Tuesday, April 17, 2012

CAN ANYONE IDENTIFY THESE?

When Richard Muirhead and I were boys in Hong Kong, these insects were known as 'bloodsuckers'. I have always thought that they were juvenile praying mantids, but the fact that these two are mating would seem to refute that theory and indicate that they are not juvenile anything! C'mon guys, what are they?



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3 comments:

  1. Dan1:29 PM

    These look like tiger beetles, specifically the Black Flightless tiger beetle Tricondyla pulchripes. Further examples can be seen here:

    http://insectahk.com/coleoptera/tricondyla_pulchripes.html

    and here:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/66943918@N07/6465305467/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dan1:31 PM

    Those are tiger beetles, the Black Flightless tiger beetles to be precise. They won't suck blood as such but since tiger beetles have big, robust jaws they would certainly bite if handled.

    Good examples can be seen here:

    http://insectahk.com/coleoptera/tricondyla_pulchripes.html

    and here:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/66943918@N07/6465305467/lightbox/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charlie Bear1:34 PM

    Male and female arboreal tiger beetles. Genus Tricondyla.

    ReplyDelete