Welcome to the macro photography offshoot of tickspics.com - focusing on 'small world' nature subjects from around

my local area of East Dorset and the New Forest or, in a few cases, from a little further afield.

A new interest and intended long-term project that will be as much about discovery and learning as taking photos.

The 'about' page provides some background information and further details, but one of the most important lessons I've learnt is to always keep an open mind as you never know what you're going to discover. The more familiar insect groups may well take centre stage but just as much, if not more, satisfaction comes from trying to find and photograph some of the really small inconspicuous species that are mostly ignored. And, of course, it doesn't stop with invertebrates as there are other nature subjects to investigate such as fungi and lichens that I knew absolutely nothing about until I started this journey.

Although the site acts as personal record in this respect, I hope that if you share similar interests you'll enjoy browsing through and, if you like what you see, maybe you'll periodically come back to check out the latest 'updates' as there will always be something new as the project evolves.

Navigation is straightforward with most sections accessible directly from this 'home' page, which takes less clicks to return and take another path than negotiating an extended drop-down menu. The thumbnail images will invariably take you to a list of the species, and then to separate family or species accounts with photos and varying amounts of information regarding classification, identification, biology and distribution.

about

functionality

HYMENOPTERA

Bees, Wasps, Ants and Sawflies

Hymenoptera is our largest insect order with around 7,800 species, of which nearly 90% are wasps. It is a very diverse group with a rather complex taxonomic structure that can be a bit tricky to understand and, although it’s important to relate to the formal classification system when listing individual species and their associated families, I've adopted the simple approach here to enable quick access to the appropriate section.

APOCRITA | Aculeata

Bees

APOCRITA | Aculeata

Stinging Wasps

APOCRITA | Parasitica

Parasitic Wasps

APOCRITA | Aculeata

Ants

SYMPHYTA

Sawflies

DIPTERA

True Flies

The latest update of the ‘Checklist of the Diptera of the British Isles’ now recognises close on 7,300 types of flies, which is not that far behind Hymenoptera in terms of the total number of species. In fact, the two orders together account for around 60% of all British insects. There are 109 Diptera families, of which 84 are placed within the more advanced Brachycera suborder, and the remaining 25 classified under the Lower Diptera suborder Nematocera. Although gnats and midges win the contest for the sheer number of species, it’s some of the larger Brachycera fly families that attract more general interest with the most photographed being hoverflies, which is why I’ve now included a separate direct link.

NEMATOCERA

Craneflies, Gnats, Midges

BRACHYCERA

Flies

Syrphidae - Hoverflies

COLEOPTERA

Beetles

With well over 4,000 recognised species, Coleoptera is the third largest group of British Insects although, when you look at the incredible number and variety of beetles worldwide, they totally eclipse all other insect orders by a ratio of just over 2:1.

HEMIPTERA

True Bugs and Hoppers

Closely associated with beetles, but with their own distinct characteristics, true bugs are in the order Hemiptera together with various hoppers and numerous plant-parasitic species. My primary interest is with the bugs and hoppers, which are separated into their own suborders.

LEPIDOPTERA

Butterflies and Moths

I suspect that butterflies are our most photographed insects even though there are only 57 resident British species. They are in the same taxonomic order as moths, but separated into their own superfamily Papilionoidea. Butterflies are obviously popular because of their bright colours and the fact that they're daytime flying species, whereas most moths are nocturnal. There are around 2,500 species of moth on the British list in 65 families, which are divided into macro and micro moths.

Butterflies

European Butterflies

Pending

Moths

The remaining insect orders are often placed within convenient groups of similar and/or related species:

NEUROPTERIDA - Lacewings and Allies

NEUROPTERA

Lacewings

MEGALOPTERA

Alderflies

MECOPTERA

Scorpionflies

RAPHIDIOPTERA

Snakeflies

PALEOPTERA and Riverflies

ODONATA

Dragonflies & Damselflies

Ongoing

EPHEMEROPTERA

Mayflies

TRICHOPTERA

Caddisflies

PLECOPTERA

Stoneflies

Grasshoppers and related insects

ORTHOPTERA

Grasshoppers & Crickets

DERMAPTERA

Earwigs

BLATTODEA

Cockroaches

PSOCODEA

Barkflies

Plant parasites

HEMIPTERA > STERNORRHYNCHA

Aphids & Psyllids

Pending

Scale Insects

Pending

APTERYGOTA (wingless insects)

ARCHAEOGNATHA

Bristletails

New Section

ZYGENTOMA

Silverfish

New Section

ARACHNIDA

ARACHNIDA encompasses the second largest group of terrestrial arthropods after INSECTA and, although the variety of species that occur in the UK is far less than can be found in many areas of the world, it's still a very interesting and diverse group.

