Drawing out the beauty of UK invertebrates for #Invertober

Peach Blossom Moth painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the peach blossom moth, Thyatira batis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Peach Blossom Moths love brambles, not peach blossom.

The Peach Blossom Moth larvae feed on bramble. Their natural habitat is scrub land and lightly wooded areas, but they can found anywhere that bramble grows, including towns and cities.

Moths and butterflies have genomes that are mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution.

Scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Edinburgh have discovered that not only are butterfly and moth chromosomes incredibly stable, but the order of genes within them are too. Find out more about butterfly and moth genomes here.

The Peach Blossom moth that provided the reference genome

Box-Headed Blood Bee painted by Petra

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the box-headed blood bee, Sphecodes monilicornis (Kirby, 1802)

Did you know?

Box-headed blood bees are just like cuckoos - they let other bees do all the work of feeding and raising their young.

Box-headed blood bees aren't interested in building hives to protect, feed and grow their young. They have a far simpler plan to make their lives easier. They creep into other bees' nests and swap the other species' eggs with their own.

The Box-Headed Bee that provided the reference genome.

Orange Ladybird painted by Petra

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the orange ladybird, Halyzia sedecimguttata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

The Orange Ladybird dines on fungus.

The Orange Ladybird is a large ladybird that is found across much of the UK in deciduous woodlands. In summer it feeds on mildew (fungus) on trees and in winter it hibernates in the leaf litter or sheltered places like gaps in tree bark.

The Orange Ladybird that provided the reference genome.

An erect bryozoan painted by Petra Korlevic.

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of an erect bryozoan, Bugulina stolonifera (Ryland, 1960)

Did you know?

A bryozoan is not a single animal, but a colony of animals working as one.

Byrozoans are made up of a collection of individual animals known as zooids that are connected together. Each zooid has a specialist role within the animal colony, either capturing food and sharing with the rest of the colony (autozooids), providing defence against predators (avicularia) or anchoring the colony to solid structures (kenozooids). Because the zooids are connected, they pass chemical signals between them, enabling them to work as a coordinated unit.

This aquatic invertebrate is a relative newcomer to scientists.

This bryozoan was first described in 1959 in Swansea, Wales. Now, it is well-established around the world. It can be easily spotted attached and growing happily on wood, dock floats, pier pilings, and ships' hulls.

An erect byrozoan sample that provided the reference genome.

Cave-Orb Weaver Spider painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the cave orb-weaver, Meta bourneti (Simon, 1922)

Did you know?

Cave Orb-Weaver spiders have a love-hate relationship with sunlight. When they are young, they love it. When they are mature adults, they hate it.

Like the spider version of a vampire, Cave Orb-Weaver spiders have evolved to live a successful life away from sunlight. As an adult, they are photophobic and choose to live in places where there is little or no light. For this reason, they tend to be found in caves, railway tunnels, disused mines and abandoned bomb shelters. The female spiders lay their eggs no more than 10 metres from the entrance - in the twilight zone.

When they hatch, the juvenile Cave Orb-Weaver spiders are strongly attracted to the light and head out to find new places to live. In this way, the young spiders spread out and colonise new areas. But then, as they grow up, their adult natures take over - driving them back into the darkness once more.

The Cave Orb Spider that provided the reference genome

Pied Hoverfly painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the pied hoverfly, Scaeva pyrastri (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

The Pied Hoverfly is "A Sheep in Wolf's clothing" and its "bark" is much worse than its "bite".

Pied Hoverflies are harmless and would make a tasty meal for potential predators. Without a bite, sting or toxin to protect themselves, these invertebrates rely on visual deception to fool and confuse those that would eat them.

They wear a permanent disguise of three pairs of white comma markings on their black abdomens to make them look like wasps. This form of visual subterfuge, displaying the warning signs of another more harmful species but without the sting, bite or poison to back it up, is called Batesian mimicry.

Pied hoverflies are a gardener's friend - providing valuable pest control and pollination

When not fooling potential predators, the Pied Hoverfly leads a short, but productive life. In the 2-4 weeks that they are alive, Pied Hoverflies actively remove unhelpful insects and help pollinate plants.

