Category: Photography

The 1000th species to be added to this site was only discovered yesterday in my back garden, and it not only introduces this new species but also a new order of insects which I haven’t featured before – the Psocoptera.

This order includes the barklice and the booklice, and in some quarters prefer to be called barkflies. They are quite small insects ranging from 1.5-7 mm long, and can be confused with psyllids, jumping plant lice, which do what the names says and jumps when disturbed, where as barklice don’t jump. The reference to ‘lice’ is a bit of a misnomer as they are not parasitic but free-living insects.

Barklice feed on various ‘microflora (algae such as Pleurococcus, lichens and fungi) or on more general organic matter which often occurs on surfaces of bark or the foliage of trees. Not all barklice are associated with trees, as some are found in low vegetation, leaf litter and under stones. Some species are fully winged, and some are only partially winged or wingless.

There are around 4,400 psocid species worldwide, 1,000 in Europe, and 100 in Britain, and many go unoticed and unrecorded, although most every tree is likey a home to them. 68 of these species come under the barklice or barkflies umbrella which are found outdoors, and the remaining booklice are found indoors. These are wingless and grow up to around 2 mm long. They are most commonly found in human dwellings and warehouses where they feed on stored grain, book bindings, wallpaper paste and other starchy products, and on the minute traces of mould found in old books. They can sometimes cause damage to stored museum collections of insects and plants. A few Psocoptera live in bird nests feeding on feathers and dead skin cells.

Psocoptera are regarded as one of the most primitive amongst insects, as their mouth parts show little modification from those of the earliest known fossils.

Valenzuela flavidus – At around 3 mm (1/8 in) long, this is quite an attractive species with pale yellow colouring and distinct brown markings. During summer and autumn it is mainly found on branches of deciduous trees and bushes, though occasionally also on conifers and evergreen branches. During winter and spring it is found in leaf litter.

Striped Millipede Ommatoiulus sabulosus

This is one of Britain’s largest millipedes, and it has to be one of it’s most attractive. Growing up to around 30 mm (1 3/16 in) long, it is very well marked and unmistakable with 2 conspicuous deep orange stripes running the entire length of the body. I discovered it under a detatched piece of bark in my local wood. It feeds on dead and decaying plant material, and can sometimes be found on tree trunks and walls, or under logs in a broad range of habitats including, woodland and meadows, with a preference for sandy soil.

Using the ‘classic’ Gutenberg ‘block’ to add images I have discovered that you can frame them, and you don’t get that landing page with the adverts either, so you should be able to double-click to zoom in without the added fuss.

I keep some pieces of tree bark in an area of the garden, along with a few branches, which help to give shelter to animals. Occasionally I peer underneath. I know these slimy critters aren’t to everybodies taste, but they all play their role in keeping nature’s balance, and are little wonders in themselves. The trio of Common Chrysalis Snails in the top image are around 4.4 mm (1/4 in) long, and the Discus Snail in the last image is a little bigger at 7 mm in diameter. Iberian Three-band Slug centre looks to be a young juvenile.

Myrmica ruginodis – This is species of one of the red ants you may find nesting in your garden. This is a winged queen. It nests in the ground, in tufts of grass, under stones and in rotten wood. Colonies are usually polygynous with an average of 15 queens and a thousand workers or more.

Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) – In the wee dark hours if you get up for a cuppa tea, or to pop to the loo, you might see the back end of one of these little critters as it scurries off to escape the sudden glare of light. It is from a primitive group of insects and has “negative phototaxis”, which means it will instinctively flee from light.

It is a nocturnal scavenger which feeds on carbohydrates and sugars. The species scientific name, ‘saccharina’ literally means ‘starch eater’. It will eat glue, book bindings, paper, photos, sugar, coffee, hair, carpet, clothing and dandruff. It can become a pest in libraries and museums for it voracious appetitie for starches. Outdoors it lives under rocks, in leaf litter, caves, and ant nests. They can live for a year without eating. It has a lifecycle of around 2 1/2 to 3 1/2years, so it is quite a long-lived insect.

