SINOBUG

Common Sergeant (Athyma perius, Nymphalidae)

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China

See more Chinese butterflies on my Flickr site HERE…..

Male Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora)

This dragonfly is small but beautiful. In males, the hindwing is 25 to 27 mm long and the total body length ranges from 32 to 35 mm. The eyes of the male are red and the thorax and abdomen are almost luminous pink. The base of the hindiwng is tinted amber brown and the wing veins are red. The female is light brown with black markings on the sides of the abdomen. Immature males are like the female but lack the black markings on the sides of the abdomen. Also, when viewed from above, the abdomen of immature male is broader (dorso-ventrally flattened) whereas that of the female is straight-sided and narrower.

They are classic ‘obeliskers’. The obelisk posture is a handstand-like position that some dragonflies and damselflies assume to prevent overheating on sunny days i.e. thermoregulation. The abdomen is raised until its tip points at the sun, minimizing the surface area exposed to solar radiation while the wings are rotated downward and tipped slightly forward to shade the thorax.
Obelisking has been observed in about 30 species in the Demoiselle, Clubtail, and Skimmer families. All are “perchers” - sit-and-wait predators that fly up from a perch to take prey and perch again to eat it. Since they spend most of their time stationary, perchers have the most opportunity to thermoregulate by adjusting their position.

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China

See more Chinese dragonflies and damselflies on my Flickr site HERE…..

“If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands……”

Katydid or Bush Cricket (Phaneropteridae)

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China

See more Chinese grasshoppers and crickets on my Flickr site HERE…..

Argus Butterfly (Aricia chinensis, Lycaenidae)

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Beijing, China

See more Chinese butterflies on my Flickr site HERE…..

Giant Shield Bug (Asiarcha angulosa, Tessaratomidae)

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China

See more Chinese true bugs and hoppers on my Flickr site HERE…..

Bee Fly (Systropus denticulatus, Bombyliidae, Diptera)

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Beijing, China

See more Chinese flies on my Flickr site HERE…..

Shield Bug (Urochela or Urostylis sp., Urostylidae)

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China

See more Chinese true bugs and hoppers on my Flickr site HERE…..

Stinging Nettle Slug Caterpillars (Limacodidae)

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China

View my other images of Limacodid Caterpillars from China (Beijing and Yunnan) in the Flickr set, Limacodid (Cup Moth) Caterpillars.

Click individual images to see identification (linked to my Flickr page)…..

See my other posts in the Colours in Nature Series HERE.

See more Chinese insects and spiders on my Flickr site HERE……

Punchinello (Zemeros flegyas, Riodinidae)

The Punchinello is essentially a forest butterfly, but the species may be found in secondary growth where its larval food plants, Maesa indica and Maesa montana, are available. It is a metalmark (formally Lycaenidae, Riodininae; now included in the stand-alone family, Riodinidae) which characteristically settle with wings half-open and the forewings held rather far forward. Like many of my local Riodinidae, they are territorial and favor specific perches and lookout posts.

See other of my tumblr posts featuring Riodinid butterflies HERE. As you will see, they are some of my favorites……

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China

See more Chinese butterflies on my Flickr site HERE…..

Rosy Red Cheeks

Giant Shield Bug Nymph (Tessaratomidae)

Tessaratomids resemble large stink bugs (family Pentatomidae) and are phytophagous. They generally feed upon plants belonging to the plant orders Rosales and Sapindales, and spend most of their lives on tree leaves and stems.

As in other hemipterans, tessaratomids are hemimetabolic, undergoing incomplete metamorphosis. This means that they do not possess larval and pupal stages. Instead, juvenile tessaratomids (called nymphs), hatch directly from the eggs.
Nymphs usually undergo four to five successive stages of moltings (ecdysis), increasing in size and becoming more adult-like with each stage until the final molting. They are wingless throughout these developmental stages. The stages are individually known as instars, with the earliest stage (just after hatching) being known as the first nymphal instar.
Tessaratomid nymphs may also differ significantly from adults in colors and patterns exhibited. In my local species, nymphs exhibit strikingly vibrant colors in contrast to the relative drabness of adults. These colors can also vary between instars.

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr.
Pu’er, Yunnan, China

See more Chinese true bugs and hoppers on my Flickr site HERE…..