Every picture tells a story
Tiger beetles (Cicindelinae) are strikingly beautiful predatory insects which come in a bewildering variety of stunning colours: iridescent, metallic greens, reds, blues and so on. Researchers have speculated about the function of … Continue Reading Tiger beetles: colour for a purpose
The Silver Y moth, Autographa gamma (Linnaeus) is an immigrant to the UK, coming here to feed, breed and fly away again each year. It rarely stays over winter; it’s … Continue Reading EU migrants: Influx of Silver Y moths
Most of us can tell a bee from a fly, can’t we? We all have an idea about what each of them looks like: a fly is small and shiny; … Continue Reading Polymorphic mimics: flies that look like bumblebees
The thick-legged flower beetle, Oedemera nobilis (Family Oedemeridae), is a common pollen-feeding beetle found in flower heads during the spring and summer. They occur throughout western and southern Europe. I took these … Continue Reading Fat-legged beetle
Water striders are not the easiest insects to photograph; they zip about on the surface of the water so a fast shutter speed is required. If you try hard enough, … Continue Reading Water striders – at home on the surface
The Eastern honey bee, or Asian honey bee (Apis cerana), is endemic to much of Asia where has been cultivated for honey production for millenia. It is fairly similar to … Continue Reading Asian honey bees on Calla lilies
It was a hot day in northern Thailand when spotted an attractive Red Lacewing butterfly and started following it, hoping it would settle down so that I could get some … Continue Reading Fighting over a dead frog!
Clearwing tiger moths, also called Wasp moths (Syntomini, Arctiinae, Erebidae), are somewhat similar in appearance to clear-wing moths in the family Sesiidae, but many do not have transparent wings. Those … Continue Reading A clearwing tiger moth
The Common Blue is a gorgeous little butterfly. Although the bright blue male is flashy and showy, it’s the female I like best, with her subtle variations of blue and … Continue Reading Common Blues – female colour variation
The butterfly proboscis (plural: proboscides) is an exquisitely evolved instrument for exploiting sources of nectar at the base of flowers. In fact it has evolved in concert – co-evolution – with … Continue Reading The butterfly proboscis – sucking tube and mopping sponge
This is a story of a moth, Histia flabellicornis (Zygaenidae), which is a Müllerian mimic, which means that it is an unpalatable species in the same area as other unpalatable moths … Continue Reading A tale of a black moth: a Müllerian mimic in Thailand?
It has been suggested that the Common Map butterfly (Cyrestis thyodamas) – also called the Oriental Map – relies for its survival on resting in an upside-down position (1, 2). Or … Continue Reading Which way up to read The Map?
Red Admirals love apples! Or more precisely, they like rotten apples and other wind-fallen or over-ripe fruit which has sat on the ground for a while and started to rot … Continue Reading Tasting with your feet! Butterfly tarsi.
A drab brown butterfly rests on a tree trunk, its jagged outline providing a perfect camouflage against the moss, twigs and broken branches of the tree. The underside of this … Continue Reading What a beauty! Different wings for different duties.
If like me, you like wandering around sand dunes – perhaps whilst you are on holiday by the seaside – keep an eye out for sand wasps. In particular, digger … Continue Reading Little diggers – Bembix sand wasps
I often find, when I take a set of photographs, that I am initially disappointed with the results. The reason being that one has such great expectations regarding the results, … Continue Reading Red lacewing – beauty in warning colours
