Megabugs Collection

Coleoptera sp. metallic beetles
A pair of gold and silver metallic beetles side by side

Female parasitic wasp
A female parasitic wasp inspecting an oak apple which she will pierce with her ovipositor to lay her eggs

Spider-hunting wasp
A spider-hunting wasp wedging her prey between grass blades before making a burrow

Formica rufa, wood ant
A wood ant specimen on a bright blue background. The wood ant is an active predator and inhabits woodlands and forests

Pseudorhyssa sp. ichneumon fly female
A female ichneumon fly laying eggs on the parasite of a wood wasp grub

Sawfly larvae devouring a leaf
A group of sawfly larvae devouring a leaf as featured on page 71 of Megabugs by Miranda MacQuitty; Natural History Museum publication, 1995

Ladybird
A waterlogged ladybird on the edge of a leaf, unable to move until droplet dries

Panorpa communis, scorpion fly
A male scorpion fly devouring a dead insect, which they often steal from spiders webs in hedgreows and nettlebeds. Their name comes from the shape of the males tail, which resembles a scorpions

Melolontha melolontha, mating cockchafer beetles
The cockchafer has a black thorax, rusty brown elytra or wing cases, and brown legs. It also has characteristic antennae which fan out

Acrididae, grasshopper
A young grasshopper feeding on a leaf blade. There are eleven native species of grasshopper in Britain, which vary in size from 20 to 30mms

Staphylinus olens, devils coach horse beetle
A devils coach horse beetle from Europe. This beetle, when alarmed raises its abdomen and opens its jaws

Calliphora vomitoria, bluebottle laying eggs on carrion
Bluebottles or blow flies lay eggs and feed on rotten meat. Upon emerging from the pupa, adult female blowflies are capable of mating and laying eggs in under 5 days

Dytiscus marginalis, the underside of a great diving beetle
Great diving beetles are aquatic insects, and are found in pond and lake habitats. They can grow up to 30mm in length

Stink bug gland
A close-up of the gland located on the thorax of the stink bug, from which they produce a pungent odour to deter enemies

Ammophila sp. sand wasp
Page 114 of Megabugs (1995) by Miranda MacQuitty. A sand wasp with her caterpillar prey

Adult gall wasp
Gall wasps are dark-coloured tiny insects only a few millimetres long. Most gall wasps form galls which are abnormal growths on a plant or tree which develop as a result of the attack

Psittaculirostris desmarestii, large fig parrot
Plate 35 from Louis-Isidore Duperreys Voyage de la Coquille 1822-1825, Zoologie Atlas, (1826). From drawings made during his voyage to Chile, Peru, Polynesia, Indoneasia

Ammophila sabulosa, sand wasp and prey
A sand wasp dragging her prey back towards her burrow. They stock their nests with the caterpillars, depositing a paralysed caterpillar in each nest and then seals it with sand

Corixa sp. water boatman
A water boatman has fringed back legs for swimming. This kind feeds on plant material and does not swim upside down

Lithobius sp. centipede
Centipedes are reddish-brown, flattened, elongated arthropods. The first pair of legs on a centipede are modified into poisonous fangs which are located below the mouth

Cynipidae, adult gall wasps
Adult gall wasps inspecting an oak gall in which the parasitic wasps lay their eggs

Raphidia sp. snakefly
Snakeflies are so called because of their ability to raise their long necks above the rest of their body. They grow to approximately 20mms long and feed on small insects such as aphids

Grub of a house long-horn beetle
The grub of a house long-horn beetle boring into and feeding on wood. Infestations of the larvae can cause great damage to household furniture

Melolontha melolontha, mating cockchafers
A pair of mating cockchafer beetles. Note the difference in size between the male and female

Rhyssa wasp pupa
A pupa transforming into a female rhyssa wasp within burrow inside a piece wood

Formica rufa, wood ants
Wood ants massing outside their nest to absorb heat from the spring sunshine

A female parasitic wasp inspecting an oak apple which she will pierce with her ovipositor to lay her eggs

Adult gall wasps
Gall wasps are dark-coloured tiny insects only a few millimetres long. Most gall wasps form galls which are abnormal growths on a plant or tree which develop as a result of the attack

A looper caterpillar looking like a twig
A looper caterpillar mimicking a twig for camouflage. The caterpillar is so-called because of the arching movement of its body as it travels

Adalia bipunctata variant, two spot ladybird
A waterlogged two spot ladybird variant, unable to move until water droplets on the elytra dry

Pyrrhosoma nymphula, large red damselfly
A close-up of a large red damselfly perched on a leaf. This species of damselfly is among the first to be seen each Spring

Dytiscus marginalis, great diving beetle
Great diving beetles are aquatic and are found in pond and lake habitats. They can grow up to 30mm in length

Coccinella 7-punctata, ladybird
A familiar seven spot ladybird feeding on an aphid. Ladybirds are a beneficial insect to gardeners as they feed on aphids both as an adult and as larva

Phaodropus candidus, South American weevil
A South American weevil. Weevils are long-snouted beetles and form the largest family in the animal world

Carabus violaceus, violet ground beetle
A violet ground beetle is the U.Ks largest ground beetle, they are unable to fly, but travel quickly across the ground

Cercopis vulnerata, black and red froghopper
The black and red froghopper, native to Britain. Froghoppers or spittlebugs are small insects that are able to jump great distances if threatened

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