|
ExecuDork posted:North American crows are all black, but the rest of the world has multi-coloured / multi-toned corvids galore. West and south of the former GDR and Scandinavia you will only find black crows though.  They coexist where their ranges border, a few months ago I visited Saxony, where I saw both kind of crows, that was really cool.
|
#
¿
Feb 27, 2017 17:38
|
|
) did a big double-take the first time I went to Europe. Also, the alarm call of Euro Blackbirds is extremely similar to the "oh poo poo a cat" call of American Robins - they're in the same genus and if you ignore the colour differences they're basically the same bird.
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 10:43 |
|
|
I wish my country had more than three species of lizards.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 27, 2017 20:07
|
|
|
Indeed. Europe may not have a great diversity of toads but we do have something all Americas lack: Old World vultures!  Gyps fulvus (Portugal). From last summer.
|
|
#
¿
May 27, 2017 00:21
|
|
|
Summertime, critters abound. Chilling by a lake canal where a café is located, close to the town center, a family of mute swans approach, and predictably the parent swan hisses at me.  Two mating burnets (Zygaena filipendulae, I believe).
|
|
#
¿
Jul 13, 2017 23:21
|
|
|
Medullah posted:So I know this is the cute bug thread but I can't find the ugly bug thread so I figured I'd ask here - Someone who knows American hymenopterans better than me will give you are more precise answer, but they are ants, that much I can tell. Falukorv fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Jul 14, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2017 16:59
|
|
|
Finally spotted a spider that I have always wanted to see IRL. Not in my native Sweden but on vacation in Germany. Wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 29, 2017 14:48
|
|
|
During vacation in Portugal this August i found this fella   It's an asian predatory wasp (Vespa vellutina), a hornet originally from Asia that has become invasive in Europe since it was introduced by accident via ceramic shipment to Bordeaux from China in 2005. Since then it has steadily spread throughout most of France and to Northern Iberia. In Portugal it is present so far in the Northern and northcentral parts of the country. Main ecological concerns are potential threat to local pollinators and possible competetion with the similar (but slightly larger) indigenous European Hornet (Vespa crabro). Also a threat to beekeepers, as they are, above all, excellent honey bee killers, probably the more measurable impact they've had so far. They're pretty though. Despite having seen them before this is the first good picture i've gotten of them, when they buzz around flowers to pollinate (which is when i mostly encounter them) they don't stay put for long. But the glass of lemon water really drew the full attention of the wasp, even overstaying its welcome after i was done taking pictures. Not keen to remove or shoo away a hornet, i let it stay and came back later to retrieve the glass. Falukorv fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Nov 13, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Nov 13, 2017 21:53
|
|
|
Dick Trauma posted:Ffffffuuuuuck wasps. (great photos) They’re not that bad, these hornets bother you far less than regular yellowjackets. Literally never been stung by a hornet, which is more than I can say about bumblebees.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 5, 2017 09:37
|
|
|
-10 degrees centigrade and lots of snow here, so nothing in terms of cool invertebrates. Mainly seen common birds (blackbirds, crows, magpies, ducks, swans) and roe deer.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 1, 2018 01:36
|
|
|
Spring has finally arrived in Northern Europe. Just got home from a trip to northern Germany and loads of critters have awoken from their winter sleep. Like this salamander (Lissotriton vulgaris).  Wolf spider (Pardosa lugubris species complex).  The Rostock botanical garden was buzzing with bees, bumblebees and the occasional butterfly (peacocks).  A ground beetle from the Harpalus genus. Probably H. latus.  Do anyone of you know which larva and nymph these are below:  This nymph I found flailing about on the water surface in an alder moor.  Falukorv fucked around with this message at 12:08 on Apr 9, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Apr 9, 2018 11:58
|
|
|
A friend of mine found this cool night heron in central Lisbon: As this is in Lisbon, it most certainly comes from the zoo, where they nest them in the open. Wild ones aren’t urban and exist further inland along the Tagus river valleys and also wetlands of the lower Mondego River in central Portugal. Falukorv fucked around with this message at 09:09 on Apr 24, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Apr 24, 2018 09:06
|
|
|
A giant house spider has moved in to an empty flower pot outside. Been there for almost two weeks despite some rain. This is how they spend most of their time but I usually never find where they actually set up shop. 