Pied Hoverfly start life as eggs laid on plants infested with aphids (greenfly). Once they hatch, each hoverfly larvae will eat up to 500 aphids, which makes them an effective, eco-friendly insecticide.

Then, as adults, the hoverflies live off nectar and travel from plant to plant, spreading pollen as they go. In fact, hoverflies are the second-most important pollinator in the UK - beaten only by bees.

The Pied Hoverfly that provided the reference genome

The Devil's Coach-Horse Beetle painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the devil’s coach horse beetle, Ocypus olens (Müller, 1764)

Did you know?

It used to be thought that squashing a Devil's Coach-Horse beetle was good for your soul.

In the past the Devil's Coach-Horse beetle was seen as either a friend of the Devil or the Devil himself. Mediaeval folklore stories painted the insect as an evil traitor, eating the apple that Adam and Eve ate, and pointing the way for Judas on his way to betray Jesus.

Because of this many people believed that if you squashed a Devils' Coach-Horse beetle when you saw one, you would be forgiven seven sins. And, if you did this squashing on a Friday, then your sins of the whole week would be forgotten.

While they aren't really evil, the Devil's Coach Horse beetle can give you a painful bite. It is one the largest beetles in the UK, with oversized mandibles, a jet black appearance, and a habit of curling up its rear to look like a scorpion ready to strike.

The Devil's Coach-Horse Beetle that provided the reference genome

The European Hornet painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the European hornet, Vespa crabro (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

The European Hornet is nowhere near as good at killing bees as the Asian Hornet.

The Asian Hornet is often in the news as an invasive species that attacks and kills bees, invading and destroying entire honeybee colonies. While the European Hornet will also kill bees (along with other wasps, flies, butterflies, moths and spiders) to feed its young, UK honeybees have evolved defensive behaviours that prevent it from inflicting major damage on their colonies. Read more about the Asian Hornet here.

The European Hornet is the largest social wasp in Europe. They live in colonies with a queen, workers and and males. Nests are usually in high-up locations such as hollow trees, but can sometimes be formed underground.

The European Hornet that provided reference genome

The Starlet Sea Anaemone painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis (Stephenson, 1935)

Did you know?

The Starlet Sea Anemone is a “model organism” for scientists.

The Starlet Sea Anemone is a “model organism”. Now, this doesn’t mean that it works hard and gets A-stars at school. Instead it means that is a very useful creature that is cultivated and studied by scientists looking to understand ecology, evolution, genomics, and developmental biology.

Starlet Sea Anemones are one of the simplest animals whose cells make up different tissues, such as nerve cells, muscle fibres, and a protective outer covering (epithelium). It is easy to care for in the laboratory and scientists can encourage it to regularly produce large numbers of embryos. It has its own dedicated genomics database and its DNA shows a remarkable similarity to vertebrate genomes in terms of gene sequence conservation and complexity.

The Starlet Sea Anaemone that provided the reference genome

The Common Yellow Swallowtail buttery painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the common yellow swallowtail, Papilio machaon (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

The Common Yellow Swallowtail butterfly is a flappy diva with a fondness for pink and mauve, and its children are very fussy eaters.

In the UK the common yellow swallowtail is our largest native butterfly, and also the rarest. While the Common Yellow Swallowtail is thriving all over the world, its UK form (known as Papilio machaon britannicus) is found in only the Norfolk Broads and in decline due to its diva-like eating habits.

The UK Common Yellow Swallowtail is a true diva with celebrated ornamental grey, off-white, orange and blue decorations. But, if its looks alone weren’t enough to grab your attention, the butterfly continues to flap its wings while feeding on nectar, a fairly rare behaviour in butterflies. And, just to make really sure that it grabs the limelight, it is drawn to feeding on mauve and pink flowers that really make its wings stand out.

The Common Yellow Swallowtail is found all around the world and is a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Europe. But its British subspecies is not so blessed. P. m. brittanicus larvae are exceptionally picky eaters and will only feed on Milk-parsley, a plant found only in the Norfolk fens. Rising sea water levels due to climate change mean that salt water is seeping into the freshwater Norfolk Broads, killing off the butterfly's only nursery food. Because of this P. m. brittanicus is considered a species of conservation concern and is fully protected in the UK.

