Lumps, Bumps and Spines

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."

 

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).

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.

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! 

 

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

 

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.

The Pattern

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.

Got the stomach for it?

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

Finishing with a bang

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

Read previous updates

Latest photos

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. 

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

  

Got the stomach for it?

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.

https://academic.oup.com/jee/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jee/toaf142/8169253

 

The Pattern

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. Of these, two were new for the garden, including this Scarce Silver-lines, Bena bicolorana. This is the pattern I am seeing now - reasonable numbers of species but overall, hugely reduced numbers of insects, and diversity lower than in the past. 

 

Entomology Update - May 2025

May has been a busy month, dominated by bees. I am thankful for the relief from the spring drought at the end of the month. 

Bees Knees - Minding The Gap

Plunging into solitary bees.

Kleidocerys privignus

A new species(?) for VC55. 

Floating frames for macro photography

Another tip for insect photography.

Book Recommendation: Micro ladybirds of Britain and Ireland

One day all field guides will be this good. A real gem of a book and at a bargain price. You'd be daft not to buy it. 

Where the bee sucks

Unsurprisingly, the solitary bees I have been working with recently have often been covered in pollen (they have a lot to cram into their short adult lives).

Free Range Pollen

Working out where the bees have been. 

The Entomological Society - keeping the lights on

I'm troubled by the ongoing demise of traditional wildlife groups, the sort that (used to) meet in a village hall once a month. I observe them gradually blinking out, one by one.

Read previous updates

Latest photos

Free Range Pollen

Out and about recently I came across this Chocolate Mining Bee, Andrena scotica, with bulging pollen brushes (scopa), so I put my pollen "skills" into action.

95% of the pollen grains in the sample were the lower, triangular-shaped grains. This is either Bird's-foot-trefoil, Lotus corniculatus, or more likely, Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, which was present on this site. I can't tell the difference between these two and I'm not sure if it's possible without resorting to DNA. The remaining 5% were Cow Parsley, Anthriscus sylvestris, (the upper oval grain). This makes sense as while the entire site was fringed with Cow Parsley, and while it's not that attractive to bees, the sheer abundance of the pollen would make its absence a surprise. 

So, within my limited skills, it works! The only thing that occurs to me is that I really didn't learn anything in this analysis that I didn't already know from observing the bees on site. It would be worth doing with bees from unknown sites, but a little behavioural observation in the field goes a long way. 

As an aside, I'm also getting good results using dark field illumination for pollen. Can you guess what species this pollen is from (warning: it's a tricky one!)?

Where the bee sucks

Unsurprisingly, the solitary bees I have been working with recently have often been covered in pollen (they have a lot to cram into their short adult lives). I took this female Osmia bicornis from the Geranium macrorrhizum which attempts to overrun my garden (I've never rated it much as a wildlife plant but it has filled a gap which the bees have been very grateful for over the last few weeks). 

 

The large orange pollen grains are obvious, but also very distinctive under the microscope:

My favourite so far is Daisy pollen, Bellis perennis: 

So far so easy - I know the flowers I have taken the pollen from. But can I identify pollen taken from bees to work out what they have been feeding on? There are several useful websites for identifying pollen. The Global Pollen Project is good, but my favourite is the Northumbrian Bees pollen gallery. 

By coincidence, this month's Microscope Club also involved messing around with pollen and as usual, I picked up some useful tips. Size as well as shape is a key feature of identifying pollen grains and the standard is to make sure the pollen is fully hydrated before measuring, thus aqueous media are used. Glycerol Jelly is the standard medium but is a pain to work with, so I'm using Magnacol aqueous mountant. In water alone pollen grains are quite frisky and move around, making photography difficult. The Magnacol mountant contains PVA and is quite viscous, which fixes the grains better. 

This is very much a work in progress but it will be interesting to see what I can find as the season progresses (assuming there are enough hours in the day). 

Where the bee sucks, there suck I:
In a cowslip’s bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat’s back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

Book Recommendation: Micro ladybirds of Britain and Ireland

One day all field guides will be this good.

In many ways micro ladybirds ("inconspicuous ladybirds") are a perfect group for a field guide. With around 50 ladybird species in Britain, half of these are the familiar spotted ladybirds. The remaining 25 species, the "inconspicuous ladybirds", are the subject of this book. The illustrations are excellent, the descriptions of the identifying features clear and concise and the comparison plates of similar species particularly useful. A microscope is not required to use this guide, all you need is a 10x hand lens, which will reveal most of the structural features of importance.