I initially found this one in my kitchen sink. Sometimes they are also found in bathtubs. In days gone this gave the impression that they came in the house via the drains, but no, they simply find our sinks and sanitary wear too slippery to climb out once they are in.

Oh, and anybody up for a photo challenge, give these little fast scurrying blighters a go. I was so lucky just to get these shots in.

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) – It was a morning where these butterflies were showing off their colours with their wings splayed fully open. This is the more brightly coloured female with its rich orange flashes on the wings. Meadow Browns appear to be a penny for a dozen (old saying) at present, and one can tend to easily ignore them as they don’t always have the flashy colours or patterns like other butterflies do, and they mainly hide in the grass until they are flushed out as you pass by. Yet when you come across them with their wings open on full display to the world … it can kind of take your breath away.

Sagittaria sagittifolia – I came across this beautiful semi-aquatic plant on my local canal. It has large, dark green arrow-shaped leaves.

Please double-click images for a closer look.

Pieris rapae – This is a female with her two spots per forewing. So delicate and delightful, this is always a welcome visitor to the garden. It was so windy that day, it was a wonder she could flutter at all with her fragile wings. But she is tougher than she looks, and has to be.

Double-click image for a closer look.

Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) – This is a small shaggy-haired bumblebee, and probably my most favourite of the bumblebees – if I really had to choose one. I adore its colour combination of bright orange tail and lemon-yellow abdominal and thoracic bands. But they are little devils to photograph, for they are always so brisk and busy in their work. I count myself lucky to get the shots I have here when this one visited my rear garden back in May. It is a male with long yellow hairs on his face.

Double-click images for a closer look.

For further interest visit the ‘Bees’ page.

Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber) – Under a loose strip of bark in the back garden I found quite a few of these hiding. Believe it or not in wet weather they can become oversaturated, that’s why some may appear indoors. Intially all woodlice may look the same, but there are quite a number of different species and they all play an important roll in the ecosystem.

Of note, and perhaps of interest to fellow photographers, I used triple diffusion in these images. One a preformed plastic diffuser fixed directly to the speedlight itself, over this I roughly placed an opaque sandwich bag left a little scrunched (yes, you read that right. I have even used socks, milk cartons, trimmed and shaped plastic folders, amongst other things by way of experment in the past), and finally a rigid fabric diffuser attached to the front of the macro lens by the Raynox lens convertor. All images were taken handheld, with the advantage of a fairly level and comfortable surface, and the abiliy to ‘brace’ both arms to help with focus at such close magnification and to reduce camera shake.

Double-click images for a closer look.

For further interest visit the ‘Woodlice’ page.

… I lift a rock and shed some light. The rain has been very welcome here, but the trouble is once it starts it doesn’t know when to stop. Between the rain I decided to see what might be hiding under a few rocks in the garden. Here I found this rather snug millipede, which looked like I had awoken it from a daze. It is one of the ‘tail-less’ Cylindroiulus, of which there are 4 UK species. I also got a bonus just in frame and a new species for me here of a very small woodlouse. It is called the Common Pygmy Woodlouse (Trichoniscus pusillus agg.) which grows up to 5 mm (almost 1/4 in) long.

Double-click image for a closer look.

For further interest visit the ‘Centipedes and Millipedes’ page.

Biston betularia – I have seen this one a few tmes over the years, but never the completely black form (carbonaria), which is a favourite in genetic evolutionary studies, harking back to the days of the Industrial Revolution and the high levels of soot that was emittted into the atmosphere at the time. The trees became so covered in the dark soot the moth lost its natural camouflage and stuck out like a sore thumb. It was more vulnerable to predation, until forms came along which were darker and survived much better. The Peppered Moth was not just the only moth species to have adapted to the environmental conditions of the time, and there are other melanic forms around which I have seen. Double-click image to enlarge.

© Peter Hillman ♦ 22nd May 2020 ♦ Rear garden, South Staffordshire ♦ Nikon D7200

Anania hortulata – This is one of the larger micro-moths, and one most may well be familiar with. They are very much attracted to light.

© Peter Hillman ♦ 20th May 2020 ♦ Rear garden, South Staffordshire ♦ Nikon D7200