Written/Photographed by Helen Lin
The gray ant-hiss nymphs have not yet grown wings and eat an astonishing amount
Although the season has passed the summer season, Ningbo has not yet entered the summer in the meteorological sense.
However, the footsteps of summer are getting closer and closer, and the nature at this time is full of beautiful scenes of lush vegetation and birds and flowers. As the temperature continues to rise, all kinds of small insects also appear in the flowers and grasses, ushering in their own carnival season.
Adult red bug, an ornamental insect, but will let out a stink, please do not touch it
Red bug nymphs, with bulging abdomen and unformed wings
Another species of red bug, which likes to eat nectar
The hunting bugs move slowly on ramie blades, ready to ambush their prey
Two green bugs are mating and are just about to enter the breeding season
I like to soak in nature every day, and it is most appropriate to describe it as "like a fish in the water", because there are so many interesting things in nature that make people excited.
In addition to all kinds of exotic flowers and grasses, there are also a large number of strange insects. In fact, small animals such as various insects are more interesting than the flowers of plants. Whenever a bug appears in my field of vision, I will shoot with great interest in macro mode.
A bean lady has just feathered on the pole of the big leaf gui cherry, and the shell of the baby is still on the edge, and the feathering means that the body is inflated and inflated
There are often bean maidens on the side of the creek, they are masters of predation, but their flying skills are inferior to those of their dragonflies
Leaf-footed fan-cetti is a kind of bean lady, and its mid-posterior tibial segment expands into a gray-white fan-shaped, which is very recognizable
The Jay-tailed cymbal, a brightly colored little bean girl, has a bright blue body
The types of bugs in the world are very diverse. In addition to the largest taxon of insects, there are spiders, centipedes, ants, snails and other categories of small animals, with millions of species. Most of the bugs are small in size, and it is often not particularly interesting to see with the naked eye, especially from a distance, which often makes people ignore them.
The relatively small size of insects is its obvious shortcoming, but the variety and strangeness of body types are its biggest advantage, coupled with their rich and changeable habits, the world of insects is the richest mineral deposit we find the pleasure of life.
Grasshoppers are a kind of grasshopper, and the body is very fat
The brown mysing nymph has not yet grown wings
In my opinion, each little bug is a living elf. They have their own unique genetic material, exhibit unique body structures and magical survival skills. Every detail of the body is closely related to the content of its life, which is really a unique and seamless design.
To truly understand a bug, you must borrow macro lenses and also use a stereo microscope with a certain magnification. The secrets can only be seen by enlarging the details of each part of its body. For small bugs, direct observation with the naked eye is too extensive.
The black shrew (pterodactyl insect), commonly known as the "stone fly", is a relatively ancient primitive insect that lives on the edge of the creek
The cicada nymph uses the bubbles pulled out to protect itself from predators
Close-up of the nymph, whose wings have not yet grown
At the same time, to understand a bug, it is best to carry out several feeding processes to get along with it day and night. We have to learn from the French entomologist Fabre more than 100 years ago, observing bugs as pets.
In fact, the conditions and threshold for observing and studying insects are not high, and people can reach such a high level more than 100 years ago. For contemporary people, the conditions in all aspects are naturally much superior, as long as they are willing to do almost nothing that cannot be done.
It is a genus of molded ctenophores with a head (broad-winged order) with very special antennae, ctenophores, and is a living fossil insect
Recently, I have carried out many expeditions in the field in Ningbo, and photographed many common and interesting insects. Since the content collected is relatively rich, I divided them into four albums: "Bugs", "Butterflies", "Moths" and "Beetles", and introduced them to you one after another.
This issue is a miscellaneous painting, mainly introducing ephemerals, bees, flies, bugs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, spiders and so on.
Ephemera is a species, and the long tail whiskers make the ephemeral appear fairy and fluttery
On April 12, when the temperature was not very high, the ephemerals came out early. They are constantly flying up and down above the water surface of the mountain stream, and their long tail whiskers make them look fairy, like flying tiny kites.
Ephemerals are another type, usually hanging their bodies upside down under the leaves
This primitive insect is known as the "twilight death" of life. The lifespan of its adult insects is indeed not long, ranging from a few hours to a few days. However, its larvae live in water and have a much longer life cycle.
wasp
On May 4, I saw a wasp that had just built a new mini home under the leaves of the maple leaves, and the new year of breeding had begun. The honeycomb will continue to expand, eventually forming a canopy-like hive that can breed dozens of fearsome wasps.
sawfly
Leaf bees are a type of bee that feeds on its leaves and resembles bees. I saw a leaf wasp that had just feathered that day, but there was obviously something wrong with its body, and its digestive tract was bulging out of its tail.