A real gem of a book and at a bargain price. You'd be daft not to buy it: 

https://www.field-studies-council.org/shop/publications/micro-ladybirds-of-britain-and-ireland/

 

The Entomological Society - keeping the lights on

The Entomological Society, Rembrandt via Gemini AI

I'm troubled by the ongoing demise of traditional wildlife groups, the sort that (used to) meet in a village hall once a month. I observe them gradually blinking out, one by one. I don't have any magic solutions for this (maybe there are none), here I'm just whistling in the dark to console myself and using this as a sketchpad for ideas.

What is keeping local natural history groups alive? Mostly, talks on "I jetted off to an exotic location buring tons of carbon to photograph wildlife". Ironic, isn't it? 

Characteristics of thriving wildlife groups:

• Tend to have an active website or Facebook group, frequently maintained by one or a few individuals. Facebook is probably not the best platform for this, but speaks to the demographic which dominates wildlife groups. Bulletin boards, which might be an obvious alternative, seem to have mostly died, being eaten by Facebook for the elderly, and Discord or WhatsApp groups for the young. 
• Some wildlife groups may have an active website, maintained and driven by an individual who has the time and skills to support this (dangerous, can become fossilized as technology changes, single point of failure). Interestingly I'm not aware of any thriving wildlife group based around an email list or newsletter (which is odd considering the penetration of this technology into the demographic). Maybe I'm missing something?
• Tend to have synchronous face-to-face meetings in addition to online activities. This can be based on geography - local groups, or field meetings, etc, for taxon interest groups.
• And?

But: 

Communities don't live forever, they have lifetimes (particularly since most are maintained by a small number of enthusiasts). Individual members' life circumstances change, so communities evolve (rather than die). This is a tough process for individuals - natural selection - but inevitable. 

So where do we go now? DOBS

• Daylight: Daytime sessions exclude some, but given the demographic, fewer people are active after dark (except for online meetings). 
• Online: works for some, not all. Neither better nor worse than the traditional organizations, but different. 
• Go Big: national societies e.g. BENHS, BAS, etc - not good for carbon footprints.
• Go Small: local face-to-face meetings arranged directly between participants. Accept scheduling problems - everyone is too busy to do everything. Quality of interaction counts, not numbers.
• And?

Please insert your thoughts here: 

Floating frames for macro photography

One of the good things about social media (if you're doing it right) is learning from people who are smarter than you are. A post by Mark Webster on Bluesky put me on to floating frames. Floating frames consist of two layers of transparent flexible film which can be used to trap an object between them and give the illusion that it is floating. They are widely available online (I bought mine from Amazon) in a range of sizes (I bought the 7cm size). Small insects can be trapped within the frame immobilizing them for macro photography. As the film is soft and flexible the insects are unharmed and released after identification. Here is the the result: 

With use the transparent film will mark and the frames will need to be replaced, but so far so good! 

 

 

Kleidocerys privignus

Kleidocerys resedae, the Birch Catkin Bug, is a familiar and very common species of Lygaeid. Two closely related species are more problematic. Kleidocerys ericae was differentiated from K. resedae based on pigmentation and the fact that it feeds on heathers (Erica spp but not Calluna so I'm told). Kleidocerys privignus also has a different pigmentation pattern and feeds on Alder (Alnus). My natural inclination is to be a taxonomic lumper so I'm inclined to disregard the pigmentation differences (intermediate forms occur) and the food plant preferences (which laboratory rearing experiments have shown are not absolute) and regard all three as a single species. My ultimate authority on Hemiptera, Pericart, wasn't sure about these three, and without the benefit of DNA analysis hedged his bets, so no clear answer there. I was able to live with that until recently when I did some DNA analysis which implies that all three are indeed distinct species, see: https://ajcarthropoda.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-kleidocerys-conundrum-resolved.html

Which brings us to the question at the heart of this - what is a species? These days, the answer depends a lot on who you ask, but everyone agrees that it's now a lot more complicated now than when the species concept was developed. I'm afraid I have the old-fashioned opinion (which is bound to upset some) that a species is a group of organisms which are reproductively isolated. There are lots of ways to be reproductively isolated, e.g. pioneers trapped on an island, but it is also possible to be reproductively isolated behaviourally. A good example of this is the wolf spider Pardosa lugubris. This was split into two species based on observations of the male courtship dance (Cryptic species and behavioural isolation in the Pardosa lugubris group (Araneae, Lycosidae), with description of two new species. (2000) Bulletin British Arachnological Society, 11(7), 257-274). Being eaten by the female if she rejects your dance moves is pretty strong selection leading to reproductive isolation. Which brings us to Kleidocerys again. Like many Hemiptera, Kleidocerys communicate by stridulation. In this genus, sound production may not to be associated with mating but occurs when they are disturbed, perhaps as a territorial statement. K. ericae stridulates at a frequency of 16 Hz while K. resedae uses a lower frequency of 8 Hz (Stridulation and its analysis in certain Geocorisae (Hemiptera Heteroptera). (1957) Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 129 (3): 351-358). This is equivalent to the Pardosa mating dance and is likely to cause reproductive isolation, which is borne out by the DNA analysis of the two species. I don't know about stridulation frequency in K. privignus but the DNA analysis means that if we accept K. ericae as a distinct species from K. resedae, we have to do the same for K. privignus. 

