Entomology

From today's chapter of "Nature, You Freaky" comes this fungally parasitized cicada I found today. I'm far from any kind of mycologist or parasitologist so if anyone's got more information I'd love to hear. It's almost beautiful, in a horrifying sort of way.

See ~~no~~ weevil, hear ~~no~~ weevil, speak ~~no~~ weevil

Hi! Sorry, very new at the whole "bugs" thing, and I'm still learning. I spotted this the other day (not sure of the stink bug species, possibly Nezara viridula), promptly spent hours watching macro timelapses of stink bugs hatching, going from gooey babies to hard shelled nymphs...

Now to the question which has been bugging me: is there such a thing as "too late to hatch"? Can they "harden" inside the egg and just die there (maybe in the blackened eggs)?

Thanks!

Edit:

I found another nest of the same species and took it home. So: have a top view of the hatched eggs and some first instar nymphs while I'm at it!

I think it's safe to say she'll be eating well tonight.

Staff at the conservation zoo, renowned for its work to bring species back from the brink, were called in by fellow charity Buglife Cymru to start an emergency breeding effort for the Scarce Yellow Sally Stonefly - part of a rescue mission to save the species from extinction following its rediscovery in the River Dee, North Wales.

Having not been recorded since 1995, two small populations were found in the river - believed to be the only remaining location for the stonefly in the UK. In 2022 conservationists from wildlife charities Buglife Cymru, Chester Zoo, the Welsh Dee Trust and freshwater invertebrate specialist John Davy-Bowker set about sampling and carefully collecting a small number of the stoneflies from the areas where they were rediscovered.

"In just a few weeks we were able to understand the species and its lifecycle, breeding patterns and favoured environment. Everything we have learned so far, including every slight tweak we made, has been meticulously recorded and given us a detailed blueprint which we hope will set the foundations for a conservation breeding programme for the critically endangered insect - all while helping to further increase the small surviving population in the River Dee.".

"This species is highly vulnerable to habitat loss, pollution incidents from sewage and litter, as well as climate change. The stoneflies need highly oxygenated, clean water to thrive so it's important that their habitat in the River Dee is protected - especially as it's currently the only known location in the UK for this species."

The Scarce Yellow Sally Stonefly is a critically endangered species that was first identified in the River Dee in 1959 and was regularly recorded up until 1995 when subsequent surveys failed to locate any living populations in the UK. The species was presumed to have gone extinct in the British Isles - while a small number of populations were diminishing across Eastern Europe.

Cant even identify a simple ladybug.

Glaswegian bugs from David Hamilton

Yellow Velvet Beetle - Lepturobosca chrysocoma

Pardon the dorky title, insects are just unreal sometimes 😭

Orange-legged Drone Fly, Eristalis flavipes

It's that time of year when I spend a good chunk of time with my head crammed into patches of goldenrod hunting for cool bumblebees. I'm always delighted to be fooled for a moment. 😁

This cicada is such a brilliant emerald with gold tints. And they screm.

Honduras, June 2023

Wallonia, Belgium, today.

I stumbled upon a plant covered with small bundles of aphids, and sure enough, upon closer inspection, it had a whole aphid farming operation going on, and ladybugs had found it.

The ant tried blocking the way but fell off. Hopefully it's okay somewhere. The aphids, unfortunately, will not be.

This was the biggest millipede I've ever seen. It was at least 6 inches long.