Blackartz' Natural History Blog
Hmm, now I’m prepared to admit that this may be a bit of a serious undertaking, but to celebrate the fact that this is the UNs International Year of Biodiversity, I’m going to attempt to add one species a day from my collection of natural history photographs, to the blog.
So without further ado I’ll get on with species one:
Green Dock Beetle (Gastrophysa viridula)
The helpful folks over at the Beetle ID forum of Natural History Museum’s Nature Plus website, have decided that this is most likely to be a male Green Dock Beetle (Gastrophysa viridula).
As the name suggests, they feed on Dock and the closely related Sorrel and are not uncommon in a variety of habitats. Even though I’m a pretty avid insect spotter, it’s the first one I’ve seen. The fact that he was tiny, only about 4-5mm in length, may be a contributary factor, as he’s undeniably extremely eye catching with his iridescent metallic carapace.
Unidentified Chrysomelid (Leaf Beetle)
There are over 200 species of Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles) found in the UK, but I hope to be able to identify such a beautiful looking specimen.
I took a ‘few’ photos of this little fellow climbing along a twig. Due to his diminutive size and my lack of flash or tripod, I ended up taking a couple of hundred shots of which only four were properly focussed!
Broad Bodied Chaser nymph (Libellula depressa)
Although this may not look like much, it bodes well for my dragonfly film project.
The first dip of our brand new net landed us this Broad Bodied Chaser nymph (Libellula depressa). Earlier in the summer I shot some HD footage of an adult of this species laying eggs in exactly the same spot in this local pond and this discovery seems to suggest the whole lifecycle could be filmable.
Also in the net today were lots of Greater and Lesser Water Boatmen, a few very tiny damselfly nymphs which were too small for my phone camera to capture and a rather interesting acquatic beetle larva I’ve yet to identify. A particularly fine flatworm caught Joe’s attention.
Although its never going to be able to compete with the EOS 5D MK2 for picture quality, sometimes as the old addage goes, the best camera is the one that’s always with you.
Cockchafer beetle pupa (Melolontha melolontha)
This little fellow has probably lived under our lawn as a grub for 3 years and has just turned into pupae at the end of its third summer. Within six weeks it’ll metamorphose into an adult, but still remain underground during the winter to emerge next May ready to bash its armoured head against our windows.
Read more about this quintessential spring beetle species at the Natural History Museum website.
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