90 posts · 56,823 views
A venue in which I showcase research or curious facts about insects and other invertebrates, mostly from my garden and illustrated with my own photos.
Africa Gomez
90 posts
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- December 11, 2011
- 05:03 PM
- 2,842 views
The CSI Blowfly
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
At this time of the year, when there has been a few frosts and the sun is weak, the most likely insect you are likely to see on the wing are bluebottles. I found this one yesterday enjoying the sun in my conservatory. It is the urban blowfly, Calliphora vicina, a very cold tolerant species which is the most common buebottle in the UK. Calliphora vicina is one of the most important species in forensic entomology, especially in investigating human remains. Different fly species arrive a........ Read more »
Amendt, J., Krettek, R., & Zehner, R. (2004) Forensic entomology. Naturwissenschaften, 91(2), 51-65. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-003-0493-5
Donovan, S., Hall, M., Turner, B., & Moncrieff, C. (2006) Larval growth rates of the blowfly, Calliphora vicina, over a range of temperatures. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 20(1), 106-114. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2006.00600.x
- June 24, 2011
- 04:45 PM
- 1,088 views
Buzzing bees in poppies
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
There were lots of poppies around today, and they buzzed with a high pitch produced by the bees and bumblebees inside, often more than one, gathering their almost black pollen. Poppies are unusual flowers, bright red, bowl shaped, with black centers and radial symmetry, and they do not produce nectar, just lots and lots of edible, protein-rich pollen. Poppies open at dawn, and before they do, their anthers start to release pollen. By the following day, fully fertilised and depleted of pollen, th........ Read more »
Raine, N., & Chittka, L. (2006) Pollen foraging: learning a complex motor skill by bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). Naturwissenschaften, 94(6), 459-464. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-006-0184-0
DAFNI A.; BERNHARDT P., SHMIDA A., IVRI Y., GREENBAUM S. (1990) Red bowl-shaped flowers: convergence for beetle pollination in the Mediterranean region. Israel Journal of Botany , 39, no1-2, pp. 81-92(1-2), 81-92. info:other/0021-213X
- May 27, 2011
- 06:50 PM
- 1,073 views
A blue glass snail
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
When lifting a pot to plant out today, I found this Glass Snail. There are four British species, and I think this is Oxychilus draparnaudi, given its relatively large size (a mighty 15 mm). Glass snails are named after their shiny, fragile and translucent shells when alive. After weathering the shells rapidly lose their lustre. Oxychilus shells are rather flat, which makes it easier for them to hide under pots or stones.Given their small size - and their association with pots, nur........ Read more »
Barker, G.M. (2004) Natural enemies of terrestrial molluscs. CABI. DOI: 10.1079/9780851993195.0279
- June 18, 2011
- 03:26 PM
- 1,026 views
Invasive Harlequin parasites
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
Every day on the way back from work I walk next to this wall. The other day there were plenty of cannibal Harlequin ladybird larvae eating prepupae. Today there were many more pupae and a few prepupae. I have no idea how I noticed this tiny fly on the head of a prepupa. The ladybird pupa shook its body back and forth to no avail. Later I identified the fly as a scuttle fly, genus Phalacrotophora. Some species of this genus are endoparasites of ladybird pupae. The fly mounts guard on a prepupa an........ Read more »
Koyama, S., & Majerus, M. (2007) Interactions between the parasitoid wasp Dinocampus coccinellae and two species of coccinellid from Japan and Britain. BioControl, 53(1), 253-264. DOI: 10.1007/s10526-007-9138-5
Kenis, M., Roy, H., Zindel, R., & Majerus, M. (2007) Current and potential management strategies against Harmonia axyridis. BioControl, 53(1), 235-252. DOI: 10.1007/s10526-007-9136-7
Durska, E., Ceryngier, P., & Disney, H.L. (2003) Phalacrotophora beuki (Diptera: Phoridae), a parasitoid of ladybird pupae (Coleooptera: Coccinellidae). European Journal of Entomology, 627-630. info:other/1210-5759
- March 11, 2011
- 09:51 AM
- 1,017 views
Evolution in action in Harlequin ladybirds
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
I find invasive species fascinating. Either on their own steam or with a little help from us they have expanded their geographical distribution and, with time, they start forming part of the network of ecological links in each environment. Furthermore, - although they might have a negative impact on the economy and/or native species - they provide unique natural experiments that allow us to witness evolution in action and to investigate which evolutionary forces are be involved. One such i........ Read more »
