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Insectos / Insecta
Son el grupo animal con mayor número de especies y más extendido en el planeta con aproximadamente un millón de especies descritas (la estimación de las no descritas llega a 6 millones).
Los insectos son invertebrados artrópodos. Su característica fundamental es que tienen dos antenas, tres pares de patas y en la mayoría de los casos, aunque no siempre es así, dos pares de alas.
Se trata de un grupo de invertebrados que puebla los hábitats más diversos, incluso el mar, aunque con un pequeño número de especies. Pueden encontrarse insectos en el interior de grutas, al nivel del mar y en las cumbres de mayor altitud. sus formas difieren considerablemente. Algunas especies pueden considerarse de gran belleza, como las mariposas y libélulas, y otras son calificadas como repulsivas (aunque depende de las personas y de cada sociedad en concreto).
Hay especies de insectos muy fructíferas para el hombre, como las abejas y otras pueden convertirse en plagas, como algunas especies de saltamontes (langostas).
Los insectos son básicos para la vida en la Tierra. Sin ellos muchas especies de aves, reptiles e incluso mamíferos, no podrían sobrevivir.
Portugal 03-10-2019
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species: P. machaon
Binomial name
Papilio machaon
Linnaeus, 1758
Introduction
Back in the 18th century when Linnaeus created the System Naturae, the word Papilio was used as the genus name for every known species of butterfly in the world. Since then much has been learnt about the relationships between different species. Consequently most have been reassigned to new genera, and only about 215 of the 17600 currently known species are retained in Papilio.
Papilio machaon is widespread and common throughout much of the northern hemisphere. It occurs over the whole of continental Europe, eastward across temperate Asia to Japan; in Africa north of the Sahara; and throughout much of North America. In Britain it is locally common on the Norfolk Broads, an area of fenland and lakes in eastern England.
Individuals originating from France occasionally migrate across the English Channel and have been periodically recorded in Hampshire, Dorset, Sussex and the Isle of Wight, but such sightings are very rare - perhaps one or two sightings per year. Genuine migrants can usually be recognised by their faded and worn appearance. Fresh looking insects seen anywhere apart from Norfolk can be attributed to escaped or deliberately released livestock - both the British subspecies brittanicus and the continental gorganus are commonly reared by hobbyists. ( it is illegal to capture or breed stock of British origin, but nevertheless a widespread practice ).
There are no similar species occurring in Britain. On the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia machaon shares it's habitat with Papilio hospiton, which is similarly marked but has much shorter tails on the hindwings. In Algeria the distribution of machaon overlaps that of the Saharan Swallowtail Papilio saharae, which is identical in appearance except for the antennae, which have 30 segments in saharae, and 33-36 segments in machaon.
Lifecycle
The butterfly is bivoltine on the continent, emerging in May and August, but in Britain the second brood is either partial or non-existent.
In the Norfolk fens where the butterflies emerge in late May, they lay their large brown globular eggs singly on the fine leaves of milk parsley Peucidanum palustre. The eggs are nearly always laid on the upper foliage of tall plants which project above the surrounding reedbeds. They hatch after about a week.
The young caterpillar is black, marked with a band of white. It looks remarkably like a small bird-dropping as it rests openly on the leaves. According to Thomas the camouflage is not effective against spiders, which may predate up to 65% of 1st instar larvae. When fully grown in July, the caterpillar is a most magnificent creature - bright green, marked with narrow black bands and orange spots. Behind it's head is an eversible fleshy pink forked structure called an osmaterium, which is raised if the larva is irritated. This structure emits pungent chemicals, capable of deterring ants, wasps, and flies, but does not deter birds - reed buntings, sedge warblers and bearded tits between them devouring at least 50% of mature larvae.
The chrysalis occurs in 2 colour forms, being either plain green, or light brown with a dark lateral stripe. It is attached vertically by a thin silken girdle and by the cremaster, usually low down on the stem of a reed, where it hibernates until the following May.
Adult behaviour
The butterfly has a characteristic powerful gliding flight, and is capable of covering large distances. In France and Spain for example I have often observed males indulging in "hill-topping", i.e. flying to congregate at the top of hills, where they compete for the attention of passing females. In Britain the butterfly breeds only on the flat terrain of Norfolk, and probably only covers short distances, although it can be seen crossing open expanses of water on the Broads.
On warm sunny days, male Swallowtails patrol back and forth along a regular route in search of females. Often both sexes home in on a particular clump of bushes where courtship and copulation take place. The pair often remain joined for 2 or 3 hours before the female departs to oviposit.