|
|
#
¿
May 1, 2018 01:35
|
|
|
High summer temperatures have struck, critters abound. Haven’t had the time to go hiking but here are a couple of cool critters I’ve found in my day to day. A rove beetle. Slick design!   Ground beetle, Carabus nemoralis I think.  Vespula vulgaris building a nest in a shed.  Big frog
|
|
#
¿
May 15, 2018 17:22
|
|
|
Neofelis posted:
That's an ant beetle (Thanasimus formicarius).
|
|
#
¿
May 15, 2018 20:46
|
|
|
anatomi posted:What's this cute little fella? It's pretty good at strafing. A hemipteran nymph, possibly some kind of leafhopper.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2018 19:04
|
|
|
Recently saw footage of a magpie killing a baby rabbit. Not a surprise to me that they are capable of doing that, but christ is it brutal.
Falukorv fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Jun 5, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jun 5, 2018 00:28
|
|
|
Hmm found some “pests” this week. Hope they wandered in from the outside, haven’t found any infestation, just these two specimens. What I think is a larder beetle on a curtain. Haven’t found any others of its kind, nor any infested food or larvae.  Mealworm, found in my work building. Presumably flew in from one of our open windows. Has and still is an abnormally warm and dry summer where I live.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 21, 2018 01:21
|
|
|
anatomi posted:What's this? Friend though it was some sort of Carabidae, but I don't think so. Head, legs and antennas are too thick and the scutella is too prominent. Definitely Prionus coriarius. Taggbock in Swedish. Cool find, they’re gorgeous!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2018 08:48
|
|
|
On vacation in Portugal, a lot of critters around.  European bee wolf. Hard to believe that this little cutie is an avid bee hunter.  An antlion.  Large gorgeous butterfly, a swallow tail (Papilion macaon, presumably).  Sphecid wasp (Bembix sp. ?)  Indian walking stick (Caurasus morosus). Popular as a pet, introduced species from Asia that has established wild populations now in the Iberian peninsula.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 20, 2018 09:39
|
|
|
Almost forgot! Found a Hymenopteran (Ammophila or something similar?)carrying its caterpillar prey. Quality is bad though. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 20, 2018 09:43
|
|
|
free hubcaps posted:we have a hydrangea bush outside that has been swarming with all sorts of bees and flies and the like this summer, but the other day I saw a fly(?) that was cool looking and that I hadn’t seen before. It was a good size since I thought it was a bald faced hornet at first, but when I looked closer I noticed it was a blueish-black fly or bee. Could it have been a carpenter bee? Although they aren’t that flattened and the ones I know in Europe are larger than honey bees and yellow jackets (even larger than bumblebees).
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2018 11:24
|
|
|
Found some more cool bugs in a Portuguese nature reserve. Cool as gently caress robber fly (genus Saropogon probably).  Dragonflies mating (Orthetrum cancellatum).  Swallow-tail (Papilio machaon).  Scoliid wasp. One of few insects that still put me on edge, they’re harmless but my gut feelings hasn’t adjusted to that fact. Those mandibles though! Falukorv fucked around with this message at 11:39 on Aug 24, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2018 11:35
|
|
|
This swallowtail chose a weird place to take a rest. Maybe it was stuck, anyway I removed it and it flew away. Even if it wasn’t stuck it would suck for it to be there when that car eventually drove away. Falukorv fucked around with this message at 12:52 on Aug 24, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2018 12:42
|
|
|
Found two wasp spiders (Argiope bruennichi and A. lobata I believe). I’m rarely afraid of spiders but these guys scare me more than tarantulas. A gut thing, I know they’re harmless. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 28, 2018 22:35
|
|
|
axolotl farmer posted:Still in Portugal? Argiope bruennichi is common in certain places in Sweden now. I have seen it near Stockholm and on Öland. Yes I am. I’ve heard about their increasing range in Sweden but haven’t seen any myself yet. Know people who have though (mostly in southern Sweden/Skåneland). At this moment I’m walking in a nature reserve and found two more female Argiope lobiata, and sure enough, there was a tiny male in the corner of both webs. I’ll put up a picture when I get home. It was challenging to get them both in the same picture as they were far apart and their sizes differ so much, had to take several takes to get the little Mr. Spider in focus. From a distance that covers both, the camera struggles to focus both spiders hanging freely in a net with a grassy background. Are male spiders of this genus in danger of being eaten by the female? Anything else would surprise me. Death by snu-snu! Falukorv fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Aug 31, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Aug 31, 2018 13:54
|
|
|
Answer was better than I hoped! Anyway, here is mr and mrs Argiope lobiata. The male is marked with the red circle. It is from the camera display so bear with me, I don’t have my computer with me. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 31, 2018 19:38
|
|
|
A month ago I found a beautiful fly, a black soldier fly. Famous for its ability to consume lots of waste/compost/manure, but first time I encountered one in the wild. Had me fooled at first, for a short while I thought it was some kind of wasp. Massive antennae for a brachyceran fly.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2018 01:41
|
|
|
That’s a garden spider (Araneus diadematus). Doing God’s work I see. Don’t have anything against yellow jackets but somebody gotta eat them too.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2018 08:47
|
|
|
European spider misses the old country, so keeps her culinary traditions best she can.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2018 16:27
|
|
|
All crane flies I’ve encountered are pretty silent though. Maybe a bit of noise when they crash into things.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 13, 2018 12:36
|
|
|
Found a pretty tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris), it was quick though so I only got a quick snap in the shadow before it scurried away. 
