Billions of dead beetles have created an "astonishing" and "surreal scene" along the Scottish coast, transforming beaches into a dark, inch-thick carpet of insects.

It comes as the population of heather beetles (Lochmaea suturalis) sees an unprecedented population explosion in the purple moorlands of Caithness.

A volunteer beach cleaner made the startling discovery at Sandside beach near Reay, initially mistaking the thick, dark mass along the high tide line for "shredded seaweed".

However, a closer inspection revealed a "carpet of beetles an inch thick extending the length of the beach".

While tidal movements have since begun to disperse the vast numbers, sightings of the insects in their "droves" continue across a wide area.…