Oh! what a lovely pair...

 It must be spring!

I say this because it seems to be the one thing these days that spurs me on to create a fresh blog update.

in my defence, It has not been for the want of an appetite. More that my rapidly declining health has had other ideas on how I should spend my time. But now we have been blessed with another spring and here I am resplendent in my repaired eyesight thanks to cataract surgery, and I have new content to share.

So let's get to it...

What do all of these images have in common?

Whilst you are cogitating over that picture: I would like to add that despite Google's insistence, I shall not be using their new AI style features to help me create this entry.

I will definitely not be following their advice to 'Look for the 'G' button' either. I feel I've been down that road previously!

Maybe this will help you if you are struggling with the connection in the picture...

 Yes, PAIRS...I was talking about pairs (and not the pair you were imagining either)

Pairs like these...

There are over 300 species of Crane fly in the UK and so I can only guess at an identity here. I reckon one is Tipula species, and t'other Nephrotoma? But I really should research these things.

I'll return to my first pairing at some point during this update.

Pair number 2 consists of these two Damselflies...

These are female (top) and male (lower), Azure Damselflies. Coenagrion puella, if you want the scientific name. I think that's correct. But then I thought Ringo was the drummer in the Beatles and not a parking app!

I think this is another female Azure, and the second image is a male Common Blue Damselfly. The third is a male Variable Damselfly (well, it's a good enough name when you can't think of a better one?)

Back to pairs now. Do these make a proper pair?

Well I do believe they are both Caddisflies. One is most likely a Mottled sedge, and the other...isn't! The one on the far right is the Mottled sedge: not politically you understand!

They appeared in my moth trap recently. I had a disappointing amount of species that night, but here are a couple of interesting individuals...

A Buff-tip moth - Phalera bucephala

A Pale-Tussock moth (Calliteara-pudibunda)

I'll happily be corrected on my guess at an identity on this next critter. I'd like to think that it's at least an educated guess, but these days, who knows!

Back in the day, I kind of knew my way

I had clarity of thought, and wasn't afraid to say.

Then as senility began to raise its ugly head

my memory became that of a goldfish...one that was dead!

During the ensuing years I was mostly just muddled

now I find that I'm completely befuddled.

Here's the photograph...

It's a ladybird larva? No it isn't. It's a beetle larva of some description? Yes, it (probably) is. It's a Willow Leaf Beetle larva? no it isn't. It's a Green-dock Beetle larva: final answer.

I do know what this beauty is...

 This is Cassida nobilis: a Noble Tortoise Beetle. 

I've read that these beetles can alter the brightness of those fabulous, metallic stripes, by controlling fluid levels under the transparent cuticle (a layered exoskeleton that functions as both a skin and skeleton).

These are not at all common in my part of Kent and are more likely to be found in sandy areas or on chalky soil. I think this is only the second one I have ever found. 

Here is a distance shot, just to give you a better idea of size...

Something else that I haven't seen for at least three years, is one of these...

 

A Horned Treehopper - Centrotus cornutus

These are just amazing creatures. They are small sap-sucking insects and are relatives of the Leafhoppers but are famous for their thorn-like 'hats' or 'horns' which they use for camouflage. About 10mm in length.

There is just one other species of Treehopper in the UK: Gargara genistae which is similar in appearance, but doesn't have the horn (stop it!).

I suppose these next images could count as a pair? Oh yes, pairs: I must get back to alerting you to what my first pair referred to. I will do that right after these images...

I'm saying that they count as a pair because they are both plant bugs. The top one is Closterotomus-fulvomaculatus and what a mouthful that is! Its name I mean, not the bug itself.

The lower image is of Dryophilocoris-flavoquadrimaculatus, an even bigger mouthful?

I'm still not finding many plant bugs locally and so it was a treat to spot this Striped Oak Bug (Rhabdomiris striatellus).

Back to my lovely pair then! 

No: not those two. Although I may have something 'Ant' connected before this update ends. Nah, I meant these two...

They are in fact moth eggs that I discovered in local woodland and decided to observe to see what emerged. What did emerge looked like this...

Then became this...

And eventually became this...

Yes. A striking Coxcomb prominent moth larva. I won't bother with the scientific name; we've probably had enough of those with their highfalutin, over complicated names, that seem to use more syllables than a Maria Carey song! 

That throw-back of the head over the abdomen is not a yoga pose by the way. It's more what they do when they are alarmed. Which accounts for it's pose in this photo: I mean, fancy having my fizzog staring down the lens at ya.

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Here is the ant connection: along with the question; what do you think it's eating?

This is full zoom by the way, as I no longer have an extreme macro lens, so detail isn't all that great unfortunately...

I think we are nearing the end of this particular update...

However - you are not scared of spiders are you? 

Let's find out: if I hear you scream I'll know and will feel really bad for putting you through such torture...........maybe!

This is Marpissa muscosa, a Fencepost Jumping Spider. Looks big, right? Well, she is only around 14mm, so no need to wet your knickers! That's not why she has the word 'pissa' contained in her scientific name.

Here's a youngster (sub-adult) that I found at the same spot...

The inset picture shows you just how tiny this one is compared to an adult. 

I guess it'd be churlish of me to leave you with a Salticid, and so how about a Delphacid instead?

This is an even small insect called a Delphacid-bug. Most likely Ditropis pteridis. The only one to specialise on bracken. This one is a male and around 3mm.

The Beetles...

Every once in a while something unexpected turns up and makes my day.
Such was the case today when I discovered a small beetle that even though I have been photographing beetles since around 2008 I have never seen before.


Here's the information:


Scientific name: Cassida nobilis
              Order: Coleoptera
             Family: Chrysomelidae


Cassida nobilis is around 5mm long, it's body is broad, somewhat flattened and oval. It hides both it's head and legs, sitting close to the plant surface and the large, flat neck shield and elytra make the beetle difficult to detect when at rest.

Cassida nobilis (Gold-striped Tortoise Beetle)

I've been unable to establish exactly how many species of Tortoise Beetle are present in the U.K. but I'm sure it's at least six-possibly seven and could be more.

I have found a couple of others and look how different C.nobilis looks to C.viridis...

Cassida viridis (The Green Tortoise Beetle)

And then C.rubiginosa that appears similar to viridis at first glance...

Cassida rubiginosa (The Thistle Tortoise Beetle)

C.nobilis is listed as widespread but very local in England and seems to be more common at the coast.

The beetle is listed as a Notable B. species, meaning that it is a nationally scarce insect.

C.nobilis

I was really pleased to find this one. Not only because it's another to add to my list of finds but more importantly, it means we have some scarce beetles living right on our doorstep.

I think it's a stunning little creature and probably the most impressive of the tortoise beetles that I've found to date; even though it's the smallest with the others being between 7-10mm.

Although this beetle also has the name of gold-striped tortoise beetle, in actual fact the stripes on this example appeared to me to be more mint-green, moving towards yellow in different lighting conditions. But then, I suppose 'gold' has oft been used with a little bit of artistic licence to represent yellow.

I would have loved the opportunity to take some natural light shots of this one but a dull and overcast late December day, with rain threatening isn't really conducive to macro photography; however, I did take just one, not fantastic because of the problems that I've referred to but here it is anyway...

Natural light shot of C. nobilis

All of these photographs were taken using a Canon 100mm macro lens with a Raynox M-250 attached.

Tortoise Beetle larvae in general are strange creatures that carry the excrement they produce on their backs.....

A tortoise beetle larva

That is Cassida nobilis-The Gold-striped Tortoise Beetle then. A fabulous find that I wanted to share.

Until the next time then...