Max Aubry

@strepsipzerg

Entomologist, storyteller Probably in a park somewhere in Vienna

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Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· 4d

I saw what looked like an entire family of wood roaches on a leaf today. I was out very early to take a walk in Donauinsel with a friend. So cute! #insects

Close up shot of a leaf on which five golden-brown roaches are chilling. They are all pretty small, two of them being significantly smaller than the rest.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· 15d

I found something pretty cool. I will know more once I can get a close look with the microscope, but this looks promising 😁 #insects #cityWildlife

A paper wasp on Mullein flower stoke. Its abdomen looks unusual, with several tergites bent away, breaking its slick shape, and looking like something is trying to come out of it.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· 24d

I found a caterpillar in a pot of mint I bought. I kept it and out it in a pot once it pupated. Today the moth came and, and it's Autographa gamma, the Silvery Y! #insects #moth

A macro shot of a green caterpillar in the middle of lush green leaves. You can only see the front of its body, and it looks like it is reaching forward.

A leaf taped to the lid of a jar. The leaf holds a transparent silk cocoon containing the brown chrysalis of a moth, maybe 2-3cm long.

A moth at the bottom of a glass jar. Its brown wings show a distinctive Y mark, in iridescent pale color.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· 24d

I had an amazing time attending the eleventh THINK #conference last week. I had many inspiring conversations as we discussed AI, Science Theater, and many other topics. Here are some #insects seen in between talks, around the wonderful location we are able to organize the event at! #science

A diverse set of insects assembled on an umbellifer flower. It forms small white islands visited by a few gold flies, a small longhorn beetle, two dark sawflies, and a orange and black butterfly. The butterfly is much more noticeable than the rest, with its rich orange wings pierced by dark spots. The edge of the wings have unusual angular notches, characteristic of this genus.

A relatively close shot of an antlion on a white wall. It has long clubbed antennae, a light brown head with two large black eyes, and a thin body. Its wings look delicate, with a complex network of veins forming small cells, and darker spots forming a beautiful pattern, like reverse lace.

Close shot of a brown-orange Skipper butterfly perched on a bright yellow dandelion-like flower, proboscis extended while feeding against a blurred green grass background.

Reddish-brown longhorn beetle with long antennae perched on a flat cluster of tiny white umbels, set against a soft green blurred background. It looks about ready to fly away.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jul 12

I went in the water in Lobau, and enjoyed the dragon/damselfly diversity. Many of them I couldn't photograph, but here's Crocothemis erythraea and Erythromma viridulum! #insects #dragonfly #wien #macrophotography

A red dragonfly sitting on the leaf-covered ground. Its entire body is a vibrant red, with even the wings having reddish veins. It is facing left, seen from an angle of 45°

The same dragonfly as the previous picture, seen more from the side, and now standing on a different ground, now naked dirt.

A damselfly standing on a water Lilly leaf. It has a blue and black body, with contrasting red eyes. Its body is very slender and fragile-looking. The surface of the water appears very calm.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jul 11

Of course, the invasive Sceliphron around the same pond are much easier to photograph. #macrophotography #wasps #invasive

A close-up shot of a mud-dauber wasp. It is seen from the side, as seems to be cleaning its front leg with its mouth. It's mostly shiny black with some yellow highlights on the legs and thorax.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jul 11

I also tried a video, but it's not much better. Still a good looking wasp tho!

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jul 11

It's apparently a parasite of big hawk moths. They aren't rare in the area, so that makes sense! A big wasp like this would for sure need something substantial to develop. It can be distinguished from the slightly more common Callajoppa cirrogaster by the black tip of the abdomen. #entolology

Same wasp as previously, but it's hiding most of its body behind the green stem of a water plant. You get a nice few of the distal end of its abdomen, with two terminal segments distinctly black, or rather very dark brown.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jul 11

A quite unusual wasp seen at the park today, beside a pond. It was rather big (~2.5-3cm), but not one I recall seeing before. The pictures aren't so good, but enough to recognize Callajoppa exaltatoria! #insects #vienna #insektenSamstag

