Insects 2016

[marlunn]

yep - seen them do it - dive the web and prey and then power out - spider stays well out of range ! I thought I had a shot of it but can't find it apologies - need to proces a few more and put them up later

[Geoff F]

I did get some photos of this happening a couple of years ago. One wasp got a bit over confident and tried the same trick on a much larger spider, where it came off second best!

And thinking about spiders. Here is a Misumena vatia with a hoverfly lunch (Rhingia campestris).



It is amazing how these little spiders catch prey much larger and stronger than themselves. They don't spin webs so they just lie in wait on similarly coloured flowers.

A Large Red Damselfly is also having lunch. It looks like some sort of small cranefly or gnat. With these common species, I always like to catch them doing something unusual.



Mating pair of little weevils, with a spare male attempting to get in on some action. The males are only 5 mm long and they wouldn't stay still for a considered focus. I suspect they might be Perapion violaceum but I'm not very good with this tricky group.



And a cranefly. Limonia phragmitidis.



Another dull day has given me a few hours to edit up and identify a few from my backlog.

[Saorsa]

Thanks Geoff. I read about this behaviour, but never seen it so far. Once I saw a wasp entangled in a web, though it was a fairly big spider it didn't attack the wasp, biting itself free in no time....

Not seen much hovers over here for now.

It's even more interesting than that. Some wasps (I've seen mud dauber nests like this) actually sting and paralyze spiders and put them in their nests to feed the new larvae.

[Geoff F]

The Pompilidae family are spider hunters. I have seen, and photographed, them dragging a paralysed spider to a burrow where it will feed the spiders developing larvae. But I haven't found any for a few years. Some catch the spider then dig the burrow while others create some nest chamber burrows in advance then go looking for spiders. These rather small wasps will move spiders which are bigger than themselves, and are then difficult to drag into a burrow.

Here are some first of the year hoverflies.

Platycheirus peltatus. This one wouldn't rest and I had to see the front leg for identification. So not exactly a perfect shot.



A close up of what I needed to clearly see.



There are a few of these Platycheirus rosarum hovers getting around now; but they also refused to pose, so I had to wait for a suitable identification angle.



I can regularly find good numbers of these Portevinia maculata male hoverflies just sitting around on wild garlic but only in one very small location.

[marlunn]

I think I may have put this here before but not sure so anyway for anyone who has not seen it -

microsculpture.net

check the film as to how he did it - each final image is made up of up to 8,000 seperate images now thats focus stacking

[Geoff F]

A few more random insect images.

A micro moth - Incurvaria mascuella. Rather small and very active!



Empis tessellata have just appeared for the first time this year. They will become fairly common in suitable spots over the next month.



I always find these Tetragnatha spiders difficult to photograph due to their reflective surfaces.

[IzzieK]

My favourite is #1 here..

A few more random insect images.

A micro moth - Incurvaria mascuella. Rather small and very active!


Empis tessellata have just appeared for the first time this year. They will become fairly common in suitable spots over the next month.



I always find these Tetragnatha spiders difficult to photograph due to their reflective surfaces.

[marlunn]

a bumblebee mimic Hoverfly seen today in garden, Merodon equestris, after taking a few shots I noticed it has a wing problem - it may straighten out - hope so

[IzzieK]

It is a nice clear sharp shot, but I can't see any problem with the wings...

[marlunn]

Izzie, the wing on the right as we look at it is creased and folded so does not lay flat, it may get chance to learn to compensate for the different lift and dynamics of it but its bird food otherwise !

[James G]

I've been chasing Damselflys , noy too manyn out around here yet and a bit skittish....

#1 Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly female, Calopteryx virgo


#2 Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly female, Calopteryx virgo


#2b Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly female Close-up of Eyes and mask.


#3 Azure Damselfly male, Coenagrion puella


#4 Azure Damselfly male, Coenagrion puella (Rather pale so maybe recenly emerged)


#5 Azure Damselfly female (blue form), Coenagrion puella


#6 Large Red Damselfly female, Pyrrhosoma nymphula, colour form fulvipes


#7 Large Red Damselfly female, Pyrrhosoma nymphula, colour form fulvipes

[James G]

More Hovers....

#1 In-Flight Hoverfly. Eristalis pertinax male, courting female


#2 In-Flight Hoverfly. Eristalis pertinax male, courting female


#3 Hoverfly, Leucozona lucorum female


#4 Hoverfly, Leucozona lucorum male


#5 Hoverfly, Leucozona lucorum male on Forget-me-not


And... a miscellaneous capture ...

#6 Alder Sawfly, Eriocampa ovata (parthenogenetic in UK)

[James G]

Spiders.....

#1 Cobweb Spider, Tegenaria sp


#2 Cobweb Spider, Tegenaria sp


#3 Lace-weaver Spider female- Amaurobius similis


#4 Spider, Steatoda bipunctata? vey small about 1.5mm



#5 Stretch Spider male, Tetragnatha sp


#6 Stretch Spider male, Tetragnatha sp... close up showing fangs retracted

[IzzieK]

My...my...you've been a very busy boy...all of your shots here are sharp and colourful. I particularly like the second one of the first batch and the colour of the blue damselfly, even the red one has something really cute about it. The flying hoverfly I am still trying to catch here...binned all of mine. I'll try again. Spiders I will leave that to looking at them in images I think...

[Geoff F]

James, your hoverfly doing the hover courting is probably Eristalis nemorum (previously interuptus). That is a classic behaviour of that particular species. The Steatoda doesn't look quite correct, but at that size it is likely to be a juvenile so the markings haven't fully developed yet.

Some excellent images regularly coming in now; but should we be thinking about starting a new thread soon before this one becomes too unwieldy?

[Dave A]

Geoff your images are outstanding. I have to get my Nikon R1C1 kit out and start poking around the yard.

Dave

[marlunn]

Some excellent images regularly coming in now; but should we be thinking about starting a new thread soon before this one becomes too unwieldy?

sounds a good idea - go for it

[marlunn]

Nothing to say it cant be an arty shot

Lily beetle Liloceris lilii on a Hop leaf

[Geoff F]

Perhaps start a new thread after page 12 then. That should please any Triskaidekaphobia sufferers.

I've been busy attempting to edit and identify a load of insects recently. So far I can't get anywhere with this mating pair. Possibly Gnats or some form of midge, but reasonably large and about medium cranefly size.



My first Rhagio scolopaceus of the year.

[rudi]

Can someone give me an ID please ?? Iff the picture is good enough.
Problem solved, I think this is Rhagio scolopaceus as it is very similar to the one above