I've always found people pictures difficult. Street performers, musicians and children tend to be easier to photograph, perhaps because they (and me) are less intimidated about having their picture taken.
South Cerney steam fair - Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK
South Cerney steam fair - Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK.
Morris men - Gloucestershire, UK.
Pino y su Yersón playing at the Museum of Rum, Havana, Cuba.
Pedro, a talented wood carver, also known as Sigua. A big man with a remarkable capacity for rum and cigarettes.
Tuna fisherman with a turtle that was later released - Isle of Youth, Cuba.
Didgeridoo player - Sydney, Australia.
Happy cafe musicians - Prague
Mother and daughter - Namibia.
Young girl with cool hat - Namibia.
Van the Man - Westonbirt, Gloucestershire, UK.
Street musician - Prague, Czech Republic.
Tweedy the clown at Gifford's Circus - Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, UK.
Sunbathers with dog - Padstow, Cornwall.
Barber on Route 66 - California, USA.
Cupcakes for sale - Ballyvaughn, County Clare, Ireland.
Pie man, Gatcombe Park - Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, UK.
Pastry man - Corsica.
Young staff working in an aluminium shop - Madagascar
A collection of images from some of my favourite places.
Isle of Youth, Cuba.
Isle of Youth, Cuba
Isle of Youth, Cuba
Inisheer - County Clare, Ireland.
Portmagee - County Kerry, Ireland.
The Burren - County Clare, Ireland
Tuscany, Italy.
Piedmont, Italy
Seine fishing on Daymer Bay - Padstow, Cornwall, UK.
Sunflowers - Bath, UK.
Seydisfjordur - Iceland.
Near Seydisfjordur - Iceland.
Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon - Iceland.
Diamond beach, Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon - Iceland.
Diamond beach, Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon - Iceland.
Namaskard geothermal area - Iceland.
Namaskard geothermal area - Iceland.
Namaskard geothermal area - Iceland.
Iceland.
Skellig Michael - County Kerry, Ireland.
Skellig Michael - County Kerry, Ireland.
San Franciso, USA.
Dust in the morning - NT, Australia.
Cows and hills - Australia.
Con Millers stable - Bodie, USA.
Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
Grand Canyon - Arizona, USA.
Grand Canyon - Arizona, USA.
Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, UK.
Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, UK.
Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, UK.
Krka national park in Croatia where I worked with a great team from Operation Wallacea for 6 weeks in 2019. The park follows the course of the Krka river that has cut a deep gorge into the karst landscape. Spectacular scenery but quite isolated and not an easy place to get around!
International balloon fiesta - Bristol, UK.
Spiral staircase, Beckford's tower - Bath, UK.
Spiral staircase, Antinori vineyard - Tuscany, Italy. One of the largest wine makers in Italy where most Chianti comes from.
Old windmill in the Jardín de Cactus - Lanzarote.
Rusty car - NT, Australia.
Prague, Czech Republic.
Yellow house - Sydney, Australia.
Ponte-Leccia railway station, Cosica.
Railway crossing at Nipton, a town with a population of about 20 on the edge of the Mojave National Preserve - California, USA.
Arlington Row at Bibury - Gloucestershire, UK.
Green windows - Utila island, Honduras.
The phone doctor - Wexford, Ireland.
I ran a tropical ecology course to Cuba for many years and there was usually an opportunity to stay in Havana for a few days at the end of each trip. It's a photographer's paradise with vibrant colours and once beautiful Spanish architecture mixed up with grey communist concrete. Although many of the buildings are in a poor state of repair, there is a infectious buzz on the streets where you can see classic American cars left behind after the Revolution, get a perfect expresso coffee on a street corner or listen to live versions of Bona Vista Social Club tracks drifting out of every bar and restaurant. The US embargo of Cuba after the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 is still largely in place and has bought real hardship to the people of Cuba, but things are changing. Go and see it soon before this Caribbean island is changed forever.
This project developed as a result of having to stay at home during the Covid pandemic. With few insects about in the winter months, I needed something to keep my interest in macro photography going. Some Star Anise seed pods we had in the kitchen gave me the idea to make these photographs of spices.
STAR ANISE - the seed pod of Ilicium serum, an evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. The highly fragrant oil is used in cooking, perfumery, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and skin creams. About 90% of the world's star anise crop is used for extraction of shikimic acid, a chemical used in the synthesis of oseltamivir (Tamiflu).
JUNIPER - A Juniper berry, Juniperus communis, is really a modified pine cone with unusually fleshy and merged scales. In fact, juniper berries are probably the only spice derived from conifers. The image here is a mature berry, but it's the immature green berries that are used to flavour gin. The Dutch invented gin in the 17th century in the Netherlands. In traditional medicine, juniper berries were used for female birth control and they are associated with a increased risk of miscarriage.
CLOVE - the aromatic flower bud of a tree in the Myrtaceae family, Syzygium aromaticum. Cloves are native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Good for toothache!
