Insects and Spiders

Ah, I did wonder, like those crazy bee flies that stick grains of sand to their eggs so that they fly further when flicked from the abdomen into the nest of some unfortunate host.

I found these three in west suffolk at the weekend. Damselfly, Emperor and a black-tailed Skimmer.

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Lovely shots

Phone pic from Borrowdake a couple of weeks ago. Common cockchafer?

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Thank you very much! I used a long zoom lens with extension tubes to allow closer focussing. And quite a bit of patience. But it's rewarding when they hold still long enough.

Lovely emperor.

Extension tubes? 😊

Thanks! Shot at the long end of a 100-400mm (probably f9) with 26mm of extension tubes, then cropped.

I love dragonflies - they fascinate me.

Some great photos on this thread - clearly need to invest in a better lens.

Anyway, saw this longhorn beetle (Stenocorus meriduanus) the other weekend.

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They are indeed the right side of aviator cool.

I mean if we had the Chinese Dobson fly enmasse, not sure I would go to the park anymore...

no...nope no nooo

Holy fecking crap! Spectacular and terrifying at the same time!

Which makes me wonder why I work with the dullest looking moth about.

Let me guess. The moth works in HR?

Common cockchafer

Nobody taking the bait on this?

Tell me to stop, if this gets tedious... Here's another from last weekend. Similar method: Sony 100-400mm at F6.3 + extensions, ISO 1600, cropped. Not quite wide open. The light was poor where I was between two tall hedges. I like the way the backlit hairs on it head make it look like a grinning skull.

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Sorry, I don't understand.

(also, have logged in as me, rather than the temporary-me-for-reasons-of-technological-incompetetence).

I think it is a common cockchafer.

https://petehillmansnaturephotography.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/common-cockchafer-melolontha-melolontha-03.jpg?w=784&h=521

I think @Stonehedge is poking fun at the name which could be compared to male problems in the groin area. :oP

Fershoooom from me there. D'oh!

Re: the dobsonfly above, regular readers will know that I can't stand the demonisation of insects just because they don't look quite the way we would like them. A quick look at Internet articles on them shows that the long mandibles are useless for biting, as they are just too long. Interestingly, it's the much less scary-looking female that has a strong bite. Apart from this, they're insects that have the interesting sensitivity that they require very clean water, which is a very useful ability from a human perspective.

Sure, they're large, but that doesn't mean they're particularly dangerous. Plenty of smaller animals are much more problematic to humans. I'd be amazed to see a dobsonfly, although given where I am, the chances are slim.

I can't stand the demonisation of insects just because they don't look quite the way we would like them. A quick look at Internet articles on them shows that the long mandibles are useless for biting, as they are just too long.

Just to say that while you are 100% correct, fear of big leggy insects and spiders has nothing to do with how harmful they are perceived to be. Knowing their fangs are just for show, or that they get rid of flies doesn't stop the adrenaline bolting my spine upright the second any sizeable spider enters the room with any sort of gusto. The only thing I have on my mind is if it's going to touch me, nothing else. The association is touch = apocalypse. It is not touch = bite = itchyness and pain.

I'm not anti-spider or insects, I avoid killing them, but the fear is entirely irrational and basically feels like a physical reflex. It's like saying a horror film is just a film to someone when they can't sleep afterwards. For some reason insects and spiders occupy a primal part of our psyche, I guess it's part of what makes them so fascinating.

Phone shot of a black-headed cardinal beetle (I think?), from Epping Forest at the weekend.

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Not sure bringing the devil in was necessary.

Not even remotely.

I'm obviously well aware of phobias like that, e.g. arachnophobia is a fairly common and recognised condition. What I mean is the sort of hysterical Internet reaction to whatever picture has gone 'viral'.

Demonisation of animals can also have serious ecological consequences, same as the sort of fetishisation that makes people believe ground rhino horn is an aphrodisiac, etc.

Cinnabar moth, I think? Found sheltering in some long grass at the side on the road.

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Scarlet tiger moth I think

I obviously wasn't suggesting you weren't aware of phobias, but if you're bothered by people "demonising" scary looking insects, you should know that's obviously driven by phobia of scary looking insects, and those phobias can't be reasoned away by saying the scary insect is harmless.

I'm not really sure what you mean by the demonisation of insects anyway. Despite being terrified of them, I'm still interested by them, and suspect people expressing shock at crazy looking insects are just doing the same.