Entomology Update - December 2025

A bumper edition this month, reflecting how much time I've spent in front of a screen and how little outdoors.

Google Scholar Labs - literature search in a box?

Google has rolled its Gemini AI into Google Scholar  - "Scholar Labs" - a literature search in a box. It's worth investigating. 

Outstanding customer service from Brunel Microscopes

Had a bit of an accident, but I have been delighted with the customer service I have received from Brunel Microscopes and I recommend them highly.

The Invisible Bug?

An appreciation of Cardiastethus fasciiventris (video).

The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland: 2025 checklist

I am honoured to be referenced in the Checklist for the first time. 

Bristly Ladybird Explosion

Everywhere I look I'm finding so many Bristly Ladybirds overwintering in evergreens in Leicester this year.

Leafhoppers vs AI - checking on progress

I'm currently writing a short article on Ribautiana species, so naturally rather than get on with it, I took the opportunity to be distracted by playing with AI.

Up Close and Personal: Macrophotography Methods. Thursday 22.01.2026 (via Zoom) 
This is a talk for people who want images that look beautiful - and help confirm species identities for biological records. Alan Cann has built up a collection of over 3,000 digital images. This talk will take you on a photographic journey through the methods he uses and show you the results. As someone on a budget he prioritises economical solutions, and follows Sir Dave Brailsford's philosophy of marginal gains. Join us online for a photographic journey through the fine details of specimen photography.
Via Zoom at 7.30pm on Monday 07.04.2025, register here: https://forms.gle/eJoyzEP8q2CFD2Bd6

News from Elsewhere

The subtle effects of the climate crisis

The usual vision of the climate crisis is apocalyptic - floods, flames and desertification. While that's true, most of the reality is a lot more subtle, but should be none the less worrying for that.

To kill or not to kill?

A recent paper examines the ethics of insect "collecting", although in reality it is focussed on lethal methods.

We've been mined

NatureSpot data has been mined by all the major AI players, ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot. Is this good or bad?

Dutch Bugs

A good website about the biology and distribution of the bugs found in the Netherlands. Depending on how good your Dutch is, automatic browser translation is your friend!

Read previous updates

Latest photos

Leafhoppers vs AI - checking on progress

I'm currently writing a short article on Ribautiana species, so naturally rather than get on with it, I took the opportunity to be distracted by playing with AI. Recently Google released an update to its Gemini AI engine and this includes improvements to its (annoyingly named) image generator nano banana. Having spent a long time staring at photographs of Ribautiana and having zero artistic ability, I thought it would be useful to see if Gemini was capable of generating a labelled summary diagram of the differences between the UK species. You can see the result above. It didn't quite work but there is considerable promise.

First the easy part - the things it got wrong brackets (everybody loves to criticise AI):

• It didn't get the position of the dark dots on R. ulmi right, although it did get the idea that those dots are important for identification. 
• It made a mess of the apical dark marks on the wings of R. tenerrima.
• It made a complete mess of the aedeagi drawings. 

What it got right:

• It picked up on the fact that only two species of Ribautiana are visually distinguishable, at least in some cases, while the other three species generally are not. 
• It got the idea that the dark dots on R. ulmi are important and that the pale lines on the forewings of R. tenerrima are also significant.
• Most importantly, it correctly confirmed that dissection is important for definite identification of these species.

I didn't spend any time refining the prompts and getting Gemini to redraw the image - I suspect that if I had, the result would have been pretty good. I was really interested to see how AI is progressing and it certainly shows promise. And now, if you're suffering from lack of reality, here's the real thing:

 

Bristly Ladybird Explosion

Everywhere I look I'm finding so many Bristly Ladybirds, Rhyzobius lophanthae, overwintering in evergreens in Leicester this year. Rhyzobius lophanthae is native to Australia. The current global distribution of R. lophanthae is driven by biological control efforts. It was intentionally introduced into California in 1892 as an agent to manage scale insects. Since that initial release, it has successfully spread across much of the southern United States and Europe demonstrating its capacity for dispersal. R. lophanthae is a recent addition to British Ladybirds, with the first documented record in London in 2008.