NUTMEG - the seed of several species of the genus Myristica that are all dark-leaved evergreen trees. The tree's fruits provide two spices, nutmeg, from its seed, and mace, from the seed covering.
CARDAMON - Elettaria cardamomum, the most common species of several perennial plants in the ginger family, whose seeds are all called cardamom. The seeds are produced by herbaceous plants native to southern India.
CINNAMON - Cinnamomum verum is a bushy evergreen tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae) native to Sri Lanka and the neighbouring Malabar Coast of India, and Myanmar. The spice is derived from the inner bark of the tree that is rolled up and dried to form sticks.
CHILLI PEPPER - Capsicum annum, variety 'Apache'. You can easily grow these at home and each small plant produces loads of chillies. The Scoville Heat Unit scale (SHU) that gives a measure of how hot chillies are to eat was originally developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. He persuaded a panel of tasters to sip solutions of ground up chillies, sugar and water. The final score was based on the number of dilutions required before the tasters could no longer detect any heat. 1 part per 1,000,000 dilution is equivalent to 1.5 Scoville Units. These days they measure the amount of the chemical, capsaicin, present using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The hottest chilli in the world is the Carolina Reaper which measures 2,200,000 SHUs. I think I'll pass on that one.
BLACK PEPPER - The dried fruits of a flowering vine in the Piperaceae family (Piper nigrum). The mature fruits are about 5 mm in diameter and dark red. In the centre is a white seed which gives the pepper its heat and bite, while the black husk is the flesh of the fruit and gives the fruity, floral aromatic character. As each fruit only contains a single seed, they are technically drupes. Regarded for centuries as the 'King of Spices' by Indian traders, it is today the most widely used spice in the world.
CORIANDER - Coriandrum sativum, an annual herb from the parsley family, Apiaceae. Generally thought to be native to the Mediterranean and southwestern Europe. This image is of a coriander seed, but all parts of the plant are edible. The fresh leaves are commonly called cilantro, which comes from the Spanish word for coriander, or Chinese parsley.
SEA SALT - not really a spice, but fits in with my other culinary images! If you use Maldon sea salt flakes for cooking, you can find beautiful crystals of salt in the packet. Maldon is a town in Essex, UK, that has a long history of sea salt production. The Domesday Book records 45 salt pans in Maldon in 1086. Salt-making equipment has been excavated from there that date back to the Iron Age.
TUMERIC - Curcuma longa, a herbaceous plant in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It's native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia and you probably know turmeric as the main spice in curry. The plant is sterile and does not produce seeds, but instead it grows vegetatively from rhizomatous roots. It requires temperatures of between 20 and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive.
GINGER - Zingiber officinale is a flowering plant whose rhizome, (ginger root) is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. Ginger is in the Zingiberaceae family which also includes turmeric, cardamom and galangal. The spice originated in Southeast Asia and was transported throughout the Indo-Pacific about 5000 years ago and was one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in Europe with the spice trade. India produces about 2.8 million tonnes of ginger each year, about a third of the world’s production. China, Nigeria and Nepal produce most of the rest.
The damp skin of most amphibians is used to obtain oxygen and this therefore restricts many species to live in damp places. Tropical rainforests support a huge diversity of frogs, toads and salamanders and I was fortunate to visit Ecuador with Operation Wallacea where many of these photographs were taken.
Reticulated poison frog (Ranitomeya variables) - Ecuador. This little frog is only about 2 cm long but it's skin contains highly toxic chemicals.
A tree frog with adhesive pads on the tips of the fingers and toes.
Map tree frog (Boana geographicus) - Ecuador.
Demerara falls tree frog (Boana cinerascens) - Ecuador.
Stained tree frog (Boana marculateralis) - Ecuador.
Common Suriname toad (Pipa pipa) - Ecuador. These toads are pancake flat and live in the mud at the bottom of rainforest streams. They are very difficult to find and I never expected to see one or be able take its photograph. Their reproduction is weird, females carry developing tadpoles in pockets under the skin on their back.
Scinax funereus - Ecuador.
White-lined monkey frog (Phyllomedusa vaillantii) - Ecuador. A stunning frog with a strange characteristic "monkey walk".
Smoky jungle frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus) - Ecuador. This is a juvenile, adults can grow to 20 cm. The skin exudes a fluid that is an extreme irritant, especially if it gets into the eyes.
Fringe-lipped tree frog (Scinax garbei) - Ecuador.
Crested forest toad (Rhinella margaritifera) - Ecuador.
Cane toad (Rhinella marina) - Ecuador. Infamous as one of the most invasive species in the world and of particular concern in Australia, where they eat, or poison, most animals they come across. They are native to South America where they don't have the same impact.
Cuban pine frog (Eleutherodactylus pinarensis) - endemic to Cuba.
Tschudi’s caribbean toad (Peltophryne peltocephala) - Cuba.
