Category Insects, Arachnids, and Bugs

Nuptial flight of termites

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What is the nuptial flight of termites?

The nuptial flight of termites is when they mate to produce babies.

Alates are winged termites and their job is to reproduce. There are male and female alates.

Ants and other insects may also have a nuptial flight, generally at night. The nuptial flight of termite alates is a bit different. Termites are weak fliers so they wait until perfect weather conditions before they swarm to establish a new colony.

Termites take their nuptial flight (when they swarm) in the middle of the day, when it is sunny, there is no wind, and after it has rained.

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Egyptian Locust

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The Egyptian Locust (Anacridium aegyptium)is a common grasshopper. It is an insect in the Acrididae family.

The Egyptian Locust has a long grey-brown body with a beige-orange strip along its back, called a pronotum. Near the pronotum are several white spots. It has short grey antennae. Its wings are clear with dark marks. Its legs have darker brown bands.

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Housefly

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The Housefly (Musca domestica) is a common worldwide insect.

The Housefly has a head, thorax (chest), and abdomen (stomach).  It is black with four dark, longitudinal lines from its head to its tail. Its body and legs are slightly hairy. It has large, red, compound eyes. Near the compound eyes are three small simple eyes, called ocelli, and a pair of short antennae. It has six legs and one pair of membraneous (transparent) wings. Its mouthpart has a proboscis to suck liquid.

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CREATURE FEATURE: Firebug

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The Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) is a common insect from Europe and northwest China in the Hemiptera order and the Pyrrhocoridae family.

The Firebug is bright red and black. It has a tear-drop shape body with red insets that have a large black dot and a small black dot. It has a small, jet black head and black legs. It has front wings (forewings) and back wings (hindwings).

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Plant Bug

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The Plant Bug (Lygus pratensis) is a small, widespread insect from Europe, Africa, and northern China. It is from the Hemiptera order and Miridae family. The photographed Plant Bug is from Kenya.

The Plant Bug can be green, red, or brown. Usually the male Plant Bug is light reddish-brown and the female is green and brown. Its body is elongated and flat. Below the head, at the back of the neck, is a darker mark, usually in a heart-shape. It has wings. It eyes, legs, and antennae are red-brown.

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Damselfly and Dragonfly: what’s the difference?

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What’s the difference between a Damselfly and a Dragonfly?

Both a damselfly (order Odonata, sub-order Zygoptera) and a dragonfly (order Odonata, sub-order Epiprocta) are insects.

A damselfly keeps its wings folded when it is resting, along or above the abdomen.

A dragonfly holds its wings flat, away from the body, when it is resting.

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Cambridge Vagrant Butterfly

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The Cambridge Vagrant Butterfly (Nepheronia thalassina) is an African butterfly. It is in the Pieridae family. It is an insect.

The Cambridge Butterfly (Nepheronia thalassina sinalata) is a sub-species from east Africa and southern Africa, in countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.

The Cambridge Butterfly is white with black tips.

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Banded Groundling Dragonfly

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The Banded Groundling (Brachythemis leucosticte) is a dragonfly. It is an insect. It is from the Libellulidae family – the chasers and skimmers.

The Banded Groundling has transparent lace-like wings with a distinct brown-black band on the forewings and hindwings. It has a small creamy-yellow spot on the top edge of each wing. Its body is grey-black. It has a large head with large, multi-faceted compound eyes.

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Caucasus Peacock Butterfly

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The Peacock Butterfly (Aglais io) is also called the European Peacock Butterfly. It is a common butterfly found in Europe and some parts of Asia. The Caucasus Peacock Butterfly (Aglais io caucasica) is found in Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The Peacock Butterfly is rusty-red, with four large black, blue and yellow eyespots on each wingtip. The eyespots are its defence mechanism against predators, such as birds. Its underside is dark-brown.

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Dainty Swallowtail Butterfly

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The Dainty Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio anactus) is a medium-sized Australian butterfly. It is also called the Dingy Swallowtail or Small Citrus Butterfly.

The Dainty Swallowtail (adult butterfly) is generally black with rows of pale yellow spots and patches. On the tail, it has several small, light blue, red, or white spots. Its head is large and black with a white V-mark. The back edge of its hindwing is scalloped and the tip of its body is yellow. It can have a patch of red underneath its head.

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Hummingbird Hawk-Moth

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The Hummingbird Hawk-Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) is not a bird. It is a moth from the Sphingidae family. It looks like a tiny hummingbird because it hovers around plants.

The Hummingbird Hawk-Moth has brown forewings, with black wavy lines across them, and the hindwings are orange with a black edge. The abdomen is quite broad, with a short fan-tail of setae (fine hairs) at the end. It has a long proboscis (sucking nose), which it inserts into flowers to suck up the nectar. Its antennae are very feathery. Like a hummingbird, it makes a slight humming sound.

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