insect Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Craig Rogers Photography

Morning Dog Walk: Egyptian Grasshopper

21st June 201825th April 2020Craig Rogers

I take a camera along on my Dog Walks to bring you some of the sightings that I see on my morning walks, these photos are rarely going to be great quality as its hard enough keeping an energetic Dog entertained and get close enough to anything. They also help me identify where species are so that I can plan to return.

Now that the temperatures are returning to normal (30+ degrees), the Egyptian Grasshoppers are becoming a common sight. The Anacridium aegyptium (scientific name) is very common here in the hills as it has the perfect climate and habitat.

It is a large Grasshopper (one of Europe’s largest), the females can grow up to 70mm long with the males considerably smaller at around 55mm. Although they eat leaves they are not really a pest as they are solitary rather than swarm, but of course, they may feast on your home-grown vegetable plot but as they are solitary they may not cause too much of an issue.

The Warm Weather Has Awoken The Carpenter Bees

20th February 201828th February 2018Craig Rogers

The giant of the Bee world, the Violet Carpenter Bee (Abelha carpinteira in Portuguese and Xylocopa violacea in Latin) can grow to over 25mm long. They appear black as they fly around making a deep noise like a WWII fighter plane, but have a violet tinge, hence the name.

Like all Bees, only the female has a sting but they are very comfortable around humans and rarely sting unless threatened. The are solitary Bees and nest in dead wood which is where the name Carpenter Bee is derived. This recent warm weather has brought them out of hibernation.

We have a Mimosa Tree in the garden and as it flowers this time of year it is full of all types of Bees, mainly Honey Bees from a neighboring farm.

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Conehead Mantis at Night

14th July 20179th October 2017Craig Rogers

I was in the garden tonight and spotted something in the corner of my eye on one of our up-lit Palm Trees.

It was a female Conehead Mantis (Empusa pennata) busy catching all the pesky mosquitoes that we currently have.

I loved the way she would look at me when I approached her and also the way the LED light was lighting her. So a quick run for the camera, 50mm and a tripod and took the shot below.

The Conehead Mantis grows to around 10cm long (the male slightly smaller), this one was around 7cm. This is easily recognised as a female due to the male having feathered antennae.

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Conehead Mantis - D810, AF 50mm f/1.8 @ 50mm, f/8, ISO400, 1.3sec - {Flickr Link}

Dinosaur In The Garden?

18th June 20179th October 2017Craig Rogers

At first glance this may look like a Triceratops, but it’s a Male European Rhinoceros Beetle. It’s easily identified as a male, the female doesn’t have the “horn”.

I spotted both a Male and Female in the garden tonight and the Male was silhouetted by a garden light. So I quickly grabbed the camera from the house and took this silhouette photo.

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European Rhinoceros Beetle (Male) - Oryctes nasicornis - D810, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm, f/7.1, ISO400, 1sec - {Flickr Link}

The B52 of the Bee World, the Violet Carpenter Bee

18th April 201731st May 2019Craig Rogers

One minute your sitting in the Algarve Serra enjoying the birds singing, then you hear the deep buzzing noise of the Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa Violacea) coming as if it’s on a bombing mission.

The first time people see these giants they may think they are dangerous, yes the females have a stinger (like all Bees, the males do not) but they pose no real threat of stinging.

They happily fly around you, sometimes bashing into things as they do appear to be drunk a lot, without even seeming to care you are there.

They are very common up here in the hills of the Algarve and grow to almost 4cm long!

They nest in dead wood or Bamboo. They will only choose rotting wood so pose no great threat to construction unlike species of Carpenter Bee found elsewhere in the world.

The males are often seen this time of year hovering looking for females.

Here’s a picture from the garden late this afternoon.

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Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa Violacea) - D810, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm, f/3.5, ISO800, 1/800sec - {Flickr Link}