Ecuadorian climbing salamander (Bolitoglossa equatoriana) - Ecuador. A nocturnal species that can be found happily plodding around on damp leaves after rain. Their hands and feet are completely webbed forming mittens and there are small moustache-like appendages (nasal cirri) that radiate from the nostrils. These animals breath only through their skin - they have no lungs.
Reptiles are remarkable. Geckos are definitely my favourite, although some of the boas and pythons are stunning, but generally less friendly. I was lucky enough to work in Ecuador with a team from Operation Wallacea where many of these images were taken. Sometimes think I should have been a herpetologist.
Turnip-tailed gecko (Thecadactylus solimoensis) - Ecuador. A nocturnal gecko found on tree trunks during the day where it is very difficult to spot. Even the iris of its eyes are cryptically patterned.
Rainbow sun gecko (Gonatodes humeralis) - Ecuador.
Elegant-eyed lizard (Cercosaura arugula) - Ecuador.
Ashy gecko, juvenile (Sphaerodactylus elegans) - Isle of Youth, Cuba. I could not believe the rainbow colours of this gecko when I first came across it. The adults are quite drab by comparison.
Saw-scaled curlytail (Leiocephalus carinatus) - Cuba. These fast and robust lizards live near the coast where they feed on ants.
Fer-de-Lance (Bothrops atrox) - Ecuador. Definitely one for the telephoto lens, a very poisonous snake. If you are bitten, you have about 3 hours to receive the anti-venom. This one was actually pretty chilled. They wiggle their tail to entice birds down to peck at what they think is a worm - too late when they discover it isn't.
Amazon blunt-headed tree snake (Imantodes lentiferus) - Ecuador. Surely the inspiration for Kaa's eyes in the Jungle Book.
Ornate snail-eating snake (Dipsas catesbyi) - Ecuador. A nocturnal, arboreal species and specialist predator of slugs and snails.
Big-headed snail eating snake (Dipsas indica) - Ecuador. The green-grey eyes with a vertical pupil make this snake reminiscent of the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland.
Black-skinned parrot snake (Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus) - Ecuador. A brilliantly coloured snake with attitude.
Red vine snake (Siphlophis compressus) - Ecuador.
Rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchria) - Ecuador. A really beautiful snake. The skin has rainbow oil-sheen colours in certain light.
Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus) - Ecuador. Common olive-grey form.
Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus) - Ecuador. A yellow form of this species.
Cuban boa (Chilaborthrus angulifer) - endemic to Cuba.
Chameleon (Calumma sp.) - Madagascar.
Carpet chameleon (Furcifer lateralis) - Madagascar.
I suspect that birds are the most photographed animals in wildlife photography. Given their amazing diversity, it's easy to see why. Here are a few of my own favourites which I hope you enjoy.
Cuban pygmy owl (Glaucidium siju) - endemic to Cuba. A diurnal owl that is active during the day.
The Delta de l'Ebre is one of the most important aquatic habitats in the western Mediterranean. The reed beds, brackish lagoons and marshes are home to thousands of wintering birds. The area has some protection, but large areas have been destroyed for growing rice and, amazingly, more than 500 hunters are licensed to shoot ducks! Marsh Harriers can be seen in the evening hunting over the marshes and I was lucky to get this shot of one. What a privilege to see these wonderful birds!
In some parts of the world, Ospreys are relatively common birds. Here’s one that lives on the Swann River in Perth, Western Australia. It took a week of visiting a small wetland each morning, just after sunrise, before I managed to get close enough for this shot.
Found big flocks of flamingos in the wetlands of Spain and France. What incredible birds!
Cuban emerald humming bird (Chlorostilbon ricordii) - endemic to Cuba.
Cuban tody (Todus multicolor) - endemic to Cuba.
Wilson’s plover (Charadrius wilsonia) - Cuba.
Cuban trogon (Priotelus tempuras) - Isle of Youth, Cuba. Endemic and Cuba's national bird.
The hoopoe (Upupa epops) is not an uncommon bird in Europe, but this was my best encounter with a particularly friendly one. They are real characters to watch as they probe around on the ground for grubs. This one hung around long enough to have his photo taken, but never raised his crest for me, which apparently they mostly do just as they land.
Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) - Cuba.
Greater ani (Crotophaga major) - Ecuador.
West Indian woodpecker (Melanerpes superciliaris) - Isle of Youth, Cuba. This male was checking up on the female who was inside the nesting hole.
Common potoo (Nyctibius griseus) - Ecuador. Roosts by day looking just like a tree stump. Remarkable camouflage.
Yellow-headed warbler (Teretistris fernandinae) - Isle of Youth, Cuba.
Black-capped donacobius (Donacobius atricapilla) - Eduador.
Puffin (Fratercula arctica) - Skelligs, Ireland.
Puffin (Fratercula arctica) - Skelligs, Ireland.
Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) - Iceland.
Rainbow bee-eater (Merops ornatus) - Northern Territory, Australia.
New Holland honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) - Perth, Western Australia.
A handsome male Pintail (Anas acura). Ducks usually mate in winter, so this is the best time of year to see them in their breeding plumage.
The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is the most common diving duck in Britain. There are about 18 thousand breeding pairs that can be found on flooded gravel pits, lakes and reservoirs. The increase in the populations of this duck over the last 100 years is believed to be related to the introduction of Zebra mussels in ship's ballast. This one isn't showing off his tufted hairdo very well, but I like the reflection of his eye in the water.
A male Eider, Somateria mollissima. These are the heaviest and the fastest flying duck in the UK. They are true seaducks that depend on coastal molluscs for food and this has brought them into conflict with mussel farmers. The down feathers of eiders are harvested from the nest at the end of the breeding season and used to fill quilts known as an eiderdown.
Mammals are arguably the most successful of all vertebrates. They have adapted to live in every environment and every habitat on earth. They are popular subjects to photograph, but are often shy and easily scared, so photographing them requires patience and determination. These are not qualities I am blessed with, but here are some pictures of mammals that were especially obliging and that didn't get away.
Water vole (Arvicola terrestris) - Gloucestershire, UK.
Tailless tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus) - Madagascar.
Murine mouse opossum (Marmosa murina) - Ecuador. I came across this marsupial one night in the rainforest. She froze midway through her grasshopper dinner to allow me to take this picture.
Grey squirrel (Scirius caroliniensis) - Gloucestershire, UK.
Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) - Cuba.
Buffy flower bat (Erophylla sezekorni) - Cuba.
Common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) - Ecuador.
Diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema) - Madagascar. A critically endangered species. This individual has a radio collar to enable Madagascan scientists to track its movements.
Spix's night monkey (Aotus vociferous) - Ecuador. These small nocturnal monkeys with huge eyes remind me of the two old men in the muppets.
Domesticated alpaca (Vicungna tacos) on a farm near Henley-on-Thames - Oxfordshire, UK.
Burchell's zebra (Equus burchellii), Etosha National Park - Namibia.
African elephant (Loxodonta africana) Etosha National Park - Namibia.
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) Etosha National Park - Namibia.
Giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) - Ecuador.
Cape fur seal colony (Arctocephalus pusillus), Skeleton coast - Namibia.
The Beetles are the largest insect order (Coleoptera). About 400,000 species have been described. Adult beetles are usually easy to recognise because the first pair of wings have been modified into hard elytra that cover most of the body. The variety of beetles is huge and their different forms and colours makes them particularly attractive subjects to photograph.
This handsome beetle is the Common cockchafer, Melolontha melolontha (Scarabaeidae). They are also known as Maybugs, Spang beetles, Billywitches and Doodlebugs. Although they fly at night, they are attracted to light and can be heard bashing into your windows when they first appear around late April to early May. This is a male as it has seven 'leaves' on its remarkable antler-like antennae - females have only have six. Cockchafers were once highly abundant until pesticide use in the mid 20th Century almost obliterated them, but they have now recovered with the introduction of improved pesticide regulations.
The Wasp beetle, Cletus arietis is one of my favourite Longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae). The larvae develop in the wood of various deciduous trees and the adults can be found on flowers and often on beech trees. They’re completely harmless.
Tiger beetles are some of the fastest running insects in the world - and they can also fly. They have huge eyes and jaws and are voracious predators. They are mostly found in sandy habitats. This one is Calomera littorals. I had to cool this guy down a bit in the fridge before I could take a picture, but he soon warmed up again and flew off.
Tiger beetles are classified in the subfamily Cicindelinae of the Carabidae (ground beetles). This is Calomera littorals from Portugal.
The Devil's coach-horse beetle, Ocypus olens, a large Rove beetle from the family Staphylinidae. If you find one, be careful, they can bite and squirt you with foul-smelling liquid from their anal glands.
Each spring, Harlequin ladybirds, Harmonia axyridis (Coccinellidae) wake up from the crevices in my house where they have been dormant. This is an alien species, native to the Oriental region, which first appeared in the UK in 2004 but has now spread across much of southern England and into the Midlands. There are numerous colour and pattern forms.
This weevil crawled out my "washed and ready to eat salad leaves". Unfortunately, he did not survive my salad dressing, but became one of the earliest images I made when I first got interested in extreme-macro photography and photo-stacking.
A red-headed Cardinal beetle, Pyrochroa serraticornis (Pyrochroidae). Found in woodland, along hedgerows and in parks and gardens, they eat other insects that fly around the flowers where they perch. I love the impressive toothed antennae.
Close up of a red-headed Cardinal beetle, Pyrochroa serraticornis (Pyrochroidae) showing the fine detail of its elytra.