The Hawthorn Shieldbug painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the hawthorn shieldbug, Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Almost everything you need to know about the Hawthorn Shield Bug is contained in its name.

The Hawthorn Shield Bug is widespread across the UK and is usually found on hawthorn, its main food source. As developing nymphs, the shield bug feeds on haws - the fruit of hawthorn trees. As an adult, it feeds on mainly on hawthorn leaves.

The Hawthorn Shield Bug is the UK's largest shieldbug at 1.5 cm long. It has a triangular body and a distinctive, red and green flat shield-like shape on its back. They are a common sight in gardens, parks and woodlands, feeding on hawthorn, rowan and whitebeam across the country. The adults hibernate over winter.

In America, shieldbugs are known as stink bugs because they release a strong, unpleasant-smelling chemical when threatened.

If you’d like to know more about shieldbugs and discover how to tell  difference the Hawthorn Shield Bug and its smaller cousin, the Birch Shield Bug, check out the Woodland Trust's guide to identifying the 10 most common shield bugs in the UK.

The Hawthorn Shieldbug that provided the reference genome

The King Ragworm painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the King Ragworm, Alitta virens (Sars, 1835)

Did you know?

The King Ragworm is a living recycling centre that relies on mucus to survive

Also known as the sandworm or sea worm, this King Ragworm is a colourful creature that spends most of its time in a burrow held together by its own mucus. The animal is not a picky eater - it will eat anything that falls onto the sea floor near it or that it can strain from the water using mucus nets. Its omnivorous diet makes it one of nature’s recyclers, taking in decaying matter and before becoming food for fish and wading birds.

Because the King Ragworm eats plants and pretty much any detritus that crosses its path, scientists use it to detect the levels of metals in the marine environment. By studying levels of unwanted metals in King Ragworts, researchers can determine the amounts of metals entering the local food chain.

It's attractiveness to hungry fish makes it a popular bait among sea anglers.

The King Ragworm that provided the reference genome

A Springtail painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the springtail Allacma fusca (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Springtails are everywhere

Springtails are one of the most abundant groups animal that can be seen with the naked eye. They live in moist conditions and are found pretty much everywhere on earth that soil and related habitats (such as moss, grass and fallen wood) are found. It is estimated 100,000 springtails live in or on every square metre of suitable ground.

Springtails get their name from the way they avoid predators. Without the ability to fly or fight, springtails have evolved a rather more spectacular way to escape. They have a unique tail-like appendage called a furcula acts like a spring and allows them to jump several inches into the air when disturbed - hence the name "springtail."

Because they live among soil particles in underground habitats springtail have to deal with raised levels of carbon dioxide, which tends to increase with depth. Researchers have found that Allacma fusca can tolerate a 10 per cent level of carbon dioxide for a few hours. In contrast, the springtail Folsomia candida, which lives deeper in the soil, can survive under the same conditions for more than six weeks.

The Springtail that provided the reference genome

A Tawny Mining Bee painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the Tawny Mining Bee, Andrena fulva (Müller, 1766)

Did you know?

The nests of Tawny Mining Bees can be mistaken for earthworm activity.

The Tawny Mining Bee is a furry bee whose females have a distinctive dense fox-red coat, while their male counterparts have a duller brown appearance. They are solitary bees that can be seen in spring in parks and gardens.

They make their nests underground, creating volcano-like mounds of earth in grass lawns that mark the entrance to their burrows. These dirt mounds are often mistaken for earthworm activity.

Each burrow is home to the larvae of just one female Tawny Mining Bee. She collects nectar and pollen from cherry, pear and apple blossoms to feed her young. Each of her offspring then develop in their own ‘cell’ underground and hibernate as a pupa over the winter.

The Tawny Mining Bee that provided the reference genome

A Spider Wasp painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of Anoplius nigerrimus (Scopoli, 1763), a spider wasp

Did you know?

Spider wasps are a spider’s worst nightmare

While we may be scared of spiders, spiders are scared of spider wasps. These wasps paralyse spiders by stinging them on their undersides and then drag them back to their underground lairs to be living food sources for their children.

