Malthinus seriepunctatus Kiesenwetter new to Inverness-shire, and records of other scarce Scottish Cantharidae (Coleoptera)

1 Pages·1999·0.76 MB·

by  Keith N A Alexander

NS537881 and in some rough pasture known as theWhin Park mm in length, with a wing span of nearly 50 mm - and an
NS434880 near the south-east corner ofLoch Lomond. Both audible humming flight (Colyer& Hammond, 1968).
ofthese well separated localities had been visitedby the writer Laterenquiry producedonlyafewpreviousrecords fromthe
on a number of previous occasions in the appropriate season surrounding district: Glen Mallon on Loch Longside and
without recording the species' presence. Bonhill in the Vale of Leven (Grimshaw, 1901); an entry for
It is worth adding that in the late 1970’s, Thomson (1980) Dumbarton in the Clyde Card Catalogue (per Geoffrey
noted that the Ringlet had re-occupied some of its former Hancock); Gartlea on the northern edge of Dumbarton Muir,
haunts intheGlasgowareaaspartofageneralexpansionofthe where the late Iain Christie’s field notebook mentions that he
butterfly's range in Scotland. saw several specimens in early July 1975 (perJane Christie).
In view ofthe paucity oflocalised records ofthe Giant Gad
Reference FlyfortheNorthClydeArea, itseemsworthyofnoticethatthe
insect, which is troublesome to both man and beast, was
Thomson, G. (1980). The Butterflies of Scotland. Croom reported from three widely scattered spots in 1998: Twenty
Helm, London. Acre Meadow, in the lower flood plain ofthe RiverEndrick, 1
July (Colin Home); Ardess, near Rowardennan, 13 July
MaUhinusseriepunctatusKiesenwetternewtoInverness-shire, (AlasdairEckersall)andthedisusedDumfinSandQuarry,Glen
and recordsofotherscarceScottishCantharidae(Coleoptera) Fruin, 29August (John Knowler& John Mitchell).
Keith N.A.Alexander
14 Partridge Way, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1BQ References
Malthinusseriepunctatushas abroadly southerndistribution Colyer, C.N. & Hammond, C.O. (1968). Fliesofthe British
in Britain, becoming much scarcer north of a line from the Isles (2nd ed.). FrederickWarne, London.
Mersey to the Wash. In Scotland, there are few published Grimshaw, P.H. (1901). ‘OrderDiptera’, Ps 258-266 in Scott-
records and occasional museum specimens, all from the Elliot. G.F. et al (editors). Fauna, Flora and Geology ofthe
southern halfof the country. However, beetles were swept in ClydeArea. BritishAssociation handbook.
smallnumbersinCoilleMhailairigh,Glenelg(NG812122),VC
97 (West Inverness), 17.vi.1997, extending its known range
northwards along the west coast considerably. Kingfisheron the River Kelvin in 1998
The main range of Cantharis pellucida penetrates further
north thanthat ofM.seriepunctatus, but thedistributionbegins Brian S. Skillen
to thin out significantly around the Clyde/Forth line. Further 46 Munro Road, Jordanhill, Glasgow G13 1SF.
north there are a scatterofrecords along the west coast plus a
concentration in the Spey Valley, but very few other records. A pair of kingfisher established on the River Kelvin in the
My June 1997 visit to the west coast found the beetle to be vicinityofKelvingrovelate in 1997 andwereactivethroughout
plentiful in two important reserves of ancient semi-natural 1998. The pairwere seen inearly springandnotablyon the 24
Caledonian oak woodland: Dalavich Oakwood (NM967135), March when they were flushed fromtheirriversidehide during
9.vi.l997, & Glen Nant (NN012297), lO.vi.1997, both VC 98 an attack by a sparrow hawk on grey wagtail working the
(Argyll Main). Kelvin and which caused general widespread panic amongst
There are remarkably few Scottish records for Rhagonycha local birds. DuringApril, May andJune there was much noisy
testacea - the main part of its British range appears to stop activity along the river, often about the weir below the Art
around the borders, from whence there is only a thin scatterof Galleries down to the outfall of the sewer from that property,
modern records concentrated along the west coast, with a few about 50 metres upstream ofthe weirnearOld Partick Bridge.
older records further east. The species was, however, found to On the 22 June the weir was the site of an interesting
be plentiful inthedampancientsemi-natural woodlandofGlen encounterbetween Swifts which were flying close down to the
Nant (NNO12297), 10.vi.1997, but was not found anywhere river surface and a kingfisher. The early morning sighting
else. began with watching the Swifts but soon a kingfishercame up
Thanks go to all recorders who have made their records the Kelvincarryingafish. Thekingfisherwasflyingalmoston
available to the Cantharoidea and Buprestoidea Recording the same level as the Swifts and swerved to avoid a near miss
Scheme. with one. The kingfisher climbed sharply in flight towards
Gilmorehill, flighing around andacross where I stoodandthen
Recent RecordsoftheGiantGadFlyintheNorthClydeArea back over the river to the east bank. It then flew along the
pathwaybelowtheArtGalleriessiteand nexttothe Kelvinand
John Mitchell disappeared, still with its fish, in the area ofthe outfall ofthe
22 MuirparkWay, Drymen, by Glasgow, G63 ODX sewer.
A reason for so much noisy activity and fish carrying was
On 3August 1996, asingleGiantGadFly Tabanussudeticus revealed by early June 1998 when at least one young bird was
Zeller was observed at close quaters in an open part of seen on the river. On the 2nd July a young kingfisher was
Auchentorlieforestryplantation inthewestern KilpatrickHills. calling for attention in bushes near the bridge carrying Kelvin
This was the firsttime I hadencounteredthe largestmemberof Way over the River Kelvin. The bird was seen both early
the Tabanidaefamilyofbitingflies inScotland, butitwasquite morning and mid-day during which time it was attended
unmistakable due to its exceptional size - the females up to 25 regularly by both parent birds carrying small-fry. The young
70