There are 41 British species of Soldier beetles (Cantharidae). The adults of this species, Cantharis rustica, are especially common on the flowers of umbellifers between mid May and early August. They prey on other insects and occasionally feed on nectar and pollen
Weevils (Curculionidae) are mostly small beetles that can be recognised by their snout-like rostrum. This green weevil was found on the leaves of dock. It probably belongs to the genus Phyllobius, but there are many different species that are difficult to separate. The whole body is covered with tiny yellow/green scales.
A handsome Darkling beetle, Erodius tibialis (Tenebrionidae) that was found near the coast at Sao Martino do Porto in Portugal. I love the yellow hairs around the head that look like it’s wearing a yellow scarf.
A hairy scarab beetle, Tropinota squalida (Scarabaeidae) from Doñana National Park, Spain. It can be found feeding on flowers from May through July.
The Varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci, a 3 mm-long beetle in the family Dermestidae. This is a common pest of houses and natural history museums. The larvae, known as woolly bears, eat furniture, wool and cotton clothing, carpets and insect collections. They are quite difficult to pick up as their little legs, head and antennae all fit perfectly into little grooves on the body that is covered with tiny scales.
If you have some long grass in your garden, you may see this hansome Green malachite beetle, Malachius bipustulatus (Melyridae). You can tell this specimen is a male from the presence of the yellow structures at the base of the antennae that produce pheromones to attract the females.
Detail of the elytra and pronotum of a Violet ground beetle, Carabus violaceus. A nocturnal species of beetle from the Carabidae family.
The Alder leaf beetle, Agelastica alni, (Chysomelidae) became extinct in the UK in 2004. It may not be native to the UK, but just gets regularly reintroduced from other parts of Europe. It's now back and increasing in distribution and numbers, probably due to better protection of Alder Carr woodland on which it depends.
Cerambyx cerdo is another threatened Longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae) that inhabits old, but living sun-exposed oak trees with thick bark. The beetle is one the largest beetle species in Europe with a body length of between 41 and 55 mm. The length of the antenna identifies this specimen as a female, in males the antennae are twice as long as the body. The larvae develop beneath the bark and in the sapwood of oak trees for up to five years before they metamorphose into the adult beetle.
If you recognise this beetle, you are probably a gardener. It's a Lilly beetle, Lilioceris lilii, from the Leaf beetle family Chrysomelidae. This one was donated by my old friend, Jim Burns, who has a serious infestation and probably no lilies.
The wood-boring Longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) are one of my favourite beetle families. This is Morimus funereus, that occurs over much of northern Europe where the larvae feed on walnut trees. Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Golden-bloomed grey Longhorn beetle (Agapanthia villosoviridescens) - Wiltshire, UK.
The Thick-legged flower beetle Oedemera nobilis (Oedemeridae). You can find this spectacular metallic-green beetle on flowers in April and May where they are common in gardens and grassland. Only the male has the characteristic swollen Michelin-man hind ‘thighs' - presumably to impress the ladies. The larvae feed and develop within plant stems.
Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) are the largest family of beetles in the world. More than 1000 species occur in the UK. Their short wing covers (elytra) make them relatively easy to recognise - they remind me of the tiny waistcoats worn by waiters - but identification to species can be challenging. This one is the UK's commonest large staphylinid, so I can be reasonably confident it is Tasgius melanarius. It likes living in compost heaps, which is where I found this one.
There are about 364 species of ground beetle (Carabidae) in the UK! They are all carnivores. I think this one is probably the Common Blackclock (Pterostichus madidus).
Bloody-nosed beetles get their name from the habit of producing blood-red distasteful liquid that deters predators. There are two species, this is the smaller one, Timarcha goettingensis.
Underside of the tarsus of a Bloody-nosed beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)
The legs of a horned dung beetle (Copris lunaris)
Here's a carrion beetle from the family Silphidae. This is Silpha obscure, a common species across Europe but it's relatively rare in the UK. The adults rapidly locate the bodies of dead animals and burrow under the carcass where the females lay their eggs.
The triangular scutellum, part of the thorax and wing cases of the carrion beetle, Silpha obscure, that are covered in tiny pits.
The Lesser stag beetle (Dorcas parallelipipedus) is often mistaken for its larger and rarer cousin (Lucanus cercus). This Lesser stag beetle is approximately 25mm long, ‘Proper’ Stag beetles are much larger, males can get to 80mm, so they are easy enough to tell apart.
The two small bumps on the front of the head of this Lesser stag beetle (Dorcas parallelipipedus) identify this as a female. The larvae of both species feed on decaying wood and can be found in old tree stumps.
Unfortunately, all kinds of insect are known as bugs, but the True bugs belong to the Hemiptera. The mouthparts consist of an elongated rostrum that is unique to this insect order. For most of the species in this gallery, both dorsal and ventral views are included.