Spider wasps often look different to other wasps by having large bodies, long spiny legs and tend to be dark coloured, or completely black. They also have short wings because they prefer walking to flying.

Curiously, adult spider wasps don’t feed on spiders, they feed on nectar from flowers. And it is only the females that hunt spiders.

Female spider wasps excavate vertical burrows that end in a widened cell where the egg is laid, typically under stones, or more frequently will utilise existing burrows or cavities, for example in stems or snail shells. The female wasp then hunts in the vegetation, such as grass clumps. When a spider has been paralysed the wasp then drags it to the nest by walking backwards.

Once the paralysed spider is secured in the burrow, the female wasp lays an egg on it. On hatching, the larva burrows into the spider and feeds on its fluids. It carefully avoids the wasp's vital organs to keep it alive for a few days or weeks. Eventually the larva spins a cocoon to metamorphose into an adult spider wasp, leave the burrow and repeat the life cycle.

A Black-Veined White Butterfly painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the black-veined white butterfly, Aporia crataegi (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

The Black-Veined White butterfly is extinct in the UK. But it may make a comeback - due to climate change.

The Black-Veined White Butterfly was first noted in the UK in 1667 and it was common in southern England. However, by the 1880s it was found only in the county of Kent and in the 1920s was completely lost the to the UK. It is thought that a series of cold and wet summers and autumns were to blame.

One of Winston Churchill’s favourite butterflies, he tried to reintroduce it to the UK

Winston Churchill was a keen butterfly enthusiast and, when the Second World War was finished, he looked to reintroduce the Black-veined White Butterfly to his Kent garden. Sadly, this proved to be a battle he couldn’t win.

Churchill hired one of the UK’s leading butterfly experts to help him in his mission. The two planned to release hundreds of the butterflies in the grounds of Winston’s Chartwell home. But, it is said, their work was ruined when Winston's gardener accidentally cut the nests of young caterpillars from the hawthorn bushes they had been painstakingly placed on.

Where Churchill failed, climate change might succeed

In 2018, two studies showed that the increasing temperatures and drier climates resulting from climate change may make southern England a suitable home for the Black-veined White Butterfly once again.

A Blue-Rayed Limpet painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the blue-rayed limpet, Patella pellucida Linnaeus, 1758

Did you know?

Blue-Rayed Limpets don’t like the east coast of England

Blue-Rayed Limpets are found along the entire coastline of the UK - everywhere that is, except Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

The limpets are small - their shells are only 2cm long, but are notable for their translucent brown shells and striking neon blue markings running the length of their shells.

The blue rays are a miracle of bioengineering, yet their role is a mystery

The blue rays of the Blue-Rayed Limpet are made up of tiny layers of mineral crystals laid down in an intricate zig-zag pattern within the shell. When light hits these layers (known a photonic multilayer) it bounces around and interacts in such a way to produce the vibrant blue colour. And, to make the blue colour stand out even more, underneath the photonic multilayer there is a layer of jumbled up light-absorbing particles.

These two features work together to manipulate the reflected light and make the blue stripes bright and visible from many angles, even underwater.

In addition, the blue lines are arranged along the shell in such a way to ensure that they are seen from as many angles as possible. On top of that, the specific wavelengths of blue light that are reflected are the very ones that travel best through sea water. 

Clearly the Blue-Rayed Limpets have these striking markings to send a message. But the question is, who are they signalling to? 

It appears that the blue rays aren't there to communicate to other Blue-Rayed Limpets. These creatures only have a rudimentary visual system - primitive pit eyes just under the apex of their shells - which would not be able to detect this signal. However, the bright, neon-blue rays are similar to the blue markings on toxic sea slugs, leading scientists to speculate that lines have evolved to warn off potential predators - in an example of Batesian mimicry. (For another example, see Day 6: The Pied Hoverfly)

The Blue-Ray Limpets that provided the reference genome

The Dotted Bee-Fly painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the dotted bee-fly, Bombylius discolor (Mikan, 1796)

Did you know?

Despite its frightening appearance, the Dotted Bee Fly is harmless to humans. For solitary bees, it is an entirely different matter.

