Boreus hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1767), mating

This time I'll show you a very recent image. My plan was to upload my photographs in a more or less correct time sequence (at the moment I'm still developing and uploading stuff from June) but I just couldn't hold this one back!
Two weeks ago I found freshly hatched specimens of Boreus hyemalis (or B. westwoodi... both are now often considered to be the same species) for the very first time. I was super happy when I found them because it was the first time I could observe them and this encounter was totally unexpected. Yesterday I revisited the place where I found them the first time and started digging in the leaf litter that was covering a big mossy stone. On one of the leaves that I turned over I found these two beauties mating. I was very amazed.

They belong to the order Mecoptera which also contains the scorpionflies. In fact, Boreus looks a lot like a common scorpionfly... just without wings and the scorpion-like genital structures... but they also have the beak-like mouthparts and the yellowish coloration. What makes Boreus so special is their lifestyle. They are mostly active during the cold months (October-March) and as you can see they also reproduce during this time. For most insects it is not possible to use their wings and fly around when it is too cold because they don't reach wing beat frequencies that are high enough to allow them to take off. So, if you are only active during the cold season and can't make use of your wings you can just as well get rid of them, right? And that is basically what happend to Boreus. Their wings are strongly reduced (especially the wings of females). In males the wings are transformed to hook-like structures which they use to hold the female during mating (there is a detail picture in the comment section). The ends of the hooks grab the forelegs of the female and hold it. During the mating process the male is able to move around. The female of the pair that I photographed was totally motionless. For me it seemed to be in some kind of brumation as it held the legs and antennae close to the body.
They are truly fascinating insects and a good reason for us insect photographers to keep looking for critters during the winter months.

There are additional images in the comment section which can be viewed large by clicking on them (thanks to rockwolf for letting me know how that works!).

handheld stack of 14 images, diffused on-camera Nissin i40, Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro @ 2.5x and f/5.6

Taken on: November 17, 2018

Tags:

macro

up more »

hexapod

arthropod

insect

mecoptera

snow

flea

Boreus

hyemalis

westwoodi « less

Sets appears in: • Miscellaneous (various animal orders)

Groups appears in: • Wildlife Photography • Macro more » • Closer and Closer Macro Photography - • Nature Group: From animals to plants. • INSECTS • Real Macro • Flickr Nature • Insect Macro Photography • Insect Photography • *amazing nature* • The World Up-Close (Nature Macro) • Insects and Spiders • Macros Group • La Macrophotographie • Wildlife Photographers Central • Animals (All Kinds) • MAKRO MAKRO • Nature...Anything Goes • Insects and butterflys • Makrofotografie - Die Community für Makrofotografen • Insekten-Makro + Insekten-Nahaufnahmen • *NATURES BEAUTY* • France Macro & Proxi • Natural Landscape & Wildlife Photos • Insect Macros • Mordus de photos Nature • Insect Macro • Makro-Welten - Worlds of Macro • Wildlife Photographs • ***FLORA *FAUNA *from around the world*** • Macro & Close up Photography • Macro Addicts, That is all. • Macro in nature • MACRO~beautiful Insects of the world • Scientific Photographers • lovely animal group • Macro's and close-ups • Nature and all that is beautiful • ! Insect Hump Day ! • Nature and Animals (Wild Only) • Best of insect macro's - Die besten Insektenmakro's « less

Camera: Sony ILCE-6000, 1/160 sec, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-6000
Lens:	----
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Return not detected
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Saturation:	Low
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)
Show full info

Stats: 6,609 views / 11 comments

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: