A Strawberry Seed Beetle

Given that the weather is so damp and cold I am seeing very few insects these days other than bumblebees. At least I have plenty of time to tidy up my ever growing photo library! While going through my ground beetle photos, I thought I would share this shot of  Harpalus rufipes, a common species that I have even found inside the house. The species is quite distinctive with its orange legs and its wings covered on very fine hairs - giving the elythra a matt feel when compared with head and front of the thorax. This is an omnivorous beetle: it will predate small invertebrates but also feeds on seeds, and gets its English name from the damage it inflicts on strawberries. The species is biennial. It breeds in August and the adults overwinter and overlap with the larvae. The larvae dig deep vertical where they cache seeds, which I thought it is pretty cool behaviour for a beetle. As other common European invertebrates, it was introduced in North America before 1937.

More information

Loughridge, A., & Luff, M. (1983). Aphid Predation by Harpalus rufipes (Degeer) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Laboratory and Field. The Journal of Applied Ecology, 20 (2) DOI: 10.2307/2403519


Hartke, A., Drummond, F., & Liebman, M. (1998). Seed Feeding, Seed Caching, and Burrowing Behaviors of Harpalus rufipes De Geer Larvae (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Maine Potato Agroecosystem. Biological Control, 13 (2), 91-100 DOI: 10.1006/bcon.1998.0645

Never hold a Black Clock in your mouth

I found a squished ground beetle on the pavement today, Pterostichus madidus, and I thought I would share with you some photos from last year of a very alive individual of this species . Curiously this carabid beetle has a curious English common name: the Black Clock. According to the book Bugs Britannica, by Marren and Mabey 'clock' was a word in widespread use to mean any big buzzing insect. As many carabids, however, this is a fast, non-flying nocturnal predatory beetle which runs to hide quickly when uncovered. This one was found under a grass tussock in the garden. Look at his sharp jaws!
 Ground beetles have glands at the end of the abdomen that produce defensive, foul tasting and caustic secretions. I must quote here an incident involving ground beetles described by Charles Darwin

I must tell you what happened to me on the banks of the Cam in my early entomological days; under a piece of bark I found two carabi (I forget which) & caught one in each hand, when lo & behold I saw a sacred Panagæus crux major; I could not bear to give up either of my Carabi, & to lose Panagæus was out of the question, so that in despair I gently seized one of the carabi between my teeth, when to my unspeakable disgust & pain the little inconsiderate beast squirted his acid down my throat & I lost both Carabi & Panagæus!

The pains beetle collectors went through to capture priced ground beetles! You can admire the handsome Crucifix Ground Beetle (Panagaeus cruxmajor), also known as 'Darwin's lost beetle' here. Unfortunately, due to collecting and habitat degradation, this species, formerly widespread, is now just know from three populations in the UK.
But back to my beetle, I managed to take some shots of the individual scurrying off for cover on the soil, and then I decided to capture it and give it a session in the white bowl. I think the following two photos show the pros and cons of the natural versus the white background.

Pterostichus madidus, 12 May 2012

More information

Charles Darwin letter to Leonard Jenyns in the Darwin Correspondence project.

Crucifix ground beetle (Panagaeus cruxmajor) UKBAP plan.

Figwort Weevils

I found this Figwort Weevil, Cionus scrophulariae, individual near a mating pair on Buddleia. I used to see them on Figwort, but they also feed on Mullein and other plant species, usually near the flower buds or young shoot tips of the plants. The larvae is unmistakable: it looks like a slimy yellow-green blob with a black head, and is found on the same places that adult frequent.

Mating pair

Two larvae and evidence of their eating the Figwort

Another mating pair

A morning beewatching

A warm morning of sunny spells, bees come out en force. A Cuckoo bumblebee, possibly a male Bombus vestalis (above), a cleptoparasite of Bombus terrestris fed on the Erysimum Bowles Mauve. Bombus pratorum workers and males are feeding on many flowers, Centaurea montana, Chives and Herb Robert, surprisingly also Foxgloves and also nectar robbing the Comfrey.

A couple of queen bumblebees, Tree (above) and Buff Tailed bumblebees feed together on the patch of Red Valerian for a long time.

On the Oxeye Daisies, a Lasioglossum sp.

The first leaf-cutter bee, Megachile willughbiella, of the year feeding on Erysimum. I also saw it on the geraniums.

 Wall Rocked receives a visit of a very worn Andrena

The new Osmia caerulescens are now everywhere. The males have been checking the bee post. In the next shot, a male stretches its tongue, amazingly long. No surprise its preference for Sage and Lamium maculatum in the garden.

This female sunbathing next to the Sage shows why they are called Blue Mason Bees

The summer bees overlap on early June with the last of the spring bees. An Anthophora plumipes female was briefly feeding also in the amazingly popular Erysimum. Finally, Red Mason Bees, Osmia rufa were abundant. Overall 11 species, not counting honeybees. A wonderful morning bee watching!

The Panther Spider

Upon removing a pot from a wall this morning, I exposed a beautiful adult female Mouse Spider,  Scotophaeus blackwalli, her abdomen full and glistening. Although initially flighty, she eventually settled on the white bowl and allowed me to take her portrait. In his classic book 'The World of Spiders', packed full of interesting observations on the behaviour and natural history of British Spiders, W.S. Bristowe described these nocturnal spiders and their relatives as the 'panthers or pumas of the invertebrate world'. However, a few lines later he pushed aside their hunting habits and instead gave this spider a much less impressive common name:

If an English name were needed for our only domestic species, which is found rarely away from man's buildings in hollow trees, it would be appropriate to call her the Mouse Spider on account of her glossy grey abdomen. But she can be a very fierce mouse. She reaches 11 mm. and has short brown legs and a rather narrow head.

He goes on to describe its ability to subsist without water for months and its prowling behaviour 'at night on walls and ceilings in search of prey, retiring behind pictures or onto crevices in walls during the hours of daylight.' He must have kept this spider in captivity and observed it carefully and he goes on to describe its encounters with prey and its short mating behaviour. He describes to have observed two cases of mating in July. And it is at this time of year that adult specimens can commonly be found.

More information
Bristowe, W.S. 1958 The World of Spiders. Collins New Naturalist Series, London. 304 pp.