Monday 17 May 2010

A Good Year For Insects


This year seems to be going well for insects, which makes a pleasant change, as the last three have, in general, been terrible, with very few insects to be seen.  The only exception were butterflies last year that had a fantastic breeding season: I had never seen so many in this area and was spoilt for choice when it came to photographing them.  

The photo above is of Gastrophysa Viridula a leaf-beetle.  I came across a group of them that were mating on a patch of Dock. The female becomes grossly enlarged with eggs.  Below is a top view of one: handsome creatures. 


6 comments:

  1. Wow, that female looks fit to burst.
    Lovely metallic sheen to them.

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  2. This must be your black knight Kerry.

    and a great capture,

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  3. Blimey, that female's condition looks mighty uncomfortable.
    I've just worked out that Gastrophysa means 'stomach bladder'.
    Must look out for that one.

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  4. Thanks for the comments everyone.

    He certainly is another noble looking wee beasty Tony!

    Rob, that is really interesting about the meaning. I hadn't before thought to look up the latin derivatives.

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  5. Superb shots.

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  6. Great shot Kerry. Very cool biology/behavior!

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I live in North Wales and spend my time caring for animals, walking in the countryside, photographing nature and reading. I hope to share, in photographs and words, some of the beauty that I see. If you enjoy the photographs on this blog then you might like to take a look at my Flickr photostream. View my complete profile for links to both of my blogs.