Recently I sampled 20 Kleidocerys specimens from Alder here in Leicestershire. My overall impression is that they are quite variable in pigmentation, but in my sample, 1 out of 20 specimens has the pigmentation described for Kleidocerys privignus, the others appearing to be variants of the extremely common Kleidocerys resedae. 

The upshot of all of this is that while it's not clear if K. ericae occurs in VC55 (we have limited heather here), I think it's clear that K. privignus does. Now we need boots on the ground to get out there and figure out the field ecology. 

Many thanks to Jim Flanagan for helpful discussions, and for sharing this interesting paper: 

Davranoglou, L.R., Taylor, G.K., & Mortimer, B. (2023) Sexual selection and predation drive the repeated evolution of stridulation in Heteroptera and other arthropods. Biological Reviews, 98(3), 942-981.

 

Bees Knees - Minding The Gap

It's been a good year for bees so far - the weather has suited them. Last month I found an interesting mining bee in my garden. Leicestershire has fairly good bee records, but they are mostly focussed on bumblebees. The solitary bees (and even more so solitary wasps) are a black hole in recording, particularly when it comes to verification of records. Solitary Hymenoptera in general are a vast and growing skills gap in our knowledge. Partly spurred by curiosity at my find and partly by guilt, I bought a copy of the excellent Falk and Lewington field guide and set off on a quest (Falk, S. (2019) Field guide to the bees of Great Britain and Ireland. Bloomsbury Publishing). 

I wasn't expecting it to be easy, which is good because it's not. This is not an area where casual recorders are ever going to make much impact beyond a handful of species. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying the challenge although I wouldn't have got very far with the field guide alone and without the support of the highly knowledgeable online bee communities. Whether I'll be able to make any sort of impact when it comes to the skills gap it's far too early to say. 

 

Entomology Update - April 2025

April has been a busy month for me, but here are my highlights.

In Praise of Mud

Mud - in January we were drowning in it, but now it's in short supply and that's bad for wildlife.

FIT Counts

The FIT Count season runs from 1st April to 30th September. After starting April with cold northeasterly winds I finally managed to get going. 

Video: Hidden Details - The Magic of Macro Photography

An introduction to macro photography - capturing small subjects at a very close range, often revealing details that are not easily seen. This video is aimed at people interested in starting macro photography and those who would like to improve their photos.

Transformation

My favourite wood has been transformed. 

AI is coming of age - as this potentially useful tool demonstrates

You don't have to like AI but you do have to live with it - it's not going away. So while we wait for the singularity, let's make it useful.

Springtails on NBN

Thanks to the hard work of James McCulloch & Duerden Cormack, more than 6,000 springtail records have been imported from iRecord and are now available on the NBN Atlas. 

Read previous updates

Latest photos

AI is coming of age - as this potentially useful tool demonstrates

You don't have to like AI but you do have to live with it - it's not going away. So while we wait for the singularity, let's make it useful.

I've been playing with Google's NotebookLM, a tool which collates, summarizes and analyzes sources provided, helping users quickly grasp key points and easily access answers to questions. While it carries the warning "NotebookLM can be inaccurate; please double check its responses", one of the best aspects is that it links statements it makes to original sources so that they can be checked (AI coming of age). It can assist in brainstorming and generating ideas (through question prompts), making it a very useful tool in my limited experience so far.

As a first test, I took a loose collection of notes I have amassed on the Hemipteran family Anthocoridae and stuck them into a notebook. It can be difficult to pull information from these easily so decent summaries would be useful. As an LM (Language Model), visual input/output is non-existent (unless I've missed something), which is a shame as this would enhance the usefulness greatly. Unfortunately, it is not possible to share the whole notebook publicly (though it can be shared with selected users), but I can share some of the outputs it generates, such as this Anthocoridae Study Guide; the result of asking it to "Describe Anthocoris viscii"; and the podcast-style Audio Overview (audio playback takes a while to start, just wait): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DxBFzWq1w5BbfLpZU4oRbHFYWvt5300X/view

Here's another attempt: Leicestershire & Rutland Entomological Society: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YVKOlXTVUnqi6JhF2n0Eb4t5qUSc1L_Q/view

And finally, for Diptera fans: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HodYEFtP_Kau7SWrQaRi7PzAAGCd6bre/view

Obviously it's only as good as the sources provide - Garbage In, Garbage Out - but I'd suggest the best thing you can do is try it for yourself. I'm sure there are more useful things I can do with it than my stumbling attempts so far (and I'd welcome your ideas), but I'm even more sure that it's going to evolve and improve. Welcome to the future. 

