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  • Large and impressive the Egyptian Grasshopper is a common species around the Mediterranean. Adult female Egyptian grasshoppers can reach a length of 65mm. In fact, they are so large, when in flight; they can often be mistaken for a bird. The male is smaller, growing to around 35mm. The antennae of both sexes are relatively short and robust. The spiny projections on the underside of the legs help the insect to cling to vertical surfaces. The adults are generally grey, brown or olive coloured with variable patterns that allows them to camouflage themselves against tree bark and other vegetation and when they catch sight of you they will move slowly to the opposite side of their ‘perch’, hoping to avoid detection. This grasshopper is vegetarian, essentially feeding on leaves. It is a solitary species and not harmful to crops. They can be told apart from other grasshoppers by the diagnostic vertical striped pattern in their eyes, which is visible at all growth stages. Eggs are laid in the spring just under the soil surface. The young grasshoppers are tiny when they first emerge as nymphs and can be found in a variety of colours including bright green and even a pale orange. It is occasionally found in Britain, having been imported on trucks laden with vegetables and plants.
    Egyptian Grasshopper 3 (Anacridium A...jpg
  • Cockroaches are a very interesting and resilient pest (the most adaptable creatures on earth) that exhibits some very odd behavior and survival tactics. They spend 75% of their time resting and can withstand temperatures as cold as 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A cockroach can live for a week without its head. Due to their open circulatory system, and the fact that they breathe through little holes in each of their body segments, they are not dependent on the mouth or head to breathe. The roach only dies because without a mouth, it can't drink water and dies of thirst. They can hold its breath for 40 minutes, and can even survive being submerged under water for half an hour. They hold their breath often to help regulate their loss of water. They can run up to three miles in an hour, which means they can spread germs and bacteria throughout a home very quickly. Newborn German cockroaches become adults in as little as 36 days. In fact, the German cockroach is the most common of the cockroaches and has been implicated in outbreaks of illness and allergic reactions in many people. A one-day-old baby cockroach, which is about the size of a speck of dust, can run almost as fast as its parents. The American cockroach has shown a marked attraction to alcoholic beverages, especially beer. They are most likely attracted by the alcohol mixed with hops and sugar. The world's largest roach (which lives in South America) is six inches long with a one-foot wingspan. Average cockroaches can vary in size from ½"- 2" long.<br />
Cockroaches are believed to have originated more than 280 million years ago, in the Carboniferous era. There are more than 4,000 species of cockroaches worldwide, including the most common species, the German cockroach, in addition to other common species, the brown-banded cockroach and American cockroach. Because they are cold-blooded insects, cockroaches can live without food for one month, but will only survive one week without water.
    Cockroach.jpg
  • Crickets can be found hiding under logs, grasses, and in crevices. They can also dig holes into the ground to create homes for themselves, or live in holes created by other animals. Males are territorial and will fight off other males, but allow any number of females to coexist in the same shelter. Male crickets produce several distinctive chirps and each chirp is made by rubbing the two outer wings together. Loud and steady chirps made throughout the night are to attract females and to warn off other males. Loud fast-frequency chirps are emitted when males encounter one another and are preparing to fight. They are intended to frighten off the rival male. A soft clipping sound is made when a female is known to be nearby. Its purpose is to encourage the female to mate. Fun Facts: In many parts of the world, crickets are thought to bring good luck. It is rumored that crickets can tell the outside temperature: Count the number of chirps they make in one minute, divide by 4 and then add the number 40 to reach the outside temperature. There are about 900 species of crickets worldwide.
