There are said to be about 460 species of dung beetles in Europe (Byk & Piętka, 2018), with about 60…
World Bee Day
On World Bee Day (20th May 2020) I can do no better than recommend the excellent novel, The Bees, by…
Peek-a-bug: insects lurking in flowers!
The last 20 years have seen a remarkable revolution in photography (below). I often think how lucky I am have…
Bog asphodel and toxic saponins
Bog Asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum,is a perennial herb (5 -40 cm tall) which typically grows on short wet grasslands on acid…
Insect cuticle
We mammals are quite fortunate in having bones! They reside inside us, and our skeleton grows as we grow. Insects…
Seagulls in lockdown
I like seagulls! But I know that Herring gulls (Larus argentatus) are not universally loved. They are a bit like…
Butterflies with black wings
Black. We all know what it is. The absence of light; the opposite of white. But are there gradations of…
Iridescent feathers of pigeons
Rock doves, or common pigeons (Columba livia), like those shown here have iridescent green and purple feathers around their necks.…
Order, order! Insect diversity.
If insects could talk – English preferably! – I would like to ask them what they think is the key…
A courtship duet: Drosophila melanogaster
In this blog, I have delved into the voluminous research on the common fruit fly, or vinegar fly, Drosophila…
