View allAll Photos Tagged Firebug
Leaving the house yesterday I found this little fellow on my front door...I took some pictures and due to the glass of my front door it looked a bit surrealistic...
I was very excited to day to spot four Firebugs - Pyrrhocoris apterus - on a walk near Hollesley in Suffolk! They were very fast and sadly this is the best shot I managed!
The Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) is a common European bug on the northernmost edge of its range in Britain. It is the sole member of its family to occur here.
Historically Firebugs are very rare and known only from a single Devon population, but many other colonies have been recently reported from Surrey, Sussex, Essex, Suffolk, Kent and Bedfordshire, most of which are probably the result of accidental introductions. The appearance of individuals capable of flight may allow the species to spread here much more effectively in the future.
Usually associated with Tree Mallow and lime trees, feeding on the fruits. It forms dense and conspicuous aggregations in the spring, prior to mating.
Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) perched on a blooming canada goldenrod (Solidago canadiensis).
Kowal bezskrzydły (Pyrrocoris apterus) siedzący na kwitnącej nawłoci kanadyjskiej (Solidago canadiensis).
Firebugs can't fly. They pose no danger to humans. They only eat seeds, so they won't damage your garden.
Pyrrhocoridae is a family of insects with more than 300 species world-wide. Many are red coloured and are known as red bugs and some species are called cotton stainers because their feeding activities leave an indelible yellow-brownish stain on cotton crops. A common species in parts of Europe is the firebug, and its genus name Pyrrhocoris and the family name are derived from the Greek roots for f... Wikipedia
European Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus)
Only recently first sighted in Australia (in the Brimbank area, which is a local council area not very far from us here in Wyndham) in December 2018.
I spotted this one on our Hibiscus Tree over the weekend
A lifer for me.
Happy Beautiful Bug Butt Thursday!
[Eternus]- Helen Top
Fit for Maitreya, Petite, Legacy, Perky, Kupra, Kups, and Reborn
*B.D.R.*- Lena Jeans
=DPSP Poses=- Firebug
Taken at The Ruins
Pair of firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) copulating on a lichen (mostly Physcia adscendens) covered tree trunk.
Para kowali bezskrzydłych (Pyrrhocoris apterus) kopulująca na pokryteym porostami (głównie obrostem wzniesionym, Physcia adscendens) pniu drzewa.
Soon after those counts 'Egmont en Hoorne' - see my previous photo - had been decapitated at Brussels in 1568 on charges of treason, Prince William of Orange, the leader of the Dutch forces against Philip II of Spain, marched his army from Germany in an unsuccessful attempt to gain control of Limburg. His soldiers were hard to keep in line, and in that realisation William gave protection - by way of a so-called Sauvegarde letter - to towns with which he had ties. The Abbess of the tiny Sovereign Principality of Thorn was allowed (1570) to post the prince's coat of arms on her property in the hope the soldiers would be wise enough to leave the convent sisters and their property alone. Heavy penalties including death would otherwise be their fate. That ploy seems to have worked... Two and a quarter centuries later, the ladies weren't as lucky at the hands of Napoleon's troops.
These are very Orange Firebugs, Pyrrhocoris apterus spilling forth out of the bark of the Common Lime Tree, one of an alley leading to the Abbey Church. Most are adults, but if you look carefully you'll see six or seven nymphs or instars - so-called fifth stage instars - as well.
Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) perched on a tree bark.
Kowal bezskrzydły (Pyrrhocoris apterus) siedzący na korze drzewa.
Not wanting to go out to mingle in the massive weekend crowds endangering each other in this Covid-19 pandemic - it's called an 'intelligent lockdown'! -, I again pottered about in Our Garden (see yesterday's photo).
Late yesterday I'd noticed a lone Firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, straggling about on our garden path, and this morning again. But in the afternoon, death had apparently come. I watched Garden Ants, Lasius niger, chewing Firebug apart and industriously taking its various parts to their underground nest. What, I thought, would happen to the chitin exoskeleton?
Soon I saw that that, too, was chewed into transportable sections (see inset) and shlepped home.
My question: chitin is virtually indigestible to insects and I suppose also to ants. In fact, you need the enzyme chitinase to dissolve that exoskeleton. But that chitinase is a very dangerous thing because it can also dissolve Ants' own exoskelton. So what goes on? how is that exoskeleton used in the bowels of the ants' nest? do perhaps digestible molds grow on it? Anyone out there in Flickrland with an answer? Thanks!
Firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) on icy leaf. A common continental species of bug, becoming established in southern England. Adults overwinter and can be found throughout the year.
Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) perched on a leaf.
Kowal bezskrzydły (Pyrrhocoris apterus) siedzący na liściu.
Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) nymphs on tree trunk.
Nimfy kowala bezskrzydłęgo (Pyrrhocoris apterus) na pniu drzewa.
Questo curioso insetto porta il nome scientifico Pyrrhocoris apterus e si chiama in italiano “cimice rossonera” (immagino che i motivi siano ovvi) e in inglese “firebug”. Si nutre della linfa delle piante, facendo anche danni seri, ma è innocua per l’uomo. Come dice il suo nome latino, è priva di ali.
Firebug - Vuurwants - Gendarme - Gemeine Feuerwanze - Pyrrhocoris apterus, fam. Pyrrhocoridae
Erembodegem-Aalst (Oost-Vlaanderen, BE) 1804d24 117.409
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Firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) on a tree bark. The one on the left just moulted out of its larval shell. The one on the right is still in larval stage.
Kowale bezskrzydłe (Pyrrhocoris apterus) na korze drzewa. Osobnik po lewej właśnie zrzucił swoją larwalną wylinkę, osobnik po prawej ciągle jest w postaci larwy.
Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) hiding in a bark crevice.
Kowal bezskrzydły (Pyrrhocoris apterus) chowający się w szczelinie kory.
A Cinnamon bug (Corizus hyoscyami; Hemiptera, Rhopalidae) on Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus). Found in a field near Valmiera (Latvia, 7.VIII.2022).
Fieldstack of a live specimen, based on 74 exposures (fast method); images assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax & Dmap). Sony A6500 + Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x ultra macro apo; ISO-400, f/4, 1/800s, -0.7 step, natural diffused light.
Gear & method used: www.flickr.com/photos/andredekesel/8086137225/in/dateposted/