August on the Isle of Skye
| 1 August 2014 . . . . After yesterday's successful outing to Kilmarie I decided to have another session looking for insects - this time on the Kylerhea road. | |
Eristalis pertinax |
Episyrphus balteatus (Marmalade Hoverfly) |
Dolichovespula norwegica (or possibly Vespula rufa) |
Leucozona glaucia |
| 2 August 2014 . . . . Not as many insects about today, but I did find a dragonfly and also got around to photographing the much overlooked (by me anyway!) Lesser Clubmoss: | |
Black Darter (female) |
Selaginella selaginoides (Lesser Clubmoss) |
| 3 August 2014 . . . . A short visit to Camas na Sgianidin. | |
Melangyna |
Sericomyia silentis |
Ichneumonidae |
Ichneumonidae |
| 5 August 2014 . . . . It would be easy to make the assumption that the one on the left is a bee as well! | |
Eristalis intricarius |
Apis mellifera (Honey Bee) |
| 6 August 2014 . . . . Had a wander around the outskirts of Broadford this afternoon and saw several Red Admirals and my first Thick-headed Fly (Conopidae). | |
Red Admiral |
Conops quadrifasciatus (Thick-headed Fly) |
| 9 August 2014 . . . . Spent a very enjoyable few hours exploring the W side of Loch Slapin. There are a few fungi starting to appear. I've already seen one or two Waxcaps and Mottlegills and today spotted Birch and Larch Boletes and a Webcap (probably Cortinarius collinitus). There were also several newly emerged Peacocks and, near where I stopped for lunch, three Knot Grass caterpillars. | |
Peacock |
Knot Grass |
| 12 August 2014 . . . . Rather wet outside so I took the opportunity to have a close look at a fungus I found when out with the dog. | |
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It's a toadstool with pores rather than gills which puts it into the Boletaceae family. The brown/black spotting on the stem suggests the genus Leccinum. Then following Geoffrey Kibby's excellent key leads fairly easily to Leccinum scabrum, which would have been my guess since it was growing near birch trees. |
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| 12 August 2014 . . . . Weather rather better this afternoon so ventured out to Kinloch in search of another specimen. | |
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| The fact that the gills turn reddish where damaged identifies it as Amanita rubescens (Blusher). | |
| 13 August 2014 . . . . Today's specimen comes from the airfield, where I also saw Waxcaps and Boletes. Brittlegills are difficult, but this seems to be Russula puellaris (Yellowing Brittlegill). | ||
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| 14 August 2014 . . . . Hunting for fungi in the Suardal Birch/Hazel woods. Not much around yet, but was very pleased to find this splendid specimen. The caterpillar was crossing the road as I returned to the car. | ||
Amanita vaginata (Grisette) |
Scotch Argus (female) |
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Ruby Tiger |
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| 15 August 2014 . . . . An enjoyable outing to Waterstein Head with the U3A Nature Group. | |
| As soon as we got out of the car we saw a pair of Golden Eagles and then when I pointed the telescope at Loch Mor I was able to pick out three Red-throated Divers. We found Thyme Broomrape near the trig. point and watched the sea from there for an hour or so, eventually being rewarded with several brief sightings of what was almost certainly a Minke whale, but it was at least two miles away, on the other side of the Neist peninsula. | 
Orobanche alba (Thyme Broomrape) |
photo courtesy of Tony Hisgett via Wikimedia Commons |
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| 16 August 2014 . . . . Another Brittlegill from the Cill Chriosd woods. I now have Geoffrey Kibby's book on Russulas, and this one keys out to R. robertii. The key identifying features were lack of taste, pale ochre spore print, no colour change on cutting and the fact that the cuticle peeled completely. | ||
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| 17 August 2014 . . . . Cold, wet and windy today, so looked to see what I could find within a short walk of the house. | ||
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| Agaricus | ||
 A young Common Puffball |
 Unidentified |
 Hymenophyllum wilsonii |
| 18 August 2014 . . . . Exploring an area of Beech woodland in Broadford I found a Milkcap (probably L. vellerus), and these two: | |
Marasmius rotula (Collared Parachute) |
Mycena galopus (Milking Bonnet) |
| 19 August 2014 . . . . On the Moll road, exploring the Bog Myrtle. | |
Obviously the work of a caterpillar. |
Could he be still at home? |
Yes . . . probably Apamea monoglypha (Dark Arches), though that is not known to feed on Bog Myrtle. |
Russula emetica (Sickener) . . . from our local conifer plantation. |
| 20 August 2014 . . . . This is common throughout Britain in wet areas under Birch. (The colour is not quite right - it should be lemon-yellow.) |
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Russula claroflava (Yellow Swamp Brittlegill) |
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| 21 August 2014 . . . . After a visit to the dentist I stopped off to explore the conifer plantation at Kyleakin.
There were lots of Larch Boletes of all sizes right by the path and lots of other things not far from it. I walked a stretch of the main road on the way back to the car and found a nice Waxcap. |
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Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (False Chanterelle) |
Marasmius androsaceous (Horsehair Parachute) |
Mycena (Bonnet) |
Hygrocybe (Waxcap) |
| 22 August 2014 . . . . Leitir Fura | ||
Leucozona glaucia |
Parage aegeria (Speckled Wood) |
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Boletus edulis (Cep) |
Aeshna juncea (Common Hawker) - photo by Tony Hisgett |
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| 24 August 2014 . . . . Kylerhea road | ||
Black Darter |
Satyr Pug |
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Fox Moth |
Ruby Tiger |
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| 26 August 2014 . . . . Kilmarie to Drinan | ||
Hygrocybe conica (Blackening Waxcap) |
Hygrocybe conica (Blackening Waxcap) |
Hygrocybe conica (Blackening Waxcap) |
Parnassia palustris (Grass of Parnassus) |
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| 27 August 2014 . . . . Dalavil | ||
Red Deer |
Common Toad |
Boletus calopus (Bitter Beech Bolete) |
Scleroderma citrinum (Common Earthball) |
Lycoperdon pyriforme (Stump Puffball) |
Oudemansiella mucida (Porcelain Fungus) |
| 30 August 2014 . . . . The recent wet weather has brought a new crop of fungi. | ||
Coprinus comatus (Shaggy Inkcap) |
Lactarius torminosus (Woolly Milkcap) |
Russula sardonia (Primrose Brittlegill) |