Spiky, hairy, shiny: LA abuzz with insect discoveries – in pictures

Among the insects sampled as part of the
BioSCAN (Biodiversity Science: City and Nature) project at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles county was this flower fly (
Helophilus latifrons), whose soft fuzz and black-and-yellow stripes help it mimic bees and wasps

The idea for the project came after entomology curator
Dr Brian Brown bet a museum trustee that he could find a new species anywhere. His colleague suggested he look in her LA backyard. Pictured is the acorn weevil (
Curculio occidentis), whose ‘fur’ provides important camouflage

Eight hundred species of insects have been catalogued so far in what is the world’s largest urban biodiversity study, including this Halloween ladybug (
Harmonia axyridis)

In 2014, large tent-like
‘malaise traps’ were set up for the first time at 30 sites for a whole year to sample insects. For the first week of every month, a bottle at the top collected thousands of insects that flew into the net, preserving them in ethanol. One of those discovered was this female eupelmid wasp (
Metapelma sp.), which relies on elbow-like antennae to ‘sniff’ out other insects in which to lay her eggs

Back in the lab, the samples were dried, photographed using a microscope, then identified and recorded. This photograph reveals the dazzling gems on the mason bee’s (
Osmia sp.) ‘crown’, which are actually three additional eyes, called ocelli.

The project is a team effort. Museum volunteers and undergraduate students help sort samples and ‘site hosts’ help maintain the traps that scientists set up in privately-owned gardens and backyards. ‘This is citizen science to some extent – without our collaborators, our research couldn’t get done,’ says Brown. The mantisfly (
Plega sp.), pictured here, relies on its spine-covered forelimbs to catch its prey

One of the world’s largest cities might seem an unlikely place to find new insects. But most new species discovered in Los Angeles were tiny flies, some just 2mm long, which had previously been overlooked. The branching antennae and huge torso of the male eucharitid wasp (
Pseudochalcura gibbosa), which is just 4mm long, are barely visible to the human eye

The high-resolution photographs capture the intricacies of the insects. ‘I’m just flabbergasted at the beauty in the details, structure and colour that we see under the microscope,’ says Brown. ‘As entomologists, we know these insects are amazing but the public can’t [usually] see them at this size and scale. The quintessential animals for people to visit at museums are dinosaurs, so we’re excited to showcase these insects close-up.’ This keeled treehopper (
Antianthe expansa), or thornbug, is just 7mm long

The torymid wasp’s (
Diomorus zabriskii) colour, highlighted by the photography technique, is the result of light refracting through the many ridges and fissures of its exoskeleton

Better knowledge about different types of insects, how they survive and where they thrive, is crucial to protecting them. Insects are under enormous threat of extinction from habitat destruction, pesticide use and climate change. The native California digger bee’s fuzzy fur (
Anthophora californica) allows pollen to stick to its body

Brown’s research is an opportunity to study how the climate crisis might affect these creatures. Insects often need very specific temperature conditions for survival, so their ranges may well change as cities get warmer. Brown is ‘keeping his eyes open’ for changing trends and he expects insect populations to move further towards the poles as temperatures rise. The compound eyes of this male soldier fly (
Euparyphus cinctus) give it an almost 360-degree view of its surroundings

This leafhopper (
Draeculacephala sp. (right), a type of sharpshooter, was found among the plants of the LA Basin. The sharpshooter (
Graphocephala versuta) on the left slurps up plant fluids and shoots the remaining liquid waste out of their tail end

The ‘tail’ of the snakefly (
Agulla sp.) is actually an ovipositor, a specialised body part used by females to lay eggs

The dense, spiky hairs of the tachinid fly (
Archytas sp.) set it apart from its housefly relatives. ‘We know more about the Amazon rainforest than we do about downtown Los Angeles in terms of the fauna of these small flies because scientists don’t tend to do research in urban areas, they’d usually look for cool, new species in tropical places with unlimited possibilities,’ says Brown, who explains that most scientists prefer to study larger animals. ‘But as it turns out, we can find equally amazing new things when we look in cities’