Swarms of massive insects kill more than 40

By JILL REILLY

Swarms of deadly hornets have killed more than 40 people and injured more than 1,600 in northern China.
At least 37 patients are in a critical or serious condition in hospitals, according to Shaanxi provincial government.
Victims of the attack have been left with deep, dark craters in their skin the size of bullet wounds.

Swarms of deadly hornets have killed more than 40 people and injured more than 1,600 in northern China

Victims of the attack have been left with deep, dark craters in their skin the size of bullet wounds

Horror: Some victims described being chased about 200 metres (656 feet) by a swarm

source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2442384/Swarms-deadly-hornets-kill-42-people-injure-1-600-China.html
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Bike thieves bee careful! Cycle is swarming with the insects

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Buzz off! A swarm of summer bees surrounded this bike which was parked in London's Notting Hill


At this time of year, you're more likely to see bees being attracted to flowers than anything else.

Which means passers-by must have been surprised to see literally hundreds of the insects clinging on to this bicycle stand in West London.

The stand, in Notting Hill, was literally covered in summer bees - and although it is unclear what attracted them there in the first place, the swarms just kept on coming.


Swaming: It is unclear what attacted the bees to the bike - but the hot weather has brought them out in large numbers


All of which could have made things very tricky for the owner when it came to collecting their bike.

But as the warm weather continues to bring insects out in large numbers, it seems that London is not the only place to have seen high levels of bee activity in recent days.

Swarms of bees in other parts of the country, have been keeping experts busy - particularly in Gloucestershire, which has seen an unusual amount of bee activity.


Bee-ware: Swarms of bees like the one in Notting Hill have been spotted all over the country in the run-up to summer


Mike Forster and his wife Carol, leading members of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Bee Keeping Association, told local press they were called out to move five swarms in just one day last Friday.

Mr Forster said the unseasonally warm and sunny weather of the last few weeks followed by storms may by the reason for the high level of bee activity.

Other insects who have benefitted from the warm spell include butterflies, who are reportedly thriving in the warm sunshine, and ants.

The latter, encouraged by the warm Mediterranean spring weather, have descended on homes across Britain in search of food and water. Wildlife experts say the cold winter has also boosted ant populations.



Enjoying the sun: The warm weather has reportedly given rise to unusual levels of bee activity

source :dailymail

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That's a bit too much crunch in my salad: Woman finds live giant Egyptian grasshopper in her bag of greens

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Creepy crawly: This giant Egyptian grasshopper was found alive in a bag of supermarket salad


A Sussex woman's lunch almost became a Bushtucker Trial this week when she discovered a live giant grasshopper in a salad bag.

The likes of Alison Hammond and Kayla Collins got close to some creepy critters during Sunday's episode of I'm A Celebrity... Get me Out Of Here! but an unnamed Brighton woman had a bigger shock after picking up a healthy lunch from a branch of Tesco in Lewes.

The unnamed shopper was about to sit down for lunch on the East Sussex coast when she found the three-inch insect alive and well among her bag of leaves.


Surprise lunch: The Lewes branch of Tesco where a shopper is believed to have bought a salad bag that contained a live grasshopper


The insect had survived a trip from Egypt in the salad bag before it gave the woman a surprise at the dining table.

Showing admirable calm under pressure - especially as her appetite had been undoubtedly spoiled - the woman passed on the creature to the RSPCA, who received the animal on condition of anonymity for the shopper.

The grasshopper - which the National History Museum has verified as Egyptian - has since been re-homed it at nearby Drusillas Zoo, where it was received by spider and insect expert Angela Hale earlier this month.


Harmless: Insect expert Angela Hale said the grasshopper is flourishing in its new home


'To discover a grasshopper in this way is incredibly unusual,' she admitted. 'Although it may give someone a bit of a shock, these insects are completely harmless.

'The grasshopper is in excellent health and settling into her new home, where we hope she will be very happy.'


Appetising: Alison Hammond and Kayla Collins taking on a disgusting Bushtucker Trial on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!


Ms Hale was able to identify that the grasshopper had made it to the south coast having travelled all the way from Egypt thanks to its distinctive vertically striped eyes, which are particular to this breed of insect.

The 6.5cm insect is believed to be a fully developed female, with a length more common to the fairer sex of the species, and fully developed wing span and colouration.

Ms Hale also received confirmation from the National History Museum that the bug was an Egyptian giant grasshopper, after the London institution viewed pictures of the insect.

A Tesco spokesman said that incidents such as these were 'extremely rare' and offered his apologies to the customer in question.

'All of our products go through quite a lot of processes before it reaches the customer,' he added.

'Incidents like this are extremely rare although an unpleasant surprise is something that can happen on very, very rare occasions.'




source: dailymail

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London Zookeeper Laura Childs poses for a picture with a spiney stick insect

London Zookeeper Laura Childs poses for a picture with a spiney stick insect as she takes part in a photocall to promote London Zoo's annual stock take of animals on January 5, 2010.

At London Zoo, the animals come two by two -- and sometimes in fours and sixes as well. The zoo's annual 'stocktaking' took place on Tuesday, giving keepers a chance to check on the numbers of everything from stick insects to tigers -- and even a sex-change meerkat.


source: Daylife
photo: Gettyimages

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Bug-eyed: The cartoon faces of insects caught in incredible detail

By Daily Mail Reporter


Ole blue eyes: A Common Blue Damselfly taken on August 28 at the Melton Country Park near Melton Mowbray, England


With their oversized eyes they look like features that should belong to cartoon characters.

But these stunning pictures show the strange faces of Britain's most colourful bugs that are normally far too small to see.

The spectacular series was captured by amateur photographer 'Bugman' Eddie Nurcombe, 42, using powerful macro equipment.