Facon B, Hufbauer RA, Tayeh A, Loiseau A, Lombaert E, Vitalis R, Guillemaud T, Lundgren JG, & Estoup A. (2011) Inbreeding Depression Is Purged in the Invasive Insect Harmonia axyridis. Current biology : CB, 21(5), 424-7. PMID: 21333536
Maderspacher, F. (2011) The benefits of bottlenecks. Current Biology : CB, 21(5). info:/
- July 23, 2011
- 01:36 PM
- 1,012 views
Parasitic wasps turn ladybirds into their bodyguards
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
I have covered the ladybird parasitoid Dinocampus coccinellae before in BugBlog. Some recent research, however, has uncovered some fascinating aspects of this little wasp's manipulation of its host behaviour worth posting about. The parasitoid wasp, below, injects a single egg on a ladybird using its ovipositor (visible in the top photo of a just emerged D. coccinellae).After hatching, the larva feeds on its host internal organs, and after about 20 days, she emerges from the ventral plates ........ Read more »
Maure F, Brodeur J, Ponlet N, Doyon J, Firlej A, Elguero E, & Thomas F. (2011) The cost of a bodyguard. Biology letters. PMID: 21697162
- April 4, 2011
- 05:03 PM
- 1,003 views
Ground Crab Spider
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
Until a couple of weeks ago, I was under the mistaken impression that there were no crab spiders in the north of the U.K. Although this is true for flower crab spider, Misumena vatia, a chamaleon-like hunter that changes colour to match the flower is sitting on, there are many other species that are widely distributed, in the U.K. as I found out through a thread in Wild About Britain. All crab spiders have some ability to change colour to match their surroundings and become invisible to their un........ Read more »
Nyffeler, M., & Breene, R. (1990) Spiders associated with selected European hay meadows, and the effects of habitat disturbance, with the predation ecology of the crab spiders, Xysticus spp. (Araneae, Thomisidae) . Journal of Applied Entomology, 110(1-5), 149-159. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0418.1990.tb00108.x
Birkhofer K, Gavish-Regev E, Endlweber K, Lubin YD, von Berg K, Wise DH, & Scheu S. (2008) Cursorial spiders retard initial aphid population growth at low densities in winter wheat. Bulletin of entomological research, 98(3), 249-55. PMID: 18439342
- March 5, 2011
- 03:33 PM
- 997 views
Why do ladybirds hibernate in groups?
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
You have probably come across ladybirds clustered under leaves or bark during winter. To spend the winter, seven spot ladybirds - otherwise solitary creatures - to spend the winter, they seem to actively seek each other. I took the photo above a few minunes ago in my garden. I counted 16 ladybirds - most were 7-spots, with two Harlequins - on the shady side of an agave killed by this winters' harsh frosts. Before I go on to explain this communal hibernating behaviour I have to explain why ........ Read more »
Holloway, G., Jong, P., Brakefield, P., & Vos, H. (1991) Chemical defence in ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae). I. Distribution of coccinelline and individual variation in defence in 7-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata). Chemoecology, 2(1), 7-14. DOI: 10.1007/BF01240660
- May 29, 2011
- 05:47 PM
- 991 views
Racing male tree bumblebees
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
In the last two weeks, the garden has been overtaken by frenzied male bumblebees. They follow a set circuit around the garden, round and round, racing from bush to bush and then having a little bumble in each. If you wait a bit on a particular spot on the route, you are likely to see another bumblebee a few minutes later passing by in the same direction, doing exactly the same. Most of the males I have been able to identify doing this are Bombus hypnorum. Today, a male B. hypnorum ........ Read more »
FREEMAN, R.B. (1968) Charles Darwin on the routes of male bumblebees. BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY) HISTORICAL SERIES , 3(6), 177-189. info:/
- August 23, 2011
- 05:42 PM
- 988 views
Bath spider hybridization
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
Since the end of July, large spiders with long legs run across carpets in the house, or fall in the bath. Being fast spiders that often react to disturbance by jumping and running very fast - as opposed to crouching or playing dead - these are spiders that tend to scare people. They are males of several species of the genus Tegenaria. This guy fell on my bath a couple of nights ago and it has been the most compliant Tegenaria I've had so far. He sat still on the white bowl while I........ Read more »
