I have just spent an excellent week outside my patch on Colonsay with David, Kevin, Pete and Simon. Colonsay is about 2/3rds the size of Raasay and the highest point 1/3rd that of Raasay, but the other major difference is the presence of sand, lots of sand. So its has several plants at I hardly ever see such as Anchusa arvensis (Bugloss) and Anagallis arvensis (Scarlet Pimpernel) and several that have never been recorded from VC104 such as Radiola linoides (Allseed). It also represents the northern limit (more or less) for the fen plants Epipactis palustris (Marsh Helleborine) and Juncus subnodulosus (Blunt-flowered Rush).
Interestingly, there was a great deal of Utricularia stygia (Nordic Bladderwort) in flower. Whilst this appears to be the only representative of the U. intermedia aggregate in my patch, I have only once seen it in flower on Skye.
Utricularia stygia (Nordic Bladderwort)
There were good insects too:
Plants of Skye, Raasay & The Small Isles 
June 30, 2018 at 9:10 pm |
[…] I was pleased to find the Bumblebee Fly (Tachina grossa) again just a week after seeing it on Colonsay. […]