Fungal Defence

I'm not very good at rearing larval insects, and on the few occasions that I have I've wound up with parasitoid wasps rather than what I was hoping for. Parasitoid wasps are hugely important in shaping insect populations, to the extent that I have often wondered how any insects survive. A new research paper shows that a Japanese shieldbug, Megymenum gracilicorne, uses fungi to ward off attacks. The females have organs on their hind legs which harbour fungi that the females use to coat newly laid eggs. The fungal hyphae grow to envelop the eggs and this physically excludes parasitoid wasps until the eggs hatch. While we don't have any Dinidorid shieldbugs in the UK, it might still be worth checking the hind legs of female shieldbugs carefully for any signs of similar structure. 

Nishino, T., Moriyama, M., Mukai, H., Tanahashi, M., Hosokawa, T., Chang, H. Y., & Fukatsu, T. (2025) Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs. Science, 390(6770), 279-283. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10996522/pdf/nihpp-2024.03.25.586038v1.pdf

 

Spiders of the Rutland Water Lagoons

Palmer, P., Cann, A., Sexton, T., Fox, B., & Pitt-Miller, S. (2025) Spiders of the Rutland Water Lagoons: An Exploratory Survey. ISBN 979-8269245362 Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVMMK466

"This report tells the story of an ambitious survey of invertebrates at Rutland Water nature reserve in England. We used pitfall traps across several lagoons, hoping to focus on spiders but deciding to record everything we caught. Around sixty traps went out. Some were lost to flooding, others raided by crows. Even so, more than a thousand spiders were recovered, along with a by-catch of beetles and other groups. The work was far bigger than we expected. It took time, energy, and patience to bring the results together. Four years later - and with help from many generous volunteers - we are at last ready to share the findings. This report covers only the spider records."

 

Competition Time!

click for larger view (answer at bottom of page)

Guess the mystery objects! 

Actually, there is a point to this. One of the best aspects of OM cameras is the built-in focus bracketing. However, I'm finding that as I push the magnification more and more (here the OM 90mm macro lens plus Raynox DCR250 stacked with a Raynox DCR 150, giving a total of ~5x magnification on the sensor), the quality of my images is at best hit and miss - I'm simply asking the OM software to do too much with hand held stacks. So I sold my old full size tripod which I never use and more and bought a cheap(ish) tabletop tripod. 

Problem solved. 

Scroll down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: Chia seeds, ~1.5mm length.

 

Entomology Update - September 2025

A shorter journal this month. There has been a lot going on but not too much entomology to write about yet.

Buy one, get one free

A German hitchhiker. 

Diffusion Diffusion Diffusion

The importance of diffusion in macro photography and microscopy.

Microscope upgrade

I bought a new microscope. 

Notable Finds

Flastena fumipennis - second VC55 record

Eupteryx filicum

Adarrus multinotatus

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