In the morning, and again in late afternoon both sexes can be seen flying freely about their habitat, pausing regularly to nectar at the pink flowers of angelica, knapweeds, marsh thistles, red campion, ragged robin and valerian. When nectaring they keep their wings constantly fluttering to prevent the weight of their bodies from dragging down on the fragile flowers. This fluttering behaviour is typical of all Papilioninae, wherever they occur in the world. In Norfolk the butterflies also often nectar at the spectacular bright yellow flowers of yellow iris.
In cool but sunny weather, or during periods of hazy sunshine, Swallowtails can sometimes be seen basking amongst dry grasses. During overcast weather they roost hanging from reed stems, and probably also amongst the foliage of sallow and alder bushes, and other fenland vegetation.
In the French Alps and the Pyrenees the butterflies commonly indulge in mud-puddling - siphoning mineral-rich moisture from damp mud and cattle dung, but I have not observed this behaviour in Britain.
Kingdom:Animalia
Clade:Euarthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Pieridae
Genus:Gonepteryx
Species:G. rhamni
Binomial name
Gonepteryx rhamni
Habitat: This species is distributed locally where larval food plant is found, mainly in limestone areas of the midlands and west of Ireland.
It has only one annual brood.
Flight Times: The adult may be found at almost any time except mid-summer.
Larval food plants:
Buckthorn Rhamnus catharticus
Alder Buckthorn Frangula alnus
Hibernation: Overwinters as an adult butterfly
The male Brimstone is often found quite a long distance from its food plant.
The Brimstone hibernates as an adult but often comes out of hibernation on mild, sunny winter days returning later to resume hibernation.
Life Cycle of the Brimstone
Ovum:
The bottle shaped eggs are laid singly on the underside of leaves or shoots. They can be laid up to a height of 4 metres or more, between mid-April and the beginning of July, but peaking in May and early June.
They are c.1.3mm in height and initially nearly white in colour but after a few days become a deep yellow turning grey before hatching. The egg stage lasts c.2 weeks.
Larva:
The mature larva is between 32-34 mm in length with a green body which changes to a blue-green on the lateral surfaces above the white supra-spiracular line. The body is finely speckled with black bristles as is the green head. Larvae can be found in June and July. The early instar rests on the upper side
of the leaf along the midrid with it claspers at the base and feeds by eating down through the
layers leaving the characteristic holes, the later instar rests on the leaf edge or along a petiole
and eats the entire leaf. The larval stage lasts for c. 30 days.
Pupa:
When fully fed the larva leaves the food plant to pupate at a suitable site - generally the underside of a leaf or stem in low vegetation. The pupa is attached to the plant by the cresmater and supported by a loose silken girdle.
Pupation takes place in July and lasts c. 2 weeks.
Adult:
After emerging in early July the Brimstone butterfly is active untill the end of September but does not mate and lay eggs until the following spring. Instead it feeds extensively in order to fortify itself for hibernation.
It has a preference for purple and mauve flowers such as thistle, purple loosestrife, buddleia and teasle.
Towards the end of September it goes in search of a suitable hibernation site.
The upperside of the male Brimstone wings are a clear lemon yellow but the hindwings have a slightly greener hue. There is an orange spot in the centre of each forewing near the upper margin and in the centre of both hindwings, and a series of small brown spots along the wing margins at the termination of each vein.
The female Brimstone has much paler upper wings with a green tint.
Both male and female have sharply angled wings and prominent veins and when at rest the colour and shape of their closed wings closely resemble pale yellow leaves. This gives perfect camouflage while overwintering among the holly, ivy or bramble leaves between September and May.
Location: San Cristóbal, Táchira. Venezuela.
Unknown species 001 Beetle Cerambycidae (6–7 cm aprox.) black and white with spikes and lines, Coleoptera.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Superfamily: Chrysomeloidea
Family: Cerambycidae (Latreille, 1802)
Genus: ?
Species: ?
Scattered throughout Ireland's Woodlands. , more common in southern regions.
Foodplant - Violet.
70-75mm (2.75 inches)
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Nymphalidae
Genus:Argynnis
Species:A. paphia
Binomial name
Argynnis paphia
This butterfly is the largest of the fritillaries found in Ireland. It can be easily distinguished from the Dark Green Fritillary by its underside streaks of silver.
The butterfly is found in woods and wooded hedgerows.
The female has a slightly darker pattern than the male.
The uppersides of the male's wings have a rich orange groundcolour with black spots and lines and four conspicuous sex bands along the central veins, it also has a strong gliding flight.
The female uppersides are duller in groundcolour with large black spots.
On the undersides the hindwings of both sexes are washed with four silver streaks on a greenish background.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species: P. machaon
Binomial name
Papilio machaon
Linnaeus, 1758
Introduction
Back in the 18th century when Linnaeus created the System Naturae, the word Papilio was used as the genus name for every known species of butterfly in the world. Since then much has been learnt about the relationships between different species. Consequently most have been reassigned to new genera, and only about 215 of the 17600 currently known species are retained in Papilio.
