Bing on a bog!

The bing at Fallin is the unwanted spoil from the coal mining industry and this spoil actually lies on top of a peat bog! The bog Wester Moss is a Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is just to the south of Fallin Bing. The site is owned by Stirling Council and has been established as a partnership with Butterfly Conservation and the local community of Fallin. 

A volunteer with a leaf beetle on Wester Moss (c) Suzanne Bairner

Wester Moss is a lowland raised bog and these habitats are important for a wide range of wildlife species. Lowland raised bogs are a very scarce habitat and are typically found in the wetter parts of Britain within the north and west. Nearly 90% of their former area has been lost in Scotland.

Invertebrate species of conservation concern that have been recorded at Wester Moss include the Large heath butterfly (Coenonympha tullia) and the Bog sun-jumper spider (Heliophanus dampfi). 

Bog sun-jumper spider (Heliophanus dampfi) on Wester Moss (c) Lorne Gill

The Large heath is Britain’s only bog specialist butterfly and its caterpillars can even survive short periods underwater when its foodplant, Hare’s-tail Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum) gets submerged.

The Bog sun-jumper is a tiny spider with distinctive fluorescent green legs and mouthparts. This species has only been recorded from a handful of other sites across Britain including Flanders Moss and Ochtertyre Moss that are both near Stirling.

Other wildlife and plants recorded at Wester Moss include Emperor moths (Saturnia pavonia), Hieroglyphic ladybird (Coccinella hieroglyphica), Common lizard (Zootoca vivipara), Round leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) and the Nationally Scarce Bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia). 

The Hieroglyphic ladybird (Coccinella hierglyphica) (c) Steven Falks

Butterfly Conservation and Stirling Council are working to restore the bog to its former glory and work to create more ditches and to remove birch scrub is on-going. There is a habitat creation day on Saturday the 9^th of November (10am-3.30pm) and Wednesday the 13^th of November (10am-3.30pm) that everyone is welcome to attend for as little or as long as they want. For more information about the day and to book a place contact Scott Mason (Apprentice Ranger, Land Services), Stirling Council, Allan Water House, Kerse Road, Stirling, FK7 7TE, Tel:  01786 237792, E-mail: masonsc@stirling.gov.uk

For further habitat creation days at Wester Moss check out Butterfly Conservations website: http://butterfly-conservation.org/842/scotland.html