|
|
#
¿
May 19, 2019 11:13
|
|
|
Chinston Wurchill posted:
I would place it as genus Onthophagus.
|
|
#
¿
May 30, 2019 00:52
|
|
|
Katt posted:Northern Europe this flew in through my window. I know it's a type of wasp but it's the biggest one I ever saw. It didn't even buzz. it "rumbled". Just from the sound I knew there would be trouble. That’s a hornet/bålgeting (Vespa crabro). Can seem fearsome but they are harder to provoke than regular wasps/yellowjackets and about as venomous.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 9, 2019 00:00
|
|
|
Neofelis posted:Some Finnish bugs. Looks like you found the infamous large pine weevil! Very pretty weevil imo but also considered a pest in forestry as it ring-barks spruce and pine seedlings en masse following clear cuts.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 9, 2019 00:28
|
|
|
Katt posted:I just had to wiki them. They mostly just eat garden pests as well as smaller wasps (big plus) but they also eat bees which is bad and a bee hive that is struggling with disease or parasites run the risk of being wiped out by hornets. Most of the time the overall impact of hornets on bee hives are minimal (especially compared to pesticides, mites and lack of flower diversity), at least in our part of temperate Europe. Hornets eat flies above all else and only occasionally hunt bees, in most cases trivial numbers compared to the total hive population.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 9, 2019 13:49
|
|
|
CaptainSarcastic posted:From what I recall the situation is the reverse in Japan, perhaps in other places. Yeah but that’s a different species of hornet. I was only referring to the European hornet. Up here in Scandinavia we call all of ours “hornets” since they are the only species of hornet present. Japan has an even larger subspecies of the already massive Asian hornet and those guys (or rather gals) can really devastate bee hives. Not scared of euroepan hornets but Japanese hornets would scare the poo poo out of me if I ever ran into one. There’s also the Asian predatory wasp (also a hornet) which is very adept at hunting European honey bees and has become invasive in Europe, currently spreading through the Iberian peninsula and is well-established in most of France. Was introduced accidentally in Bordeaux in 2005 (via import of chinese ceramics probably) but is now all over the place. See them frequently in summers nowadays when visiting family in Portugal. It is very pretty, a small comfort perhaps. How it effects wild bee populations is less known than the impact on honeybees which makes it a threat to beekeepers.  On average slightly smaller than the native European hornet but a much more formidable bee-killer. Falukorv fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Jun 10, 2019 |
|
#
¿
Jun 10, 2019 02:34
|
|
|
Speaking of hornets, how many native Vespa species are there in the US?
|
|
#
¿
Jun 10, 2019 02:47
|
|
|
Is there an equivalent thread for plants?
|
|
#
¿
Jun 29, 2019 21:41
|
|
|
Summertime is crittertime! A botfly! Typically parasitises snouts and mules of moose and deer but in very rare cases they can go for humans.  Necrodes littoralis, rather large carrion beetle.  Thankfully didnt get bit by this beast (horse fly, genus Tabanus).  One of our larger bushcrickets (Decticus verrucivorus). 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 6, 2019 08:02
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 10:43 |
|
|
It most probably is Cephenemyia ulrichii. C. stimulator is also a possibility but characters fit C. ulrichii better.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 6, 2019 09:21
|
|