A wasp, sitting in the middle of a blade of grass, surrounded by what seems to be dense vegetation.
It is mostly black and yellow, with dark transparent wings. It doesn't quite look like a common wasp, it is both bigger, more slender, and with a different color pattern. Only the side of its head, the distal half of its antennae, its thorax, and the tip of its abdomen, are black. The rest is yellow.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jul 10

I see this ant species quite often in Vienna. It's even the emblem of the Myrmecological news journal and the Vienna Myrmecological Society! But it's my first time finding and taking pictures of a queen. It's one of my favorite ant species, I'm quite happy to have caught it! #ants #insects #vienna

An ant standing on a rusty metal surface partially covered with lichen. Its head and abdomen are both black and shiny, with a pale yellow dot on the abdomen. Its thorax is burgundy red, and it's also quite a bit larger than a regular worker ant would be.
The ant is seen from the side, with blurry trees in the background.

a similar shot than the previous one, with the ant currently walking down the metal surface.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jul 1

I've been 'catching' a lot of these male Colobopsis ants by just... Letting my window open at night with lights on. They seem to have their mating flights late at night, and to be more attracted to light than most other ants. Also very cute! #ants #vienna #cityWildlife

A male ant on a white wall. To the untrained eye, it might look like a weird wasp or a slender fly.
It has a black head and black abdomen, but the thorax and legs are orange. It has big eyes, and straight antennae.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jun 21

Taking some time to sort and store wild seeds I gathered a while ago! Amid the seeds and flower fruits, I also found a bunch of small wasps. I don't know what they are now, but I will get a closer look soon. They most probably emerged from wild poppy fruits. #botany #entomology #foraging

A vetch pod, and three seeds, along with a 1€ coin for scale. The pod looks like a small black been pod. The seeds are black and spherical, like very dry peas.

A close-up shot of tiny wasps. They are dark and all dried up. They have long curled antennae, and a long ovipositor.

Three containers with labels, from left to right : Mohn, Leimkräuter, Wicken. The center container is a tiny jam pot, the two others are kinder-surprise toy plastic shells.
All three rest on a wooden table.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jun 7

Of course, they were a lot of dragonflies, damselflies, and robber flies along the Danube Cycle Path. Later in the evening, I also saw this adorable plume moth! I'm never tired of finding these little angels.

A fly standing on a piece of thyme. It looks quite alien for a fly though, with long orange legs, pointy mouth parts, and a strong thorax.
It is a robber fly, and its overall morphology reminds one of a dragonfly.

A tandem of damsel, currently copulating. They are forming the usual twisted heart shape, with the male on "top".
The two partners look quite similar : wide back head with blue eyes and two bright blue dots behind them, a blue thorax striped with black, a long abdomen with black markings on top and a green-yellow-blue gradient on the ventral side. The wings are relatively short, and with a bi-color cell close to the apex.

A plume moth sitting on my hand. I have copper nail polish. The moth is all white, with slender feather-like plumes for wings. Its legs are also bearing long thin spikes. It's super cute, and looks like a tiny angel or fairy!

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jun 7

I was quite positively surprised to see Wasp spiders this close to the Danube. Still pretty young, but already with a nice Stabilimentum. The exact function of the strucutre in the web is still studied, we already know it's involved in prey attraction through light scattering! #bugsky #ecology

A spider on its web. the spider is out of focus, but at the center of the picture you can see very well a structure in the web : a white zig-zag made of thicker silk. This vertical band goes up and down from the spot at the center of the web where the spider rests.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jun 7

Some #insects seen while biking! These are two sawflies from genus Arge. Both of them were feeding on a hog-weed flower, along with many other insects. #nature

A dark insect feeding on a hogweed flower. It's entire body is a very dark, slightly iridescent, blue. Its wings are slightly dark as well, folded along its body.

