Invertebrates
Invertebrates are animals lacking backbones, such as the land dwelling insects, spiders, slugs and snails, millipedes, centipedes to the water dwelling crabs, sea anemones amongst many other types. In fact it is estimated that 95% of animal species are actually invertebrates covering about thirty different phyla.
What you can see here
The galleries here cover a variety of the different types that live in and around the United Kingdom. The majority of these have been taken of the animals in the wild, although there are some captive invertebrates, but these are labelled as such. Feel free to click through the different galleries to look at what interests you or here is some more information about what you could see here:
- Butterflies, Moths and Caterpillars are a collection of images taken of brightly coloured butterflies hiding in the vegetation or drinking pollen from flowers. The night flying moths are often hidden in the vegetation, but the day flying moths could be seen at any time. Hidden in hedges and plants are caterpillars feeding away
- Bees, Ants and Wasps contain photos taken of hard working bees of various types pollinating flowers, ants collecting food and wasps building nests or collecting prey
- Flies, Hoverflies and Similar Insects cover a huge range of species through various fly species, daddy long legs to sawflies, hoverflies and bee mimics, caddisflies to the slightly rarer scorpion flies and damsel-bugs
- Beetles, Bugs and Weevils includes a variety of different beetle types from pollen beetles to dung beetles, then bugs and weevils eating the plant-life
- Dragonflies and Damselflies has photos of different dragonflies, damselflies and demoiselles often resting on plants near to the water they hunt over
- Many people don't like Spiders and Harvestmen but they are fascinating close up with amazing patterns and colourations as you can see in this collection of images
- Grasshoppers, Crickets and Groundhoppers are all related species with the classic longer back legs they you will often hear chirping in the vegetation. Here you can see a selection of them showing their excellent camouflage
- Invertebrates don't just occur on land but also in water. In Aquatic Invertebrates you can see a small selection of photos of invertebrates found both in freshwater ponds and in sea water in rock pools
- Slugs , Snails and Many Legged Invertebrates contains a collection of images showing some of the variety of invertebrates from the classic garden slug that gardeners hate to the woodlice hiding under wood and leaf litter to the millipedes and centipedes scuttling around the ground
- The majority of invertebrates on these pages have been taken of wild animals however I also occasionally spend time taken photos of pet or zoo invertebrates and Captive Invertebrates show the photos of some of these
Where have these been taken
Invertebrates can be found all around the world in almost every habitat. I took all the photos on these pages from a variety of different habitats in England including the fenlands of East Anglia including at Lakenheath, Lackford and Minsmere, the heathlands and moorlands of the East and West at Cavenham, Minsmere or Exmoor and the Quantocks. Grasslands from around England inlcuding Therfield heath, Fairmile bottom and Cothelstone hill, and Woodlands found all around the the UK such as Wayland and Thetford wood in the East to Horner and Hawkcombe woods in the West. The coastal invertebrates being taken either in rock pools on the Norfolk coast at West Runton or in Yorkshire at Runswick Bay