Transformation

 

Last night I gave a talk to a local wildlife group which unexpectedly turned into a discussion about insect decline. It had to be said but that doesn't mean I like saying it. If you were in the audience, I apologise again. Seeking solace this morning, I visited my favourite wood. Over the last few years this has been depressing as Ash Dieback has gradually decimated them. Today I discovered that most of the dead Ash has been removed, and the transformation from dank Ash woodland into a very open, light-filled Oak woodland was startling and marvellous. 

 

Hidden Details - The Magic of Macro Photography

An introduction to macro photography - capturing small subjects at a very close range, often revealing details that are not easily seen. This video is aimed at people interested in starting macro photography and those who would like to improve their photos. 

 

Entomology Update - March 2025

A variable month, weather-wise - frost at night but some days very Spring-like. Blossom and buds bursting, but with the cold nights only one moth in the first moth trap of the year. 

In it for the long term

Recovered grasslands need more than 75 years of continuous management to regain their biodiversity.

Knee deep in Malacostraca

Amphipods abound, but are contradictory in unexpected ways. 

Book Recommendations: 

The Naturalists, by Diane Smith 

In the spring of 1898, Alex Bartram, a medical student with a passion for botany, has secured a place on a Smithsonian-sponsored field study to Yellowstone National Park. The only problem is that Alex is a woman, joining an all-male team rather wary of the female of the species.  A great read. 

The History of the Countryside, by Oliver Rackham

I've spent years meaning to read Oliver Rackham's book, published in 1997. Now I have and it remains an eye-opener. I have learned so much. If you've never read this, do yourself a favour. 

Forthcoming talks:

Hidden Details - The Magic of Macro Photography - Monday 07.04.2025, 19:30, online via Zoom

An introduction to macro photography - capturing small subjects at a very close range, often revealing details that are not easily seen. This talk is aimed at people interested in starting macro photography and those who would like to improve their photos. 

Bugs - the little things that run the world - Friday 11.04.2025, 19:30

A talk about finding and photographing Bugs (Hemiptera), their ecological importance and our rapidly changing fauna. From vegans to vampires, integrated pest management to exotic imports, bugs cannot be underestimated yet are widely ignored. LRWT North West Group, Ashby Methodist Church, Burton Road, Ashby-de-la-Zouch LE65 2LF. 

News from Elsewhere...

Tree.fm 

Tune into forests from around the world. Escape & relax.

https://www.tree.fm/

Read previous updates

Knee deep in Malacostraca

This week I have been mostly thinking about Malacostraca, specifically Amphipods - "different feet" - referring to the different types of legs they have, some for eating and some for swimming. Amphipods are highly important invertebrates - primary decomposers which carry out the bulk of shredding of vegetation such as dead leaves, speeding up nutrient cycling by other organisms. The most commonly encountered Amphipod is Gammarus pulex/fossarum agg., which is in fact a species complex of many cryptic species distinguishable only by DNA analysis (Continental-scale patterns of hyper-cryptic diversity within the freshwater model taxon Gammarus fossarum (Crustacea, Amphipoda). (2020) Scientific reports, 10(1), 16536). 

I find Gammarus pulex/fossarum agg. pretty much everywhere I look, and around here that means fairly degraded aquatic environments. Urban rivers are some of the most anthropogenically modified landscapes on Earth, resulting in characteristic low diversity communities ("urban stream syndrome"). Several recent projects have aimed to clean up Leicester's watercourses. Although well-meaning these are mostly cosmetic since nothing has been done to reduce harmful inputs, and there has been no real progress in reversing the damaging concrete canalisation of past decades. A few wild flowers and shrubs have been planted and litter, such as the inevitable shopping trolleys, removed. Surprisingly, litter removal in itself might be counter productive. Invertebrates readily colonise artificial surfaces as long as they are non-toxic. An article from Nottingham and Loughborough looked at several urban streams including Saffron Brook and showed that anthropogenic litter in urban rivers supports distinct and diverse macroinvertebrate communities (Anthropogenic litter is a novel habitat for aquatic macroinvertebrates in urban rivers. (2021) Freshwater Biology, 66(3), 524-534). Compared with the harshness of the bare concrete channel, building waste, broken bottles and shopping trolleys are invertebrate paradise. Once again wildlife and the tidy brigade are in conflict. 

 

In it for the long term

Recovered grasslands need more than 75 years of continuous management to regain their biodiversity because specialized pollinators are slow to return (also applies to fungi, etc, e.g. waxcaps). This underscores the importance of preserving old grasslands as reservoirs of biodiversity. Don't let developers tell you otherwise! 

Long-term management is required for the recovery of pollination networks and function in restored grasslands, Journal of Applied Ecology (2025). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.70017

Entomology Update - February 2025

Another month of unhelpful weather for entomology, so in between rare (and unproductive) trips, I've been delving into DNA - stuck indoors for most of the month I've clearly had too much time on my hands. 

DNA Barcoding - where are we, and why should I care?

A helpful overview of DNA barcoding. Whether you like it or not, DNA is an increasingly important (but not the only) part of entomology. 

The Kleidocerys Conundrum - Resolved?

I revisited the taxonomic problem surrounding a group of Bugs which has been bothering me for a while. 

Another instance of DNA not helping

More DNA delving, Springtails this time. 

One (OM) Lens to Rule Them All

Sorry, another photography post! 

What's in a name? The Tangled History of the "Charnwood Spider"

DNA, DNA, what's worse than DNA? Taxonomy, that's what! 

 

Read previous updates

What's in a name? The Tangled History of the "Charnwood Spider"

Like it or not, we need to start with some history (and taxonomy - sorry). 

Mastigusa diversa - a troubled past   See: https://wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/776/Mastigusa

• The name Cryphoeca arietina was first used by Thorell in 1871, having been previously misidentified as Hahnia pratensis by Menge. 
• This species was then identified as Cryphoeca diversa by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1893. 
• In 1908 Pickard-Cambridge renamed it Cryphoeca recisam.
• In 1913 after wandering around Sherwood Forest, A.R. Jackson renamed it again as Tetrilus recisus (On some new and obscure British spiders. Transactions and Annual Report of the "Nottingham Naturalists' Society" 60: 20-49). 
• In 1937 Eugène Simon renamed it Tetrilus diversus, and in 1953 Locket & Millidge called it Tetrilus macrophthalmus.
• In 1986 Wunderlich changed the genus (again) to Mastigusa macrophthalma, based on taxonomic priority from the species name Tuberta arietina macrophthalma used by Chyzer & Kulczyński in 1897. 
• Which brings us to the taxonomic revision by Castellucci, Luchetti & Scharff in 2024, which suggested that UK specimens were likely to be a new species, Mastigusa diversa. (See: Charnwood Confusion Continues).

Enter DNA. Based on the results of Castellucci et al, my initial hunch was that UK specimens would end up as Mastigusa arietina. But this is Mastigusa we're talking about, and it's not that simple. M. arietina was about to disappear from the UK Checklist, not having been recorded for 100 years (UK specimens having been called ... M. macrophthalma - see above!). Thanks to the Tanyptera Project at the World Museum in Liverpool, DNA barcoding has now been carried out on specimens from across the UK. One of the specimens has in fact turned out to be M. arietina, but most UK specimens are Mastigusa diversa as predicted by Castellucci et al. But what about the Charnwood Spider? The Tanyptera Project says: 

"Mastigusa (Charnwood) - the DNA was sequenced successfully and at a high quality. ... Following these results, the results of your previous Mastigusa, and the papers you provided us, we are confident that this is likely Mastigusa diversa."

You would hope that this DNA-supported moniker now persists. The spider, nor its Spanish cousins ... doesn't care. 

With grateful thanks to Richard Gallon, BAS Spider Recording Scheme, for organizing this work and the Tanyptera Project at the World Museum in Liverpool for carrying out the DNA barcoding and funding it. 

Castellucci, F., Scharff, N., & Luchetti, A. (2023) Molecular systematics and phylogenetics of the spider genus Mastigusa Menge, 1854 (Araneae, Cybaeidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 107833. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790323001331

 

One (OM) Lens to Rule Them All

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 gets looked down on by Olympus snobs because it's "not as sharp" as some of the much heavier OM Pro lenses. I've just picked up an excellent used copy of one of these compact, light, cheap (everythng is relative!) lenses. So what do I think? 

For just over £200 I've got a 600mm full-frame equivalent lens which is capable of photographing a bird at the top of a tree, or at closest focus filling the frame with a 10cm long subject. And by clipping a Raynox DCR250 lens on the front I can get 1.5X magnification, filling the frame with a 1.5cm long subject. My reason for buying this lens is not to photograph birds though :-)  This is the lens I want for photographing flying insects - dragonflies, butterflies, hoverflies - if only there were some flying insects around at present! 

But is it sharp enough? I'll let you decide:

click for larger image

 

The Kleidocerys Conundrum - Resolved?

I've been bothered about Kleidocerys for a while - specifically, is Kleidocerys ericae a separate species from the familiar Birch Catkin Bug, Kleidocerys resedae? See: The Kleidocerys Conundrum. When I cogitated about this two years ago it was obvious that DNA was the way out of the mess. A recent paper spurred me into action - time to find an answer. 

