Below are a selection of images that I have acquired over some time. Many can be found throughout the pages of this web site although some are only shown here. Some are photomicrographs taken by me using a Cannon A1 with a photomicrograph attachment unit F whilst others are macrophotographs. These are taken with the same camera using a set of Russian bellows.

Blackfly showing charcteristic humped thorax and annulated antennae.

Eggs of Anopholine mosquitoes, the floats formed by the exochorion can just be seen as a faint line on either side of the egg. Eggs are laid singularly in water and float allowing the developing larvae air.

This photomicrograph shows the serated point on the siphon of a Mansonia mosquito. This allows the mosquito to penetrate aquatic plant stems and obtain oxygen. The feathery filaments are used for ionic regulation.

Ctenocephalides felis the cat flea, showing presence of genal and pronotal combs. The genal comb is below the eye whilst the pronotal is behind the head. These combs serve to prevent easy removal from an animals fur.

The jigger flea, Tunga penetrans showing the distinctive head shape. The female flea burrows into the skin where she swells to the size of a pea before expelling eggs through a small apeture in the skin.

The egg of Pediculus capitis the headlouse. The eggs are what people call nits. They are laid close to the scalp but as the hair grows they move away from the scalp and become more visible.

Head and thorax of Cimex lectularius the bedbug. Adults are approximately 5mm long and 3mm across.

This is the egg of Cimex lectularius these are laid in small cracks and hatch in about ten days.

A flea. I think its a northern rat flea Nosopsyllus fasciatus but I'm not 100% sure.

A head on view of a bluebottle Calliphora vomitoria this is a male showing the eyes nearly meeting at the top of the head, called holoptic. In females the gap between the eyes is much larger.

A greenbottle Lucilia sericata an important sheep strike species.

A side view of Lucilia sericata the arista can clearly be seen projecting from the flagellum.

A bluebottle Calliphora vomitoria.

The head of a sarcophagid, a female showing a large gap between the eyes, called dichoptic.

This is a LuciTrap® used in Australia to trap Lucilia cuprina an important sheep strike fly. The bucket contains a bait attracting the flies. They then enter the carefully measured holes and die. Very few exit back out the holes.

This photo shows an electric screen being used to detect the direction and numbers of approaching flies. The screen comprises of highly charged thin wires which electrocute flies that contact them. They are then collected in the water trays. The trap is a sticky trap shown below.

A sticky trap. This is a simple trap used to catch flies. The bait is fixed to the center of the trap and the surface of the plastic board is covered with a sticky film. Flies which contact the film are retained. Many different colours are available and being lightweight and waterproof makes them excellent traps.