Dragonfly emergence

Today I went to check on a site where I had previously discovered some interesting sundews - Drosera anglica and Drosera x obovata (the hybrid between D. anglica and the common D. rotundifolia) - see the Drosera pages on our website.

In the stream where most of them were growing, we saw a dragonfly which had just emerged. I noticed it because the wings were held together above the body rather than flat like an aeroplane as is normal.

In the picture below, the discarded nymph skin can be seen to the left of the adult dragonfly.

Dragonfly nymphs are aquatic, and this stage in the life cycle may take several years, while the adult lives for a few months at most.

This dragonfly is a male Common Hawker, though the colouring is very different from that of a mature adult. Thanks to Jeanne Robinson of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for the identification.

Labrador tea

Labrador Tea (Ledum) is widespread in Greenland where I have seen it (Ledum palustre) growing in great quantities, so I was intrigued when I heard that it also grows at a site in central Scotland.

Two years ago I was taken to visit this site, and I returned in May this year as part of a botanical project to monitor its spread. The species here is a different one - Ledum groenlandicum (or L. palustre ssp. groenlandicum) - which also grows in Greenland although I had not seen it there. The chief difference is that L. groenlandicum has broader leaves.

Also L. groenlandicum usually has 6-8 stamens while L. palustre has 10.

It is generally considered that it was introduced at this site, though this is difficult to verify and it has been present in the area for at least 150 years.

The plant is closely related to the Rhododendrons and is now frequently included in the genus Rhododendron rather than Ledum. The leaves are used to make tea in some parts of north America, though they contain toxins.

The site is rich in other interesting species, and one of the most abundant is Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos).

These tiny flowers grow on thread-like stems with narrow leaves, and often carpet the ground.

The berries form later in the year, and are disproportionately large compared to the size of the plant.

A rarer species found at the site is Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), and this year we found it in flower.

In addition, we saw large numbers of Green Hairstreak butterflies, though trying to take photos proved difficult.

Painted ladies

During the past few weeks there has been a huge influx of Painted ladies arriving in the UK. These butterflies migrate here from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco - a journey of around 1000 miles.

They were first seen in Britain in large numbers on 21st May, but the first time we saw any here in Scotland was 29th May. That evening we went for a walk along a country path near our home and saw at least half a dozen of these beautiful butterflies.

Since then we have seen fewer, and most have been flying past at such a speed that it was hard to be sure of the species, but this one conveniently perched on a bluebell flower.

Another was feeding on buttercup flowers close to the canal.

Usually we would expect to see only one or two of these butterflies all summer.

You are asked to submit any sightings to Butterfly Conservation at

http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/migrantwatch

where you can also find out more about them.