Meet Heterotoma planicornis (Miridae), a tiny heteropteran bug about 4 mm long that feeds on various plants and trees, especially stinging nettles. With red eyes, green legs and huge antennae this is one of the weirdest insects I've ever photographed. What was evolution thinking of?
Most people are familiar with cuckoo spit, the small blobs of frothy white foam you sometimes see on plants. This is produced by the larvae of frog hoppers. The adult bugs sometimes jump onto you and then ping off again. I am grateful to Dr Joe Botting and Dr Tristan Bantock of britishbugs.org.uk. who helpfully identified this species for me as Issus coleoptratus (Issidae), one of only two species in this family that are present in Britain.
A ventral view of the frog hopper, Issus coleoptratus (Issidae)
The Green shieldbug, Palomino prasina (Pentatomidae), is very common in UK gardens. In this image, the micro sculpture of little pits on the surface show up clearly.
The ventral side of a Green shieldbug, Palomino prasina (Pentatomidae), clearly showing the rostrum that is an important characteristic of the hemipterans.
The Red-legged shieldbug, Pentatoma rufipes (Pentatomidae) is related to the Green shieldbug. Not often usually seen as they are arboreal and live up oak and elm trees. A lot of individuals of this species came to our moth trap one evening. Great patterns on their cuticle.
A dorsal view of the Red-legged shieldbug, Pentatoma rufipes (Pentatomidae).
This 7 mm long hemipteran bug is Rhopalus subrufus, (Rhopalidae). Common and widespread it can be found in woodland clearings and other scrubby places, where it feeds on a variety of plants.
A close up of Rhopalus subrufus, (Rhopalidae) showing the intricate pattern on its surface.
Nettle ground bugs, Heterogaster urticae (Lygaeidae) seem to like avoiding the cold weather by living in the tiny gaps around my windows.
A ventral view of a Nettle ground bug, Heterogaster urticae (Lygaeidae) showing the typical piercing mouthparts, known as the rostrum, that is characteristic of hemipterans.
The Dock bug, Coreus marginatus (Coreidae), can be found living on dock leaves. There are many similar types, but the two small projections between its antennae are definitive for this species. The entire surface is pebble-dashed with tiny bumps.
The ventral surface of the Dock bug, Coreus marginatus (Coreidae).
The Cinnamon bug, Corizus hyoscyami (Rhopalidae) is an hemipteran that feeds on a wide variety of plants. This rather hairy species has distinctive red and black markings and a network of fine veins on the forewings. It used to only occur on southern coasts of the UK, but has extended its distribution northwards as far as Yorkshire.
A ventral view of the Cinnamon bug, Corizus hyoscyami (Rhopalidae).
The Hairy shieldbug, Dolycoris baccarum (Pentatomidae). Similar to the more familiar Green shieldbug, but with hairs, three white bands on the antennae and a nice shade of lilac. Found along woodland edges.
Flies belong in the insect order Diptera. As their name suggests, they typically have just one pair of wings. The second pair have evolved into small knobbly structures called halteres that provide feedback to the wing-steering muscles and to the muscles responsible for stabilising the head. Flies are very diverse and one of the most successful groups of organisms on Earth. The ones we are most aware of either bite us (mosquitoes and midges) or like poo or smelly dead things (bluebottles and blowflies). It’s not surprising that they don’t enjoy a great reputation. Without them, however, our world would soon be overwhelmed with faeces and rotting plants and animals. Flies have a very significant role in the decomposition and degeneration of plant and animal matter and are an important component of food chains. Some of them, particularly the hoverflies in this gallery, are also very beautiful ….
The furry brown body and long proboscis make this insect easy to recognise, it's a bee fly, Bombylius major (Bombyliidae), that appears early in Spring. It's not a bee but a true fly as it only one pair of wings. The adults feed on the nectar on many low-growing flowers. The larvae however, are parasites of mining bees. The adults have the remarkable ability to fling eggs directly into the entrance of a mining bees nest. Amazing behaviour to watch if you see one in action. One of my favourite insects.
A pretty green fly, one of the species of Solieria (Tachinidae)
An extreme-macro shot of Solieria sp. (Tachinidae). The bristles on the head remind me of stitched wounds on zombies.
Episyrphus balteatus, sometimes called the Marmalade hoverfly. A relatively small hoverfly from the Syrphidae family.
The head of Episyrphus balteatus (Syrphidae). The small stalked yellow blob is a haltere - one of a pair a highly modified wings that are used to stabilise flight.
The hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus. You can tell this one is a male because the eyes are touching each other on top of the head.
A close-up of the head of the hoverfly, Xylota segnis.
One of the larger hoverflies, Chrysotoxum cautum. The pattern of yellow and back bands are important for species identification.
The big and scary Crossus hoverfly, Volucella inflata, is a bumblebee mimic, but completely harmless. Members of this genus all have plumose aristae (the fine feathery bristles on the antennae).
