DSC_7917 Giraffe weevil, or tuwhaipapa (Lasiorhynchus barbicornis) NZ's longest beetle. Large male with smaller female on right. The coloured 'spots' are markings made by a researcher studying behaviour. Common in spring and summer on trunks and logs in North Island, and northern South Island forests. Matuku Reserve, Waitakere Ranges *
11005-55004 Dog flea or keha (Ctenocephalides canis) a species which feeds primarily on the blood of dogs, but also cats, and sometimes humans. Females must have a blood meal before they can produce eggs. Fleas are a marvel of design; laterally flattened (like fish), and covered with backswept spines, which aid their rapid movement through dense fur - or feathers. Blunt antennae fold flat against grooves behind their eyes. Paper thin, they are almost impossible to kill by crushing. A "mustache" of barbs anchors the face firmly to flesh as they feed on blood. Dunedin *
DSC_5994 Argus cranefly (Austrolimnophila argus) female. A 'lesser cranefly' with intricate eye-spot markings on the wings - in greek mythology Argus was a giant with a hundred eyes. This distinctive little cranefly is widespread through NZ forests from the central North Island southwards. Peak emergence is Oct/Nov. Peel Forest *
