Insecta

Crickets are black or brown insects over 13 mm long. They have long antennae, two compound eyes and grinding mouthparts. They have two pairs of many-veined wings on the thorax. The forewings are fairly tough. They protect the membranous hindwings, which are folded in a fan shape when at rest. Of the three sets of legs, the hindmost legs are the most noticeable, since they are adapted for jumping. Their femurs are particularly strong. Crickets have two sensory appendages called cerci at the tip of the abdomen.

Females have an ovipositor, a long cylindrical egg-laying organ, between the cerci.

They are smaller than our indigenous leafcutting bees (5 to 9 mm long, rather than 9 to 20 mm). They are stocky, with broad heads, and females have a ventral brush of short, stiff silver-grey hairs under the abdomen.

Bumble bees are large, stocky, hairy insects, generally from 6 to 25 mm long. Their bodies are often black and yellow, sometimes with orange, red or white markings.

The hind legs of female bumble bees are modified to help them collect and carry pollen. Their abdomens are tipped with a stinger.

They form organized societies divided into three castes. The queen is the largest insect in the colony and measures from 13 to 32 mm long. Workers – all females – vary from 7 to 18 mm, and males are from 10 to 17 mm long.

Apoidae include all bees, both social and solitary. Bumble bees are also part of this Hymenopteran superfamily. These insects have two pairs of membranous wings. In flight, their wings are held together by a row of hooks on the hindwings. At rest, their wings are separated and folded over the abdomen.

Apoidae have slender waists. This characteristic gives them great flexibility in moving their abdomens, allowing a female honeybee to lay an egg at the bottom of a cell, for instance.

Most bees are black or brownish in colour, but some are bright bluish-green or metallic green, while others are banded or marked with yellow or orange and black. Many bees have smooth bodies, while others are quite hairy.

This butterfly’s wingspan is between 9 and 10 cm. Its black wings have two rows of yellow spots along the edges. The lower wings have an orange spot with a black centre on the bottom edge, and the tip of the wing is long and thin.

Females can be distinguished from males by their larger abdomens and a wide band of blue scales on their back wings. The two rows of yellow spots are less pronounced in females.