The head and huge eyes of the Crossus hoverfly, Volucella inflata. This image reminds me of a fighter jet.
The hoverfly, Chrysotoxum festivum. Members of this genus all have elongate antennae which point forwards
The Drone fly, Eristalis tenax, a hoverfly that mimics a honey bee.
The commonest hoverflies with yellow and black bands that visit flowers belong to the genus Syrphus. This is Syrphus ribesii.
The eyes of this female hoverfly are well-separated and don’t meet on top of the head as they do in males. This is one of the Syrphus species.
This hoverfly, Xanthogramma pedissequum, has very striking yellow and black bands and a bright yellow face. The larvae are believed to live in the nests of ants.
The St Mark's fly, Bibio marci, emerges around St Mark's Day, April 25th. These flies are members of the Bibionidae family which contains 20 species in the UK. This is the head of a male that has huge black hairy eyes.
Not all flies are cuddly. Meet Lipoptena cervi, the deer ked or deer fly, a species of blood-sucking insect from the louse fly family, Hippoboscidae. The winged adults are common in the autumn where deer occur. Once the fly has found a deer, its wings drop off and it scuttles away into the deer's hair where it lives for the rest of its life. Its flattened shape, strong muscular legs, claws and hairs help it remain on board. There are other species that live on bats, birds and horses. The body is only about 3 mm long.
Twin-spot centurion Soldier fly, Sargus bipunctatus (Stratiomyidae).
Typical horseflies belong to the genus Tabanus. They are medium to very large, clear-winged insects with eyes that are hairless but which often have coloured bands. There are 8 species of Tabanus in the UK but they are quite difficult to separate. The bite of the females is painful because they cut into the skin and tear the victim’s flesh. The mouthparts have small hooks to lock into the bite. When imbibing your blood, saliva is injected that causes a sharp burning sensation. Nice.
If you have ever wondered what a Daddy-long-legs face looks like, here it is. There are about 300 different species of Crane-fly in the UK - this is Ctenophora pectinicornis. The larvae can cause serious damage to crops and garden plants, but the adults are short lived and rarely feed at all.
The cat recently gifted us a present that subsequently died somewhere in the house so we then had a house full of bluebottles, Calliphora sp. (probably C. vomitoria due to the orange "beard").
Flies generally get a bad press for their rather unsavoury habits and food preferences, but close up they are remarkable and quite beautiful, if you don't mind all those bristles. This is one of the Greenbottles, either Lucilia caesar or Lucilia sericata.
Robber flies are bristly predatory flies that chase and catch other insects in mid-air. The prey are then sucked dry with the stout proboscis. The face is covered with hairs to protect the eyes from struggling prey. Not one of the cuddly insects.
A female Twin-spot centurion (Sargus bipunctatus) soldier fly (Stratiomyidae). Soldier flys get their name because their striking colours remind people of old fashioned soldier's uniforms. They are important pollinators and their larvae feed on decaying vegetation.
Lepidoptera is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species have been described in 126 families. The Lepidoptera make up 10% of the total described species of living organisms. It is one of the most widespread and recognizable insect orders in the world. As there are so many great photographs of butterflies, I have tried to included a few images of some lesser known species and some strikingly coloured caterpillars.
Rainforest butterfly - Ecuador.
Mangrove skipper (Phocides pigmalion) - Isle of Youth, Cuba.
Rainforest butterfly - Ecuador.
Frangipani hornworm (Pseudosphinx tetrio) - Cuba.
Hawk moth caterpillar - Madagascar.
Caterpillar of green-veined charax (Charaxes antamboulou) - Madagascar.
Caterpillar - Madagascar.
Death's-head hawk moth caterpillar (Acherontia atropos) - captive bred.
The caterpillar of the Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) feeds on ragwort. It's orange and black stripes warn predators that it's not good to eat. The caterpillars accumulate toxins from their ragwort diet. The caterpillars are often so numerous, they can eat all the available ragwort so that some stave to death before they can grow big enough to pupate. This doesn't seem to be a sensible strategy, they should probably get a Darwin award!
The insect order Hymenoptera contains all the ants, wasps, bees and sawflies. Worldwide, the order contains over 100,000 species, so there is plenty to photograph! They play key roles in most ecosystems as predators, parasites and pollinators.
Most Hymenoptera have two pairs of membranous wings. The forewings and hindwings are held together by small hooks. Some species have wings only during mating flights and other species are completely wingless.
They usually have chewing mouthparts although in some groups, such as bees, the lower lip has been modified to form a tongue.
Female hymenopterans generally have an ovipositor which may be modified for sawing, piercing or stinging.
The European hornet (Vespa crabro) is an impressive insect and Britain's largest social wasp. They have yellow and brownish-red striped bodies, reddish wings and a yellow head.
The eye of a Hornet, Vespa crabro. A few hornets regularly turn up in our moth trap each year. Much less aggressive than wasps, but nasty if you get stung.
