entomology Archives - Lizzie Harper

Ants in the UK: Four subfamilies

Posted on 26th August 202226th August 2022 in Biological terminology: Definitions, Current projects and news

Having recently written a blog on the anatomy of ants, and been on three marvellous FSC courses about these fabulous insects, I’m going to try and share what I’ve learned about telling the four UK subfamilies of ants apart. To get anywhere with ant identification, you need a basic grasp of ant anatomy, and a […] Read more

Ant anatomy for Beginners

Posted on 13th June 202222nd July 2022 in Biological terminology: Definitions, Current projects and news

I’ve recently gone on a couple of fabulous courses with Field Studies Council (FSC). Two of these focussed on Ants. They were taught by Gino Brignoli, and the second by Mike Fox, both ant experts. These courses are open to anyone with an interest, and are always an excellent way to learn an enormous amount […] Read more

Wood Ants: Illustrating a guide to the wood ants of the Cairngorms

Posted on 22nd July 202122nd July 2021 in Current projects and news

Earlier this year, I had one of the hardest and most wonderful jobs. I was commissioned to illustrate all the Wood ants species that occur in the UK for an identification guide which has just been published by the Cairngorms National Park Authority . The physical guide is now available (and a classy item t is […] Read more

Butterflies of Bentham Sand dunes

Posted on 13th November 2020 in Current projects and news

Several butterflies are included in the recent landscape illustration completed for South Devon Area of Natural Beauty. This blog will discuss each species, and links to my earlier blog on the wildlife and plants of Bentham bay sand dunes. Clouded Yellow The Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus, travels to Britain every year from southern Europe and Africa. […] Read more

Illustrating Butterflies Workshop

Posted on 10th January 2020 in Painting workshops

Illustrating butterflies is wonderful, but has its challenges. I recently taught a two day workshop to Northamptonshire Botanical Artists’ Society which focused exclusively on painting these gorgeous insects. Introduction to Butterflies We began with handouts and an introduction to the variety of insect life. Touching on complete and incomplete life cycles, we also learnt their […] Read more

Illustrating a new Damselfly species

Posted on 6th January 201730th December 2018 in Current projects and news

One of the more exciting recent natural history illustration commissions I’ve had is to complete a Sciart watercolour of a newly discovered species of damselfly. I’ve illustrated damselflies before (see my blog) and even done a series of postage stamps on these insects. This commission was different. The insect in question is the Sarep sprite, Pseudoagrion […] Read more

Biolblitz at Llanbwchllyn Lake

Posted on 3rd July 201513th December 2018 in Scientific Illustrator out and about

As a natural history illustrator, it’s inevitable that I’m passionate about wildlife. Wildlife close to home is especially appealing, so when my local Wildlife Trust, RWT offered a “Focus on Nature Bioblitz at Llanbwychllyn Lake” I had to go along. I love the wildlife trusts, and this is a perfect example of why. What is a bioblitz? “Bioblitz” […] Read more

Hawkmoth, lepidoptera, Achenrontia, deaths head, deathshead,

Scientific Illustration of a Death’s Head Hawkmoth

Posted on 3rd August 201321st November 2018 in Zoological step by step

I received a private commission to do a scientific illustration of the Death’s head hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos for someone who is passionate about moths. Normally the first step is to get a specimen to work from, but alas in this case there were none at the local museum, and the deadline was tight. Gathering reference I collated […] Read more