The Dotted Bee Fly has been described as a tiny, fluffy, flying narwhale. But its long proboscis is not designed to stab or sting, instead it is designed to extract nectar from flowers.

You can see this furry coated fly with dotted wings in gardens, woodlands and chalky grasslands in the southern part of England.

The adult Dotted Bee Fly’s feeding habits are harmless, but those of its larvae are more carnivorous. Their preferred meal are the bee larvae of solitary bees (such as the Tawny Mining Bee - see Day 14).

While no-one has seen Dotted Bee Fly larvae feeding, their behaviour can be inferred from their more common cousin - the Dark-Winged Bee Fly. That species’ females flick their eggs backwards into the mouths of solitary bees’ nests. When the larvae hatch they enter the nest on ‘false legs’ and then eat the pollen that had been stored for the solitary bees’ larvae.

Once they have had their fill of pollen, the Dark- Winged Bee Fly larvae metamorphose into a second type of larvae (a rare process known as hyper-metamophosis). These larvae are carnivorous and feed on the solitary bee larvae themselves before becoming harmless, nectar-loving, adult flies.

The Dotted Bee-Fly that provided the reference genome

A Common Green Lacewing painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the common green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836)

Did you know?

Common Green Lacewing larvae are an aphid's worst nightmare

Common Green Lacewing adults normally eat a diet of pollen and nectar. But their children are insatiable eaters of small insects such as aphids, spider mites, thrips, whitefly, and leafhoppers. And each larva has an enormous appetite, gorging itself on hundreds on aphids before becoming an adult.

Their hunting technique lacks any subtlety

The larvae have poor eyesight, so they rely on a very simple, physical approach to catching their prey. The larvae move forwards, swinging their upper bodies from side to side until they bump into an insect. They then grab their victim with their powerful, pincer-like mandibles and inject it with strong chemicals. These toxins dissolve the insides of the prey in seconds (sometimes as quick as 90 seconds). The larvae then sucks the insect dry, leaving only an empty husk.

The larvae are a danger to each other

Female adult Common Green Lacewings lay up to 200 eggs on stalks attached to leaves near colonies of aphids and other insects. The stalks hold each egg in the air, keeping it safe from ants and from other lacewing larvae. Also, because the larvae are practically blind and driven to eat, they have been known to eat their siblings if they (literally) bump into each other.

It is a living pest control agent used on an industrial scale by farmers

Because it is such an effective and efficient destroyer of pest insects, the Common Green Lacewing is commercially produced in some countries as an agricultural biocontrol agent.

The Common Green Lacewing that provided the reference genome

The Orange-Striped Anemone painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the orange-striped anemone, Diadumene lineata (Verrill, 1869)

Did you know?

The Orange-Striped Anemone is an accomplished aquatic hitchhiker

The Orange-Striped Anemone is the widest spread anemone in the world. It is thought to be native to the Northwest Pacific including Japan and Hong Kong. But it has successfully invaded and colonised the coastal waters of Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Canary Islands, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Argentina and the East, Gulf and West Coasts of North America.

Its success is due to its adaptability, ability to rapidly reproduce and its clingy nature (from an early age)

Unlike many anemone, the larval stage of the Orange Striped Anemone is able to latch on to boats and natural floating materials, letting it hitchhike great distances. Also, it is highly ada

ptable and thrives in a wide range of temperatures and salt levels, allowing it to colonise harbours, estuaries and mud flats. In addition, it the adult anemone reproduces asexually, creating large colonies by budding and splitting rapidly.

The Orange-Striped Anenomes that provided the reference genome

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of a bluebottle, Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Bluebottle flies sometimes help the police in murder cases

Because bluebottle larvae feed on dead flesh, including that of humans, their presence and size can help forensics experts work out the time between a person’s death and their discovery. This length of time, known as the post mortem interval, can help detectives establish a person’s time of death and focus their investigations.

It is bigger, louder and more shiny than a housefly

The bluebottle fly is slightly larger than a standard a housefly, has red eyes and a shiny, metallic blue body and makes a loud buzzing sound when flying.

Bluebottle flys help American vegetable farmers

Bluebottle flys are commercially produced and sold in America for farmers to use as a pollinator in carrot, parsnip, dill, and celery breeding programmes.

