Post by nomad on Jun 11, 2016 9:52:30 GMT
There are numerous entomologists in Britain today that study and collect the lesser known smaller insects such as the Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, the smaller Coleoptera and Microlepidoptera in their quest for knowledge of their distribution, life cycle and habits. This fact often goes unnoticed by those that are only interested in the larger insects and believe that the collecting and study of insects has vanished in the UK. Even in Britain today, new species are being continually found by field entomologists that were previously unknown in our country.
Most entomologists will collect these insects in the field with a sweep net and also with the use of a beating tray. If you were to rely on eyesight alone, your yield would be very small indeed. I do not collect these lesser known insect groups but I am still very much interested in them and by searching patiently will photograph them, which will usually provide a reasonable ID but not always as one Coleopterist remarked when I sent an image of a Click Beetle for an ID. " It is probably haemorrhoidalis but there are 5 species of Athous in the UK and they're all fairly similar. On this photo the pronotum looks more rounded than I would expect. This is a prime example of the value of retaining specimens when recording. I suspect that the remaining 4 species of Athous are badly under-recorded in the UK because everyone thinks they are haemorrhoidalis."
The dedication needed to mount and preserve specimens of these smaller insects would require much skill and patience but it can be done. In this section I will show when I can some of my images of the different insect orders I have obtained this summer. I must say that the network of insect enthusiasts in Britain have kindly shared their knowledge freely. Many of these insects are quite beautiful when viewed close up.
Most entomologists will collect these insects in the field with a sweep net and also with the use of a beating tray. If you were to rely on eyesight alone, your yield would be very small indeed. I do not collect these lesser known insect groups but I am still very much interested in them and by searching patiently will photograph them, which will usually provide a reasonable ID but not always as one Coleopterist remarked when I sent an image of a Click Beetle for an ID. " It is probably haemorrhoidalis but there are 5 species of Athous in the UK and they're all fairly similar. On this photo the pronotum looks more rounded than I would expect. This is a prime example of the value of retaining specimens when recording. I suspect that the remaining 4 species of Athous are badly under-recorded in the UK because everyone thinks they are haemorrhoidalis."
The dedication needed to mount and preserve specimens of these smaller insects would require much skill and patience but it can be done. In this section I will show when I can some of my images of the different insect orders I have obtained this summer. I must say that the network of insect enthusiasts in Britain have kindly shared their knowledge freely. Many of these insects are quite beautiful when viewed close up.