In a nutshell, DNA barcoding is a method of identifying species by sequencing a short, conserved region of DNA. The ideal DNA barcode gene needs to have enough variation between species to tell them apart, but be conserved enough within a species so it can be easily identified. The 5' portion of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI-5P) has become the standard Arthropod barcoding marker. A vast amount of DNA barcode data has now accumulated. At the time of writing, the International Barcode of Life (iBOL) initiative - www.boldsystems.org - has examined 26 million specimens, 21 million of them from Arthropods. Helpfully, the BOLD website makes it (relatively) easy to examine them, so I plunged into looking at the Kleidocerys data. 

CAVEAT: It's been a while since I did this professionally, and even then, it wasn't really my specialism. What follows is my interpretation. Others reading this may well know far more about it than I do, in which case, please let me know. 

A DNA dendrogram - tree diagram (if it was good enough for Darwin to sketch in his notebook, it's good enough for me) - is a visual representation of the genetic relationships between different organisms, or in this case, DNA sequences. Here's the tree for the Kleidocerys COI-5P barcodes:

(click for larger image)

In summary:

• Kleidocerys resedae and K. ericae each form sequence clusters with similar levels of relatedness. This supports the idea that they are indeed separate species.
• Kleidocerys privignus, very similar in appearance to K. resedae but which is said to occur on Alder, also appears to to be a separate species. (NB: one privignus sequence clusters within the resedae sequences (blue arrow) - presumably a misidentified specimen). 

So what does it mean for me? That I probably need to keep looking for K. ericae, although it is possible that it may not occur in VC55. I've been told that K. resedae can occur anywhere, but K. ericae is only found on Erica species (and not on Calluna), that that may help to target the search. It also means that I should probably look for K. privignus - time to target the Alders this year. 

Has this made my life simpler? Nope. When did technology ever do that?

 

DNA Barcoding - where are we, and why should I care?

"Most insects encountered in the field are initially entomological dark matter in that they cannot be identified to species while alive." The DNA revolution in entomology has been progressing diligently in the background but not making much of a splash with civilians. A new paper provides a good overview of the state of the art and makes a prediction: the big leap happens when DNA and AI start working together. 

Illuminating entomological dark matter with DNA barcodes in an era of insect decline, deep learning, and genomics. (2024) Annual Review of Entomology, 70: 185-204 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-040124-014001

Abstract: 

Most insects encountered in the field are initially entomological dark matter in that they cannot be identified to species while alive. This explains the enduring quest for efficient ways to identify collected specimens. Morphological tools came first but are now routinely replaced or complemented with DNA barcodes. Initially too expensive for widespread use, these barcodes have since evolved into powerful tools for specimen identification and sorting, given that the evolution of sequencing approaches has dramatically reduced the cost of barcodes, thus enabling decentralized deployment across the planet. In this article, we review how DNA barcodes have become a key tool for accelerating biodiversity discovery and analyzing insect communities through both megabarcoding and metabarcoding in an era of insect decline. We predict that DNA barcodes will be particularly important for assembling image training sets for deep learning algorithms, global biodiversity genomics, and functional analysis of insect communities.

This set me thinking .. (contd)

 

Entomology Update - January 2025

Only a limited amount of entomology from me this month - the weather not helping - but lots of updates. 

Ants - Naturalists Handbook

Should I buy more books? :-)

What *another* camera? Part 2: All out on OM

This is a long and detailed post about photography (macrophotography specifically), you can skip this if you're not interested.  Also nerdy: In Praise of the Flying Nun.

Diptera for the Desperate

An unexpected find in the garden.

Parasitic Pink Pom Poms

You might think day-glo pink fungi would be hard to overlook, but this one isn't often recorded. 

UPF - Ultra Processed fertilizer

A new research paper helps to explain the lack of biodiversity in hige swathes of VC55. 

It's not the dogs fault

Since the pandemic the number of dogs has exploded, and with that, the amount of environmental harm being caused. II don't blame the dogs for this... 

Finally some good news

2025 begins on a bright note with new life breathed into the UK Springtail Recording Scheme. 

If you'd like to see *lots* more photos, I post them regularly on my Bluesky account: https://bsky.app/profile/ajcann.bsky.social

 

 

 

It's not the dogs fault

Since the pandemic the number of dogs has exploded, and with that, the amount of environmental harm being caused. I've seen so much habitat degradation over the last few years, associated with much heavier traffic than years ago. I don't blame the dogs for this. Working from home also plays a large part... The question is, what are we going to do about it? 

