Beautiful bugs
They could be photographs, taken with breathtaking precision and magnifi ed many times. But these remarkable insect portraits are in fact illustrations, the spectacularly vivid works of Bernard Durin (1940-1988). From the rapaciously predatory praying mantis to the extravagantly decorated Picasso Jewel bug, his paintings off er a surprising insight into the beetles and bugs we so often take for granted, the occupants of a world even more colourful, frenetic and strange than our own.
Praying mantis, front part of the body, shock position, North Africa (natural size c. 50mm-60mm)
This praying mantis (Mantodea) is found in warm and dry regions, mostly on thorny shrubs, in North Africa, Asia Minor and South Asia. Blepharopsis mendica is the only species in its genus and occurs in two separate subspecies. The body length reaches about 5cm-6cm. The animal gured is presumed to be not fully grown, as its antennae are not comblike. As in all praying mantises, the forelegs have evolved to form grasping (raptorial) legs with sharp thorns with which smaller insects are caught by clamping them between the femur and tibia (thigh and shank) segments. The illustration shows the animal exposing its ventral surface in a threatening gesture. Apart from the grasping legs, the image shows the characteristic diamond-shaped, toothed and sculptured pronotum (chest plate). The wings, patterned in green and white (not gured), enable these mantises to y very well. They belong to the family Empusidae and, like many other members of this group, show a protuberance on the head that is well visible between the antennae. In addition, the illustration shows the striped complex eyes and the three small ocelli (simple eyes).
Picasso Jewel bug, Africa (natural size c. 10mm)
This strikingly and prettily coloured insect is a true bug, in spite of looking very di erent from the notorious bloodsucking bed bug. The species illustrated here belongs to the shield-backed bugs (Scutelleridae), in which the abdomen and wings are covered by an enlarged socalled scutellum, a part of the thorax (chest region). In contrast to beetles, all true bugs possess piercing, sucking mouthparts (located on the ventral side of the head), with which they take in uid food. Due to their often vivid colouration, the shield-backed bugs are also called jewel bugs. Worldwide there are about 450 species, and most of them occur in tropical regions. This illustrated species, commonly named Picasso Jewel bug, reaches a length of about 10mm. Not all individuals are as colourful – some are more reddish-brown and orange. Many colour variants have been described, but in all of them the hind margin of the pronotum (neck plate) is black and there is a distinct pattern of annuli (rings). Picasso Jewel bugs occur in large parts of Africa; they often live in groups on herbaceous plants, where they suck juice from the leaves. The females attach their eggs to the undersides of the leaves. The hatching larvae are yellowish; they wander to the host’s ower heads to feed and develop.
Leaf-footed bug, Central and South America (natural size c. 20mm)
This fantastic, rather bizarre-looking creature is one of the leaf-footed bugs (Correidae), a family of about 2,000 species. The German name for the family, Lederwanzen (‘leatherbugs’), is derived from the texture of the beetles, which, together with their mostly yellow and brown colouring, lends them the appearance of leather. The animal depicted here has an elegant pattern of white lines ( avolineata) on the wings. The males have extensions on their back legs that look like brightly coloured autumn leaves – hence the English name ‘leaf-footed bug’. But the purpose for these extravagant ornaments remains a mystery.
Pipe cleaner, worldwide (natural size c. 40mm)
This insect, which almost seems to be performing a headstand here, is an ichneumon wasp, a family found mainly in the northern hemisphere.
Rhyssa persuasoria, depicted here, is called ‘pipe cleaner’ in English because, when the wings are at rest, the female, with her long ovipositor, looks just like such an instrument. These black-and-white chequered animals are nearly 4cm long; the ovipositor can be even longer and is used to lay eggs in the body of the host – a woodwasp larva. When the female has located the host, often buried deep in conifer trees, she raises her abdomen with the ovipositor into a vertical position, then curls the latter round elegantly and sets it perpendicular to the wood.
