Meet the insects

28 June 2012

Make the most of National Insect Week (25 June - 1 July) by heading to WWT London Wetland Centre to see if you can spot any of these colourful characters.

Wasp beetle - Philip Briggs — This Wasp Beetle has evolved with the same warning pattern as a wasp to protect itself from predators. Image by Philip Briggs.

Green Hairstreak butterfly - Laurence Arnold — Staff at London Wetland Centre were delighted to record the first Green Hairstreak butterfly on site, bringing the Centre’s total number of butterfly species recorded to 26. Image by Laurence Arnold.

Juvenile damselfly - Ilia Karmanov — This is a close-up view of a juvenile damselfly. There are 22 species of Odonata – damselflies and dragonflies – at London Wetland Centre, including the rare Hairy Dragonfly. Image by Ilia Karmanov.

London Wetland Centre is also home to over 450 types of moth, over 60 beetles including eight ladybirds, 12 grasshoppers and crickets, 30 hoverflies, and 40 ants, wasps and bees.

The Centre is running a number of insect events this year, including a Butterflies and Moths walk on 14 July, and a Dragonfly Weekend on 14 – 15 July.

There’s more information on National Insect Week here: http://nationalinsectweek.co.uk