Goggle eyes: A Darter Dragonfly taken on August 1 at Attenborough Nature Reserve in Attenborough, Nottingham


His amazing close-ups are like mug-shots for a variety of insects and spiders including damselflies, wasps and even a cute leafhopper.

The astonishing level of detail gives a bugs'-eye view of a secret insect world - right under our noses.

Patient Mr Nurcombe, from Nottingham, spent hundreds of hours on his hands and knees in his garden, local nature reserves and parks to get up close and personal with the country's creepy crawlies.


Watch out: A Median Wasp, also taken at the Attenborough Nature Reserve


Surprise, surprise: Two blue-tailed damselflies gaze at the camera with their huge eyes


Along came a spider: The eerie gaze of a jumping spider from the Salticidae species taken in Nottingham


Because of his love of the creatures, his friends have even nicknamed him 'Bugman'.

He spotted a series of macro pictures online last year and fell in love with the art of nature and started photographing them himself.

He said: 'I love the idea that you can reveal levels of detail that most people never see or even know exists. The beauty of these creatures when you get up close to them is breathtaking.'


'Bugman' Eddie Nurcombe taking pictures in his back garden


Mr Nurcombe added: 'It's seeing those details that people don't think about. We all walk around every day and we don't notice what's really around us.


'I love this photography because it brings out all that detail. It gives the insects a cartoon-like quality and almost seems to give them character'.

It has been a long process of trial and error and Mr Nurcombe has invested a lot of money into his labour of love, but recently it has begun to really pay off.

Balancing his time as a process technologist for chemists Boots, making plastic bottles, Mr Nurcombe loves spending as much time as possible out in the countryside to do what he loves.

He often spends more than half an hour poised in one position - waiting to get the perfect shot.

'They're constantly moving,' he said. 'I usually use my own body to support the camera because a tripod doesn't give you the freedom of movement you need.

'Sometimes they even land on my hand and stay there, which is very helpful.'

He added: 'I don't go out in search of one particular thing.

'There's beautiful wildlife all over the UK and I enjoy whatever comes along. Even if it is minuscule it's always exciting.'


source: dailymail

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Museum staff discover bird-sized beetle was shot out of the sky by Victorian insect collector

By Daily Mail Reporter

Staff at the Natural History Museum discovered the beetle had been shot


A bird-sized beetle was shot out of the sky by a gun-toting Victorian insect collector, museum experts have discovered.

The Goliath beetle, from Africa, is housed at London's Natural History Museum.

Staff at the museum had been puzzled by small circular holes in the giant bug's tough exterior.

But it was only when cameras started rolling for a BBC documentary on the museum that the mystery was solved.

Forensic scientist Heather Bonney confirmed that the beetle had been shot after her investigation identified entry and exit wounds, and X-rays revealed a shotgun pellet still inside the the body.

The positioning of the wounds showed the beetle was in flight when it was shot, but the pellets hit the creature's back and not its underside.


The X-rays of the beetle further confirmed the insect was shot down from the sky


Experts believe it must have been performing one of the high aerobatic displays that make Goliath beetles notoriously difficult to catch.

Beetle curator Max Barclay said: 'Our collections are full of mysteries and every year scientists are discovering more about them and using them as evidence to help understand the world around us.

'The number of new discoveries just waiting to be made in these collections is astronomical, and every one of the museum's 70 million specimens has a story to tell.'


The X-rays revealed a shotgun pellet still inside the the body


Goliath beetles belong to the scarab family and are one of the largest insects on Earth, growing up to 4.5 inches long and weighing as much as 3.5 ounces.

The Natural History Museum specimen is 3.9 inches long and described as being about the size of 'a large sparrow or small blackbird.'

The first episode of the six part documentary Museum of Life will be shown on BBC2 on Thursday, March 18


source: dailymail

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Creepy crawlies up (very) close: Insects magnified up to a million times their size

By Daily Mail Reporter

A coloured micrograph of the head of a yellow dung fly, which appears to be sticking out its tongue. It catches other flies and sucks out the juices


Appearing to blow a raspberry at the camera, this dung fly is one of a bizarre identity parade of insect mugshots as you've never seen them before.


Scientific photographer Steve Gschmeissner, 61, from Bedford, uses a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to magnify his favourite specimens by up to a million times.

The results show incredibly detailed images of creepy crawlies in 3D.


A coloured scanning electron micrograph of the head of a bee. The SEM builds extreme close-ups of anything that can fit inside the 4ft high device


The SEM is far more powerful than regular light microscopes that can only magnify by up to 1000 times. It builds extreme close-ups of anything that can fit inside the 4ft high device by bombarding it with electrons.

The electrons send back messages which help to build up a super-accurate image - revealing every tiny feature of the insects' bodies down to the last hair - in spectacular fashion.

Included in the ugly mix are a common house fly sticking out its tongue, human flea and honey bee. Steve chose insects because of the incredible shapes and patterns making up their bodies


The head of a human flea. Steve Gschmeissner chose insect subjects because of their incredible shapes and patterns


The head of a jumping spider - a species with very good vision. Mr Gschmeissner is able to magnify his favourite specimens by up to a million times


He said: 'For anyone involved in microscopy the SEM is the ultimate boy's toy.

'Costing between £150,000 and £500,000, there are only a handful of people around the world who have access to this for fun. To be able to use equipment like this when I am retired is a dream come true.

'The SEM picks up basically where the normal light microscope finishes. And it takes it so much further by magnifying the specimen by up to a million times.

'Also different to a regular microscope is the fact the SEM builds a 3D image giving you a unique view.

'The insects were a great project for me. The level of detail in their tiny exoskeletons is simply beautiful to me and you can only really appreciate it with an SEM.'



source: dailymail

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