Prof Bill Amos of the Department of Zoology continues his insect photo diary with a portrait of a beautiful pearly lacewing, butterflies, damselflies, hoverflies and more.
The face of the pearly lacewing, Chrysopa perla. I often wonder how it manages to move its antennae to where it wants them! 
Newly hatched bugs still next to the eggs they hatched from. I have yet to track down the species. 
The meadow brown butterfly, a species that is very common is grassy areas and has even visited my own small garden this year. 
The marmalade hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus, doing what hoverflies do! 
A peacock butterfly caterpillar. The skin is a beautiful velvety black and the spines are not hard and sharp, they are probably more for appearance or to keep parasitic wasps away. 
Another bumble bee mimic hoverfly and this is one of the best. Even hardened bug hunters would look twice. This is one form of Volucella bombylans, the other one being mainly black. 
A remarkable parasitic wasp. This species is rakishly thin and holds its abdomen up in the air. Here it is feeding up on pollen. 
The common blue-tailed damselfly, Ischnura elegans. It is common near slow-moving rivers and ponds. A real beauty.
You can see more of Bill’s photographs on the blog:
An Insect A Day for bee fly, orange tip buttefly and parasitic wasp.
An Insect A Day continues for scorpion fly, shield bug and click beetle.
An Insect A Day Part 3 for wasp beetle; dragonfly and aphids giving birth.
An Insect A Day Part 4 for metallic beetles and day-flying moths.
An Insect A Day Part 5 for butterflies, beetles and clear-wing moths.
An Insect A Day Part 6 for beetles, hoverflies and the silken webs of emine moth caterpillars.
Insect-eye View for sawfly, hoverfly and solitary bees.
Why not have a go at photographing insects yourself? We would love to see your photos of wildlife where you are. Share with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by tagging us or using #OpenYourWindowBingo to feature in our online Community Gallery.
Museum of Zoology Blog 
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