Small Game Hunters
Yellow Peril Asian Giant Hornets or “AGHs” Vespa mandarinia have recently been blamed for a series of deaths in rural Shaanxi in northwest China. 41 people are reported to have died from hornet stings in the last 3 months alone. This insect’s huge size and powerful sting have earned it a fearsome reputation: in Korea it’s known […]
What do flies and the Matrix have in common? Recent research (and catching up on some 90s DVDs) suggests it’s the ability to avoid fast-moving objects by watching them in slow motion. Whether it’s Neo dodging bullets in bullet time, or a Musca domestica dodging a newspaper at lunchtime, both can observe speeding objects moving as though through treacle. […]
…but not all glamour queens either If you ever thought that all British moths were drab and boring, think again. Well, OK, we have our fair share of drab and boring, but that’s not the whole picture. Just like birdwatchers have their “LBJs” (“Little Brown Jobs” which are hard to identify and frankly not worth […]
A tranquil interlude We came across this peaceful moment today at an exhibition of the works of Ian Hamilton Finlay at the Arnolfini. (We’re not sure of the intellectual property ramifications of reproducing it here, but we do at least know that we can claim copyright in the photo!) In the meantime, enjoy the poetry of the […]
It’s a survivor Not much happens in the Atherton Tablelands, a remote agricultural corner of Queensland mainly populated by dairy cows and horseflies. But life in the Atherton has just got a whole lot more bootylicious with the official arrival of Scaptia beyonceae. That’s right, a species of the Scaptia genus of horsefly named after none other than Mrs Carter […]
One of the Famous Five Our friend Di took this lovely shot of a Black Oil Beetle Meloe proscarabaeus in her garden. Not only is she lucky enough to have such a distinguished visitor, her photo also won third prize in the village summer show! She correctly identified it as an Oil Beetle (family Meloidae, also known as Blister […]
The Wonderful Large White “Large White” can refer to a type of cabbage (yum!), butterfly (aah!) or even pig (Catherine says: pig! pig! oink!). What do they have in common, besides the name? Well, for a start, both the pig and the butterfly will eat the cabbage, given half a chance. (This is starting […]
Blessings in disguise A street in south London has apparently been “invaded” by a “plague” of Bird-cherry Ermine Moth caterpillars Yponomeuta evonymella. The good people of Warfield Road have been complaining in the pages of the Evening Standard that their trees (presumably Bird-cherries Prunus padus) are being damaged and that “it’s just not on.” Quite […]
Lovely, lovely leeches Now, there’s a phrase you don’t read every day. Henry and his Dad were cleaning out the pond pump and found a couple of freshwater leeches inside the filter. It’s hard to know quite what they are (even leech experts have trouble telling species apart) but we’ve finally settled on Dina lineata […]
…or a skate Henry and his Dad spent the afternoon watching the frogs in their pond. These lovely amphibians (the common frog Rana temporaria) are, of course, vertebrates and so not really relevant on this blog. But they eat invertebrates, so they kind of count. And we also spotted at least one kind of aquatic […]