An insect very similar to the first one, except it has very different colors. This one isn't iridescent, and it's mostly orange with black spots. The head is black, the top of the thorax, and the wing upper-border.
It's also feeding on a hog-weed flower, with a tiny round black beetle keeping it company.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Jun 4

I've been checking a pond at the local park for dragonflies, but it also attracts many other bugs. For example, this wasp was looking for mud to build it's nest! Sceliphron caementarium has been introduced in Europe more than 50 years ago and is thriving now. 🪲🪳 #inverteFest #nature #Wien

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· May 31

My contribution to #herpetorace26, along with some nice dragonflies seen while looking for frogs. I didn't have time to get out of my neighborhood, so unfortunately the vertebrates aren't very exciting. I think the tadpoles are probably toads? #nature #naturePhotography

A wall lizard, laying on a rock. It's seen from above, and is suspiciously looking at the camera ready to flee. A big rock just behind it would provide proper shelter.

A group of four tadpoles, immobile in the shallow water. They are also a few insects swimming around, in the middle of bamboo shoots and leaves making the water very crowded.

A dragonfly, standing on a big bamboo leaf. More bamboo is visible, blurry, in the background.
The dragonfly wings are spotted at two places each, the upper edge and upper middle margin. Its body is fulvous brown with yellow bars on the side of each segment on the abdomen.

A dragonfly, standing on a blade of water grass. It has transparent wings, stemming from a black thorax. The eyes and abdomen are a nice blue-grey, very pruinous.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· May 25

I went on a nice bike trip on Sunday and saw plenty of #insects! Here are two highlights, Chaetopteroplia segetum and Coenonympha glycerion. So cute. #entomology #natrePhotography

A beetle atop a flower. It's seen from the side, with its hindlegs hanging in the air behind it. Almost the entire body is covered in a beige fuzz, more dense on the ventral side. It has short antennae ending in a three-part fan. Its head, pronotum, and legs are dark with a slight green iridescence, and the elytra are ochre.

Close up shot of a small butterfly. It's seen from the side, with its wings against each other along its back, so you can only see their ventral sides. The upper wing is mostly orange, with light brown tips and a washed out ocellus (eyespot). The hindwing is mostly brown, with a black blush on the proximal half. The distal half has ocelli and an orange line following the edge.
The butterfly is standing on an inflorescence carrying a single opened indigo flower, and many unopened ones.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· May 9

Another entry for #insektenSamstag : Molorchus minor. One of the most stylish longhorn beetles #insects #nature #cityWildlife

A beetle standing at the edge of a metal platform. It has very long antennae, typical of longhorn beetles. What's quite atypical for the family is the length of its elytra, not even long enough to cover half of its wings. They are brown with a black apex baring a diagonal white mark.
In addition, the beetle has enlarged femurs on all legs, mostly at the apex in the mid- and hindlegs.
Around its black pronotum, a light light and shiny pubescence gives it a silver lining, it looks very cute!

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· May 9

A cute lady #beetle for #insektenSamstag ! It's a genus I had not seen/known before, Henosepilachna. Species in this genus are phytophagous, unlike the most commonly seen lady beetles. I think they're also a bit cuter. #cityWildlife #insects #nature

A lady beetle walking along the side of a leaf.
The lady beetle doesn't look like your typical one : it looks a bit more pruinous or hairy. Or both maybe. It has the classic ''black dot on red'' pattern on its elytra, but the red is more orange, and the rest of its body is also orange!
The leaf looks very lush, and is also a bit hairy.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· May 6

Going to the @krawall-verein.at headquarters to work on upcoming projects, and I stumbled upon an ant territory war happening right at the door! Tetramorium is always in for a fight #ants #insects #cityWildlife #nature

A close-up shot of a big group of ants at the crack between the sidewalk and the wall of a building. The ants are brown-ish and agglutinated, mostly over each other.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Apr 29

Spring is here for sure, critters are more active, and so am I! Euplagia quadripunctaria, Hyla arborea, Myopa sp, and Staphylinus caesareus #insects #frog #nature

A caterpillar on a wall. It's body is heading down, but it's actually reaching away from the wall and in the air.
It's a quite hairy caterpillar, with a dark black body covered in many patches of spiky orange hair and orange spots.

