Nature in View Insects.

Nature in View
Insects.

	Scarce Chaser (f) Libellula fulva. The Scarce Chaser occurs mainly in southern and eastern England. It is scarce throughout its range but in areas where it does occur it can be quite numerous. Favoured habitat is slow moving rivers with dense emergent vegetation. River Arun West Sussex
	Garden or Black Ant Lasius niger. Black ants will often farm and protect aphids. In return for their guard duty the ants relish the honey dew which is excreted by the aphids. The ants stroke the rear of the aphid with its antennae and this causes the honey due to be expelled. This is then eaten and regurgitated in the nest for the developing larvae and queen.
	Wood Ant workers Formica rufa take a helpless Dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria back to their colony. Wood ants hunt all kinds of insects and invertebrate which are fed to their developing larvae. As the Latin name suggests these ants can squirt a jet of formic acid at would be enemies and can also give a painful nip with their powerful jaws. Buchan Park.
	Brown Hawker (f) Aeshna grandis. The Brown Hawker's flight season mid to late summer. Its brown eyes and tinted wings mean it shouldn't be confused as the only other brown hawker is rare and confined to the Norfolk Broads. This female is laying eggs in a quiet stretch of the river Arun.
	Hairy Dragonfly Brachytron pratense. This small hawker has just emerged from its exuviae. The white breathing tubes of its aquatic life can still be seen. Of the hawker species this is the first on the wing with a flight season from May to June.
	Ruddy Darter Sympetrum sanguineum.
	Downy Emerald (m) Cordulia aenea. Buchan Park.
	Keeled Skimmer (f) Orthetrum coerulecens. Thursley Common Surrey.
	Blow-Fly or Blue Bottle Calliphora erythrocephala. A common pest in the house the females buzz around searching for places to lay her eggs and this can be unattended meat left on the kitchen side. Blow fly carry all kinds of bacteria so its wise to keep food in the fridge.
	Black Darter (m) Sympertrum danae in the classic obelisk position. Dragonflies will sometimes assume this position to cool down by reducing the body area facing the sun.
	Golden-ringed Dragonfly (m) Cordulegaster boltonii. The female of this species is the longest of Britain's dragonflies with a body length of around 84mm. This is due in part to her long ovipositor. Favoured habitat is acid streams often on moor land or heath. The larvae remain buried on the stream bed with just their face and abdomen tip exposed. In sites that have little in the way of prey or low water temperature, the larvae can take up to 5yrs to develop. Adult Golden-ringed Dragonflies feed on other Odonata and large insects such as bees.
	Emperor Dragonfly (m) Anax imperator. Of Britain's dragonflies the Emperor really lives up to its name with beautiful colouration and majestic flight it hawks high over the water surface. With its large size, territorial and aggressive nature this Dragonfly is top of the food chain for Britain's Odonata.
	Male Broad Bodied Chaser Libellula depressa. Warnham Mill Pond West Sussex.
	Southern Hawker (f) Aeshna cyanea. Adult female egg laying
	Migrant Hawker (m) Aeshna mixta. This male Migrant Hawker is patrolling his territory along a drainage ditch in Amberly Wild Brooks. This area that runs adjacent to the river Arun is prime habitat for dragonflies.
	Four-Spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata. Thursley Common Surrey.
	Peacock Butterfly Inachis io. Amberley Wild Brooks West Sussex.
	Common Darter immature (m) Sympetrum striolatum. Thursley Common Surrey.
	Horse-Fly (m) Tabanus bromius. It is the female Horse fly which can give you a nasty bite. She does this to obtain blood which is required for egg production. The male by contrast only drinks nectar and you can tell them apart by comparing their compound eyes. In the male the eyes join in the middle as seen in the picture opposite. Pulborough Brooks West Sussex.
	Black Tailed Skimmer (f) Orthetrum cancellatum. Buchan Park West Sussex.