Today's friend, is this cheerful hoverfly! Surely in the Syrphus genus, and likely a female S. ribesii - the common banded hoverfly! I say likely, as there are three main Syrphus species of hoverfly found in the UK that are very hard to distinguish, luckily this lady has a distinctive yellow hind femur or I'd have no hopes of an ID 😊

Their strange slug-like larvae feed on aphids, helping to keep plants healthy, and the adults feed on nectar while helping to pollinate flowers 🥰

#bug #bugs #nature #biology #entomology #BugsOfMastodon #wasps #photography #insects #bugPosting

Have been trying to get into the habit of posting one bug picture a week to Instagram so I figured I might as well post them here too!

This is one of my fav pics! Oedemera nobilis (false oil beetle) and Oedemera lurida chilling on a flower, two different species of beetles in the same family just vibing

#bug #bugs #nature #biology #entomology #BugsOfMastodon #wasps #photography #insects #bugPosting

Cotton Harlequin Bug on an Illawarra Flame Tree seed pod. This one is a female, the males are blue. For some reason they seem to really like these pods and are often visible on them.

#insect #bugsofmastodon

A #ThrowbackThursday to that time in 2008 when my salad came with a free friend. (I fed him greens for a while and then released him outside when the weather was nice.)

#Insects #BugsOfMastodon

thumb for scale 👍🏽🤏🏽

#nature #naturephotography #bugs #animals #wildlife #snails #bugsofmastodon

tiny snail friend 🥹🐌

#nature #naturephotography #bugs #animals #wildlife #snails #bugsofmastodon

STICKBUG

#nature #bugs #insects #animals #wildlife #naturephotography #bugsofmastodon

こっちはキンケハラナガツチバチ🐝金色の毛というより普通に黄色かも。チョウの季節が終わってアブやハエやハチが目立つようになってきたわね。
#insects #bugsofmastodon

キムネクマバチ🐝ムシャムシャと花粉を頬張って。
#insects #bugsofmastodon

We don't have these beetles in Western Australia. This is a Victorian beetle, can't you tell? #bugstodon #bugsofmastodon #Beetles #Victoria

遠目で「なんか黄色い！珍しいハナアブかな？」と思って見てみたら花粉がつきまくっているだけだったアシブトハナアブ。たぶんツワブキの花粉🌼
#bugsofmastodon #insects

Realized I've not done any bug posting since I changed servers! Going to be reposting some of my fav pics, this here is a gorgeous beewolf! They're chill herbivores except when the females want to lay eggs they'll paralyse a few honey bees, carry them to a nest and lay the eggs next to them for their larvae to feast on! Once the lil wasps have eaten their fill they'll leave home and then spend the rest of their lives peacefully eating nectar 🥰

Was so pleased to see this cutie, especially as this was taken on the day I made a big stride towards beating my phobia of stinging insects during a walk through lavender fields with my darling @cait 💖
#bug #bugs #Nature #biology #Entomology #BugsOfMastodon #wasps #photography

ムーアシロホシテントウ🐞普通のシロホシテントウとの違いは、前胸部(頭と体の間の部分)の斑点が一対か二対かだけみたい。これは二対(白い点が4つ)なのでムーアシロホシ✨
ムーアってなに？って感じだけど、ググっても分からなかった。発見者がムーア博士なのでは？説があるけど学名の命名者として登録されているのはTimberlakeという人。
#bugsofmastodon

キタキチョウ、なんか今日はすごい近寄らせてくれた〜☺️
#butterflies #bugsofmastodon

キタキチョウとツワブキ🦋🌼黄色の蝶って明らかに黄色の花の方によく引き寄せられてる気がするけど、ググった限りでは特に好みがあるとかではないらしい。(というか虫全般が黄色に反応しやすいため虫媒花は黄色が多いみたいな話もあるみたい。)
#butterflies #bugsofmastodon #flowers #bloomscrolling

カシワの葉の上にクサカゲロウ🌱AIによるとヨツボシクサカゲロウらしい(顔に黒の斑点が4つあるらしいけど、この写真で確認できるのか怪しくない？)
#bugsofmastodon #insects

my dog is my best friend and i love her

#Dogs #DogsOfMastodon #bugsofmastodon #worm

posting hole (pneumostome)

#nature #wildlife #slugs #bugsofmastodon #animals #naturephotography #bugs

キタテハ🦋翅の裏側は枯葉の擬態なのね。てか翅の色、黄色じゃなくて明らかに橙色。
#bugsofmastodon #butterflies

A beautiful #bug in the #forest, I think it’s a
special type #Beetle.
#nature #bugsofmastodon