A special welcome back to two siskins, the first to have appeared on our nut feeders after an absence of some weeks.
I stumbled across this big beetle while inspecting the orchids in the field at the back of the croft on which our house stands. One of our neighbours, Tony Kidd, has found one here before. I'm fairly certain it's a black oil beetle, and....
...this is a front view of him.
Indeed it is an oil beetle. Notice how the elytra (wing covers) are distinctively short to reveal the abdomen and they cross at the front. The males have kinked antennae, so as this one is gently curved, your 'him' is a her. I understand that if they are roughly handled they let out some oily obnoxious fluid; hence their name.
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