Papilio machaon is widespread and common throughout much of the northern hemisphere. It occurs over the whole of continental Europe, eastward across temperate Asia to Japan; in Africa north of the Sahara; and throughout much of North America. In Britain it is locally common on the Norfolk Broads, an area of fenland and lakes in eastern England.
Individuals originating from France occasionally migrate across the English Channel and have been periodically recorded in Hampshire, Dorset, Sussex and the Isle of Wight, but such sightings are very rare - perhaps one or two sightings per year. Genuine migrants can usually be recognised by their faded and worn appearance. Fresh looking insects seen anywhere apart from Norfolk can be attributed to escaped or deliberately released livestock - both the British subspecies brittanicus and the continental gorganus are commonly reared by hobbyists. ( it is illegal to capture or breed stock of British origin, but nevertheless a widespread practice ).
There are no similar species occurring in Britain. On the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia machaon shares it's habitat with Papilio hospiton, which is similarly marked but has much shorter tails on the hindwings. In Algeria the distribution of machaon overlaps that of the Saharan Swallowtail Papilio saharae, which is identical in appearance except for the antennae, which have 30 segments in saharae, and 33-36 segments in machaon.
Habitats
Throughout most of it's range the Swallowtail shows itself to be highly adaptable, utilising a wide variety of habitats including sub-arctic tundra in Canada, prairies, woodlands and arid canyons in the south of the USA; hay meadows, roadside verges, river banks and sub-alpine pastures in Europe; high montane habitats in the Atlas mountains of north Africa, and semi-cultivated habitats in the Mediterranean area.
It's adaptability extends also to it's choice of foodplants - in North America the caterpillars usually feed on Compositae ( Artimesia, Petasites ), while in Europe Rutaceae ( Ruta, Haplophyllum ) and Umbelliferae ( Foeniculum, Peucidanum etc ) are used instead. In Britain however the butterfly is restricted to a single foodplant - milk parsley, and breeds only at a very small number of wet fenland habitats in north-east Norfolk. Individual specimens have been tagged and found to fly over quite a large area, often reaching adjacent fens, but the butterflies do not stray beyond the general area of the broads.
Several centuries ago the species almost certainly occurred as a resident species over a much wider area of southern and eastern England, but later contracted it's range to the Great Fen - a vast area of wetlands covering Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. Following the drainage of this area, and it's conversion to agriculture, the butterfly was forced to contract it's range even further - to the Norfolk Broads. In such isolation the genetic diversity would have diminished, causing the so-called "sub-species" machaon brittanicus to become far less adaptable, and to acquire minor differences in appearance from the ancestral stock.
In the last 100 years the average wingspan of Swallowtails, and the average width of the thorax, have reduced in size, an indicator of further genetic impoverishment, which is likely to result in further contraction and eventual extinction. Expansion of the gene pool can only be accomplished by the introduction of genetically richer livestock from Europe, a policy which hopefully will eventually be adopted by conservation groups.
Although the butterfly only breeds in the wet fenlands and broads of Norfolk, migrants from France are periodically observed at coastal sites in Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex and Kent. On 1st Sept 2003 for example I watched an immigrant Swallowtail flying across a main road at Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire. In most years less than half a dozen are recorded, usually in August or September. Individuals very occasionally penetrate further inland, and are reputed to sometimes breed on chalk grasslands, reportedly feeding as larvae on wild carrot Daucus carota, although I know of no recent records.
It is planned that by the end of the 21st century the Great Fens which formerly occupied much of eastern England will be partially restored, leading to a sizeable increase in suitable habitat. Whether such a project is feasible in the face of population expansion however remains to be seen.
Lifecycle
The butterfly is bivoltine on the continent, emerging in May and August, but in Britain the second brood is either partial or non-existent.
In the Norfolk fens where the butterflies emerge in late May, they lay their large brown globular eggs singly on the fine leaves of milk parsley Peucidanum palustre. The eggs are nearly always laid on the upper foliage of tall plants which project above the surrounding reedbeds. They hatch after about a week.
The young caterpillar is black, marked with a band of white. It looks remarkably like a small bird-dropping as it rests openly on the leaves. According to Thomas the camouflage is not effective against spiders, which may predate up to 65% of 1st instar larvae. When fully grown in July, the caterpillar is a most magnificent creature - bright green, marked with narrow black bands and orange spots. Behind it's head is an eversible fleshy pink forked structure called an osmaterium, which is raised if the larva is irritated. This structure emits pungent chemicals, capable of deterring ants, wasps, and flies, but does not deter birds - reed buntings, sedge warblers and bearded tits between them devouring at least 50% of mature larvae.
The chrysalis occurs in 2 colour forms, being either plain green, or light brown with a dark lateral stripe. It is attached vertically by a thin silken girdle and by the cremaster, usually low down on the stem of a reed, where it hibernates until the following May.