Once the ovipositor has begun to penetrate the wood, the pipe cleaner begins to twist it with dance-like movements of the legs, like a drill. The ovipositor targets the host larva with accuracy and the young, hatching from the egg, lives as a parasite inside the larva. The host remains alive for a considerable time: the parasite initially spares all the vital organs of its victim – it must feed until ready to pupate.
Edited extract from Bernard Durin’s Beetles And Other Insects, published by Schirmer/Mosel, priced £49.95.
This praying mantis (Mantodea) is found in warm and dry regions, mostly on thorny shrubs, in North Africa, Asia Minor and South Asia. Blepharopsis mendica is the only species in its genus and occurs in two separate subspecies. The body length reaches about 5cm-6cm. The animal gured is presumed to be not fully grown, as its antennae are not comblike. As in all praying mantises, the forelegs have evolved to form grasping (raptorial) legs with sharp thorns with which smaller insects are caught by clamping them between the femur and tibia (thigh and shank) segments. The illustration shows the animal exposing its ventral surface in a threatening gesture. Apart from the grasping legs, the image shows the characteristic diamond-shaped, toothed and sculptured pronotum (chest plate). The wings, patterned in green and white (not gured), enable these mantises to y very well. They belong to the family Empusidae and, like many other members of this group, show a protuberance on the head that is well visible between the antennae. In addition, the illustration shows the striped complex eyes and the three small ocelli (simple eyes).
This strikingly and prettily coloured insect is a true bug, in spite of looking very di erent from the notorious bloodsucking bed bug. The species illustrated here belongs to the shield-backed bugs (Scutelleridae), in which the abdomen and wings are covered by an enlarged socalled scutellum, a part of the thorax (chest region). In contrast to beetles, all true bugs possess piercing, sucking mouthparts (located on the ventral side of the head), with which they take in uid food. Due to their often vivid colouration, the shield-backed bugs are also called jewel bugs. Worldwide there are about 450 species, and most of them occur in tropical regions. This illustrated species, commonly named Picasso Jewel bug, reaches a length of about 10mm. Not all individuals are as colourful – some are more reddish-brown and orange. Many colour variants have been described, but in all of them the hind margin of the pronotum (neck plate) is black and there is a distinct pattern of annuli (rings). Picasso Jewel bugs occur in large parts of Africa; they often live in groups on herbaceous plants, where they suck juice from the leaves. The females attach their eggs to the undersides of the leaves. The hatching larvae are yellowish; they wander to the host’s ower heads to feed and develop.
This fantastic, rather bizarre-looking creature is one of the leaf-footed bugs (Correidae), a family of about 2,000 species. The German name for the family, Lederwanzen (‘leatherbugs’), is derived from the texture of the beetles, which, together with their mostly yellow and brown colouring, lends them the appearance of leather. The animal depicted here has an elegant pattern of white lines ( avolineata) on the wings. The males have extensions on their back legs that look like brightly coloured autumn leaves – hence the English name ‘leaf-footed bug’. But the purpose for these extravagant ornaments remains a mystery.
This insect, which almost seems to be performing a headstand here, is an ichneumon wasp, a family found mainly in the northern hemisphere.
Rhyssa persuasoria, depicted here, is called ‘pipe cleaner’ in English because, when the wings are at rest, the female, with her long ovipositor, looks just like such an instrument. These black-and-white chequered animals are nearly 4cm long; the ovipositor can be even longer and is used to lay eggs in the body of the host – a woodwasp larva. When the female has located the host, often buried deep in conifer trees, she raises her abdomen with the ovipositor into a vertical position, then curls the latter round elegantly and sets it perpendicular to the wood.
Once the ovipositor has begun to penetrate the wood, the pipe cleaner begins to twist it with dance-like movements of the legs, like a drill. The ovipositor targets the host larva with accuracy and the young, hatching from the egg, lives as a parasite inside the larva. The host remains alive for a considerable time: the parasite initially spares all the vital organs of its victim – it must feed until ready to pupate.
Edited extract from Bernard Durin’s Beetles And Other Insects, published by Schirmer/Mosel, priced £49.95.