew flower

Both these plants, Butterwort( (Pinguicula vulgaris) and Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) catch insects on their leaves and then digest them to supplement their diet.

The Sundew is very small and you have to get down onto the ground to see it. Because they are flowering just now, it makes them easier to find.

Sundew

Sundew leaves

The Butterwort is much easier to spot as the pale green of the leaves stands out.

Butterwort plants