A rove beetle on the ground. Its body is black except for the legs and elytra that are a warm brown. On many spots on the black parts of its body, patches of golden hair gives it a very fancy look.
Like many rove beetles, it has very short elytra letting most of its abdomen visible. More golden patches to see there!

An unusual looking fly, seen from the side as it perches on a flower. It has a sort of 'snouty' head, with the snout all white. Long grabby front legs, and an abdomen curving on itself into a half spiral. Its body outside of the snout is relatively dark, reddish brown.

A close up shot of a tree frog hiding in the grass, on the ground. You can not see its entire body, and it could look just like another green leaf. Its eyes are almost closed, like if it had just been woken up by a ray of sunshine.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Nov 3

wrote a short science #poem about my mindset when I go around looking for bugs #scicomm

Would you decide to take a walk
to see nature and breath fresh air
let me give you a little talk :
my method for outdoors self-care.

It takes a while to find the thing,
the rarest sight you can capture.
It is not what I am seeking
I'm happy with simpler nature.

Irrelevant when I wander
or what I get to see
I do take joy in the commoner
interest is the key!

On your curiosity transect
you can discover, beautiful
Of the most usual insect
a renewed shine of cuticle.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Oct 21

I went on a hike yesterday. It's a bit late for insects, but perfect time and weather for fungi! Also TONS of salamander #nature #mushrooms #fungus

A close up shot of a small mushroom growing on a relatively dry, cleaning cut tree stump. The mushroom is a mix of orange and dark brown in color, and a mix of velvety and fluffy in texture.

A orange jelly fungus growing on a cleanly cut tree stump. It's covered in tiny grey invertebrates, probably spring-tails. the fungus looks like a bright orange mush, with irregular shapes surrounded by mini-domes on the surface of the wood.

A fire salamander climbing a very steep slope. It's black and yellow, with shiny skin. The ground is a mixture of rocks and clay with a bit of vegetation.

A fungus growing on a tree stump. It looks like a colony of small beige spheres. Maybe 50 of them.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Oct 17

Hmmm egg #insects

A great green bush-cricket, eating a piece of egg white held by human fingers.

A close up shot of the Bush cricket. It's standing head down on a tree trunk.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Oct 16

The second insect is a damselfly, similar to one that can be seen a bit everywhere in Europe, but showing reddish colors. This is Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis, the Copper demoiselle. The name is a bit unfortunate I think 😅 #insects

A damselfly is catching the sun, on a rock. A river can be seen in the background.
the damselfly has dark wings with a white spot in the middle, and a red/coppery body.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Oct 16

More southern European #insects! Although the first one is present all the way up to Belgium and Germany, just not as easy to observe. This big wasp with hornet color code is Delta unguiculatum, a potter wasp (Eumeninae). It was harvesting material for its nest pottery.

A relatively big wasp, landed on the ground and looking down. It has the same color than a European hornet: fawn thorax and upper abdomen, yellow elsewhere. Its wings are also
Compared to a hornet, it is much slender, with a very long petiole.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Oct 12

On my way back to Austria, in the center of Paris, I saw this tiny butterfly. It struck me as "out of place" in a way. I wasn't wrong, this species wasn't present in Paris before the 2010s. #insects #butterfly

A small butterfly on a green leaf. More leaves are seen in the background.
the butterfly has marbled grey-brown wings, with little tails around the back. The wings also have fringed, white and brown. I think it's quite cute.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Oct 9

this year I saw two Red underwing, one of the biggest Noctuid moths in central Europe. They are pretty neat, I think. Their caterpillars develop on willows and poplars, so it makes sense they would feel at home in #Vienna since we have many of those. #insects #moths #cityWildlife

a big moth in a glass jar. It has grey marbled upper-wings, and much more flashy under-wings with scarlet red and black bands, along with a white fringe on the edge.

Max Aubry@strepsipzerg· Oct 9

such a cute weevil. I haven't seen this genus in... 15 years maybe. I really like it, and the one I saw back is on my CV ever since hehe this is Rhynchites bacchus! It was already in my window yesterday but I forgot to check it. It would have been perfect for #WeevilWednesday #insects #beetle