Adult behaviour
The butterfly has a characteristic powerful gliding flight, and is capable of covering large distances. In France and Spain for example I have often observed males indulging in "hill-topping", i.e. flying to congregate at the top of hills, where they compete for the attention of passing females. In Britain the butterfly breeds only on the flat terrain of Norfolk, and probably only covers short distances, although it can be seen crossing open expanses of water on the Broads.
On warm sunny days, male Swallowtails patrol back and forth along a regular route in search of females. Often both sexes home in on a particular clump of bushes where courtship and copulation take place. The pair often remain joined for 2 or 3 hours before the female departs to oviposit.
In the morning, and again in late afternoon both sexes can be seen flying freely about their habitat, pausing regularly to nectar at the pink flowers of angelica, knapweeds, marsh thistles, red campion, ragged robin and valerian. When nectaring they keep their wings constantly fluttering to prevent the weight of their bodies from dragging down on the fragile flowers. This fluttering behaviour is typical of all Papilioninae, wherever they occur in the world. In Norfolk the butterflies also often nectar at the spectacular bright yellow flowers of yellow iris.
In cool but sunny weather, or during periods of hazy sunshine, Swallowtails can sometimes be seen basking amongst dry grasses. During overcast weather they roost hanging from reed stems, and probably also amongst the foliage of sallow and alder bushes, and other fenland vegetation.
In the French Alps and the Pyrenees the butterflies commonly indulge in mud-puddling - siphoning mineral-rich moisture from damp mud and cattle dung, but I have not observed this behaviour in Britain.
Insecta>Diptera>Simuliidae>Simulium>?
Petites mouches mesurant de 2 à 6 mm selon les espèces, généralement noirâtres et bossues, avec une petite tête portant de gros yeux et des pièces buccales de type piqueur. Les larves sont aquatiques, mais les adultes vivent à l’air libre dans des milieux favorables proches d’un point d’eau (ruisseaux, sources, étangs…). Les femelles sont hématophages, le sang étant indispensable au bon développement des nombreux œufs qu’elles pondent. Elles attaquent les chevaux et les bovins, ainsi que d’autres animaux (lapins, oiseaux), généralement en essaim, durant les périodes chaudes et humides, en ciblant les endroits où la peau est la plus fine. Elles sont également vectrices de virus et de nématodes. Une femelle isolée peut aussi s’intéresser à un humain. La piqûre est plus ou moins douloureuse et provoque une irritation. Elles semblent avoir proliféré en Europe avec l’augmentation des températures. Curieusement, je n’en observe qu’en hiver, sur les fleurs, probablement parce que les bovins sont rentrés dans les étables, et il est possible qu’il s’agisse de mâles (si c’était des femelles, je leur aurais déjà servi de casse-croûte!).
Small flies measuring 2 to 6 mm depending on the species, usually blackish and hunchbacked, with a small head with large eyes and stinger-like mouthparts. The larvae are aquatic, but the adults live in the open air in favorable environments near a water point (streams, springs, ponds...). Females are hematophagous, blood being essential for the proper development of the many eggs they lay. They attack horses and cattle, as well as other animals (rabbits, birds), usually in swarms, during hot and humid periods, targeting areas where the skin is thinnest. They are also vectors of viruses and nematodes. An isolated female may also be interested in a human. The bite is more or less painful and causes irritation. They seem to have proliferated in Europe with the increase in temperatures. Curiously, I only observe them in winter, on the flowers, probably because the cattle have returned to the stables, and it is possible that they are males (if they were females, I would have already served as a snack!).
Unidentified insect - possibly a body and a wing from different individuals; scale bar: 5 mm with 0.1 mm divisions
Few days back I click this unknown fly specie, looks like she wants to say 'Hi' ..... if anyone know her name do let me know.
press 'L' to view in black
Spring Fishfly (Chauliodes rastricornis) with an unidentified parasite - The Space Coast of Florida
I wish the little bugger wasn't motion-blurred, but it was pumping away and wouldn't hold still for the required exposure.
If anyone can ID the little blood sucking parasite, I'd be curious to know what it is.
With a little help from some folks at BugGuide it looks like the parasite could be a form of insect feeding midge (Ceratopogonidae; a.k.a. No-see-um), possibly Forcipomyia ectoparasites.
Protapion fulvipes (Geoffroy, 1785) = Apion apicirostre Desbrochers, 1895 = Apion bergrothi Desbrochers, 1895 = Apion coxale Desbrochers, 1895 = Apion dichroum Bedel, 1886 = Apion lederi Kirsch, 1878 = Apion maculicoxis Desbrochers, 1897 = Curculio flavipes Paykull, 1792 = Rhinomacer fulvipes Geoffroy, 1785.