Leaf bee larvae
The larvae of leaf bees coil their tails upturned, a habit that distinguishes them from the larvae of Lepidoptera. I have not yet been able to successfully raise leaf bee larvae, which are too wild to be as docile as butterfly larvae.
Parasitoids
On the 4th of May, I saw a parasitic wasp collecting honey on the flowers of the wild crow tree on the mountain of Fenghua Song'ao, and its abdomen and egg laying apparatus were unusually slender, which although it looked a little strange, it must be very conducive to its secretly "injecting" the egg into the host's body, which obviously belonged to the unknowing sneak attack method.
The parasitic wasp is still the first time to meet, and its appearance is very beautiful
In fact, parasitic bees are also a large family with a rich variety, some of which are parasitic in the body of plants, which is also called "gall bees". Bees are a general term for hymenoptera insects, and we are familiar with bees and bumblebees. They generally have high IQ levels.
A close-up of the Chinese bee, with collected pollen balls hanging from the back feet
The dense fur on the bumblebee's body makes it impossible for predators to get their hands on, and their nests are built in holes in the ground
The huge wood bee is collecting honey on the flowers of the saishan plum, and its appearance is always very moving
Flies are a general term for dipteran insects, which have only one pair of forewings, which degenerate into a pair of balance rods that can be distinguished from bees. Diptera includes many nasty species such as flies, mosquitoes, cattle flies, and gnats.
A fly with green compound eyes
On April 23rd, I met a very beautiful fly with orange-yellow abdomen and green compound eyes in the wild, which was the first time I caught a fly.
Black water flies gather and fly in large areas on the top of the mountain during the day, attracting flocks of swallows to come and hunt
On May 1st, we saw many black flies flying in the air near the Baiyunwo Peak in Fenghua, attracting flocks of swallows to come and hunt. They are actually black water flies, which I first saw in Anji's Tianhuangping, and the scene at that time was more or less similar to here, and the number of them can be described by thousands of them. Black waterflies are said to be good animal feed.
Aphid flies, which look like flies, eat only nectar
Whenever the temperature rises and you enter the woods of the mountains, there will be uninvited guests, who are the most annoying little flies living in the woods. Small flies are always dangling in front of people's eyes and camera lenses, and it is impossible for humans to drive them away.
The most annoying little fly in the woods
Whenever they came to greet me, I swung the insect nets I carried with me and netted them all to death. In fact, these annoying guys are composed of many kinds, and pinching them to death is the most relieving method.
In fact, compared with the most intimidating flower-footed mosquito (Aedes albopictus), the small fly is just annoying. Flower-footed mosquitoes are too aggressive, leaving itchy red blisters after biting, making them the representative species of demons in the forest. Usually the appearance of the Aedes albopictus means that the carnival season of the bugs begins. In the mosquito-ridden forest, I did not dare to stay.
The most intimidating flower-footed mosquito (Aedes albopictus)
Spiders are also a very common type of insect in the wild, a few of them are hunted by weaving webs, and most of them are masters of ambush and predation. In the flower bush, it seems that the flower is a full moon, but it is actually a cruel hunting ground, and many vegetarian bugs that bury their heads in picking flowers will become the food in the mouth of the meat-eating insects.
Tarantulas on wild rose flowers are ambushing small insects that come to pick flowers
A green crab spider hiding among the soft stripes of seven rose flowers has successfully killed a fly
It is safe for us to walk in the mountains in winter, as many aggressive bugs hibernate and sleep. Spring temperatures have risen and all sorts of terrible little things have awakened.
Mountain locusts
Mountain locusts began to come out to look for targets, and many wet places in the mountains were particularly common, so we must take more precautions. Mountain locusts are very active on rainy days, try to avoid entering the mountains on rainy days.
Ticks are also a terrible pest, and I soak in the mountains every day, so I can't avoid getting caught. Ticks are more common in the grass, sometimes a large number, so it is safe to go to the wild and try not to go to the grass.
The tick is enlarged, less than 2 mm in diameter, has 8 legs, and is a close relative of the spider
The back of the leaf is often venomously stinging moth or poisonous spotted moth larvae, and if touched, it will cause a large rash. In short, nature is lovely, but there are also many unfriendly pits hidden, and it is the best policy to maintain a distance.
May 10, 2022
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About author:Lin Hailun, director of Ningbo Drug Inspection Institute, has been paying attention to the study of ningbo's native animal and plant resources for more than 30 years, discovering a large number of rare species, and has long been committed to science popularization.