All about Insects 2019

I found this colourful combo at the weekend.

It looks like one of the green arboreal weevils on a Bluebell. It's tiny - dwarfed by one bell, but fabulous colours.

I was looking at bees in a gorse bush and saw this. I didn't see any activity but at a couple of inches across I assume it is the beginnings of a wasps nest.

Fabulous shots & colour Nige. I had some bright beetles yesterday on Iris leaves

& then another pair, up to no good too!

That second shot of the weevil on the bluebell is an absolute cracker!

Cheers,
Geoff

Absolutely agree with Geoff... never come across this one before Nige, well spotted!
Bit of 'oooh-la-la' going on with yours H ... naughty!

Absolutely agree with Geoff... never come across this one before Nige, well spotted!
Bit of 'oooh-la-la' going on with yours H ... naughty!

Funny how the males in the insect world are often smaller, less weight I suppose if he's still on board when she takes off!

Thanks.

I was thinking of shooting rain drops on the bluebells so I was looking closely at them otherwise I would have missed the little weevil. There's a related species which looks as if it was cast in metal but can come in different colours which I'd love to find.

Nice beetles too Hazel

I presume at this time the females are bigger because they are full of eggs, like this dock beetle couple taken over Easter, where her wing covers don't even fit any more. That's the most extreme case of larger females that I've seen though.

I thought this insect was in trouble on the water and was sort of hoping a Pond Skater would come in and finish it off, which is why I got down to photo it.

Then I realised it wasn't in trouble at all, but had just emerged and was getting ready to fly (and the many Pond Skaters weren't interested). I originally thought it must be a Mayfly, but, of course, we're still in April so it can't be  I don't think I've ever seen one still resting on the surface before at least not in this much detail.

Those pics are pretty amazing Nige ... Looks like Mayfly to me, just read on 'buglife' that they can appear all year & typically swarm in June!

Cheers Wendy
I was only kidding when I said you can't have Mayflies unless it's May! I didn't know they came out all year though. I won't attempt to ID it further though as it normally isn't possible from a photo. Would you believe that (as a hill walker) I have a survival bag, only now, I often take it out so I can lay on it while taking photos and get a really low view point without getting wet or muddy!

My survival bag would have to contain one of those self-inflating cushions to get me to my feet again ... like the ones Emergency Services use to get rather large people up when they fall in awkward places! Lol