Very very few. if it could be confirmed (which it can't) it would probably be a new county record.
The "What is this bug?" thread
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Very very few. if it could be confirmed (which it can't) it would probably be a new county record.
Would you have to have anj actual specimen to confirm it? I'm curious about the process my collecting thus far has been moth trapping in my garden then releasing them, if I were to find a rare species then would it be enough to take photos?
Cheers
Matt
Cheers
Matt
It very much depends on the species. For a moth a photo would probably be fine for most species, for a spider a photo usually only allows an identification to genus, and you need a 'voucher specimen' to prove you caught what you say you caught.
If you are interested in recording, there will be a national recording scheme for almost everything, and then you find out who your county recorder is. Anything rare is then sent to that person, who verifies the identification (or otherwise). This prevents mistakes being made in the recording of rare and difficult to identify species, but also gives new recorders a mentor from whom they can learn. That's how I learned spiders. Once you have demonstrated that you can be relied on most of the time, people trust your records, but even as the county recorder for most of Wales for spider, I still send anything rare or suspect away for confirmation.
For moths the link to the local county recorders is here
Recorders are always in short supply, so any expression of interest will be met with a warm reception, and the local recorders are very used to people asking them to identify things..
Just so I'm straight - in order to correctly record I have a rare never seen before spider I'd have to kill it? (Thus making it even rarer?)
Yes. However, for invertebrates, population sizes are much greater than for say birds or mammals, so the loss of one individual is less of a concern. Just consider yourself a predator like a bird or something. It is a well established fact that most new species (of anything) are identified from dead specimens. Ironic, but there it is. It is one of the reasons why active recorders are always preaching about responsible collecting, so as not to do damage to populations.
You could turn the argument around though. If you don't kill one, then you can't prove that it is a rare species and that it is there, so there is nothing to stop someone coming along and building a shopping centre and wiping out the entire population, making your rare species extinct.
There is only one spider species in the UK where the population is so small that the loss of one individual would be considered significant, and that is one of those that is identifiable from a photograph, as it happens.
Frog-wasp ?
Wow. That has me stumped.
I think the wasp in the picture has its abdomen tucked under its body (possibly trying to egg lay or to sting), but the combination of the dorsal yellow spot and the striped legs has me confused. I thought it might be one of the digger wasps, Mellinus arvensis, but the legs are wrong. Don't know.
Do you have any other pictures of it?
After further consideration I agree it is some sort of parasitoid. They are notoriously difficult to identify even to family without the specimen, a microscope, and a specialised text. There isn't a website for them in the UK, and the guidance on the Natural History Museum website amounts to "give up before you start".
I'm not though, as it is far too interesting a beastie. Great pictures Chiseller
Glad it created some interest, the link doesn't look as muscle bound though. Wish I could have got you better selection of pics. Thanks for taking the time to acknowledge. Gud 'although :thumbup:
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Found this dude getting eaten alive by mites of some sort. I think it's Nicrophorus vespillo. As for the mites I'm not sure.
And this moth. Loads of these about now. Presumably Spilosoma lubricipeda(?)
And this strange thing in my shed:
Not sure at all about this one. It was smaller and thinner than a fly though.
And this moth. Loads of these about now. Presumably Spilosoma lubricipeda(?)
And this strange thing in my shed:
Not sure at all about this one. It was smaller and thinner than a fly though.
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Niels, nice pics. Agree on the moth, and the weird thing is a ruby tail - a sort of Hymenopteran, not quite a bee, not quite a wasp. Very hard to determine to species.
The beetle is a Nicrophorus for sure, but determination to species, is very difficult as there are lots of very similar species. They are often infested with parasitic mites (no idea what sort) and can carry amazing numbers of them with no apparent ill effects.
One other tip. The convention for using what is usually referred to as 'Latin names' is that the Genus is with a capital letter, but the species is not, and the whole thing is usually put into italics. So, Spilosoma lubricipeda
But that's just me being picky.
The beetle is a Nicrophorus for sure, but determination to species, is very difficult as there are lots of very similar species. They are often infested with parasitic mites (no idea what sort) and can carry amazing numbers of them with no apparent ill effects.
One other tip. The convention for using what is usually referred to as 'Latin names' is that the Genus is with a capital letter, but the species is not, and the whole thing is usually put into italics. So, Spilosoma lubricipeda
But that's just me being picky.
I appreciate this is a hard request without a photo (I will try to get one next time I see it) but I will ask as a long shot anyhow.
In my garden this year I keep getting a very very small red butterfly feeding on my swiss mint plants. I would guess from head to end of the body it is less than 1cm long.
i was wondering if anyone would know what this might be? I have never seen it before but that may be due its small size so it has gone unnoticed or to only planting swiss mint this year and the fact its flowering and seeding really well.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
In my garden this year I keep getting a very very small red butterfly feeding on my swiss mint plants. I would guess from head to end of the body it is less than 1cm long.
i was wondering if anyone would know what this might be? I have never seen it before but that may be due its small size so it has gone unnoticed or to only planting swiss mint this year and the fact its flowering and seeding really well.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Hi Joel,
As you say, very hard to do without a picture. There is no UK butterfly species that meets your description. Try googling Small Copper butterfly, or Burnet moth, and see if either of those match.
Otherwise, we need a picture to say anything useful.
As you say, very hard to do without a picture. There is no UK butterfly species that meets your description. Try googling Small Copper butterfly, or Burnet moth, and see if either of those match.
Otherwise, we need a picture to say anything useful.
Probably is, but even then red ones are pretty unusual. Burnet moth is probably my first guess, but without a picture we have no idea.
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