This is one of the micro ladybirds, with adult length typically around 2 mm. Adults are oval when viewed dorsally and notably dome-shaped in profile. Key features for identification include the color contrast: the elytra (wing covers) are black or dark reddish-brown, often exhibiting a metallic bronze sheen, contrasting sharply with the dull orange or reddish-brown head, prothorax, legs, and underside. The entire dorsal surface is covered densely with short, pale hairs interspersed with longer, darker bristles, a trait that gives it the common name, Bristly Ladybird.

R. lophanthae tends to be concentrated in anthropogenic habitats. Records are primarily associated with parks, domestic gardens, and botanical gardens. These findings indicate a strong reliance on microclimates that offer more favorable temperature regimes than the surrounding rural landscape. A critical observation is the close association between the presence of the ladybird and ornamental conifers (Cupressaceae), confirming that the beetle’s habitat niche in the UK is intrinsically tied to the distribution of its specialized scale insect food source.

It seems that high temperature requirement for reproduction restricts the species to a maximum of one, or potentially two, generations per year (univoltine or partially bivoltine) in ambient UK conditions. Consequently, the establishment success of R. lophanthae in the UK is less determined by the cold tolerance of overwintering adults and more fundamentally limited by the restricted temporal window available for reproduction. Thus the extreme weather of 2025 seems to have favoured this species.

So you know what you're looking for, here's one on a pencil for scale (yes, they're small). Dark brown abdomen, reddish head, all brown underside. Most characteristic are the bristles extending from the lighter fuzz on the elytra (close-up photos required). 

To kill or not to kill?

A recent paper examines the ethics of insect "collecting", although in reality it is focussed on lethal methods. For all the ethical problems, close hands-on interactions with insects "can foster the development of environmentally conscious young people who contribute to the long-term preservation of local habitats ... By encouraging students to explore outdoor environments, insect collecting can nurture a connection with nature, inspiring a lifelong interest in natural sciences and environmental stewardship". 

Abstract: Insects have long been integral to youth science education both in K-12 classrooms and in informal learning contexts due to their diversity, accessibility, and ecological importance. Collecting and studying insects helps students develop key scientific skills such as observation, classification, and inquiry. However, with the rise of conservation movements and ethical considerations regarding animal rights, the practice of insect collecting has come under scrutiny. This paper explores the practice of insect collecting with students in the K-12 age range, highlighting both its educational benefits and the ethical challenges it poses. We examine arguments both for and against insect collecting and propose a framework from which teachers, students, and informal educators can construct their own code of ethics. The goal is to foster ethical, inquiry-based learning while ensuring respect for nature and promoting a nuanced understanding of environmental stewardship.

White, P., Stroupe, D., Brown, C., Conley, E., & McMahon, S. (2025) Insect collecting with K-12 aged students: Balancing educational value and ethical considerations. The Journal of Environmental Education, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2025.2567386

 

The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland: 2025 checklist

Maintaining a national checklist for a taxon as large as spiders is a monumental task and Alastair Lavery has again updated the UK list, last published in 2019. This update recognises 680 established UK species, an increase of 15 in the last five years. Particularly notable is the number of species in anthropic habitats (buildings) - many of these are surely on the edge, waiting until the climate favours their spread outdoors. Also of interest is the discussion around the yet undescribed spider Megalepthyphantes cf. collinus and Mastigusa where for the first time in a Checklist, I am honoured to be referenced (even if my name is only spelt right once :-)

Lavery, A.H. (2025) The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland: 2025 checklist. Arachnology, 20(3), 410-427.  https://doi.org/10.13156/arac.2024.20.3.8

The Invisible Bug?

 An appreciation of Cardiastethus fasciiventris.

