Surveys of a "lost world" near Loch Ness have revealed an array of tiny monsters never before recorded in the UK.

An environmental charity has discovered eight species on a Highland estate, while a midge found feeding on another insect is a European first.

Trees for Life is conducting biodiversity surveys on its 10,000-acre Dundreggan Estate in Glen Moriston near Loch Ness.

It has now recorded more than 2800 species, including at least 67 priorities for conservation, but there is particular excitement over some of the most recent additions – a sawfly, an aphid, two species of aphid parasitoids, three species of fungus gnats, and a species of mite.

Another key discovery, made by the organisation's executive director Alan Watson Featherstone, was the first record in Europe of a biting midge in the genus Atrichopogon feeding on a cranefly.

Mr Watson Featherstone said: "The surprisingly rich variety of life at Dundreggan highlights the vital importance of conservation work, and of protecting and enhancing habitats across the Highlands.

"The discoveries are not only demonstrating that the estate is a special site for biological diversity – they are also revealing there is still much to learn about Scotland's biodiversity."

He said surveys revealed a significant and diverse range of organisms including sawflies, aphids, fungus gnats, slime moulds and mites.