Favoritos de artificialfauna

My cuz Pete and I got bored from the tedious effort of removing dozens of these cuddly little bloodsuckers from an otherwise happy and healthy Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) study population in scenic Sussex County, NJ - so we decided to take a break, and have a few laughs with our "recently-evicted" parasitic pals!

I've never met biting leeches elsewhere in Siberia. In this taigous and mountainous place, with quite harsh climate, they were especially unexpected. These were unusual in that respect that their bites were very painful, unlike bites of regular blood-sucking leaches which secret some anaesthetics. Also these huge creatures bate through the trousers! Each time I entered water they attacked after 4-5 minutes. I wonder if these were some endemic species or and invasion of some European species. The pattern seems to differ from 'regular' medical leaches.

very tough finding ID resources for these guys, but I feel pretty good about this distinct and beautiful leech. There were many present in the pond, attracted to the vibrations by my foot in the water.

Large reddish brown terrestrial leech. Found in peat in a penguin rookery on Snares main island. 7-9cm long extended, 2-3cm wide (possibly just fed). Round sucker on under surface. Papillae, red-brown with yellow colouration. Coolest thing I have ever seen.

Male a bit smaller and the female during my observations watching the Bornean ground cuckoo (Carpococcyx radiceus).

endemic to the island of Borneo,being found in the sections belonging to Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is restricted to humid forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Sumatran ground cuckoo.

Large longicorn repeatedly appearing at this time of year

PHOTOS & OBSERVATIONS: Dewald Kamffer, Modjadjiskloof.
Published to iNaturalist at his request and with his permission.

 
Adult longhorn beetles of this species found in citrus trees in home garden. Found in different citrus species & varieties: oranges and lemons and grapefruit and naartjie|tangerine. The beetles cause great damage by feeding on leaves. Larvae or their activity not seen yet; perhaps they do not develop in citrus stems|branches; observations are continuing.

It seems that the adults of this 'bycid emerge after the first good rain, which nowadays at this location falls in November. The adult beetles are common in a pesticide-free home garden, but—despite frequent visits there—are not seen in commercial citrus orchards. Commercial orchards in this region are heavily dosed with chemicals at this time of year.

Body length of adult c. 13–15 mm.