Unleashed: walking dogs off the lead greatly increases habitat disturbance in UK lowland heathlands.  (2024) Urban Ecosystems, 1-10.  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-024-01568-4

Abstract: Human population growth is associated with increased disturbance to wildlife. This effect is particularly acute in urban and periurban areas, where the area of effective disturbance extends beyond that of human presence by the roaming behaviour of pet dogs. Dogs are globally the dominant companion animal, with a population of ~12 million in the UK. As urban areas extend, dogs are exercised in green space close to housing. In southeast and southern England these areas include lowland heath, a habitat of high conservation value. To quantify disturbance caused by dog walkers and their dogs, we used GPS units to track the movement of people and their dogs across four lowland heath sites, used a questionnaire to ask about dog walking habits, and mapped potential areas of disturbance caused by dog walkers. Questionnaires were completed by 798 dog walkers and the walks of 162 owners and their 185 dogs were recorded. Mean (±SE) walk time was 56 ± 23 min, walk distance 3.75±1.68 km and dogs were a median distance of 20 m from the owner during walks. Dogs were walked once (44%) or twice (56%) a day. Most (always: 85%; always or occasionally: 95%) dogs were walked off the lead even when signs were present requesting that dogs were kept on a lead. This resulted in up to a 21% increase in reserve area disturbed. In one reserve (Snelsmore Common), >90% of the area was disturbed by dogs, greatly eroding its conservation value. This work highlights the importance of considering how dog ownership can exacerbate levels of disturbance in sensitive periurban habitats when housing developments are planned.

 

There's useful information on Managing visitors with dogs in your woodland from WWW.GOV.UK here.

 

UPF - Ultra Processed fertilizer

A new research paper shows a large and significant negative effect of the major plant nutrients (NPK) on the abundance, species richness and functional diversity of both pollinators and flowering plants. Even average use of nitrogen fertilisers cut flower numbers fivefold and halved pollinating insects. This isn't a novel finding but the data presented is incontrovertible. This helps to explain the lack of biodiversity in huge swathes of VC55. 

Trade-off between pollinator-wildflower diversity & grassland yields. npj Biodiversity volume 4, Article number: 1 (2025) https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-024-00070-6

In Praise of the Flying Nun

Macro photography has been hugely improved by the development of "flying nun" flash diffusers (such as Cygnustech diffuser, AK, MK, etc - good comparison here: https://wildmacro.de/the-best-flash-diffusers-for-macro-photography/). The closeness of the flash to the subject causes hot spots and burnt out highlights, and shiny subjects such as beetles are particularly difficult. The curved diffusion surface helps to solve these issues. 

 

Photography Equipment

I get asked this question, so for the record, my photos are currently taken using:

• Macro photos taken using OM System OM-5, OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm f3.5 Macro IS PRO lens, +/- Raynox DCR-250/DCR150, Godox V860IIIO flash, Cygnustech diffuser.
• Field Photographs (2023 on) taken using an Olympus TG-6 with the Olympus TG Light Guide. 

More details here. 

Previously:

• Sony a6500, Sony FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS +/- Raynox DCR-250, Godox V860IIIS flash, Cygnustech diffuser.

Microscopy:

• Microscope photos taken using a Sony a7Rii on a GXM UltraZoom-3 trinocular stereo zoom microscope. (Prior to 2022, I used a GXM XTL3T101 microscope.)
• Higher magnifications using a Sony a6000 on an Apex Practitioner compound microscope.
• Images stacked where necessary with Helicon Focus.

One very important caveat:

 

If you went to a Michelin-starred restaurant and ate the most delicious meal of your life, would you ask the chef ,"What oven do you use"?

 

Parasitic Pink Pom Poms

 

On a recent outing Arthropods were very hard to find, but while searching I spotted some pink dots on a lichen-covered twig. It was one of those occasions when I knew exactly what it was, the lichenicolous fungus (a fungus which is a parasite on lichens) Illosporiopsis christiansenii. You might think day-glo pink fungi would be hard to overlook, but sizeism kicks in and they are usually overlooked because of their small size. I've been looking for this species and while it's not rare I've not seen it before. There are a couple of species it could be confused with so to confirm I checked the characteristic coiled spores under the microscope. 

Diptera for the Desperate

Recently I wrote about buying a new camera which required some practice, but after a few days of household items such as pencils and peppercorns, I was desperate for some insects to photograph. My first outing immediately after the snow drew a complete blank, so I had to wait a couple of days for it to warm up before bothering the Ivy in the garden. 

As luck would have it, the very first thing I found turned out to be Dioxyna bidentis, the Bur-marigold Fly. This turned out to be the first record of this species for VC55. Even odder, there's no Bur-marigold around here, but some research told me that the larvae of this species develop in the flower heads of a range of Asteraceae. Here, I suspect that's my carefully cultivated Ragwort (at least, what survives annual decimation by the Cinnabar Moth larvae). 

