Beetle (sorry, but you lot are good!)

[geniculata]

superb thread and some great images guys!

heres one of mine. A particular favourite leaf beetle, doing what comes naturally.

gary.

[Chris]

Some great photos here...

I've come to associate certain beetles with certain butterflies, due to the habitat and time of year that I visit. For instance, Green tiger Beetles seem to be about and on the same habitat as Small Pearl Bordered Frits...



...and Wasp Beetles seem to emerge with Dingy Skipper and Duke of Burgundy. Some of these butterflies are more resplendent than the most beautiful of our butterflies! Shame they're such an underappreciated group of animals (ladybirds aside!).

[Mikhail]

Guy, my beetle book is called: A Field Guide in Colour to Beetles. by K.W.Harde. ISBN 1-85605-448-9. I'm not sure if it's still in print. It's a translation from the German, the English edition edited with additions by P.M.Hammond. I got it for £2 remaindered.

Misha

[Padfield]

I'm pretty sure that's the same one I have - with a systematic, diagrammatic (line drawings) key to families at the beginning, a text section and separate plates afterwards. I just guessed at the 2000 species bit - it illustrates a whole pile of beetles, but only a selection all the same.

Guy

[Mikhail]

Yes, that's it. Although it only shows a small selection of the European fauna, it probably covers a good proportion of the beetles likely to be spotted by the average non-specialist.

Misha

[Paul]

Guy, just a thought but were you trying to get the Rolling "stones" in on the Beatles act???
Thanks for the longhorn ID Misha, and Guy as well for Monkey Googling, what you do in your spare time is fine by me.

[Padfield]

I went out to look for glowworms tonight and spotted this one on my steps because it was glowing. But isn't it a larva, not an adult female? I didn't know the larvae glowed.





This is a mating pair I photographed near Oxford in 2006. The female is underneath.



Guy

[Dave McCormick]

Guy, I am no expert so don't quote me on this, but could your pic be of a type of rover beetle?

[Padfield]

Guy, I am no expert so don't quote me on this, but could your pic be of a type of rover beetle?

Thanks, Dave, but I don't think there's any doubt about the ID (famous last words) - and a little research has confirmed that it is a larva. So it seems the larvae do glow. I can't see any advantage in this!

Guy

Just found this on Wikipedia:

'The Lampyridae larvae are believed to glow as a warning signal (see aposematism) to predators like toads not to eat them as they're mildly toxic'.

[Chris]

I kept one (a larva named Glowy, imagainitively) in a large jar and fed it little snails that I found in the garden with a torch at night.

It glowed every night for 3 months and then stopped... it pupated! I released it back where I found it as a pupa... so yes, they definitely glow!!

PS) I'm not sure much research has been done into this, but Glowy responded most noticebly to jazz music... he/she wasn't a rock fan at all...

[Padfield]

Thanks, Chris!

I have a soft spot for glowworms. Their gentle lights look beautiful on a dark night but they just can't compete with increasng human light pollution. Females only glow while they are virgins. Sometimes you see the same little girl shining her light night after night while all the males are down the road trying to seduce some idiot's path lights or illuminated eves.

In summer, I always makes sure either the lights are off in a room or the curtains are drawn, so shafts of light don't drown the shadows in the garden.

Guy

[Trev Sawyer]

We found a Glow-worm larva a few weeks ago at Totternhoe and did a little homework to find out more about them. The larvae and the female look pretty similar, but the larvae is flatter and has shorter legs. I too was surprised to read that the larvae glow, but apparently even the eggs glow a little. I presume it is because the chemicals and enzymes which cause the light-producing reaction must already be in the mix somewhere inside the egg (albeit at low concentrations). How cool is that!

Trev

[Padfield]

Found on a midnight dogwalk, tonight!

Guy

[eccles]

The truth is out there Scully!

[Padfield]

[The Gatekeeper]

Here's a glowing female that I photographed on saturday while moth trapping.

Best wishes

The Gatekeeper

[Pete Eeles]

I've only just looked at this thread. Superb shots all! I just love something "different"

Cheers,

- Pete

[NickB]

Me too Pete! Tho' certain members seem intent on bringing down the tone...

"Come on, Gwen, doesn't that just look yummy?
Guy"

I think Guy is spending too much time with his dog ......
Was nearly knocked-over when this thing flew past me....

[Gwenhwyfar]

Hi Nick

"Come on, Gwen, doesn't that just look yummy?
Guy"

I didn't think I should answer that one, but it was a classic shot though

Not sure what this fellow is, but I thought I would go for a different angle.

[Padfield]

Here's another beauty, Calosoma sycophanta:



A great creature, over an inch long and gleaming bright.

Guy