    Cricket-2.jpg
  • Saussure's Grasshopper-1.jpg
  • The Red Palm Weevil is a relatively large beetle (2 – 5cms) and is a rusty red colour. Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunk od a palm tree up to a meter long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, the weevil is considered a major pest in palm plantations. Originally from Asia, the Red Palm Weevil has spread to Africa and Europe, reaching the Mediterranean in the 1980s. It was first recorded in Spain in 1994, and in France in 2006. While adults cause some damage through feeding, it is the burrowing of the larvae into the heart of the palm that can cause the greatest mortality in trees. The adult female lays approximately two hundred eggs on new growth in the crown of the palm, at the base of young leaves, or in open lesions on the plant. The larva will feed on the soft fibers and terminal buds, tunneling through the internal tissue of the tree for about a month. The larvae leave the tree and form a cocoon built of dry palm fibers in leaf litter at the base of the tree. The total life cycle takes about 7–10 weeks. This beetle is reported in almost 15% of the global coconut-growing countries and in nearly 50% of the date palm-growing countries. In this photo, if you look closely, you will notice that it is carrying hundreds of babies under her head.
    Red Palm Weevil-1.jpg
  • Large and impressive the Egyptian Grasshopper is a common species around the Mediterranean. Adult female Egyptian grasshoppers can reach a length of 65mm. In fact, they are so large, when in flight; they can often be mistaken for a bird. The male is smaller, growing to around 35mm. The antennae of both sexes are relatively short and robust. The spiny projections on the underside of the legs help the insect to cling to vertical surfaces. The adults are generally grey, brown or olive coloured with variable patterns that allows them to camouflage themselves against tree bark and other vegetation and when they catch sight of you they will move slowly to the opposite side of their ‘perch’, hoping to avoid detection. This grasshopper is vegetarian, essentially feeding on leaves. It is a solitary species and not harmful to crops. They can be told apart from other grasshoppers by the diagnostic vertical striped pattern in their eyes, which is visible at all growth stages. Eggs are laid in the spring just under the soil surface. The young grasshoppers are tiny when they first emerge as nymphs and can be found in a variety of colours including bright green and even a pale orange. It is occasionally found in Britain, having been imported on trucks laden with vegetables and plants.
    Egyptian Grasshopper.jpg
  • The Fire Bug or Red Bug is a common insect in Europe. It is easily recognizable due to its striking red and black coloration, it is distributed throughout the Atlantic coast of Europe to northwest China. It has also been reported from the USA, Central America and India. In 2008, the red Fire Bug was first discovered in North America in the southeastern area of Salt Lake City, Utah. Their recent appearance in the United States cannot be explained, but likely they were transported on plant material from Europe or Asia. In Europe, they feed on a wide range of dry, ripe seeds; the nymphs and adults are most commonly found on mallow, linden and lime trees. Firebugs generally mate in April and May and they can often be found in groups (perhaps a hundred individuals) near the base of lime tree trunks (especially on the sunny side). They can be seen in tandem formation when mating which can take as long as 12 hours up to 7 days.
    Firebug.jpg
  • Crickets can be found hiding under logs, grasses, and in crevices. They can also dig holes into the ground to create homes for themselves, or live in holes created by other animals. Males are territorial and will fight off other males, but allow any number of females to coexist in the same shelter. Male crickets produce several distinctive chirps and each chirp is made by rubbing the two outer wings together. Loud and steady chirps made throughout the night are to attract females and to warn off other males. Loud fast-frequency chirps are emitted when males encounter one another and are preparing to fight. They are intended to frighten off the rival male. A soft clipping sound is made when a female is known to be nearby. Its purpose is to encourage the female to mate. Fun Facts: In many parts of the world, crickets are thought to bring good luck. It is rumored that crickets can tell the outside temperature: Count the number of chirps they make in one minute, divide by 4 and then add the number 40 to reach the outside temperature. There are about 900 species of crickets worldwide.
