MARKING insects with paint is no easy task but it has been key to a painstaking research project to establish the conditions needed for a rare Highland insect to thrive.
The aspen hoverfly, named for its preference for decaying aspen wood, has been the subject of a 14-year study to determine the cause of its decline and create conditions needed to restore the species.
Populations of this distinctive orange and bronze insect are now only found in eight scattered locations across the Highlands. Forestry operations and clearing of woodland for farmland are considered to be the main reasons for its decline.
The fragmented landscape that results has made it increasingly difficult for aspen hoverflies to find sufficient dead wood to complete their life cycle.
The hoverflies were marked and then released and monitored by researchers from Stirling University, supported by RSPB Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage. More than 2000 hoverflies were colour marked and 190 of these were re-sighted. While most stuck close to the logs they came from, ranging an average of 1km away, some flew further afield, with one travelling 5km.
Researchers also found that the number of adult hoverflies emerging from the logs was far higher than anticipated, with previous estimates based on number of larvae found, raising hopes that the species will thrive under the right conditions.
Jane Sears, Biodiversity Projects Officer at RSPB, said that by monitoring the amount of dead and decaying aspen and maintaining a programme of planting, the hoverfly population "should expand and help support healthy forests".
National Insect Week encourages people of all ages to learn more about insects. Every two years, the Royal Entomological Society organises the week which has led to more than one million species of insects have been described and named worldwide. There are more than 24,000 species in the UK alone
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