soldier beetles on umbellifers

It's a lovely sunny day today, looks like we're getting some summer at last! I walked round Colinton and Craiglockart Dells by the Water of Leith this morning. The lime trees (lindens) were in flower and buzzing with bees, the raspberries are ripening, several ringlet butterflies were flying around and the various umbellifer flowers were covered in red soldier beetles. Many of the umbellifers can be considered weedy plants and not particularly special (and the Giant Hogweed is downright noxious) but the beetles love them! (the flowers here are native hogweeds).

 The water levels are lessening a little from their extreme highs after recent floods. Colinton weir is still rushing though. I had dropped my litter picker into the river and had to go down under the bridge to pick it up and then took this photo which shows the weir from an angle we don't often see it from.

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