 

Outstanding customer service from Brunel Microscopes

I did something stupid. I've never damaged a microscope objective in my life, but somehow I managed to scratch the 40X objective on my new compound microscope, leaving an ugly mark dead center in the field of view. After some self-castigation, I emailed Brunel Microscopes, explained the situation and asked to order a replacement. To my surprise, they offered to replace the damaged lens free of charge, something they were clearly not obligated to do. All throughout my dealings with them I have been delighted with the customer service I have received from Brunel Microscopes and I recommend them highly.

 

The subtle effects of the climate crisis

diapause: noun, a period of suspended development during unfavourable environmental conditions.

The usual vision of the climate crisis is apocalyptic - floods, flames and desertification. While that's true, most of the reality is a lot more subtle, but should be none the less worrying for that. A new paper looks at the cost of diapause in mirid bugs. In the paper, the cause of diapause is day length, but diapause is diapause and the costs are the same for climate-induced diapause, e.g. due to temperature or drought. Under diapause conditions, oviposition was delayed and 30% fewer eggs were produced, reflecting the cost of producing diapause eggs. This shows that producing diapause eggs to ensure long-term survival incurs costs. It's subtle but as the frequency of adverse events increases, it's bad news. 

The cost of diapause egg production in two mirid bugs, Trigonotylus caelestialium and Adelphocoris triannulatus (Hemiptera: Miridae). (2025) Journal of Insect Physiology, 104915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2025.104915

 

 

Google Scholar Labs - literature search in a box?

The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed. You can either learn to live with AI or stick your head in the sand.

Google has rolled its Gemini AI into Google Scholar  - "Scholar Labs" - a literature search in a box. Scholar Labs is currently an experimental feature, but as Google wants to get us all hooked on Gemini so it can monetise it, it's not going away. The good thing is that all the references are linked so you can read them yourself and check the veracity, and we're talking about peer reviewed literature here (unless AI has already contaminated scientific publishing). The bad thing? Well obviously you don't know what papers/sources it's missing out - the unknown unknowns. I tried it out on a few of my favourites (try these for yourself, or substitute your own interests):

• Describe what is known about Laboulbeniales in Coccinellida. 
• Explain the ecology of Anthocoridae in the UK. 
• Describe recent developments in the taxonomy of Collembola in Europe and the UK resulting from DNA studies. 
• Explain the known roles of cephalic modification in Linyphiidae.

I was quite impressed by the results, although as always, an AI output is a starting point/prompt rather than a conclusive endpoint. It certainly helped me eliminate a few of my own unknown unknowns and gave me a framework for further thinking. As always with LLMs, it's all about prompt engineering so I seeded ChatGPT with an idea and asked it to write prompts for me, for example:

• Seed: Explain likely causes of invasion waves of Opiliones. 

GPT-5 mini suggested: 

Here’s a concise, effective prompt you can use (for an AI or researcher) to explain the causes of invasion waves by Opiliones (harvestmen):

"Explain the causes and mechanisms behind invasion waves of Opiliones (harvestmen). Cover ecological, behavioral, physiological, and anthropogenic factors that enable range expansions and rapid colonization, and describe how life-history traits (e.g., dispersal ability, reproductive rate, diapause), habitat preferences, climate change, land-use change, human-mediated transport, and interspecific interactions (competition, predation, mutualisms, enemy release) contribute. Discuss temporal and spatial patterns of invasions, typical stages of an invasion wave (arrival, establishment, expansion), and empirical methods used to detect and study invasion waves (genetic analyses, long-term monitoring, species distribution models). Finally, provide examples from the literature of notable Opiliones range expansions and suggest testable hypotheses and study designs to disentangle driving factors."

If you want a shorter version for a general audience or classroom task, use this:

"Describe why and how harvestmen (Opiliones) produce invasion waves. Explain key biological traits, environmental changes (e.g., climate and land use), and human activities that promote arrival, establishment, and rapid range expansion. Include examples, detection methods, and testable hypotheses."

Of course, any field of knowledge is subject to the inherent biases in that field:

• What is the likely impact of artificial intelligence on climate? (try this one for yourself and see if you think it gives unbiased results)

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_labs/search?hl=en