Birch leaf roller at Nedd
During the late summer I noticed some curious brown cones (photos 1-3) hanging from the twigs of a small downy birch that has established itself on a heathery patch in my back garden at Nedd (NC1331). They looked vaguely familiar, but I did not take a closer look and photograph them until 21st August, since when a name has occurred to me.
They are leaf rolls, constructed by a small weevil Deporaus betulae (photo 4). It makes a container for up to five of its eggs and a home for the larvae that hatch from them.
An excellent account of its life history (photos 5-6) occurs in A Field Guide in Colour to Beetles (Harde K.W. and Hammond P.M., 1984, Octopus Books). This is quite the best of an older generation of books on beetles. I bought my copy at the Natural History Museum in March 1986. If you can find a second-hand copy, I strongly recommend that you buy it..
An even fuller account, profusely illustrated, by Alan Watson Featherstone, founder of Trees for Life, may be found on-line (here).
The birch leaf roller has been found across the central part of the Highlands. There is one previous record from Assynt, by Stephen Moran. This was on a Field Club meeting at Little Assynt (NC16342613) on 30th June 2019. However, this record would appear to be the northernmost so far in the British Isles.
Ian M. Evans