Dichtha inflata, Gerstaecker, 1854 (Probably) and Namibian Independence.

So tomorrow (well, today, if you're further East than Jakarta), is the day that Namibia celebrates its independence from South Africa, fully realised in 1990.

Which I thought I would commemorate by putting up a vaguely Namibian photo, which becomes a touch more complex when I note that I have never actually been to Namibia.

This shouldn't really be a problem - the Caprivi strip takes up a significant chunk of Zambia's southern border, and a fair number of species occur widely in both countries. The issue arose because I wanted something that more specifically said 'Namibia!' - an Icon, if you like. The obvious choices are therefore on Namibia's coat of arms: Oryx (or Gemsbok) and African fish eagle. The former I've only managed to photograph in captivity, and the latter, if I had a good enough picture, would be reserved for Zambian independence.

Another problem was that these are both vertebrates, as have been my last three posts, and I can get a little sick of backbones from time to time.

But then it struck me:

Photographed in New Kasama, Lusaka, Zambia in March 2013, using Olympus E-420 with Zuiko 40-150mm lens and 2 KOOD magnifiers.

This is a member of a group of animals that I really think of when I think of Namibia. In Afrikaans, it's a Toktokkie, one of a number of darkling beetles who tap their abdomens against the ground to attract mates.
Although representatives are found across much of Africa, the association of a number of endemic and near-endemic species with the Namib desert has made them an icon, for me at least, of the region.

Without further ado, then, this is (almost certainly):

Dichtha inflata

Gerstaecker, 1854

However, it's worthy of note that this follows a rather convoluted method of identification, and so I can't actually cite a source... sorry... 

Anyway, provided that I've not starting barking up altogether the wrong tree, D. inflata belongs to: 

 - Molurina  

- Sepidiini     

- Pimelinae     

- Tenebrionidae
- Tenebrionoidea

See also Oedemera nobilis.

- Cucujiformia      

See also Otiorhynchus atroapterus,Malachius bipustulatus , Phyllobius pomaceus, and Cheilomenes lunata.

- Polyphaga            

See also Melolontha melolontha and Neojulodis vittipennis.

- Coleoptera            

See also Demetrias atricapillus, Anthia fornasinii and Lophyra cf. differens.

- Coleopterida           

- Endopterygota          

See also Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Astata tropicalis, Anthophora furcata, Andrena nigroaenea, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella, Nemophora degeerella, Sphinx ligustri, Laelia robusta, Acada biseriata, Metisella willemi, Anthocharis cardamines, Papilio demodocus, Panorpa germanica, Chloromyia formosa, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Metadon inermis, Diasemopsis meigenii, Dolichotachina caudata, Megistocera filipes and Hagenomyia tristis.

- Eumetabola                 

See also  Pephricus, Grypocoris stysi, Ranatra and Anoplocnemis curvipes.

- Neoptera                       

See also Humbe tenuicornis, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Cyathosternum prehensile, Heteropternis thoracica, Stictogryllacris punctata, Enyaliopsis, Tettigonia viridissima and Sibylla.

- Metapterygota                 

See also Enallagma cyathigerum, Pseudagrion hageni, Lestinogomphus angustus and Rhyothemis semihyalina.

- Pterygota                           

- Dicondylia                            

- Insecta                                   

- Hexapoda                                

- Arthropoda                                

See also Dicranopalpus ramosus, Hyllus argyrotoxus, Alopecosa barbipes, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi, Pardosa amentata  and Ligia oceanica.

- Ecdysozoa                                    

- Protostomia                                    

See also Burtoa nilotica.

- Nephrozoa                                         

See also Synchiropus splendidus, Rana temporaria, Breviceps poweri, Chiromantis xerampelina, Hipposideros vittatus, Syncerus caffer, Tockus alboterminatus, Larus argentatus, Sterna hirundo, Burhinus vermiculatus, Troglodytes troglodytes, Megaceryle maxima, Ardea goliath, Chalcophaps indica, Stigmatopelia senegalensis, Lygodactylus capensis, Thelotornis capensis, Zootoca vivipara, Trachylepis varia and Trachylepis wahlbergi.

- Bilateralia                                           

- Eumetazoa                                             

- Animalia                                                   

- Eukaryota                                                    

And, with a Happy Birthday to an Independent Namibia, That's All, Folks! 

 

Lophyra, Motschulsky 1859

I have a dilemma.

Vertebrates are much more readily identified than invertebrates, so although on a recent visit, I took pictures of many, many more invertebrates than vertebrates, the images of vertebrates are almost all identified, whereas the invertebrates are barely begun.

If I posted them in order of working out what they are, we'd have a long string of vertebrates and butterflies, followed by a slow trickle of grasshoppers, beetles, moths and the occasional bug, fly or wasp, perhaps with a spider or two thrown in a couple of months down the line. Which would be unsatisfactory.

So this is my compromise:

Photographed near Livingstone, Southern Province, Zambia in December 2013, using Olympus E-420 with Zuiko 40-150mm lens and 3 KOOD magnifiers.

