Insect Of The Day

[JRsbugs]

Here's the one I took on 20th September which was sheltering in a bunch of grapes in my greenhouse. It has a shoulder mark.....and I can see a quite large white patch under the middle leg I think it is, quite unlikely to be glare as nothing else has shown glare there, I cropped this off the original but perhaps the original was better. Pics don't always show the 3D dimesions well, but I assure you this and the other one was very rounded in shape compared to others I have. I do have a good eye for detail.

[tristanba]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

All I have done is post pics of what looked to me like C. magnifica

Not strictly true, as you seem insistent that you have found this species despite all rational attempts to convince you how extremely unlikely it is. No one is accusing you of anything

If you do want to confirm these as magnifica you really will have to obtain specimens.

Also, bear in mind that junk data do exist on NBN - so the records you refer to could quite easily be erroneous. It is best not to take NBN species distributions (particularly indivudual records) too seriously.

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by tristanba

Not strictly true, as you seem insistent that you have found this species despite all rational attempts to convince you how extremely unlikely it is. No one is accusing you of anything

If you do want to confirm these as magnifica you really will have to obtain specimens.

Also, bear in mind that junk data do exist on NBN - so the records you refer to could quite easily be erroneous. It is best not to take NBN species distributions (particularly indivudual records) too seriously.

Tristan, I am not insisting anything but what I have seen and what I thought I had. As the Ladybird has moved on, and I don't like to take specimens it really doesn't matter to me what I have, it's more important to me to let nature do it's thing with me as a mere observer than to disrupt it.

[bonitin]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

and I don't like to take specimens it really doesn't matter to me what I have, it's more important to me to let nature do it's thing with me as a mere observer than to disrupt it.

Love this one!

[pressld2]

My IotD is this chappie...



He did something they don't normally do, namely stuck around while I finished unloading the car and got my camera.

Dave P.

[Jason Claxton]

This is what the Ladybirds of Surrey by Roger D.Hawkins has to say on the ID of Scarce 7-spot:-"The Scarce 7-spot differs from the common species in several different ways,even though all these differences are slight.The most obvious is in the relative sizes of the spots.The common 7-spot has all its seven spots more-or-less equal in size,but the rare species has the central spot on each wing-case comparatively large and the foremost spot comparatively small.On occasions I have used this character to pick out the Scarce 7-spot from among ordinary 7-spots without realising that wood ants were present,but one can be misled by a common 7-spot with unusually dissimilar spots. In cases like these,other features need to be checked and two in particular are useful.When viewed in profile,the wing-case of the common 7-spot slopes gradually towards its tip,while that of the Scarce 7-spot falls away abruptly,giving it a square ended look.In motoring terms,the common 7-spot is an estate car while the Scarce 7-spot is a hatchback. On the underside of the body,the common species always has just a single pair of white spots outside the base of the middle legs,while the Scarce 7-spot has an extra pair of white spots in line with the base of the hind legs.These additional spots are often small and faint compared with the front pair,so this character needs to be used with caution.Even if faint,however,the extra spots are always present in the Scarce 7-spot."

[Jason Claxton]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

Here's the one I took on 20th September which was sheltering in a bunch of grapes in my greenhouse. It has a shoulder mark.....and I can see a quite large white patch under the middle leg I think it is, quite unlikely to be glare as nothing else has shown glare there, I cropped this off the original but perhaps the original was better. Pics don't always show the 3D dimesions well, but I assure you this and the other one was very rounded in shape compared to others I have. I do have a good eye for detail.

These pictures look less convincing to me of C.magnifica than the first ones, I think these spots are reflections here Janet.In this cases all Id features that I have given from the Ladybirds of Surrey will have to be used.You are certain that you saw the white spot before taking the photo?If I am honest I cannot say with upmost confidence that it is C.magnificaJason

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by Jason Claxton

These pictures look less convincing to me of C.magnifica than the first ones, I think these spots are reflections here Janet.In this cases all Id features that I have given from the Ladybirds of Surrey will have to be used.You are certain that you saw the white spot before taking the photo?If I am honest I cannot say with upmost confidence that it is C.magnificaJason

No I didn't see white spots on this one Jason, but I did see them very plainly on the one on the Ivy, through the viewfinder it was very obvious. If you've looked through a Nikon 105mm micro lens with a 2x teleconverter it gives very high magnification. I was simply posting this one for perusal as I had mentioned it.

Editing to say that at the time I took the pics on 20th September I was not aware of where I should find the white spots. It was only later when I saw it on a thread here that I knew where to look.

[Jason Claxton]

AhI shall try and get another angle of C.magnifica,so you can see the hatchback rear,first I will have to find them,and the biggest challenge for me will be to take a decent photo

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by Jason Claxton

AhI shall try and get another angle of C.magnifica,so you can see the hatchback rear,first I will have to find them,and the biggest challenge for me will be to take a decent photo

Thanks Jason, I did carefully compare the ordinary 7-spot as there was several huddled nearby in the centres of Chrysanthemum leaves. There was an obvious difference, I did this because I never thought I would see one as the name 'scarce' suggests they are scarce .

If I had known it would cause such a furore I would have lifted it down for a set of good shots, it was too high and mostly buried amongst the Ivy flower head to get proper angles.

Another strange thing is it did not join the rest of the 7-spots, I watched those gradually cluster together over a few days.

I thought I would upload a side view of an ordinary 7-spot, as well as a mating pair as obviously the female will be a little different to the male. Also a different angle of the suspect in the Ivy, which may not again be the best view.

Apologies to anyone getting bored with this..