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Mark McCaughrean
@markmccaughrean@mastodon.social
5 giorni fa

Beware flying murderbots!

Actually, there have been far fewer yellow-legged or Asian hornets (Vespa velutina; 🇩🇪 Asiatische Hornisse) this year than last – this is my first since April, while regular European hornets have been common.

Still, always a little chilling to see these invasive predators.

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📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
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A picture of a hornet in flight seen almost side-on against a background of out-of-focus green ivy. The hornet has a yellow-red head with a black mouth, red compound eyes, and reddish antennae. The thorax is predominantly black, with some fine hairs on top. The abdomen is a mix of black and yellow on the various tergites and sternites, with fine hairs visible on the underside. The legs are dark at the top, but characteristically yellow in the lower sections. The wings are dark amber clear. A more head-on view of the same hornet, showing the yellow-reddish and black face in more details, along with the yellow legs dangling below as it flies.

#photography #macrophotography #bugoftheday #heidelberg #insectsofmastodon #backgardenentomology

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Commenti (2)

Mark McCaughrean
4 giorni fa

FWIW, the more I look at those pictures, the more that Asian hornet looks like a stiff moulded plastic toy dangling from wires in front of a painted out of focus backdrop from some irredeemably cheesy Japanese TV sci-fi show from the 1970s.

Very weird.

And yet completely real, flying around my garden this afternoon, I promise 😬✌️

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