This charming little creature is a tiger beetle - and, although two more species were also photographed on the same visit, it's actually the first tiger beetle I've ever got a half-decent photograph of. Because - at the time of writing - I'm not absolutely certain of its identity, we'll to the taxonomy bit back to front.

This delightful creature belongs to the:

- Eukaryota
  - Animalia
    - Eumetazoa
      - Bilateralia 
        - Nephrozoa

See also Rana temporaria, Breviceps poweri, Chiromantis xerampelina, Syncerus caffer, Hipposideros vittatus,  Thelotornis capensis, Trachylepis varia, Zootoca vivipara, Lygodactylus capensis, Troglodytes troglodytes, Chalcophaps indica, Ardea goliath, Sterna hirundo, Burhinus vermiculatus, Tockus alboterminatus and Synchiropus splendidus.

          - Protostomia
            - Ecdysozoa
              - Arthropoda

See also Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Hyllus argyrotoxus, Alopecosa barbipes, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi and Pardosa amentata.

                - Hexapoda
                  - Insecta
                    - Dicondylia
                      - Pterygota
                        - Metapterygota

See also Enallagma cyathigerum, Pseudagrion hageni, Lestinogomphus angustus and Rhyothemis semihyalina.

                          - Neoptera

See also Humbe tenuicornis, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Cyathosternum prehensile, Heteropternis thoracica, Stictogryllacris punctata, Tettigonia viridissima and Sibylla.

                            - Eumetabola

See also Pephricus, Grypocoris stysi, Ranatra and Anoplocnemis curvipes.

                              - Endopterygota

See also  Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Astata tropicalis, Anthophora furcata, Andrena nigroaenea, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella, Nemophora degeerella, Sphinx ligustri, Laelia robusta, Acada biseriata, Metisella willemi, Anthocharis cardamines, Papilio demodocus, Panorpa germanica, Chloromyia formosa, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Metadon inermis, Diasemopsis meigenii, Dolichotachina caudata, Megistocera filipes and Hagenomyia tristis.

                                - Coleopterida
                                  - Coleoptera

See also Phyllobius pomaceus, Otiorhynchus atroapterus, Malachius bipustulatus, Oedemera nobilis, Melolontha melolontha, Cheilomenes lunata and Neojulodis vittipennis.

                                    - Adephaga
                                      - Carabidae

See also Demetrias atricapillus and Anthia fornasiini.

                                        - Cicindelinae
                                          - Cicindelini
                                            - Cicindelina
 and the last point at which I can be certain is that it belongs to the genus:

Lophyra sp.

Motschulsky 1859

 I'm not good at identifying beetles, even with the paucity of information on the web. However, according to the most reliable [freely accessible] site I've found for the carabids, only one species of Lophyra has previously been recorded in Zambia. If we trust that this is not a new record - which might be risky, as this was close to the Zimbabwean border, but the only species listed for Zimbabwe is the same one - this should actually be:

Lophyra (Lophyra) differens

(Horn, 1892)

  

But as I mentioned earlier, I can't be sure of this last bit.

Moving on, swiftly and without delay: 

These little creatures were abundant on sandy soils on warm, humid days, generally moving around the ground in groups of 20 or so, separated from one another by generally very regular distances, and often caught in the act, if you catch my drift. They were very wary, and flew so readily that I at first mistook them for a fly (They put me in particular mind of the shore-flies Scathophaga litorea, for those around the sandy coasts of Northern Europe).

Although their reaction times are, apparently, fractionally slower than those of actual flies, I would note that photographing them was difficult - not simply because approaching them was difficult, but because if you did manage to approach them without disturbing them, they carried on doing what they'd been doing all along - running about eight inches every two or three seconds, and pausing for a moment before speeding off again. Bearing in mind my (perfectly rational) fear of crocodiles, and that these little creatures had made the sandy river's edge their home-ground, it's quite surprising that I managed to get any decent photographs - the most reliable manner I found was, once you've managed to get down to your elbows without chasing one away, move something in a small yet noticeable manner, and they occasionally freeze to consider it. 

It felt a little less valid when one was hit by a falling drop of water and, stunned, allowed itself to be coaxed onto my finger for examination, but it does give a clearer indication of scale: 

And, having rambled at length in various directions without saying much, that's all for now, folks!

Oedemera nobilis (Scopoli, 1763)

To ease you back after one post where certainty is currently impossible, here's one where it's unavoidable:

Photographed in August 2012, in Bosham, West Sussex, UK, using Olympus E-420 DSLR, Zuiko 40-150 mm lens and three KOOD magnifiers.

This colourful character is a male of the common European species

Oedemera nobilis

(Scopoli, 1763). 

also known as, in the UK, the swollen-thighed beetle, a pollen-feeding species seen frequently on almost all flowers from June through to August.

Where many pollinators have vastly different early diets, the larvae of these beetles are also herbivorous, feeding on Broom and Thistles, and for their overwintering, presumably require the dead stems of these plants to be left uncut. Certainly in the area where this was photographed, abundance has increased dramatically since a half-acre or so of land on the edge of the salt-marsh has been set aside from farming and mowing, and turned to rough grassland.

