Here are some of the colourful beetles
we saw in the Peloponnese, while we were in Greece ...
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| Shield Bug, probably Graphosoma italicum (or is there a Greek variety?), seen at Messine, Peloponnese |
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| A Fire Bug. Seen at Nestor's Palace, Pylos, Greece |
Ironically, King Nestor's Palace suffered a bad fire. Amazingly, the fire baked all the clay tablets, thereby preserving priceless examples of the early Linear B script.
The beetle below was in a different archaeological site, namely ancient Messine (sometimes seen as Messini), high up in the hills above Kalamata, of olive fame.
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| ... as it scuttled out of sight. |
I have as yet been unable to identify the intriguing beetle above (update: 14 Feb 2011 - which I now know is the larva of a True Bug and not a beetle - please see comments below). Any help here would be appreciated!
I particularly enjoyed reading the Red and Black Insect page on the Honeyguide Wildlife Holiday site, and hope you may enjoy it. too. You might also like to see the Blister Beetle here.
Oh, and by the way, it was Rosie's Ladybird that got me thinking 'red and black' today.
Thank you Caroline for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. The image of your third insect is a bit blurry and hard to see, but I can tell you it definitely isn't a beetle. It is a nymph (baby) of a True Bug in the order Hemiptera. Most likely a plant feeder, although I can't say that for sure. I copied your picture and shared it with some fellow insect experts and hopefully they will be able to shed more light on its identity. I will keep you posted of what develops. Meanwhile, what a great blog you have here, and such wonderful images. I will enjoy looking around.
ReplyDeleteOK, I think I have an answer for you on the mystery insect. A friend of mine identified it as Spilostethus pandurus. They are a type of ground bug and do feed on plants. Hope this was helpful
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