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the hazel leaf-roller, Apoderus coryli (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Hazel Leaf-Rollers are masters of origami.

As their name suggests, Hazel Leaf-Rollers roll up hazel leaves - with an egg in the middle - to provide food and shelter for their young. When the larvae hatch, they eat their way out of these 'hazel leaf Swiss rolls', and eventually emerge as adults.

Amazingly, the tightly packed leaf rolls aren't held together with glue or thread. Instead of using sticking or stitching, leaf-rollers use the power of origami; crimping and folding the leaf edge in on itself as they roll.

The Turban Top Shell painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the turban top shell, Gibbula magus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Turban Top Shells are named after how they look - twice!

Topshells get their name from their resemblance to old-fashioned spinning tops, and the Turban Top Shell is doubly named for its turban-like appearance.

No two Turban Top Shell shells are the same, with different spiral patterns and colours that include white, grey, yellow, pink, red and brown. Underneath their shells, the snails are colourful too, with flecks of yellow, purple or red.

They are living environmental health testers

Tuban Top Shells move over rocks, feeding as they go by scraping off algae and seaweed. And their shells are always clean because the snails remove and eat any algae growing on them with their extendable foot twice a day.

Because of their reliance on algae and other plant material, the presence or absence of these snails can help conservationists and researchers determine the health of the environment.

The Lime Hawk-Moth painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the lime hawk-moth, Mimas tiliae (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

The Lime Hawk-Moth eats lime tree leaves - but only the children, the adults don’t eat at all

Lime Hawk-Moth caterpillars dine on the leaves of lime, silver birch and elm at night. Like their children, the adult moths are only active at night as well, to avoid predators. But unlike their young, the adults don’t feed at all - their only goal is to reproduce.

They are masters of camouflage

The adult moths have striking, beautiful, scalloped wings. While we can appreciate their beauty, the colours and shape are actually there to make sure predators can't. The colours on the moths' wings disrupt object perception through 'disruptive coloration'. While their wing markings have ‘edge enhanced colouration’ which is thought to confuse and slow object recognition.

Lime Hawk-Moth caterpillars change colour as they grow

When the caterpillars hatch out of their eggs, they are green with yellow stripes along each side, and a red-brown horn at the tail end. As they eat and grow they become a pinky grey or a bluey grey with a bright blue horn. Finally they turn purple, just before becoming a pupae and changing into an adult.

The Lime Hawk-Moth that provided the reference genome

The Bootlace Worm painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the bootlace worm, Lineus longissimus (Gunnerus, 1770)

Did you know?

Bootlace worm holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest invertebrate.

Normally Bootlace worms live in the shallow waters of the North Sea and grow to 5-15 metres long. But in 1864, a 55 metre long worm was washed ashore after a severe storm near St Andrews in Scotland.

It produces a toxic mucus that might be useful in medicine and as an agricultural insecticide.

Being a worm - and a large one at that - it is a tempting and vulnerable target for predators. So, when it is attacked, it defends itself by producing large amounts of mucus that contains a strong neurotoxin. This toxin is strong enough to kill crabs and cockroaches and scientists think that it might be useful in medicine and as an agricultural insecticide.

The Bootlace Worm that provided the reference genome

Painting of the Parasteatoda lunata spider by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the spider, Parasteatoda lunata (Clerck, 1757)

Did you know?

We've know where it lives for a long time

The Parasteatoda lunata spider holds a special place in spider studies as it was one of the first spiders to be recorded at a specified locality anywhere in the world. The date? 1678. The place? Askham Wood, near York.

The Parasteatoda lunata spider that provided the reference genome

The European Cockchafer painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of a cockchafer, Melolontha melolontha (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

The cockchafer was put on trial in France and found guilty of breaching a medieval ASBO.

Cockchafers can cause catastrophic damage to agricultural crops. Their larvae live in the ground and eat up to a ruler’s length (30cm) of plant root a day - killing the plant as they go.

In 1320 medieval French farmers were so desperate to get rid of the pest that they took the beetle to court in Avignon. The judge decreed that the beetle would be outlawed if it didn't leave the fields and move to specially designated area within three days.

