Colour roughs for different wood ant species
Colour roughs for: Southern red wood ant Formica rufa, Hairy wood ant Formica lugubris, Scottish wood ant Formica aquilonia, and Slender ant Leptothorax acervorum. Used to check colours before proceeding to final illustrations.
Ant species colour guide rough
Ant species colour guide rough for: Southern red wood ant Formica rufa, Hairy wood ant Formica lugubris, Scottish wood ant Formica aquilonia, Slender ant Leptothorax acervorum, Slave-making Blood red ant Formica sanguinea, Shining guest ant Formicoxenus nitidulus, and Narrow headed ant Formica exsecta. These sketches were used to check the colouration before moving onto the […]
Worker ant Formica aquilonia Scottish wood ant
Worker ant F. aquilonia Scottish wood ant, in profile. Workers are all haplodiploid, sharing much of their genetic material with their mother, the queen. This supports their eusocial colonies.
Male wood ant Formica lugubis Hairy wood ant
Male wood ant F. lugubris Hairy wood ant. These males have dark bodies and yellow legs and genitals. Like the females, they have wings. Unlike the females, shortly after mating during the nuptial flight, they will die.
Queen ant Formica aquilonia Scottish wood ant
Queen ant F. aquilonia Scottish wood ant with wings. Newly emerged queens have wings, and following their mating and nuptial flight, they bite these off. This enables them to burrow underground and set up a new ant nest and colony, and to begin laying eggs and raising young.
Pupae and cocoon of wood ant and unsheathed pupae
Pupae of a wood ant, both within its cocoon, and extracted. Detail from a life cycle ant illustration by Lizzie Harper natural history and sciart illustrator
Larvae of wood ant
Larvae of wood ant showing their translucent bodies and segmentation.
Eggs of wood ant
Illustration of several eggs of a wood ant.
Scottish wood ant thoracic view
Detail of the thorax of the Scottish wood ant Formica aquilonia. The illustration shows distribution of hairs up to the eyes. This species is often confused with the Hairy wood ant which has longer hairs.
Lungwort Pulmonaria officianalis
Lungwort Pulmonaria officianalis showing distinctive spotted leaves
Thomsons Gazelle Eudorcas thomsonii
Thomsons Gazelle Eudorcas thomsonii illustration from A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough
Tarpan Equus ferus ferus
Tarpan Equus ferus ferus illustration from A Life on Our Planet by David Attenboroug
Sunda pangolin Manis japonica
Sunda pangolin Manis japonica illustration from A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough
Honey bee worker Apis mellifera
Honey bee worker Apis mellifera illustration from A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough
Giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifero
Giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifero illustration from A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough
Brain coral and Staghorn coral
Brain coral Diploria labyrinthiformis Staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis illustration from A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough
Blue whale Balaenoptera musculus
Blue whale Balaenoptera musculus illustration from A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough
Ammonite Dactylioceras commune
Ammonite Dactylioceras commune fossil similar to those collected by David Attenborough as a child
Oak sudden death Phytophthora ramorum fungi
Oak sudden death Phytophthora ramorum fungi and algae pest on Oak tree Quercus
Oak spangle and silk button galls
Oak spangle galls from wasp Tilia platyphyllos and Silk button galls from wasp Neuroterus numismalis on Oak leaf Quercus robu
Oak Quercus robur sketchbook page
Oak Quercus robur sketchbook page including flowers and young leaves
Magnolia sprig Magnolia grandiflora
Magnolia sprig Magnolia grandiflora in flower with leaves not yet out
Sea Buck-thorn Hippophae rhamnoides
Sea Buck-thorn Hippophae rhamnoides shrub pen and ink with colour wash
Sea Buckthorn shrub Hippophae rhamnoides
Sea Buckthorn shrub Hippophae rhamnoides. Pen and ink illustration shows elongate leaves, low shrubby growth habit, and berries.