Tuesday, 5 August 2025

Kybos Confusion

Kybos betulicola

For the first time ever I've managed to identify a Kybos leafhopper to species level. This is a very common but difficult genus where the male aedeagus is of limited help and needs to be supported by imaging the sternal apodemes and dorsal tergites. 

Kybos betulicola aedeagus, sternal apodemes, dorsal tergites

And the winner is ... Kybos betulicola. Except that ... there is taxonomic disagreement over the name (aka Kybos lindbergi / Kybos ludus, see: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18234077.pdf), but the UK Checklist currently recognizes K. betulicola, so that's what it is for now.

One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for leafhoppers.
 








Friday, 1 August 2025

Entomology Update - July 2025

Much needed rain, now waiting for the Arthropods to respond. August is looking good. 



A new study of the invasive Linyphiid spider Mermessus trilobatus contradicts recent results about the spread of Mirid bugs. 


Who will get the first record for VC55?


Popping out before the rain pays off. 


Everyone loves a treehopper, but what are all those lumps, bumps and spines for?
 

I'm still on my quest to become less rubbish with bees. After a great deal of hesitation, I splashed out on Else & Edwards monumental Bee Bible, The Bees of the British Isles.


Lucerne Bug, Adelphocoris lineolatus





Monday, 28 July 2025

Or Else

Bee Books

I'm still on my quest to become less rubbish with bees. I felt I'd stalled recently, so after several months of struggling with Steven Falk's "field guide" (a somewhat marginal call, but you can put it in a rucksack, and if you've got a 20X hand lens, good lighting, and no wind, use it in the field), after a great deal of hesitation, I splashed out on Else & Edwards monumental Bee Bible, The Bees of the British Isles. 

And I'm glad I did. The Else & Edwards keys frequently use different characters to the Falk keys, often less subjective in my opinion, and this alone makes them easier to use. The photos & drawings are larger and better reproduced therefore it is much easier to see fine details. In addition, the Else & Edwards comes with a CD with 835 key photos - full screen screen viewing is great. So what's the snag (apart from not being able to put them in your rucksack): THE PRICE! £150!!

So is comparing these books like comparing apples and oranges? Yes it is. A reasonably priced "field guide" vs. the ultimate reference. For me it's worth it. You pays your money and you takes your choice. 

Falk, S. (2019) Field guide to the bees of Great Britain and Ireland. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Else, GR and Edwards, M.(2018) Handbook of the bees of the British Isles. Vols 1 and 2. The Ray Society, London.

 




Tuesday, 22 July 2025

Lumps, Bumps and Spines

Eared Leafhopper, Ledra aurita

Everyone loves a treehopper, but what are all those lumps, bumps and spines for? A new study suggest that not only are treehoppers capable of detecting the electric fields emitted by their predators but that the morphology of the pronotum increases their sensitivity to electrical stimuli. 

Electroreception in treehoppers: How extreme morphologies can increase electrical sensitivity. (2025) PNAS 122(30):e2505253122 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2505253122

"The link between form and function of an organism’s morphology is usually apparent or intuitive. However, some clades of organisms show remarkable diversity in their form, often exhibiting extreme morphologies, but with no obvious functional explanation. Treehoppers (Membracidae) are a family of insects that exemplify this, displaying an astounding morphological diversity, resulting in a plethora of extreme forms. The function of these morphological extremities and the reasons for their evolution have thus far remained largely enigmatic. However, this mystery can be considered in light of the capacity of many animals to detect electric fields in air via electrostatic actuation of mechanosensory structures on their body. Importantly, the strength of the electric field experienced by these mechanosensory structures is expected by physics to depend on the animal’s geometry, with sharp and elongated features producing the highest electric fields. Therefore, we hypothesize that the extreme morphologies of treehoppers increase their electrical sensitivity. Here, we show that treehoppers, along with their predators and mutualists, produce electric fields and that the treehopper Poppea capricornis can detect electric fields, responding behaviorally. We also demonstrate that predatory wasps and mutualist bees differ significantly in their electrostatic profiles, pointing to the sophistication of electrical information potentially available to treehoppers. Biophysical, computational, and mathematical techniques are then utilized to provide evidence that the pronotum of treehoppers is the site of electroreception and that its extreme shapes may enhance its sensitivity to electricity."
 


