I've just spent a couple of days in the Lammermuir Hills, just to the south of Edinburgh.
Beautiful weather, but somewhat breezy at 300m.
Having tried to encourage Scottish Hemipterists to look for the Juniper Shieldbug for some four years or more, I gave up trying, and went and looked myself. The very first Juniper bush I examined produced two specimens. The site is immediately north of Hopes Reservoir on a private estate.
These are the first specimens of this species ever found in Scotland and as such, represent a Scottish National Record.
Whilst this 'made my day' so to speak, it wasn't over yet, dozens of queen Bumblebees were seen, nearly all were Bombus monticola The Mountain or Bilberry Bumblebee. This is the most magnificent looking of all the British Bumblebees, and were nectaring on Bilberry blossom. To top it all off, two larvae of The Northern Brown Argus were found on Rockrose growing on outcrops of calcarious rock.
That's used up my whole years allocation of good luck I think, but it was worth it.
Harry