All about Insects (2015 to March 2017)

Oh well, no sooner said than done. All you budding entomologists or photographers or anyone who likes nature, you can put your insect photos here!

I'll kick off with a few that I've had lately. This first is called a Mantis Fly & is a cross between a Fly & Mantis (funnily enough) & is in the Neuroptera family, which is a mixed bunch anyway, my first & I had 3 of them around the moth trap

& a Rhinocerus Beetle which was also attracted to the light & are quite rare now around here, he really was fabulous, very impressive,

& this Frelon was also in the moth trap, but seemed quite docile as long as I kept my distance!

& some Damsel flies, an Azure Damselfly (thanks for the ID Aiki)

a Large Red Damsel

& from early may a proper fly from the Dipteras, anyone know the English name, I think it's latin name is Otites lamed,

I usually only take photos of flies with interesting wings as I am hopeless at identiying them!

Thanks for looking & maybe you can post some of yours!!

Best wishes

Hazel in Southwest France

  • It was found under the bonnet of a car. They fly at night to colonise new ponds and can get confused by shiny car roofs or roads. The photo prop was a piece of fence wire with a bit of doubled over masking tape to stick the Beetle to it. :-)

    My bird photos HERE

  • My first (photographable) Orange-tip although I did see one last week but he wouldn't settle.

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    Tony

    My Flickr Photostream 

  • That is so beautiful TJ, never seen one here so a tad 'green'

     

     2013 photos & vids here

    eff37 on Flickr

  • That's the underwing, Wendy. This was the best I could get of the upper wings.

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    Tony

    My Flickr Photostream 

  • what a beauty Tony,  great to see the orange tips arriving despite the Arctic weather !

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    Regards, Hazel 

  • Thanks Hazel. It was pretty cold today but in the sunshine and out of the wind it wasn't too bad. Even so I was surprised to see this young man out and about. Didn't see anything else though.

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    Tony

    My Flickr Photostream 

  • I discovered a new insect today! Not new, but new to me. It's a Pseudo scorpion & when I binged it , it was quite fascinating. This one was hanging onto a moth & only saw it when I looked at the photos later. It's about 2mm long & has huge front claws which apparantly contain venom sacks to tranquilise it's victims. They often live off book worms & mites & things. It has odd mating habits too! So this is it, on the antenna

    & then it's on the back of the moth a Knot grass

    & then back on the antenne

    Funny what you find in photos that you never saw at the time.

    Best wishes

    Hazel in Southwest France

  • Beneficial to humans.Good thing to find on your bookshelf but not so sure about how I`d feel finding them in the underwear  drawer. :-)

  • edgebander said:
    but not so sure about how I`d feel finding them in the underwear  drawer. :-)

    Ha ha! Those claws sure look painful if they were hooked somewhere delicate!!

    Best wishes

    Hazel in Southwest France

  • A few new insects from walks around here, this one came & did some gymnastics while I was doing a moth trap, my book says it's a Robust Spreadwing,

    I had to pick it up to get it the right way up

    & another Damselfly in the marshes, an Orange Featherlegs

    In the garden a Glanvilles Fritillary that Ron rescued from the watering can in the nick of time

    also a horned Dung Bettle that came in to the garden to visit the moth lamp

    & on a walk in the woods a pretty Long-horn beetle that likes White Asphodel's (Agapanthia asphodeli)

    & a Common wave moth that wouldn't sit still

    Now that the weather has perked up the bugs are out in force!!

    Best wishes

    Hazel in Southwest France