Year 2, Day 168 - Bee Beetle

Day one at the Highland Wildlife Park went well. There are only eleven students and they were split into 3 groups and were given an animal to study. Dale is chuffed because they are getting to study the wolves!

I walked the dog at Feshiebridge after dropping Dale off this morning, then came back to the cottage to do a bit of freelance work (not easy when you didn't bring a mouse with you...), then I took the dog out again to Inshriach woods - if I'm not fitter by the end of this week there is something wrong!!! Since we arrived last night I have walked for miles...

Quick walk at Feshiebridge again tonight and we found these Bee Beetles on some thistle type flowers next to the river. At first I thought they were some kind of rare bees but they didn't fly away when you got close - they just buried their heads in the flower. Dale suggested they looked like beetles so when we got home I googled them and they are Bee Beetles (Trichius fasciatus) and according to Google they are quite rare in this part of the world! I liked this view of his head - the only shot I got because as I said, he just buried it in the flower after that! Here is his body.

Dale was suddenly very excited about 10pm tonight when she looked out the bedroom window to see three badgers but she made such a racket shouting and banging that by the time I got there, all I could see was their behinds running away! Better luck tomorrow night...