Insects 2016 part 2

[Geoff F]

Photo looks fine but they have been renamed, Mark. It is Rutpela maculata now. And with an English name of Yellow and Black Longhorn Beetle

[Tony Britton]

These are wonderful images!

Tony

[Geoff F]

Not a lot happening due to the weather. A few moths have started coming to a window light but they are looking a bit the worse for the weather.

Dot Moth



Miller



Scorched Wing

[marlunn]

Cheers Geoff, actually i do recall now you corrected that last time I put one up last year, hmm must pencil that into my Chinery Nice moths - love the scorched wing - really looks like sawn wood that has been scorched !

[Geoff F]

A few images which were chiefly shot and edited for identification so not totally perfect but they may be of some interest.

Norellisoma spinimanum, one of the dungfly group.



Tetanocera elata, one of the snail killing flies.



A view of the wing veins is essential for identification

[Geoff F]

Little Snipefly




Capsodes gothicus



One of the Grass Moths, probably Agriphila tristella

[rudi]

Posted this before, but now with a proper name.

1: Nysson trimaculatus (fam. Crabronidae)



2: Lonchoptera lutea:



3: Geomyza tripunctata Opomyzidae, (grassfly)

[Geoff F]

Not much happening in the mostly dreary weather but here are a few more rather scruffy looking moths.

Common Emerald



Flame Moth



Silver Y Moth



During a brief sunny couple of hours a good number of bumblebees appeared and a couple of Wool Carder Bees; but they were flitting around faster than I could focus.



Also a Sicus ferugineus fly, which is a parasite of bumblebees.

[sleist]

[marlunn]

One from today a Red-tipped Clearwing moth, Synanthedon formicaeformis this was at WWT Slimbridge, not sure they will be interested in the slightest as its not a wildfowl

Its a first for me

[Geoff F]

Good shot, Mark. I keep looking out for clear-winged moths but I have never found one so far.

[marlunn]

Thanks Geoff, we were at Slimbridge and came out of the Holden Hide and it was on an elder leaf just outside the entrance, only the 2nd I have ever seen.

[Geoff F]

Cicadella viridis



Grypocoris stysi



Myathropa florea

[Cantab]

Geoff, I particularly like the Myathropa florea. It has very good DOF but you presumably did not focus stack a live insect?

[marlunn]

Nice Geoff, espcially like Cicadella viridis

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Offhand, I can't remember if these were single shots or a merge of two shots, Bruce. On a fairly calm day I often take two focus points for a stack attempt. Quite often it does work OK; or alternatively I can sometimes select a part of the second shot, such as a wing or leg, then copy and paste into the other image.

[Geoff F]

Just a few odds and ends. Starting with a quick snap of a Meadow Brown which is a very common species but I have never previously seen one with such pale colours.



This odd looking bug is the nymph form of Deraecoris ruber, which is a fairly common bug although it looks totally different from this.



And a Cuckoo Bumblebee. Bombus vestalis. They take over the nests of Bombus terrestris (Buff-tailed Bumblebees) which are one of our commonest bumblebees.

[Cantab]

Geoff, the flower with the cuckoo bumblebee seems popular. Is it the same one as in post #113?

[Geoff F]

It is a bramble flower (blackberry) Bruce. So yes, there is a lot of it about. Which helps many insects over this intermediate period when a lot of early flowers have finished and the full summer blooms are just beginning to flower.

[Geoff F]

Eristalis nemorum hoverflies are often found with a male hovering just above a female. Well this must be a very desirable female because she has three potential suitors stacked up above her.




Didn't quite manage to get all four of them absolutely sharply focused but this gives the general idea.