Croucher, P., Oxford, G., & Searle, J. (2004) Mitochondrial differentiation, introgression and phylogeny of species in the Tegenaria atrica group (Araneae: Agelenidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 81(1), 79-89. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00280.x
Croucher, P., Jones, R., Searle, J., & Oxford, G. (2007) CONTRASTING PATTERNS OF HYBRIDIZATION IN LARGE HOUSE SPIDERS (TEGENARIA ATRICA GROUP, AGELENIDAE). Evolution, 61(7), 1622-1640. DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00146.x
- March 1, 2011
- 06:23 PM
- 975 views
Water slater embrace
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
Our pond does not even qualify as a pond. It is a half a wooden barrel, almost full of dead leaves and overgrown irises and marsh marigolds. Still, it's got some water snails and frogs have bred the last couple of years. A few days ago I was watching the very active ramshorn snails when I noticed this paired water slaters, Asellus aquaticus. Water slaters are isopods, like woodlice, but unlike their terrestrial relatives they display a behaviour which is common in crustaceans, mate guarding, by ........ Read more »
Bertin, A., & Cezilly, F. (2003) Sexual selection, antennae length and the mating advantage of large males in Asellus aquaticus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 16(4), 698-707. DOI: 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00565.x
Verrell, P. (1985) Predation and the Evolution of Precopula in the Isopod Asellus Aquaticus. Behaviour, 95(3), 198-202. DOI: 10.1163/156853985X00127
- April 2, 2011
- 06:18 PM
- 973 views
Melecta, a cleptoparasitic bee
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
The plum tree started flowering last week and today it was buzzing with bees. I counted six species, Bombus terrestris and lapidarius queens, Anthophora plumipes males and females, Andrena fulva, with males actively patrolling the branches and the first males Osmia rufa of the year. Later, a black bee with white and grey hair patches and dark wings turned up. It was Melecta albifrons, a cleptoparasite of A. plumipes. I haven't found much information on M. albifrons so the following life history ........ Read more »
Thorp, R. (1969) Ecology and Behavior of Melecta separata callura (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae). American Midland Naturalist, 82(2), 338. DOI: 10.2307/2423782
P. G. Willmer and G. N. Stone. (2004) Behavioral, Ecological, and Physiological Determinants of the Activity Patterns of Bees. Advances in the Study of Behavior, 347-466. info:/doi:10.1016/S0065-3454(04)34009-X
- May 15, 2011
- 05:39 PM
- 973 views
A bug eating plant in the garden
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
Ever since I've had teasels (Dipsacus fullonum) in the garden, I have wondered why each joined-up pair of leaves catches and holds rainwater like cups. This fact has been remarked by numerous botanists for a long time. As early as 1875, Francis Darwin, son of Charles, observed how these rain-filled cups trapped many invertebrates, including slugs, who drowned and whose bodies decomposed in the water, and described the plants adaptation to catch the insects: it is quite certain that the plant is ........ Read more »
Shaw PJ, & Shackleton K. (2011) Carnivory in the teasel Dipsacus fullonum--the effect of experimental feeding on growth and seed set. PloS one, 6(3). PMID: 21445274
Darwin, F. (1877) On the Protrusion of Protoplasmic Filaments from the Glandular Hairs of the Common Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 26(179-184), 4-8. DOI: 10.1098/rspl.1877.0003
- July 3, 2011
- 04:39 PM
- 969 views
Six-spot burnets: chemical weapons as nuptial gifts
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
Six-Spot Burnets, Zygaena filipendulae, are spectacular day flying moths. The contrast between their colour and the green meadows where they live makes them very obvious. Their body and forewing background are black, with a metallic green-blue sheen. Their forewings have six crimson-red spots. In addition they are large and heavy, and females like to perch conspicuously atop flower heads. You cannot miss a sitting burnet, but a flying one is even harder to miss: when they fly, a s........ Read more »
Zagrobelny M, Bak S, Olsen CE, & Møller BL. (2007) Intimate roles for cyanogenic glucosides in the life cycle of Zygaena filipendulae (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae). Insect biochemistry and molecular biology, 37(11), 1189-97. PMID: 17916505
- July 19, 2011
- 06:00 PM
- 962 views
Small white or small ultraviolet butterfly?