The Digger wasp, Ectemnius cavifrons that catches hoverflies that it drags into a burrow where it lays an egg on the still living paralysed prey on which the larvae feeds when it hatches. Spot the three light-sensitive ocelli that form a triangle on top of its head - cool insect!
Another shot of Ectemnius cavifrons. It nests in branching burrows in decaying wood that may contain up to 14 separate cells.
An unknown species of Digger wasp from Ecuador, preparing to seal up its mud nesting chamber.
Another species of Digger wasp from the Isle of Youth, Cuba. Nice green eyes on this species.
This Ichneumen is from the Braconidae family as the forewing vein, 2m-cu is absent (bet you needed to know that). That sting-like structure is the ovipositor that the female uses to insert her eggs into an unsuspecting caterpillar at night. The eggs hatch and the larvae are parasites of caterpillars that are eaten alive from the inside. Despite this, they are rather beautiful insects.
The face of an unknown species of Ichneumen. The head is about 2 mm across.
There are about 2,500 species of hymenopteran Ichneumin "wasps" in Britain. They are notoriously difficult to identify, but I think this one is Ichneumon bucculentus. Most ichneumonids are parasitoids of other invertebrates – meaning their eggs are laid in, or on, a single host which the larvae feed on and eventually kill.
Yellow meadow ant (Lasius flavus) - Gloucestershire, UK. The head is about 0.5 mm across.
The faces of ants are remarkable. This is the Southern Wood ant, Formica rufa.
You might have seen the huge nests of the Southern Wood ant, Formica rufa, in pine woodlands. They can bite, so be careful! Thanks to my friend Dave Molesworth for sending me some fine specimens.
If you have ever had the leaves of your roses stripped of all their leaves, it was probably the larvae of the Rose sawfly, Arge pagana that was responsible. Here's what the adult looks like and you can just see the orange ovipositor that is adapted to "saw" into the stem of the host plant where the eggs are laid. Sawfly are not flies at all, but hymenopterans, relatives of the bees and wasps. There are over 400 species in Britain.
We are lucky enough to have Ashy mining bees (Andrena cineraria) digging holes in the garden in the spring each year. They have become more common in recent years and they lay their eggs in burrows that look like miniature volcanoes.
A worker honey bee, Apis mellifera lives for only 15 to 35 days in the summer months, but overwintering workers can survive for up to 200 days.
Arachnids have two body regions, a cephalothorax and an abdomen. They have 4 pairs of legs. They lack jaws, but have 2 pairs of specialised mouthparts that are adapted for various uses in the 11 different groups. The first pair of mouthpart appendages are called chelicerae and the second pair pedipalps. Most arachnids are predators and as they lack jaws, almost all of them inject digestive fluids into their prey before sucking its liquefied remains into their mouths.
Our house must support most of the world's population of Pholcus phalangioides, the daddy long-legs spider or long-bodied cellar spider (not to be confused with the crane fly that are also known as daddy long-legs). These spiders have a total of eight eyes. These are arranged in two clusters of three larger ones located on either side of a pair of smaller ones. If you disturb these spiders while they are in their tangled webs, they vibrate rapidly into a spider/silk blur. They eat mainly other spiders and, in our house, they seem to like woodlice (just as well as we have significant population of the world's population of these too.
Trapdoor spider - Isle of Youth, Cuba. My arachnologist friend, Elier Fonseca, found this trapdoor spider by painstakingly searching the leaf litter on the forest floor using his fingertips to locate the door of the burrow. A species new to science.
Red velvet mites belong to the Trombidiidae family. The adults have four pairs of legs, but they use the front two legs to monitor their surroundings. They also have a tiny pair of eyes. The adults are predators but they are harmless to humans.
Nobody likes ticks, especially as they carry nasty pathogens that cause Lyme's disease, tick paralysis and tick borne encephalitis. Nevertheless, they are remarkable animals, perfectly adapted to feed on the blood of various animals by means of serrated mouthparts. They can live for up to 4.5 years and may only feed 4 or 5 times during their adult life. This is a female of Ixodes ricinus, commonly known as the sheep or deer tick, but it will also feed on cats, dogs, cattle and humans. This species has no eyes. On this image of the underside, you can see the genital aperture between the 4th pair of legs (important for species identification) and two large spiracles on either side through which the tick gets its oxygen. The anal plate below the genital aperture is also important for correct identification.
Ticks hang around in the long grass waiting to climb aboard when you (or your dog) walk past. For such a small animal they cause a lot of inflammation. I think this one is a juvenile species of Ixodes.
Here's a portrait of Linyphia triangularis - one of several species that make horizontal platform webs with cris-cross barrage stands of silk arranged over the platform. When prey hits the tangle of lines, they drop onto the platform below and the spider runs underneth the platform, drags the prey though the sheet of silk and bites the prey with those fangs. Harmless to humans, the head is only about 2mm across!