Not being able to understand human speech, the cockchafers failed to comply.  So, when the three days were up,  the bettles were collected and killed.

The Spiny Starfish painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the spiny starfish, Marthasterias glacialis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Spiny Starfish are hard to miss on the beach

Spiny Starfish are big. Adult Spiny Starfish range from between a ruler's length (30 cm) to the size a dustbin lid. They are also quite striking, with five grey-green arms that are purple at the ends, and each arm is lined with three rows of white spines.

They can be armless

Spiny starfish have a rather drastic way to escape predators. When it feels threatened, a starfish will detach one or two of its arms to let the rest of its body escape. Fortunately the loss isn't permanent, the arms grow back. So it is quite common to see Spiny Starfish with three or four full-sized arms and one or two small ones that are regrowing.

But Spiny Starfish aren't harmless - to their seashore neighbours

These Starfish are permanently hungry, gorging themselves on crustaceans, molluscs and even other starfish.

The Spiny Starfish that provided the reference genome

The Common Plume Moth painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the Common Plume moth, Emmelina monodactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Like knights and cowboys, the Common Plume Moth has spurs.

For reasons currently only known to Common Plume moths themselves, they have a pair of spurs on each of their hind legs.

It looks like a capital T when resting

Like a sailing ship at anchor, the Common Plume Moth has a habit of furling up its wings when it isn't flying, giving it a distinctive T-shape.

The Parasitoid Ladybird Fly painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of Gymnosoma rotundatum (Linnaeus, 1758), a parasitoid ladybird fly

Did you know?

Parasitoid Ladybird fly babies make snorkels out of their own poo to breathe.

Parasitoid Ladybird flies use shieldbugs as a protective nursery and food source for their young. Female adults lay their eggs on shieldbugs. When the eggs hatch they burrow into the bugs' bodies and live inside them until they are ready to pupate. The larvae emerge, bury themselves in the soil, and pupate into adult flies.

But successfully living inside another creature poses two unique problems. How do you avoid being attacked by the host’s immune system? And how do you breathe when there is no available air?

The answer, for a Parasitoid Ladybird fly larva, is to build your own breathing tube connected to the outside world. The larva builds this structure - known as a respiratory funnel - out of its own faeces, held together in a special membrane. In this way the larva gets a ready supply of air, without needing to rely on, or interact with, the shieldbug's tissues.

The Parasitoid Ladybird Flys that provided the reference genome

The Poplar Hawk-Moth painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of the poplar hawk-moth, Laothoe populi  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Poplar Hawk-Moths have a ‘strange attitude’

When the Poplar Hawk-Moth lands, it strikes an unusual pose. It holds its hindwings forward of its forewings and bends its abdomen up. It is thought that holding this ‘strange attitude’ helps the moth to blend in by looking like a bundle of dead leaves. 

The Poplar Hawk-Moth that provided the reference genome

Poplar Hawk-Moth larvae look like colourful, backwards unicorns

You can find Poplar Hawk-Moth adults, and their larvae, in every part of the UK, and they are easy to see. Their caterpillar young are very striking with large, bright green bodies and diagonal yellow stripes running along their sides. They also have a spike or ‘horn’ at the end. But, unlike unicorns, their horns are at the rear. 

The Tiger Cranefly painted by Petra Korlevic

Genome Note:

The genome sequence of a Tiger Cranefly, Nephrotoma flavescens (Linnaeus, 1758)

Did you know?

Craneflies are not dangerous and do not bite or sting.

Even though they look like giant mosquitoes, craneflies (known as Daddy Long Legs in the UK) are completely harmless. It is a total myth that they have venom, can bite or sting.

Craneflies have drumsticks, but not for percussion.

The most noticeable thing about Daddy Long Legs is, of course, their long, thin (and easily detachable) legs. But look a little closer and you’ll see another unusual set of body structures. Instead of having four wings, craneflies only have one pair of forewings. Their hindwings have evolved into drumstick-shaped ‘halteres’ that work like gyroscopes to help the craneflies keep their balance when flying.

The Tiger Cranefly that provided the reference genome