 Here's another angle to illustrate the thigh in question, on a more evenly coloured individual:

And with that, once more into the taxonomy:

- Oedemerini

- Oedemerinae

- Oedemeridae  

- Tenebrionoidea 

- Cucujiformia       

See also Malachius bipustulatus, Otiorhynchus atroapterus and Cheilomenes lunata.

- Polyphaga              

See also Melolontha melolontha.

- Coleoptera                

See also Demetrias atricapillus and Anthia fornasiini.

- Coleopterida                

- Endopterygota                

See also Senaspis haemorrhoa, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Diasemopsis meigenii, Dolichotachina caudata, Megistocera filipes, Panorpa germanica, Acada biseriata, Anthocharis cardamines, Laelia robusta, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella , Andrena nigroaenea, Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Astata tropicalis, Hagenomyia tristis and Metadon inermis.

- Eumetabola                       

See also Pephricus, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Ranatra and Grypocoris stysi

- Neoptera                               

See also Cyathosternum prehensile, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Stictogryllacris punctata, Sibylla and Humbe tenuicornis

- Manopterygota                         

See also Pseudagrion hageni, Enallagma cyathigerum and Rhyothemis semihyalina

- Pterygota                                      

- Dicondylia                                       

- Insecta                                                  

- Hexapoda                                                 

- Arthropoda                                                   

See also Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi and Hyllus argyrotoxus

- Ecdysozoa                                                        

- Protostomia                                                          

- Nephrozoa                                                               

See also Burhinus vermiculatus, Sterna hirundo, Ardea goliath, Chalcophaps indica, Thelotornis capensis, Trachylepis varia, Lygodactylus capensis, Hipposideros vittatus, Rana temporaria, Chiromantis xerampelina, Synchiropus splendidus and Troglodytes troglodytes

- Bilateralia                                                                    

- Eumetazoa                                                                       

- Animalia                                                                              

- Eukaryota                                                                                 

                  

Cheilomenes lunata (Fabricius, 1775)

So what group of beetles is not significantly more valuable to agriculture than the average beetle group but is much more widely tolerated and, for an insect, even loved across the western world?

I'll give you a hint.

Photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia, in February 2013. Olympus E-420 DSLR, Zuiko 40-150mm digital lens with 3 KOOD magnifiers.

Yes, it's a ladybird. Specifically, the (African) Lunate Ladybird,

Cheilomenes lunata

(Fabricius, 1755)

 

 - Coccinellini
- Coccinellinae
- Coccinellidae  
 - Cucujoidea         
 - Cucujiformia         

See also Otiorhynchus atroapterus.

- Polyphaga                

See also Malachius bipustulatus and Melolontha melolontha.

- Coleoptera                   

See also Demetrias atricapillus and Anthia fornasiini.

- Coleopterida                   
- Endopterygota                    

See also Crambus pascuella, Hagenomyia tristis, Astata tropicalis, Vespula germanica, Synagris proserpina, Zebronia phenice, Laelia robusta, Anthocharis cardamines, Acada biseriata Panorpa germanica, Megistocera filipes, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Episyrphus balteatus, Helophilus pendulus, Diasemopsis meigenii and Dolichotachina caudata

- Eumetabola                                  

See also Pephricus, Anoplocnemis curvipes and Ranatra

- Neoptera                                          

See also  Sibylla, Stictogryllacris punctata, Lobosceliana loboscelis and Cyathosternum prehensile

- Manopterygota                                     

See also Rhyothemis semihyalina, Pseudagrion hageni and Enallagma cyathigerum

- Pterygota                                                  

- Dicondylia                                                  

- Insecta                                                            

- Hexapoda                                                           

- Arthropoda                                                            

See also Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi and Hyllus argyrotoxus.

- Ecdysozoa                                                                 

- Protostomia                                                                  

- Nephrozoa                                                                      

See also Burhinus vermiculatus, Chiromantis xerampelina, Thelotornis capensis, Trachylepis varia, Lygodactylus capensis, Ardea goliath, Chalcophaps indica, Sterna hirundo, Synchiropus splendidus and Hipposideros vittatus.

- Bilateralia                                                                            

- Eumetazoa                                                                              

- Animalia                                                                                     

- Eukaryota                                                                                       

Why are ladybirds so much popular than, say, the Carabidae, which are just as active, if not more so, as predators, and have generally higher metabolisms, demanding that they chow down more pest insects? 

I'd suggest that it's actually about toxicity. The ladybirds are often brightly coloured, advertising that many of them have fairly nasty poisons in their systems, which any sensible vertebrate would do well to avoid. Defended so visibly, many of them are active during the day and, being conspicuous, are much more likely to be observed chowing down aphids than a night-active beetle with a similar diet. As a result of this, one might expect them to earn a reputation for helpfulness.

But this is just speculation. What is true, though, is that Ladybirds have been introduced to farms all over the world, and in many cases wreaked havoc upon the native ecosystems - from the seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) introduced to the Americas from its native Europe, and now devastating beetle life stateside, to the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), which has been destroying the seven-spot (and other local species) ever since it was introduced from the Far East. 

The short version: Ladybirds are great, so are many beetles. Setting them free in new environments is not great. At all. 

That's all, folks!