Monday 15 February 2021

Common Red Soldier Beetle and Other Small Insects


I discovered these small conjoined insects in the Pyracantha hedge, and they stayed conjoined for well over an hour. They were no bigger than 1 cm in size.They are not the most handsome of insects, it's true, but the interesting thing about them are what seem to be ear-like projections.
 


They seem to have wings, but don't look like any  insect I have ever seen, They were in a difficult position to get my camera near, or perhaps photos of a different angle for better identification purposes.


I have tried to identify them in many of my insect books, on Google, and Wikipedia without success. If anyone knows their identity, I would be grateful for your input. The closest I have come to their ID is the "Brown Cicada" but I'm not sure. 


         Another tiny insect, found in the hedge, was this rather pretty blue insect, less than 1 cm in size.    


                             It could be a female Green Leaf-hopper, but it was more blue than green.                                                   If it is a leaf-hopper, they are considered to be a pest.


                                        It was the lovely bluish colour that drew my attention to it.


                It  was definitely aware of my presence. and here it appears to be looking right at me.



        This is the field behind the hedge, it's on our land, and it's the only field we leave to grow wild.                    It's here where I found all the little insects, both in the hedge, and in the field.           
   

Way out in the middle of the field, I noticed this flower, with a dark patch, but it was only when editing that I saw what was hiding there, and that the dark patch was the spiders home. How ingenious!! It was so well disguised! The crab spider does not spin a web, but waits for it's prey on flowers, and other  vegetation.


                                    There were many different kinds of grasshopper,


This was a tiny speck of white, and at first glance, it appeared to be something a bird had left behind. I have no idea what it is, and it isn't in focus, but I'll keep trying to ID it,...any ideas anyone!!


                                            An interesting little spider with very long hairy legs.


                                                                    No ID here either.


The moment I saw this tiny insect, I knew I was looking at my first sighting of a Plume Moth, from seeing much better images than this one, on other nature blogs. Scientific name is Pterophoridae. The moth is harmless. It feeds on nectar/pollen of various herbaceous plants. The caterpillars feed on bindweed.


                                            A  Crab Spider  with what appears to be a Flesh Fly.

Last week I didn't blog at all, due to severe back pain, it is too painful for me to sit at the computer. This post has been ready to post for some time, so all I have to do is post it, but I can not do any visiting.


25 comments:

MadSnapper said...

So sorry to hear that your back is still bothering you. I know from my own back problems that sitting at a computer really does irritate it. I'm so glad you showed us all these insects what a lovely spot you have back there behind a hedge and it looks like it has every kind of insect you could ever want to see and your camera finds it and your eye sees it. I thank you for showing them to us because I've never seen any of these before. happy to see you pop up and to know that you are doing okay except for your back pain and I hope you feel better soon

Marit said...

Beautiful photos of insects. They look very great. The white bug looks very special.

Marijke said...

Beautiful post about this little creatures!!!
I hope you feel better soon!!
Marijke

Martha said...

I love the little blue one, and if you find out what the white thing is let us know. It looks interesting.

La Biosfera de Lola said...

Hola amiga, me encantan los insectos, así que tus fotos me parecen espectaculares. Creo que el pequeño insecto azul es una cigarra espumadera. Un enorme abrazo.

Nick Morgan said...

Great selection of insects. I am afraid I can't help with the IDs. I wonder if the white insect is a kind of scale bug? The wild field looks like a great habitat. I wish more people left areas like that for wildlife.

Mike Attwood said...

Hello Sonjia,
Thats a very interesting post of which I know nothing about. I am sure someone can help. Nice photography though. Stay safe.
Mike.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

This is a veritable journey into the world of entomology, Sonjia, with some wonderful photographs, especially considering that some of the insects are so small. You are very lucky to have that wild field close at hand to explore. And you obviously have a great ability to discover what is lurking there. Well done!

LEN said...

As usual your patience has been rewarded with some very good photos of creatures I have never seen before. I wonder if they are native to your country?

Jeevan said...

Hai, isn't this called real fieldwork? Well done with observing and capturing the tiny insects from the hedges and wild fields. And these are insects I have ever seen, and you captured the details with a great effort, which is visible through your photos. Take good care and rest

This N That said...

Lots of wee creatures..sorry for your back pain..Hope it is soon better..

sami niilola said...

Wow. Very interesting and wonderful insects.

Rostrose said...

You've had a lot of interesting sightings of insects and other little crawlers. It happens to me as often as you do that I discover some small animals on flowers only in the photo. The associated insects might actually be cicadas. I would have thought the white spot was a kind of egg clutch ... but I'm not an expert. I see a lot here anyway that I didn't know before. Hopefully your back will get better soon. Here comes a tip: It helped me to strengthen my abdominal muscles - especially the psoas muscle, it is often responsible for back pain and is rarely recognized by doctors as the reason....
All the best from Austria
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2021/02/ausflug-in-den-nationalpark-neusiedler.html

hmuxo said...

You’re the Queen of insects... very impressive to know the names of these insects... I’m very fascinated with them as well.. my camera isn’t good enough for the closeups .... hope your back pain goes away. I KNOW how that feels.

Lowcarb team member said...

I am so sorry to read that your back has been so very painful, sending healing thoughts and good wishes to you.

These were all fantastic photographs, many thanks for sharing them.

All the best Jan

Teresa said...

Muy buenas fotografías. Según mis libros el primer insecto es Centrotus cornatus, siguiente Cicadella viridis, la mosca creo que es Anthomyia procellaris muy común en Europa. La araña ahora mismo no recuerdo su nombre. Besos y espero que estés bien.

Hannah said...

We are still in the grips of winter here, at least the snow is melting and we may not get anymore, I hope. So, no bugs to be seen here, outside. I often see the white and yellow crab spiders laying in wait in flowers for bees. I'm glad yours are eating flies instead.

Ela said...

The natural world is really beautiful!
Great photos !
Greetings

Debbie said...

Really awesome images of these tiny little critters, there is so much detail! I am sorry to read that you’re back there is nothing quite as bad as back issues. I hope you feel better soon!

Phil Slade said...

Hello Sonjia. You appear adept at finding tiny bugs and insects that are hard to ID. It is a branch of nature that for many is hard to enter. I have seen the plume moth but I am afraid that all of the others are a mystery to me. How sad that I just have birds to fall back on. But I do appreciate fine food, wine art and music.

Nancy Chan said...

Sorry about your back pain. Hope the pain will go away soon. I think the insects are interesting. Have a lovely weekend.

Hootin Anni said...

What incredible finds!!
I do hope you feel better!!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

It is such a joy to see a blog reflecting this diversity of life, from a person who celebrates it all. I am sure that you were very happy to welcome your first squirrel, Sonjia. What a handsome creature!

Tom said...

...I hope that you will be feeling better soon. Your squirrel is a bit like our red squirrel, but with cuter ears. Take care.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh, I’m late late late reading this so I really do hope your back is better by now. I was fascinated by your insects ... and awed by your talent in photographing them. There’s a whole other world out there in your wild field!

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