The Happy Bespectacled Stink Bug?

That doesn't mean that this update concerns a species of fly called 'Time Flies'. No, Tempus fugit' is what I meant. Yes, hard to believe but it was 2014 when I last saw something like I am about to share with you. Even more extraordinary for me was that it was as late as the last week of September. 

Having whetted your appetite with this little teaser, I guess I should share now huh? Okay...

What d'ya mean, 'what is it?', would a few more pictures help? Good, 'cos guess what...I have more...

Yes, Coreus marginatus the Dock Bug. This is a nymph that has suspended itself from the vegetation to enable it to moult. Bugs need to continually moult to allow for growth, only stopping once they become an adult insect. The colour is very pale when they first emerge, but will soon darken.

I recently found some really interesting information about flight speeds for insects, also wing beats per second. I thought you might be interested too?

No need for that attitude Robert! I am doing my best here to engage with my public.

What amazed me here was that the Hummingbird Hawk-moth which seems to hover effortlessly in front of flowers, actually has a slower BPS rate than the Hoverfly, House Fly and Bees; yet, flies faster.

Then, take a look at that Scottish Midge - can it really beat its wings  1000 times per second! Try and imagine that? That's 360,000 times in just one hour.

There, you see, now you're pleased you looked eh?

Oh well, I tried...( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Flea Beetles next! Oh stop it...they are not fleas, or even related to fleas in any way. The adults usually have long, hinged hind legs that enable them to jump like fleas. Right now they are peppering my nasturtium plants with tiny holes and there seem to be more every day (beetles and holes that is). There are both Small White Butterfly eggs and larvae on the same plants and so it will be interesting to see who wins out in the end.

I have ringed the tiny caterpillar but the eggs are probably too small to see in this picture

Pupation of the beetles occurs in late summer, with second generation adults emerging during autumn and the larvae will begin to feed immediately after hatching. Mainly on plant roots, although some larvae feed on leaves. Hmmmmm...

Time to wind the clock back to April of this year when I visited America. I still have photos from my trip to share and thought I would include a few more here.

Let's begin with this fabulous beetle: this is Enoclerus eximius the Checkered Beetle. It belongs in the Cleridae family and is 6 - 8mm long. It predates on other beetles, mainly on willow, alder and Californian laurel.

Enoclerus eximius

I was pleased to spot this next little bug nymph; it's one that I see quite often right here in Kent UK, well, not this one, but the same species. Campyloneura virgula is its name...

Campyloneura virgula

This rather large Crane-fly was hanging around in the long grass and I did wonder if either it had just emerged, or those wings had been damaged somehow? 

I haven't been able to pin down an ID for these Damselflies yet but there were lots of them on the reeds around a lake one day when I visited. I am wondering if they might be Forktail species?

These rather large and flightless beetles are known as Darkling Beetles (Eleodes species) and seem to be pretty much a coastal species. I found this one in Santa Cruz.

This was a real treat for me; a Gulf Fritillary, or Passion Butterfly. It was one that I was hoping to find. Passion butterfly by the way, after the fact that it uses passion flower as the chosen food-plant for its larvae.

A Gulf Fritillary Butterfly (Agraulis vanillae)

Here's another bug that I made an assumption about regarding identity, only to prove myself wrong when I researched it. I had assumed that this green stink bug was in fact the Common Green Stink Bug Acrosternum hilare, but no, this is actually a Southern Green Stink Bug Zezara viridula. Distinguishable from its cousin by the red antennae segments. 

Edit: Please see the comments on this post for an update on this bug's true identity, because it seems that my second assumption was also wrong!

It has been pointed out to me that it is much more likely to be Thyanata species and possibly T. pallidovirens or T.custator (the red-shouldered stink bug).

Many thanks to Rockwolf for this information; I actually had not even heard of the Thyanata species ;-)

Thyanata species Stink Bug (Shieldbug, much nicer)

These Stink Bugs gave me a little trouble regarding an identity too. I thought at first they were Conspicuous Stink Bugs, in fact, in a way I wish they had been, just because they have a common name of The Happy Bespectacled Stink Bug. But no, it turns out that the description relates to the two spots that look like orange spectacles, on the dorsal thorax, which these don't have.

And so I have settled on  Cosmopepla uhleri a bug that  uses Scrophularia californica as a host, which I believe is a type of Figwort. 

Cosmopepla uhleri 

I still have more I could share but don't want to outstay my welcome and so will say 'That's a wrap' and head for the hills until the next update. Thanks for reading this and making it to the bottom of the page!