Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

British Bugs

A selection of the insects spotted on my Dartmoor walk, most of which I can’t identify, so if you know ’em, holler below in the comments.Calopteryx virgoThis one was easy to look up. (And be sure to click on the image to get a closer look at the wings.) There are only two damselfly species with colored wings over there. This is the (obviously) Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo), even though this is the male of the species. I found this one in Lustleigh’s small park.wingsSeveral days later I came across just the wings of this species at Dartmeet. I wonder what the story here was?Calopteryx splendensThis, seen also in Lustleigh, is the female Banded Damoiselle (Calopteryx splendens), the other colored-wing species.beetles2

lepi1

truebug

moth

Pyrrhosoma nymphulaLarge Red Damselflys (Pyrrhosoma nymphula), mating at the pond at Yarner Woods. Props to the British Dragonfly Society for ID help on the odes. Feel free to throw in your two pence worth of ID help for the rest of these. Vanessa atalantaBut you need no introduction to the circumpolar Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta).combAnt working on some kind of comb, in the middle of the path.

mthew

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11 responses to “British Bugs”

  1. Elizabeth

    Great pictures! I’d always been a bugaphobe until I began looking closely at them and seeing the beautiful colors.

    Reply
  2. Tom Bland

    I’m a bug novice unfortunately so am not much help here. Great to see them though. The wings of that first damselfly are spectacular.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Yes, aren’t they! I’m glad I ran into it. More thrilling even then our own Ebony Jewelwing, which is saying something.

      Reply
  3. Katie (Nature ID)

    Did you get to see a male banded demoiselle? As a way of blog introductions, here’s a dragon/damsel lover from across the pond: http://aeshnacaerulea.blogspot.com/2013/07/odonata-tensica.html

    Reply
    1. mthew

      I missed the male Banded actually, but then I’ve always been a sort of lady’s, if not demoiselle’s, kind of guy. Thanks for the link, Katie!

      Reply
  4. Scott Green

    I came across your blog whilst trying to find out what kind of beetle this was that I saw on holiday in France and wondered if anyone might know?

    He’s only tiny, and round/spherical in shape and so reflective like a mirror that you can almost make out my reflection on his back.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      This looks like a ladybug or lady beetle as they’re more commonly called in the UK, but I don’t know my European ladies at all (accepting the ones imported to this side of the Atlantic). I did find this, however: variants of Harmonia axyridis, the introduced Harlequin, or Multicolred Asian Ladybug as we call it in the U.S., including an all-black one. https://ventnorpermaculture.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/harmonia_colour_variants_plate.jpg

      Reply
      1. Katie (Nature ID)

        I doubt it’s related to ladybugs, so I’m sending Ted C. MacRae of Beetles In The Bush blog fame this way to take a look at this beetle for you.

      2. mthew

        Thanks, Katie! Wasn’t aware any other beetles had that shine (except maybe for John), but then, there are so many of them…

      3. Katie (Nature ID)

        Ted said, “Looks to me like a type of leaf beetle (family Chrysomelidae). This is one of the largest beetle families, and many of its species are shiny like that.”

  5. Scott Green

    Yes I think we’re pretty close now, some of the photos of google images for ‘black leaf beetle’ do look very similar, such as these on this blog: http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_leafbeetles/ShinyDarkBrown.htm

    Reply

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