Eagle-eyed expert spots 1mm bug hiding in the Cairngorms

Published on Monday 7 September 2009 20:07

IT WAS just a tiny speck amid the miles of mountain expanse, but it was enough to catch the trained eye of Tim Ransom.

A tiny inspect, measuring one millimetre long, was spotted in an area of gravel and weathered heather in the Cairngorms and has now been confirmed as the first recorded member of its species found in the UK.

The springtail Bourletiella viridescens was reported as having been found in two sites in northern England, but no proof exists to back up those claims.

Now however, Mr Ransom, an expert in photographing insects, has had his discovery verified by experts after posting the evidence online.

He found the springtail at an altitude of 880 metres on Creagan Dubh in the Cairngorms on 12 August.

He said on the Flickr online photo-sharing site: "I am obviously very pleased to have found the first confirmed find of this species in the UK.

"(It is] definitely one of my best finds ever. It made tramping up the hills in the wind and rain very much worth it.

"It is a nice feeling knowing I have helped in a small way to confirm this species in the UK."

Invertebrates conservation charity Buglife Scotland said the insect's identification was confirmed by Frans Janssens, who runs a website on the world's springtails – also known by entomologists as collembola – and Peter Shaw of London's Roehampton University, who runs the UK Collembola Recording Scheme.

Craig Macadam, of Buglife, said: "It is quite an amazing find – who knows what else is up there? There were dubious recordings before from England of this species, but now there is a photograph of the find in the Cairngorms so it is a confirmed British species.

"He's done well because it's so small. But once you start looking for these things, you know where to look for their microhabitats. Once you get your eye in, it becomes easier."

Springtails jump into the air in an uncontrolled manner when disturbed, to try to escape predators.

Buglife said some recent studies of collembola suggested that they may be more closely related to crabs and shrimps than insects.

A smaller number of species live on the surface of fresh water and others on seashores.

In Britain, there are about 300 species and worldwide about 2,000.

Bourletiella viridescens is the second record invertebrate find to be made in the Highlands this summer. A dragonfly found laying eggs in a mountain pond set a UK record for the species.

Highland Council's biodiversity officer Jonathan Willet photographed the female common hawker at 830 metres (2,722 feet) above sea level near the summit of the 3,648ft Tom a'Choinich, north of Loch Affric – the greatest height it has been found in the UK.

The previous highest recorded breeding was 650m.

Mr Willet said the species – one of 18 dragonfly and damselfly found in the Highlands – favoured warm temperatures.

Common hawkers – the second-biggest dragonfly found in the Highlands – are found across the region.

DESCENDANTS OF TRANSPORTED BEES RETURNING TO UK

A BUMBLEBEE which died out in the UK but survived in New Zealand, having been shipped there more than 100 years ago, looks set to return after experts discovered how to breed the "fussy eater" successfully in captivity.

Small populations of the short-haired bumblebee were established on the South Island after being transported there in the late 19th century to pollinate crops of red clover.

It became extinct in this country in 2000, and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT), the RSPB, bee charity Hymettus and Natural England have launched a scheme to bring the it home.

But they need to be bred in captivity for a generation to ensure they avoid "jet lag" by being in hibernation when they are transported, to prevent them carrying disease and to increase the number available to bring back.

"We couldn't do it without one generation in captivity," said Dr Ben Darvill, director of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

The move is possible after experts discovered that the secret to successful captive breeding of the insect lies in knowing what it likes to eat. Nikki Gammans, project officer for the reintroduction scheme, said: "The short-haired bumblebee is a very fussy eater. It needs fresh pollen every day – high-quality pollen that has been collected by other bumblebees."

The project officer and her team will use captive colonies of bumblebees to collect pollen, which will be fed to the short-haired bumblebees.

Dr Gammans will travel to New Zealand in November and will spend four to eight weeks trying to capture as many queens as possible as they emerge from hibernation.

The queens will then be bred in captivity and the next generation, which is due to emerge in January and February, will be kept in hibernation and flown back to the UK to be released.