Annie Northfield

Bug season once again!😀🇬🇷 #lefkada #entomology #fieldjournal

Spurge hawkmoth (Hyles euphorbiae) larva from the Essex coast🤩 what an absolute stunner of a caterpillar! #sphingidae #moths #lepidoptera #insects #entomology

@BrianLaney2 Absolutely, I couldn't use the tray for these ones. I used a small tray with a thin layer of sand (and a lot of patience) for the fossorial species. I just had to take my chances with these while they walked about on the plant🙂

@strandlined I know when sweep netting or tapping insect species out of trees and looking in a white umbrella or a white tray at my catches, trying to get a picture can be a nightmare. I found even in the white tray they often go to the really tight corners.

Canthophorus impressus and its foodplant, Bastard Toadflax (Thesium humifusum) 😀 #shieldbugs #hemiptera #cydnidae #entomology

@BrianLaney2 I've not been lucky enough to see it on the mainland, but it was easily the most numerous species I saw in Jersey

@strandlined Many thanks for posting. Ive not had the chance to go for Cornish shieldbug but this is useful so thankyou.

Byrsinus flavicornis (left) vs Cornish Shieldbug (Geotomus punctulatus) from Jersey CI. Byrsinus is more squat and hairy, the difference is fairly easily observed with the naked eye. Both were a right pain to photograph though! #shieldbugs #hemiptera #cydnidae #entomology #bugs

@BrianLaney2 Definitely - they were fine as long as you didn't move or try and touch. They dropped down fast as lightning if you got too close!

@strandlined I always found this great shieldbug a tricky devil to get pictures of. They knew i was there and moved or go around the other side of the stem of the foodplant. They are not daft!!

@arcanelove Yes, sorry I should have specified!

@strandlined Is this still on Jersey Annie?

More Byrsinus flavicornis... What a lovely and very tiny little beastie! Not found in mainland UK though (yet). #shieldbugs #hemiptera #cydnidae #entomology

Best pictures under the scope for now but I managed to find 5 dead Menaccarus arenicola while trying to find Sciocoris in Jersey. A new species for me so certainly no complaints... #shieldbugs #hemiptera #pentatomidae

Cornish shieldbugs (Geotomus punctulatus) were just about the only active bugs during a wet and windy Jersey morning... #hemiptera #heteroptera #cydnidae

Hoplia coerulea is definitely one of the most striking little beetles out there🤩 #spain #chafers #melononthinae #scarabaeidae

Dryadocoris apicalis nymph, quite a rare shieldbug - no adults seen when these nymphs were found though. Feeding on Solanaceae. #spain #bugs #pentatomidae #hemiptera

This is amazing - I looked for this 30 yrs ago as a student in Yorkshire but never found it, obviously. I had this feeling to go north, but not north enough! Incredible what's out there waiting to be found! @BritishBugs

Buthus sp. doing what it does best - glowing under UV light. As seen from the pieces of shed exoskeleton lying around, this guy was fresh and ready for action😄 #scorpions #arachnids #spain #entomology #invertebrates

@VesicaBrasa I believe they reproduce via facultative parthenogenesis, so mostly asexual reproduction (bypassing the need for courtship) but can occasionally produce males (as per this paper - doi.org/10.1093/zoolin…)

@strandlined How do they mate without the one thing crickets are known for, are they more of a 'right place right time' coupler?

Myrmecophilus acervorum is possibly Europe's smallest cricket, and completely lacks stridulatory organs and wings, living inside ant nests. This was one of 10+ found in Spain in a Lasius nest under a rock. #orthoptera #insects #entomology

@quietest1one It's an example of kleptoparasitism (or commensalism, depending on opinion) so the cricket benefits from the protection and shelter offered by the ants, eating ant prey and the occasional egg or larva, but the ant colony is probably not significantly damaged by the crickets.

@strandlined how do the ants feel about them 🥺

The amazing Coptosoma scutellatum was quite a bit bigger than I expected! Very chuffed to find them in good numbers, on vetch next to a sunny roadside verge. #shieldbugs #hemiptera #plataspidae #spain #insects #entomology

The other Sciocoris (from this trip) - S. macrocephalus - feeding on Knautia fruit. The broader, longer head shape, pale shoulders and choice of foodplant seem to be fairly reliable indicators for this species. #shieldbugs #hemiptera #entomology #spain

Sciocoris maculatus from wild thyme. This one has several distinctive features including the head shape and large spots on the wing membrane. One of two Sciocoris species we found. #shieldbugs #hemiptera #entomology #spain