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Saturday, August 25, 2012

Weak migration and another longhorn

 Number 1 found my first Stictoleptura rubra for me this afternoon on a walk around the Killeröd-Önnarp loop with the team. This is the female and we watched it egg-laying on a conifer log.

Got out a bit late this morning to look for migrants around Gröthögarna. Nothing much doing just a few tree pipits, three red-backed shrikes and a scattering of warblers and chats. Nearby Torekov rev produced a few waders, notably three sanderlings, but no big surprises.

In an overcast afternoon we all headed out to walk the Killeröd-Önnarp loop. Birds were few and far between but included a black woodpecker heard and a spotted flycatcher sallying out into a clearing. Invertebrates were good but a bit of sun would have helped matters. Even so number 1 found me a brace of Stictoleptura rubra - a new longhorn beetle for me. Later I had fun trying to photograph Aeshna juncea in flight but was defeated by the low light levels.

Number 1 managed the double, finding me a male Stictoleptura rubra later on! Longhorns can exhibit surprising sexual dimorphism.

Aeshna juncea captured in flight in poor light, you can just make out the yellow spots behind the eyes, a diagnostic feature when trying to rule out subarctica.

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