Insect found in Scotland for first time on RSPB reserve
A new bug has been officially recorded in Scotland for the first time.
A new bug has been officially recorded in Scotland for the first time.
The black and red female Psallus montanus was discovered by Bob Fleetwood, a volunteer for RSPB Scotland, at the charity's Insh Marshes nature reserve near Kingussie in the Highlands.
Mr Fleetwood, who has volunteered at the reserve for four years, spotted the insect while collecting and recording beetles and bugs from a birch tree.
He said: "Of all the bugs I came across that day, this one looked quite distinctive.
"As I'm still learning, I wasn't 100% certain what it was, so I contacted the national recorder for terrestrial bugs, Jim Flanagan, who positively identified it as a female Psallus montanus.
"When I got the confirmation back that this was the first official record of this bug in Scotland, of course I was over the moon. Every day is different when you're volunteering and this just goes to show that you don't have to be an expert to play a part in an exciting discovery like this."
Pete Moore, reserve warden at Insh Marshes, said: "Volunteers are vital to the work of RSPB Scotland and we wouldn't be able to achieve the amount we do for conservation without all of their hard work.
"We're delighted for Bob in making this exciting discovery and it's a brilliant record to add to the growing list of species we have here at Insh Marshes too."
Psallus montanus has only been recognised as a British species fairly recently and is similar to Psallus betuleti, which also occurs on birch.