When I was a young bird-watcher, I was fascinated by – and envious of – the exploits of the 19th Century travelling naturalists and their discoveries of new and exotic species in distant lands. The nearest one can get to that in Britain today is to study the less popular groups of plants or animals in the Highlands, where I have been lucky enough to live for the past 30 years.
It became obvious to me how little was known about Highland insects when I first took an interest in bumblebees – my first walk around the garden with the Naturalists’ Handbook added a few hectad records to the maps! Since then, with the enthusiasm of colleagues in Highland Biological Recording Group (HBRG), recording in the north is still supremely exciting. We just do not know what might lurk in our gardens and hedgerows, especially species active outside the main holiday season for the (more numerous) southern specialists. Species that have escaped notice for many years turn up on village waste ground, as did the mining bee Andrena marginata thought to be lost from Scotland for half a century until found in 2002 by the late Gill Nisbet; or in gardens, like the Golden Horsefly Atylotus fulvus discovered by Jane Bowman – the first for over 70 years. 
Golden Horsefly Atylotus fulvus (above) and Andrena marginata (top right) courtesy of Jane Bowman
Even now I get a huge thrill of expectation from walking around the Highland countryside, never knowing quite what will be round the next corner, and always alert for unsuspected treats. Last August, a stone turned over at random revealed a nest of the red ant Myrmica lonae known only from three places in the UK – all in Northern Scotland. Recently I found a little fly which looked interesting. Having had no luck trying to name it I posted a picture on iSpot, and in 10 minutes was rewarded with the name of a fly whose life-cycle I had never imagined – its larva is parasitic on millipedes! That is just one example of the many intricate biological relationships that I find endlessly enthralling.
What gets me out of bed in the morning? Well, lots of things. But the excitement of learning more about Highland wildlife, and enthusing others with its wonders, is high on the list.
Murdo Macdonald
Murdo Macdonald is the Open University Biodiversity Mentor for Scotland, and manages the taxon database for the Highland Biological Recording Group.
The HBRG datasets are available on the Gateway.