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  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

paul iddon

  1. Paul Iddon

    Spider mites are difficult

    I find spider mites challenging - they are nearly always on the move and not very big... Paul.
  2. Paul Iddon

    Nature's way

    So what you see here is the remains of an aphid, it's body attached to a podium created by a braconid wasp. This tiny parasitic wasp finds a target host and deposits an egg inside it. This egg will be dormant until the host is big enough for the larva to hatch and then the wasp larva feeds on...
  3. Paul Iddon

    Amongst The smallest things I have photographed...

    You'll hopefully forgive me the lack of detail in this - but it is as small as anything I have ever photographed I reckon... Size is less than half the full stop on your keyboard! Apparently... This is Arachnida ( Acari - Mites ) - Oribatida - .. and at a glance, one of the -> Humerobatidae...
  4. Paul Iddon

    Jumping spider returned

    She appeared again, the zebra jumper - though it may be a different one to the others I've seen this summer... they look very similar to each other, but remain gorgeous! Paul.
  5. Paul Iddon

    The evil that is the weevil

    Pretty much disliked by most gardeners... Paul.
  6. Paul Iddon

    Male salticus scenicus

    Two jumpers on one of my planter today - but this is the male as the other buggered off! Paul.
  7. Paul Iddon

    What lives in the "Cuckoo Spit"?

    We've all seen it on our plants, and the pest that is inside the cuckoo spit is actually a young developing frog-hopper, which sucks the plant sap and distorts the young growth of flowering plants. It creates a protective bubble wrap, that protects the insect from attack by predators and also...
  8. Paul Iddon

    An alien landscape...

    Concrete gate posts have their own textures, and when combined with two alienesque bugs (one of which could have potentially eaten the other) you get a landscape with creatures that could be Venusians on the surface of the planet... Paul.
  9. Paul Iddon

    The ant, the aphid, and a ladybird roaming the apple tree trunk

    I spotted this ant carrying an aphid as I was looking around the garden, and also noticed a ladybird larva scurrying around too (which I added to the end of the post). Paul.
  10. Paul Iddon

    First damselfly this year

    Landed on the poorest leaves on the poorest shrub in the garden, but I was able to get quite close with the Venus lens. Paul.
  11. Paul Iddon

    Spiders last night, and a bug...

    Four from the darkness of the night... A bug which might be Cacosylla, then a female steadota bipunctata with her eggs, a male Philodromus dispar, a Sac Spider (Clubiona) and my resident Nuctenea umbratic, dining, and showing of his spinnerets. Paul.
  12. Paul Iddon

    Miniature Globular Springtail

    It was really small, quite mobile, and I'd knocked the lens to f/5.6 so lost some depth of field... Just checked the markings on my ruler and it was probably only just about 1.5mm at most! It might be a Dicyrtoma fusca but I'm unsure at the moment (maybe someone can confirm or suggest the sub...
  13. Paul Iddon

    Tiny jumper and prey

    This jumping spider herself is only about 4mm long but she has managed to pounce and capture her dinner - and it's as big if not bigger than she is! Paul.
  14. Paul Iddon

    Braconidae

    This is a 4-5mm long parasitoid wasp, family Braconidae sp. but probably Alyssinae. Paul.
  15. Paul Iddon

    Now it's allowed to eat out...

    The Orb Weavers are getting meals delivered directly to them... Paul.
  16. Paul Iddon

    Psyllidae

    I think this is the youngest stage of the Cacopsylla mali bug. This was so tiny I didn't think it was even a bug or even alive until I removed the leaf and saw it move! Paul.
  17. Paul Iddon

    Fast jumper and a rove beetle

    This jumping spider was far too alert and rapid, so only managed one photo, then I spotted a tiny movement on a moss covered housebrick - turns out to be a rove beetle, less than ½inch long both of them. Paul.
  18. Paul Iddon

    Leafcurling sac spider, and the white-legged snake millipede.

    Clubiona, commonly known as Leaf-curling Sac Spiders, is a genus of spiders in the family Clubionidae (Clubiona comta). Here we have a female sat on the variegated laurel. Then we have this wonderfully tightly wound white-legged snake millipede, which has for some reason managed to grip a...
  19. Paul Iddon

    The hatred...

    There are a few insects that I don't particularly like to touch or have run toward me... Centipedes close to the top of this list! But they are fascinating to see up close, but their hard shell is highly reflective so some post production is always required to tone down the flash (or sometimes!)...
  20. Paul Iddon

    Steatoda bipunctata

    She seemed quite shiny... Paul.
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