This odd coincidence makes me wonder what would happen if Jennifer Owen were to repeat her 30 year study - how different would the results be?

 

What *another* camera? Part 2: All out on OM

This is a long and detailed post about photography (macrophotography specifically), you can skip this if you're not interested. 

A year ago I bought an Olympus TG-6 camera for macro photography (What *another* camera? Olympus TG-6 review). This pocket camera has turned out to be a very good buy and I've used it more and more, often in preference to my full Sony macrophotography setup due to convenience. It's the first "Olympus" camera I've ever owned, although Olympus cameras ceased to exist a few years ago and the rights were bought by an entirely new company, OM Systems (but if you say OM to non-photographers you get blank looks, so people still call them Olympus - don't tell the lawyers). Over the last year OM kit has gone from strength to strength, particularly in macrophotography, while Sony has dropped the ball to some extent and is now about the only camera company not to introduce in-camera focus stacking. This is a shame as I've got a big investment in Sony cameras but I've finally given up waiting. 

The Technical Bit: Digital cameras with 35mm sensors are referred to as full frame (the same size as photographic film). As sensors improved, a new smaller sensor format emerged, APS-C. The advantage of these smaller sensors is that the cameras, and in particular the lenses, can be smaller and lighter. An even smaller format, micro four thirds, was released by Olympus and Panasonic nearly 20 years ago, allowing even smaller and lighter systems. There is a price to pay. Smaller sensors are less efficient at light gathering than big sensors and so micro four thirds cameras are light hungry.

As I get older (don't tell anyone) equipment weight becomes a more important consideration for me, although this is secondary to the value of in-camera focus stacking, which a year with the TG-6 has convinced me about. The OM flagship system is the OM-1 with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm f3.5 Macro IS PRO lens, and macro photographers are achieving stunning results with this, but for me it has two problems. My equipment-buying philosophy is to buy good condition used kit from reliable resellers, generally one or two models down from the lastest top of the line models. This generally costs a third to half the price of the latest shiny kit and has served me well over the years. The 90mm macro lens isn't generally available second hand yet and a new OM-1/90mm setup is three thousand quid. No. There's an even bigger (literally) problem. The OM-1/90mm setup is almost the same size and weight as my Sony system, so the only advantage is the focus stacking. 

So I bought a used OM-5 and M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm F2.8 Macro lens. The price was much more reasonable and the weight (610g) is half the weight of my Sony kit (1077g). Coming from the Sony FE 90mm F2.8 Macro lens the OM 60mm feels like a toy, but certainly doesn't behave like one. (Update: I subsequetnly traded the 60mm lens and the Sony macro lens for a OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm f3.5 Macro IS PRO).

Inevitably, having changed manufacturers, there were all sorts of extra bits I had to buy - batteries, filters, etc. This was expected, but then I hit a problem. My Godox flash (Sony version) didn't work with the OM-5. I wasn't sure about this but sadly these things all have proprietary fittings. As I said, micro four thirds sensors are light hungry, macrophotography even more so, thus a new OM-compatible flash was an unavoidable extra expense. 

All photographers moan about camera menu systems but after a year with the TG-6 I thought I'd be OK with the switch to the OM-5. In fact, it proved to be a pretty steep learning curve and I'm still dialling in on the best settings for me. The 60mm macro lens is pretty good, although for my needs it lacks a little bit of magnification so I'm pushing it further with some add-ons. The micro four thirds sensor imaging area is 17.3x13mm and the maximum magnification of the 60mm lens is 1:1. Adding a Raynox DCR150 lens gives 1:1.3 magnification (13mm long subject area) and a Raynox DCR250 gives 1:1.5 (11mm subject area). I can increase this more with extension tubes. I've still got a way to go practicing with this new setup but I'm getting there. It seems to work (click for larger image):

 One very important caveat:

If you went to a Michelin-starred restaurant and ate the most delicious meal of your life, would you ask the chef ,"What oven do you use"?

 

Ants - Naturalists Handbook

I'll be honest, Hymenoptera give me the heebie jeebies, but ants surely have to be the most fascinating group of insects which have yet evolved. I'm naturally drawn to under-recorded groups and ants are very much neglected in VC55. With only 61 species occurring in Britain they are also a manageable size (compared to say, Ichneumons). But I must resist, I've made a deal with myself that I'll get to ants after I've sorted out aphids (but don't hold your breath!). When the day comes I won't be able to do better than Gary Skinner and Andrew Jarman's updated Ants book. In fact, I could splurge a lot of money on the Naturalists Handbooks Series ... but I must resist! 

Skinner, G.J. & Jarman, A.P. (2025) Ants (Naturalists Handbooks Vol. 24). Pelagic Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781784273040 https://pelagicpublishing.com/collections/naturalists-handbooks/products/ants-second-edition