When someone finds a new animal, which is not yet known to science, and describes its appearance, it is the describer’s privilege to give it a species name – in Latin. Along with a family name, also in Latin, placed in front, this gives it a unique identification. However, in texts in other languages than […]
The masked hunter
The masked hunter, Reduvius personatus, is primarily found on attics, in outbuildings and similar places. The nymphs secrete a sticky substance which causes dust and dirt to stick to them. The adult masked hunter, on the other hand, is shiny, brownish animals. They are 1.5 cm long. Masked hunters are predatory insects and feed on […]
Bugs
A bug’s mouth parts form a complex stinging and sucking device. In broad outline, it consists of a long, thin straw which, when not in use, is located in a sheath formed by the extended lower lip. Some bugs do not have wings; however, most ticks have two pairs. The rear wings are clear flying […]
Forest flies
(Latin: Hippoboscidae) The insects in this family have an unattractive, flat body and a crab-like gait and they cling to their victims with powerful claws. At first sight they do not look very much like flies. They are specialised for living on mammals or birds, where they crawl around in the fur or among the feathers […]
Stable or Biting housefly
( Latin: Stomoxys calcitrans ) In late summer one often hears people saying that the flies have started to bite. This is not because the ordinary houseflies have suddenly changed their habits. It refers to the activities of the stable fly, which is very similar in appearance to the housefly. It can, however, be distinguished by […]
Common gnat
(Latin: Culex pipiens) This small mosquito does not usually bite humans, but evidently prefers the blood of birds. Its habits are more or less the same as those of the preceding species, and specimens may also be found spending the winter in damp cellars, often in quite large numbers.
Theobaldia annulata
(Lat: Culiseta annulata) This is one of two species of mosquito that often occur indoors. It breeds in small bodies of water, and the larva can tolerate water that is somewhat polluted. In fact the larval stages are frequently found in garden ponds, water storage tanks and even in rain butts and blocked gutters. There […]
Malaria mosquito
(Latin: Anopheles maculipennis) This is the malaria mosquito of parts of Europe, including Britain. The larvae live in ponds and lakes with fairly dense vegetation. The indigenous malaria of Britain, commonly known as ague, was transmitted by this insect, and it still occurred in certain coastal districts until about the end of the nineteenth century.
Mosquitoes
( Latin: genus Aedes ) These insects breed mainly in pools and ditches of the kind that fill up with water in the spring months, but dry up later in the year. They have only one generation in the year, which flies in May, normally at the same time as the beech comes into leaf. Some […]
Gnats and mosquitoes
(Latin: Family Culicidae) These insects usually spend their whole lives outdoors, but some enter houses in autumn to spend the winter. They may also come in through open windows during summer and if this causes a serious problem, as it does in the tropics, it may be necessary to fit mosquito netting or at least […]
Fly bug
( Latin: , Reduvius personatus ) The larvae of this bug produce a sticky, oily substance, to which dust and debris adhere, so that they become well camouflaged. The adults, on the other hand, are glossy brownish or dull black. They have well developed wings and fly well. The rostrum or proboscis is very short and […]
Bed bug
(Latin: Cimex lectularius) Unlike most other bugs, the bed bug is wingless. When it has not recently fed its body is paper-thin, and almost red-brown. So far as is known bed bugs originated from Asia, but they have now spread to all parts of the world. They were well known in ancient times in the […]
True bugs
(Latin: Hemiptera) Bugs are insects which, among other features, have powerful, piercing mouth parts. The majority of the species live outdoors and suck the juices of plants, but there are a few which are predatory or parasitic, and of these one has adapted to living indoors.