The phylogenetic relationship and higher-level taxonomic classification are still unresolved, but basically there are four 'divisions' which are ARANEAE (spiders) and the much smaller OPILIONES (harvestmen) order as featured here, and ACARI (mites) and PSEUDOSCORPIONES that are covered in the following section.

I've also included a separate album showing a small selection of some of the exotic tropical spiders or more unusual arachnid species that I've photographed overseas.

ARANEAE

Spiders

OPILIONES

Harvestmen

ARACHNIDA

Overseas Collection

New Section

I'm still pondering over the best way to lay out this section, but at present the following arrangement seems like a reasonable way of grouping and representing the species I want to feature even if the inclusion of slugs and snails is a bit borderline. The other groups definitely fit the criteria as they represent the primary non-insect species you'd expect to find in this type of habitat, but read on as I want to extend the section to show how they interact.

MYRIAPODA

Centipedes & Millipedes

ISOPODA

Woodlice

GASTROPODA

Slugs & Snails

Pending

COLLEMBOLA

Springtails

ACARI

Mites & Ticks

New Section

PSEUDOSCORPIONES

False Scorpions

New Section

Saproxlic communities

Although the generalised reference to 'soil and leaf-litter invertebrates' provides a convenient header for this final group of invertebrates, most of the creatures I photograph on the forest floor are typically found on deadwood, beneath logs or around rotting stumps and fallen trees. Obviously, the nature of these habitats varies from one woodland site to another, but subject to the conditions and time of year, they are good places to explore.

In addition to the various centipedes, millipedes, woodlice, springtails and mites you’d expect to find hidden away in these dark and invariably damp places, there are likely to be other species such as ground spiders, ants and certain types of beetles, as well as a number of soil organisms I haven’t yet mentioned like diplurans or symphylans for example, or certain types of insect larvae and even a few species of annelid worms.

There are two intertwined communities; the first are the xylophagous or saproxylic species that depend on dead or decaying wood for at least part of their life cycle, and the second are the various cryptozoic species that occur in these microhabitats either as residents or visitors seeking shelter or food.

These communities encompass an interesting assemblage of species that have encouraged me to take a closer look at the habitats within my local woodlands especially in respect of the trees and the role played by saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi, which is why I've decided to wrap up this part of the website with a series of ad hoc articles that bring all of these creatures and subject matters together in one continually rolling 'blog-like' section.

For me, this is what Small World Discoveries is all about - learning and gaining knowledge.

Planned

Planned

Soil and Leaf-litter Invertebrates

Slime Mould, Lichen and Fungi

Although it wasn't my original intention, venturing into the fascinating world of fungi has been a natural progression of discovery, which has provided an added interest especially during the winter months when there are less opportunities for finding insects. My focus though, will remain with the smaller and/or more detailed subjects, particularly lichen, slime mould when I can find them and certain types of fungi. The larger more common species, typically referred to as mushrooms or toadstools, are outside of the scope of what I want to cover.

It will probably take a while before I can afford the time to look through the photos I'd like to include although, that said, the lichens section is near enough complete as I spent a fair few months working on it having photographed well in excess of a hundred species. It could still do with a final review and tidy up, but it's live. It's far more comprehensive than I originally intended and, almost certainly, will be the only section that will include descriptions of every species.

MYXOMYCOTA

Plasmodial Slime Mould

Planned

ASCOMYCOTA

Lichens

Ascomycete Fungi

Planned

BASIDIOMYCOTA

Basidiomycete Fungi

Planned

- IMPORTANT -

Please note that this website has been specifically designed for larger screens, not for a smartphone where the layout and much of the functionality are lost. If it has to be viewed on a mobile, please try using the browser 'desktop mode' if supported on your device and view horizontally. It's not ideal, but it should work.

Another unfortunate consequence of not being 'mobile friendly' is that it affects the SEO ranking, such that the site often fails to appear in search results. Obviously, that's a bone of contention I have to accept, but if you get value from the site then please share the address with anyone that has similar interests.

Functionality