Saturday, 19 July 2025

A walk in the park

With much needed rain on the way I took an early morning walk in my local park. I had a target species in mind but didn't find it, so abandoning the Acers, I went off piste. Walking past a large Salix alba, a quick rummage brought up a specimen of Blepharidopterus diaphanus (only a few previous VC55 records).

Blepharidopterus diaphanus

Before turning for home, I investigated a group of Wellingtonia, and found a few rather indistinctive bugs I took home for further investigation. Closer inspection revealed that one seemed to be Orthotylus caprai. This is a Mediterranean species which has spread across Europe and only has a handful of British records. However, with only a female specimen I couldn't be sure and it was a couple of days before I could go back and look for more. On my second visit I found a male and managed to confirm the first VC55 record for this species.

Orthotylus caprai male

It's well worth looking out for O. caprai on scaly conifers (Cupressaceae), although you'll need sharp eyes - they're on the small side! 

 


Monday, 7 July 2025

Contradictory spider

I recently wrote about microbiome-mediated spread of the Mirid bug Apolygus lucorum. Hot on the heels of that discovery comes another - the microbiome of the invasive Linyphiid spider Mermessus trilobatus does not contribute to its dispersal and spread. 

Complicated, isn't it? 

The Microbiome of an Invasive Spider: Reduced Bacterial Richness, but no Indication of Microbial-Mediated Dispersal Behaviour. (2025) Microbial Ecology, 88(1), 70. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00248-025-02565-6
 



Tuesday, 1 July 2025

Entomology Update - June 2025

It's June, so it's Peak Bioblitz. Much of my activity this month has been dominated by organized group visits and walks. Sadly the results have been dented by the heat and ongoing drought.


In the past, 36 moths of 20 species in the garden moth trap on a warm June evening would have felt like a famine, but now it feels like the best I can hope for.

Research reveals a possible basis for the arrival of new bug species in VC55. 

A tropical night brings a species I've been waiting to see for years. 


Eared Leafhopper, Ledra aurita



Finishing with a bang

After what has been a tricky month, the very last night proved to be the highlight. A tropical night (according to the Met Office), and the max-min thermometer I place in my moth trap recorded a minimum temperature of 20C. And the moths responded - 247 moths of 27 species, three new for the garden - the best result I have had in years. But the moths weren't the best bit! When I turned the trap off at 3am there was a swirling cloud of life surrounding it. The by-catch comprises over 20 species of Hemiptera (which I haven't had time to sort through yet), and I didn't even attempt the Diptera or the beetles (some of which looked interesting). The absolute highlight was a species I've been waiting to see for quite a few years, the Eared Leafhopper, Ledra aurita
Eared Leafhopper, Ledra aurita

Apart from sleeping, I'd almost welcome more tropical nights.

  

Saturday, 28 June 2025

Got the stomach for it?

Apolygus lucorum

Year by year we see changes in the VC55 bug fauna with new species arriving. In nearly every case this is because of adaptation to new food plants rather than climate as a primary cause (although climate warming probably also contributes). The question is, how do the bugs adapt? Is it due to genetic changes? A new paper describes the adaptation of the Mirid bug Apolygus lucorum to Cotton through changes in the gut microbes (microbiota) rather than waiting for the slow process of genetic change. This could go a long way to explaining how bug distribution is changing so rapidly. 


Gut microbiota facilitates the adaptation of Apolygus lucorum (Hemiptera: Miridae) to its host plant. (2025) Journal of Economic Entomology, toaf142.