202/366 More misc minis

20 Monday Jul 2020

Tags

bonking neetles, British butterflies, British crickets, British grasshoppers, Common red soldier beetle, Green-veined white, Long winged cone-head, Meadow grasshopper, Nettle weevil, Small copper, weevil

Some snippets from the insect world around me:

200720 common red soldier beetles

A sure sign that it’s now high summer, Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) can be seen everywhere, especially on the flowers of umbellifers, demonstrating why they are often called bonking beetles.

Also caught copulating, these Green-veined white butterflies (Pieris napi) were being annoyed by a third of their kind, trying to get involved in the action.

200720 small copper

On the subject of butterflies, the second brood of Small coppers (Lycaena phlaeas) is now on the wing. This stunning specimen was only the second Small copper I’d seen this year, so was a very welcome sighting.

200720 nettle weevil

There’s nothing cuter than a weevil. This one is, I think, a Nettle weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus).

I found this odd: a colony of ants, farming a horde of aphids on this ragwort plant, have extended their nest up the very stem of the plant.

200720 meadow grasshopper

To finish this post, first, a Meadow grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) nymph and …

200720 long winged cone-head nymph

… another nymph, also often a meadow dweller, this time a cricket species, a Long winged cone-head (Conocephalus fuscus).

148/366 Tiny surprises

27 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

British insects, Cardinal beetle, Eristalis nemorum, hoverfly, Nettle weevil, Swollen-thighed beetle, weevil

When you’re bright red, it’s hard to hide in the grass but it was still a nice surprise to spot this lovely Cardinal beetle, and it didn’t seem to mind me picking it up for a closer look.

200527 cardinal beetle

I was looking for the pupa cases of moths on a Wych elm when I spotted this weevil. It looked to me like a Nettle weevil, so it was a bit of a surprise to find it up in a tree.

200527 weevil

Speaking of weevils … As my eyesight is not very good, I sometimes don’t notice very small creatures, and this is a case in point. I had spotted the hoverfly, Eristalis nemorum, so took a few photos of that and didn’t spot the teeny weeny weevil until I looked at the photos on my laptop when I got home.

200527 eristalis nemorum

And the same is also true of the smaller bug in this wild rose. I saw the Swollen-thighed beetle, on the right, but not the other creature, until later. I love these little surprises from Mother Nature.

200527 wild rose and insects

Botanising, with insects

30 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by sconzani in animals, birds, insects, molluscs, nature, slugs

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Bloody-nosed beetle, Brynna, Click beetle, Glamorgan Botany Group, grasshopper, moths, Nettle weevil, rooster, sheep, slugs

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I returned from my last Botany Group walk with more photos of insects – and other living creatures – than plants. The Gorse weevil got a blog of its own yesterday; now here are some of our other finds.

Firstly, a couple more weevils, both on nettle and the second one is definitely a Neetle weevil (Phyllobius pomacues) but I’m not sure about the first. The Click beetle was also found on nettle.

These two were at a farm we passed through; the sheep was lording it over the home paddock and the rooster was king of the farmyard. Both handsome dudes!

A nice little grouping of slug species, with their small friend, the Granny Grey, and a grasshopper. There were lots of these hopping round on grass and rushes in a boggy field. It may be a juvenile Meadow grasshopper but I’m not 100% sure.

A little flock of Micropterix cathella moths were feasting on this grass flower, and there were lots of other small moths, probably one of the Bactra species, plus an unidentified spider with a distinctive striped body.

And last, but certainly not least, these Bloody-nosed beetles (Timarcha tenebricosa). The photo on the left shows the chubby larva and on the right is the adult beetle munching on a grass stalk.

The Gonzo of insect land

23 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

National Insect Week, Nettle weevil, Phyllobius pomaceus, weevil

Although The Muppets appeared after my childhood years, I’m still familiar with the main characters and one of my favourites has always been Gonzo. Perhaps that’s why I also love the Gonzos of the insect world, the weevils. And it’s not just their elongated snouts that remind me of him. Although weevils don’t have Gonzo’s energy, they do seem inclined towards occasional death-defying acts, teetering recklessly on the edges of leaves while reaching out for their next foothold, though they draw the line at catching cannonballs!

Weevils can be difficult to identify but, as the ones pictured here were all found on nettles, I’m going to hazard a guess that they’re Nettle weevils (Phyllobius pomaceus). Being slightly more scientific, I think I can see the prominent tooth on the front femur of some of these creatures, which also helps to identify them, as does the position of their antennas on their heads. As you can see, the Neetle weevil is covered in blue-green scales that have a metallic sheen, though these can rub off as they age – and engage in death-defying (and other!) acts – so, older specimens do sometimes look more black than blue-green.