Wee Homestead Beasties

Here is our entry to the Homestead Photography Contest Week #6 being run by @knowledge-seeker

As the theme for the contest this week is Wildlife/Nature on the Homestead we would like to share some macro images and information about a few of the busy little insects that we find around our property and New Zealand in general.

Eye Detail of Apis mellifera LinnaeusThe common honey Bee. This one was drinking from a collection of rainwater in a plant pot saucer.

Vegetable Weevil

Listroderes sp. hail originally from South America but are now widespread throughout New Zealand. Both adults and larvae feed on leaves such as silverbeet.

I shall call thee Monte

Of the pentatomoidea superfamily commonly referred to as shield bugs, chust bugs, and stink bugs. I miss identified this one at first. I thought it was an old and interestingly coloured Glaucias amyoti. It's actually a Monteithiella humeralis (pittosporum shield bug). Nezara viridula, Glaucias amyoti, Monteithiella humeralis. Different bugs who all look very similar. Confusing!

Mrs Spid

When moving our greenhouse Capt'n found a rather sizable Grey House Spider (Badumna longinqua). She didn't seem to like losing her home and didn't want to stick around for a photo of her best side.

All of these photos were taken with a Canon EOS 1100D using a regular EFS 18 - 55 mm lens. However, Capt'n turns the lens around the 'wrong' way and voilà he has a macro lens.

Sources: https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/identification/animals/bug-id/what-is-this-bug