    Cricket-1.jpg
  • Mediterranean Geckos are nocturnal; their bodies are cylindrical, squat and sometimes flattened on the upper side. They have soft, granular skin that feels velvety to the touch. They have the ability to lighten or darken the colouring of their skin in order to blend in or to be less noticeable to other animals. They are expert tree climbers because they have toes that are equipped with claws and sticky toe pads. They provide year-round insect pest control in our landscapes and homes by feeding on the dreaded cockroach and a wide variety of other insects. Geckos have a long breeding season of about four to five months. Each adult female may lay several clutches of two hard-shelled eggs per year. The eggs are often laid in communal nests, are about one quarter of an inch long and are initially soft-textured, but harden quickly. Unlike most lizards, Mediterranean Geckos are capable of vocalising. The males make an advertising call consisting of several clicks. Vocalisations are also used in territorial disputes and to deter predators. An intriguing characteristic of the Mediterranean Gecko is its ability to cast off its tail in defence and regenerate a new one. The tail has several sections on it where it can break off at any given moment and once it has been cast off, the tail will continue to move violently for several minutes until it slows down and stops, thus giving the Gecko a chance to escape. It takes approximately 3 weeks for these geckos to completely regenerate a new tail, although, it is usually never as long as the original one.
    Mediterranean Gecko-1.jpg
  • This is one of our more exotic looking spiders. It's a native spider of Mediterranean areas, and has only recently colonized England. Despite the warning colouration this is not a dangerous species. The wasp-like appearance is probably defensive, to deter predators. The Wasp Spider builds its web close to the ground in order to catch grasshoppers and crickets. The female can often be seen hanging upside-down in the middle of her web throughout summer and autumn. The web features a distinctive zigzag patterned section running vertically through it. The large abdomen features yellow, black and white stripes, and the cephalothorax is covered with silver coloured hair. When viewed from underneath you can see two yellow stripes running lengthways along the abdomen. The female Wasp Spider creates one of the largest egg sacs of any of the spiders found in Britain. It is flask shaped, brown in colour and about 25mm across. She fills it with eggs and then seals the top with more silk. The male is much smaller, and is only active for a couple of weeks in July. Like many other male spiders, he has to be careful when mating, to ensure he doesn't end up as dinner for the female.
    Wasp Spider.jpg
  • The Sickle-Bearing Bush Cricket can be found in most of Europe and as far eastwards as Japan, including all central Asia. It is a medium size (35mm) grasshopper with a pale green body covered with black spots and can be seen in dry locations: calcareous meadows, fallow lands, bushes and moorlands from July to October. It can be identified by its wings, which are much longer than the elytra (wing cases). The length of the antenna can reach four times the length of the body. The female's abdomen ends with a sharply upturned ovipositor. The Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket mainly feeds on plants and the female lay the eggs on the shrub's leaves, particularly on Blackthorn. The Sickle-bearing Bush-cricket can fly a relatively long distance when frightened. Although, not native to the British Isles, in 2006 a breeding colony was discovered during entomological survey work in Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve in East Sussex. This is the first confirmed breeding record of the species in Britain as adults and nymphs were recorded. Although it was also recorded in Cornwall over 100 years ago this may have been an occasional migrant but it seems that this continental species may be increasing its range.
    Angry Grasshopper.jpg
  • The Blue-Winged Grasshopper is a heat and drought-loving grasshopper that can be found in of sparse vegetation and barren and sandy areas such as quarries, gravel pits, industrial terrain & the ballast of railway tracks. This species has the ability to perfectly blend in with its surrounding habitat thanks to its morphological camouflage. The base colour varies considerably but you will always find red (to blend in with the soil), blue/white (to blend in with rocks) and almost black animals with a pronounced pattern of dark bands and speckled spots on the bodies. This ability is extremely beneficial for survival as it helps to avoid becoming prey by wandering aerial predators. While they are excellent fliers and very mobile, they usually only fly (reluctantly) when disturbed. The adult animals can be found from mid-June to October. The eggs are laid in open sandy-gritty soil and hatch in late May to early June. It can be found anywhere from Spain to southern Scandinavia and even as far afield as western Russia.
    Blue-Winged Grasshopper-1.jpg
  • Almeria 2.jpg
  • Almeria 3.jpg
  • Almeria 1.jpg
  • Almeria 5.jpg
  • Almeria 6.jpg
  • Almeria 4.jpg
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