The Ark In Space

What do You Have to do to Get a Drink Around Here?

Monday, 4 August 2025

Water! From a purely biological point of view water has a number of properties that are paramount for the proliferation of life on this – or any other – planet. Its life giving and sustaining properties is what sets it apart from all other substances.

Image Credit Flickr User wildxplorer

From the largest mammal to the tiniest insect we all have to drink. If we don’t we die. Here, we focus on the little guys, the ones which you can hardly imagine need much water. Indeed, sometimes they can be in danger of being carried away in their enthusiasm to sate their thirst. Thanks to some wonderfully macrophotography we get to see this most vital of functions being carried out – with some gusto – by a host of insects.

The Incredible Glasswing Butterfly

Saturday, 13 March 2021

A butterfly with transparent wings? Surely not. Yet there is a species that exhibits this trait. Take a close look at the incredible Glasswing, an enchanting species that confounds science.

Image Credit Flickr User Hans s

The Love Bugs

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

The diversity of insects on this planet is astonishing and should be a source of continual wonder for us all. It can only be hope that these incredible creatures can be left to survive and continue their species for many millennia to come. Of course they do everything we do - sometimes with much more aplomb! You may think this is Mother Nature at is rawest and you would be right, but ready or not - here we go!

The Assassin Bug – Malaysia’s Macabre Miniscule Murderer

Saturday, 1 February 2020

It is less than a centimeter in length and that is something for which, quite possibly, we can be truly grateful! This assassin bug, found in Malaysia, has a trick up its sleeve once it has finished its dinner. It attaches the empty carcases of its victims on its back – a ploy thought to be an attempt to avoid becoming a victim itself.

Image Credit Flickr User Nickade - Website

The Tarantula Hawk Wasp - Ruthless ‘Raptor’ of the Insect World

Sunday, 26 August 2018

Image Credit Flickr User Crume

They are among the largest species of wasp and their name is taken from both its prey and a ruthlessly efficient killing machine, the raptor known as a hawk. Yet the Tarantula Hawk Wasp gains its fearful name and reputation from the simple urge to care for and nourish its young.

Image Credit Flickr User Ethan Lundgaard

Growing up to two inches (5cm) in length the sight of a tarantula hawk would send the average entomophobic in to a state of palpitations. So, perhaps if you are already frowning squeamishly, your knuckles rapidly whitening, then you should not read on.

Dragonfly Delight: A Life Cycle in Superb Macrophotography

Monday, 23 July 2018

The sight of a dragonfly on the wing is one of the more remarkable that nature has to offer. Here, with the help of some astounding macrophotography, we take a look at the life cycle of the dragonfly as well as its remarkable and unusual physiology.

Image Credit Flickr User JerryHsu

Image Credit Flickr User Vicki's Nature

The gorgeous colors of a dragonfly – these majestic insects of the air, have been a source of inspiration – and fear – to people for thousands of years. The order to which they belong is called Odonata. Many people regularly go ‘oding’ just as others go birding or butterfly collecting. Their life is cycle as unusual as their looks are striking.

The page cannot be found