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
Graced with a few black spots and a shade of yellow in their underwings, the plain wings of white butterflies contrast with the colourful and rich patterns of other butterflies. Unfortunately, this is a reflection of the limitations of our visual system. Male and female Small White butterflies, Pieris rapae, have different upper wing colours, especially in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum: males absorb UV strongly but reflect most visible light, so they look a brighter white than females ........ Read more »
Morehouse NI, & Rutowski RL. (2010) In the eyes of the beholders: Female choice and avian predation risk associated with an exaggerated male butterfly color. The American naturalist, 176(6), 768-84. PMID: 20942644
- April 9, 2011
- 05:21 PM
- 946 views
A spider in ant disguise
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
My young daughter does not like ants. This is a bit troublesome at this time of the year when garden ants are everyhwere. Yesterday, she pointed at something on the ground. I looked at I saw what looked like an ant carrying another ant running very fast. It must have looked a bit odd as I stopped the "ant" putting my hand in front of it. She hid underneath and I slowly lifted my hand and took a couple of shots. Only when revising the shots did I realised that the ant was only an illusion: it was........ Read more »
Cushing, P. (1997) Myrmecomorphy and Myrmecophily in Spiders: A Review. The Florida Entomologist, 80(2), 165. DOI: 10.2307/3495552
Reiskind, J. (1977) Ant-Mimicry in Panamanian Clubionid and Salticid Spiders (Araneae: Clubionidae, Salticidae). Biotropica, 9(1), 1. DOI: 10.2307/2387854
- April 17, 2011
- 04:38 PM
- 937 views
Dropping aphids and their alarm pheromones
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
Fortunately for the organic gardener, aphids have many predators: hoverfly larvae, lacewings, ladybirds, shield bugs and spiders eat them in numbers. Although aphids appear defenceless against their predators, they have evolved a suite of antipredator responses. Some aphids have warning coloration and sequester chemicals from their feeding plants that are distasteful or toxic to their predators, other release toxic chemicals or waxes and a few have a hard-skinned soldier caste to defend the colo........ Read more »
LOSEY, J., & DENNO, R. (1998) The escape response of pea aphids to foliar-foraging predators: factors affecting dropping behaviour. Ecological Entomology, 23(1), 53-61. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2311.1998.00102.x
Schwartzberg, E., Kunert, G., Stephan, C., David, A., Röse, U., Gershenzon, J., Boland, W., & Weisser, W. (2007) Real-Time Analysis of Alarm Pheromone Emission by the Pea Aphid (Acyrthosiphon Pisum) Under Predation. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 34(1), 76-81. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-007-9397-8
- April 6, 2011
- 06:16 PM
- 930 views
Fascinating jumping spiders
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
We had a very warm day today - for April - the sun hit the brick walls and this is something that brings jumping spiders out. I spot one on the wall, quite high up, she moves in a typical jerkily fashion on to a wooden plank and I take a few shots with my arms outstretched and a poor view of the LCD display, but I am happy when manage a few focused front shots (above). I think this is Salticus cingulatus, a close relative of the zebra jumping spider, Salticus scenicus. Jumping spiders, or saltic........ Read more »
Richman, David B., & Jackson, Robert R. (1992) A review of the ethology of jumping spiders. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 9(2), 33-37. info:/
Meehan CJ, Olson EJ, Reudink MW, Kyser TK, & Curry RL. (2009) Herbivory in a spider through exploitation of an ant-plant mutualism. Current biology : CB, 19(19). PMID: 19825348
- April 5, 2011
- 05:53 PM
- 909 views
Tawny mining bee nesting aggregations
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
I have been posting on the Tawny Mining Bees, Andrena fulva, recently. I have been watching suitable nesting sites for signs of activity and today I came across many nests located in groups in several grassy areas. It was a bit windy and the female bees often missed their nests when landing. Instead of walking the short distance, they would fly again, carry out what looked like a positioning flight, and landed on top of their nest mound and got inside. Some females seemed to be looking for ........ Read more »
Michener, Charles D. (1974) The social behavior of the bees: a comparative study. Harvard University Press. info:other/ISBN-13: 978-0674811751
Rosenheim, Jay A. (1990) Density dependent parasitism and evolution of aggregated nesting in the solitary Hymenoptera. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 83(3), 277-286. info:other/
- July 7, 2011
- 04:18 PM
- 893 views
Brown-Lipped Snails
by Africa Gomez in BugBlog
The Brown-lipped or Grove snail, Cepaea nemoralis has received a lot of attention by evolutionary biologists for more than a century, due to their strikingly variable shell colour - what is called colour polymorphism. In the decades of the middle of the last century it was a very popular research organism. The shiny shell can be yellow, pink or brown. Over each of these background colours there can be no bands, one band or five bands, and the bands can also be fused and be of variable width. The........ Read more »
Cain AJ, & Sheppard PM. (1954) Natural Selection in Cepaea. Genetics, 39(1), 89-116. PMID: 17247470
Davison, A., & Clarke, B. (2000) History or current selection? A molecular analysis of 'area effects' in the land snail Cepaea nemoralis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 267(1451), 1399-1405. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2000.1156
Paul J. Mensink . (2011) Rain event influence short-term feeding preferences in the snail Cepaea nemoralis. Journal of Molluscan Studies. info:/10.1093/mollus/eyr011
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