Mark McCaughrean4d ago

Time for an evening garden patrol after the rain stopped, & to my surprise, several new species.

First this unusual beast – it's a tumbling flower beetle, & my best guess is a rare Mordella arculeata (🇩🇪 Ungefleckter Stachelkäfer).

That rear spike is used to help lever them into an escape tumble when threatened.

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Show threadMark McCaughrean

When I say rare, iNaturalist has a total of 81 observations of this beetle across Europe, along a diagonal from Spain to Finland, & just 9 of those were made in Germany (if it's confirmed to be M. arculeata).

As I've seen several other similarly rare species in my little garden in the past couple of months, I'm beginning to wonder whether there's something special about it.

Or if it's just because I'm looking carefully & paying attention, & these insects are not that rare after all 🧐

Jun 11 at 6:49pmWeb
Show threadMark McCaughrean4d ago

Second, something a bit more common, although even then, just 330 observations on iNaturalist in Germany (compare with >13,000 for the red admiral butterfly, for example).

This is a small tachnid fly & the colouration clearly IDs it as Mintho rufiventris (🇩🇪 Rotbauch-Raupenfliege).

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Show threadMark McCaughrean4d ago

Back towards relative rarity, this little beast only has 131 observations in Germany on iNaturalist.

From the colouration, pattern, & the fact that it was pinging around on our blackberry bushes, I'm reasonably sure it's a bramble leafhopper (Ribautiana tenerrima; 🇩🇪 Beeren-Blattzikade).

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Show threadMark McCaughrean4d ago

I'm less certain about this one, seen as the skies darkened.

It's a mirid bug, genus Apolygus, but then it gets tricky. iNaturalist suggests A. spinolae & my picture resembles those better than any of its other options.

But again, that's rare-ish, only 153 observations in Germany & what are the chances?

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Show threadMark McCaughrean4d ago

And finally, for completeness, a bug I saw a few days ago as a nymph.

I mean, not the same individual, I'm sure, but you get my point.

It is (I think) a common nettle flower bug (Plagiognathus arbustorum; 🇩🇪 Braunschwarze Nesselweichwanze).

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Show threadAnthony4d ago
Very cool!