the trouble with weevils

 

07-07-24

Title reference is of course Star Trek and a memorable episode The Trouble with Tribbles. One I have fond memories of, but I suspect if watched now it might look like wilting comedy not helped by second rate furry alien effects. Maybe I'll look it up. (All episodes available on Netflix, including The Trouble with Tribbles. Watched it tonight. It is a memorable episode but not one of the better ones.)

Mary and I became familiar with these weevils a year or 2 back, finding them on a specific bush near Archerfields. Going past recently, there they are again. Shiny turquoise small weevils. Unfortunately they have good eyes and are aware when humans loom over them with a camera. They tend to scoot underneath a leaf or run away or drop off into the undergrowth. They are very distinctive looking (although appear slightly differently in overcast or sunny weather as they are almost reflective,) and when googled it was obvious they were silver-green leaf weevils: Phyllobius argentatus.

Imagine my dismay when I happened to google lens this specimen (found 20 yards from my front door) (just to check the spelling) and google then says it is Polydrusus formosus. No common name other than green weevil. But... but you said it was Phyllobius argentatus! What is going on? I get out the big insect book to settle it. (BTW I call it the big insect book because it has 600+ pp with 3 to 6 photos per page and not because of the size of the subjects.) (Britain's Insects by Paul Brock.)

It has neither. 1,653 species and no mention of either of these green weevils. The nearest is the Green Nettle Weevil, Phyllobius pomaceus which is also another contender and entirely similar looking but has slightly odd spurs on its front legs that I can't see on any of my photos. 

Things deteriorated considerably. When trying to get to the bottom of this I come upon a PDF (the nerds love a PDF, don't they just?!) Click here for a heap of misery. While being VERY detailed and very "helpful" it is almost impossible to read this document without getting absolutely lost from word go. There are about 30 species of green weevil under the 2 genus Polydrusus and Phyllobius. Most of them could be mistaken for each other and I am heartily disgusted that a small creature I felt I was getting to know has slipped like sand through my fingers. I think from now on I will just call them bastard green weevils. Or stop naming the photos. It really is a very unrewarding past-time trying to get to know the names of these small things.

Phyllobius has thicker antennae than Polydrusus
(my photo ^ taken in Holyrood; best guess Phyllobius Sp?)

Anyway I found the most recent weevil right outside my front door sitting on a pavement bollard. It saw me coming and scampered off, or would have if I didn't put my finger in the way to block its route so it would stop for a photo. It climbed aboard which didn't really help but I had the macro lens on so I just tried to photo it as it galloped across my hand. They are great for being bright and obvious, (especially in sunshine) with shiny scales/hairs, but so often elude the perfect photo because they won't hold still. The range of body length seems to go from about 3 to about 10mm although most I have seen are about 6 or 7mm. It is curious how they went from something I saw once on a particular shrub to something I now keep bumping into. Shieldbugs have a similar history. I went about 45 years without seeing any, then they have regularly turned up ever since, often in unexpected places over the last 15 years. It could be global warming, just seeing them more or taking more of an interest in anything creepy crawly I see, or both.

house martin

Meanwhile in Holyrood next to the Palace, the Hirundinidae were still flying at 90mph, swooping over the playing fields. Mary was with me and I didn't want to test her patience so we only had a wee session with the swallows and martins, then headed over to Haggis Knowe for a scuffle through the long grass looking for blues. 

swallow

Mary found a grayling while I was lying like a corpse in the long grass trying to woo a hopper nymph. They are not easy friends to make and I took many more photos than I care to admit to get these. I was going to say I didn't see the grayling, but it seems I did. I was right when I remembered I didn't get any great photos and had to risk life and limb doing basic climbing moves from my distant past just to get a little closer to the unhelpful grayling which was up quite high on a 6a+ move sniffing the flowers. I also photo-ed a rather washed out female blue. I wondered if it was the remains of the one I snapped 2 week previously. It might be but I'm really not sure - quite a bit of deterioration in 15 days. That's our lovely summer weather for you. (Looking again closely I think the lunules don't match.)

grayling

7th July

22nd June, same place - same butterfly? or not?

From Haggis Knowe we went to the quarry on the Hunter's Bog side of Salisbury Crags. Last trip there was diabolical with no lepidoptera whatsoever. Undaunted it would at least be far from the madding (Sunday) crowd and a peaceful quiet corner of the park to enjoy a solitary moment of peace.

Haha! There were 3 dudes practicing their full sized, full volume bagpipes, 15 yards from the spot I had earmarked. They were not beginners so at times it was quite rousing as they played the same melody in thirds. At other moments it was a bit of a racket. However the neuk of the quarry at least limited the damage to the immediate environment and it was impressive how if you travelled in any direction away from the epi-centre of noise the volume dropped off almost immediately. I did not say hello or exchange pleasantries and have no idea if they realised what Mary and I were up to. The good news was there were far more butterflies than last visit. It made me feel we weren't on the verge of a wildlife apocalypse as this year has sometimes felt. The lack of normal butterfly and moth numbers has been very alarming and dispiriting.

small skipper

The place was nearly as busy as I remembered it, with a few skippers and some common blues. There were ringlets and a few small moths but unless they pose right under my nose they rarely repay the chase. I saw a male blue disappear and was going to chase it when I saw this lovely fresh skipper right up on a thistle and asking to be in the blog! Meanwhile Mary had gone in the direction of the blue and found a pair of mating blues. They were maybe being put off by the bagpipes which were all the way up to eleven at times and not the most romantic background vibe. 

It was also good to see cinnabar caterpillars. Normally you just take them for granted as part of the scenery about now. But seeing a couple, I started to check the ragwort and there are very few about compared to usual. So I'm guessing the eggs or very young larvae got drowned in the monsoon rains of Spring. A desperate shame but hopefully there will be enough make it to keep the species around.

okay lads keep the noise down! 😎

on the way up the back of the crags I saw the only
chimney sweeper moth of the year so far

We went up to the top of the Crags as there is occasionally an admiral or painted lady playing king of the castle. Not today. Also quite a few people about and not a place to hang about when breezy.

view towards the bridges and Ochils beyond 

saw something interesting looking on the ragwort
but it was just a couple of bonking beetles (Cantharid, also soldier beetles)

There were a few skippers on the way back down the front of the crags but nothing more. I don't know if we even checked out the usual spots for NBAs but the weather was deteriorating and it was time for a late lunch. Time to beetle home.

Pterostichus melanarius (says google lens, confidently)