Photographs and descriptions of insects (other than butterflies – which have their own tag!) I have come across during my travels.
The marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) is one of the most common and widespread hoverfly species found in Britain. Like many hoverflies, the males typically hover for long periods in a chosen sunspot, chasing away other males and intruders of all sorts (including butterflies), before returning to approximately the same position. In this case, the hoverflies were…
The small male, Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet moth (Zygaena lonicerae), did not seem to mind being dragged around by the much larger female as she nectared on thistle flowers whilst they remained in copula! Burnet moths (Zygaena spp.) can remain in copula for considerable periods of time, up to 24 hours according to HofmAnn and Kia-Hofmann…
In dragonflies, males are generally classed as fliers or perchers. Fliers spend most of their time on the wing – and have longer wings – whereas perchers spend most of the time sitting on a perch, from which they make short flights, defending territories and seeking females. The emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator Leach (Aeshnidae) is…
There are four species of these beautiful Calopteryx damselflies belonging to the family Calopterygidae, in Europe, and two occur in Britain: the Beautiful and the Banded demoiselle (below). There are also a number of subspecies of each type. In this blog I am featuring a Spanish subspecies of Calopteryx virgo, called meridionalis, and Calopteryx splendens from Bedfordshire in…
So much has been written about the ‘insect apocalypse’; so many books, papers and articles are appearing all the time, that it can be difficult to make sense of it all. Unfortunately, and although there are a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and caveats, things do look rather alarming, particularly when we take a global…
Insect cuticles are protected from drying out and abrasion by a thin layer of waxes and cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). These epicuticular waxes are produced by secretory cells which lie beneath the epidermis (see below) The importance of this epicuticular layer in preventing the insect from drying out has been known for a long time, but…
In this blog I consider why there are different female colour forms (or morphs) in some damselflies, such as the Common Bluet, and briefly discuss some of the theories which attempt to explain their existence. In Enallagma species (Coenagrionidae) – called Bluets – males usually start searching for mates before females have appeared. Some males…
Mark Cocker’s Country diary piece in the Guardian this week, 1 June 2021 (‘the most seductive shade of green‘) got me thinking about leaves, trees and colours. As Mark reminded us, leaves look green because chlorophyll molecules absorb the red end of the visible light spectrum in photosynthesis, and the unused green light is reflected. Counterintuitively perhaps, they are green…
What is a face? It is our identity; what we present to the world and where we express our emotions. Do insects have faces? I think most people would agree that they do, even if they are not the flexible mirrors of the soul that faces are in humans (and other mammals). We humans have…
I went to Sulawesi, in Indonesia, primarily to visit Tangkoko National Park and see the Black Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra) known locally as Yakis. At the time, I did not possess a macro lens, so the pictures I took of butterflies were mixed, and I did not do anything with them. With the blessing of lockdown,…
Ray Cannon's nature notes 