been sorting through my lab’s unidentified bombyliids lately. they’re so fucking cute. IDed these two as Lordotus zona and Anastoechus barbatus though I had to use somewhat outdated keys since the most recent taxonomic treatments are out of print and very expensive.
Oh my god rip the saint helena earwig. It was once the worlds largest earwig
Gravel mining completely destroyed its habitat and the introduction of invasive predators was the nail in the coffin. Fucking gravel mining..
Reminds me of this photo “After the Destruction” that won teenager Andrea DominiziYoung Photographer of the Year with the NHM of London last year.
The scene shows a longhorn beetle of the species Morimus asper across from the logging machinery that threatens its shrinking habitat. Some see the photograph as a heartbreaking portrayal of inevitable doom (and the bug’s genus name meaning “destined to die” doesn’t help) while others see a hopeful and defiant message where the beetle is as large as the machinery itself.
It’s probably my very favorite wildlife shot of the past decade, and one that gets people thinking about invertebrate conservation in a powerful way.
