It's amazing the stuff you find out when you're not really looking. I found this exquisite insect when I was wandering round the garden with my camera, just in case I found something interesting. I posted the photo on Facebook for an identification (my insect book isn't that good on unusual stuff) and the response was a link to a website that showed it to be an andromeda lacebug. On reading further it turns out that it was introduced to the UK around 1998 by the plant trade. The plant that gives the bug its name is
Pieris japponica which is the favoured host of the insect and I found the bug within inches of our
Pieris. The plant is native to Eastern Asia, Japan in particular where it grows in thickets on the mountains. (Another good reason to visit Japan, as if I needed one.) The common name for the Pieris is Japanese Andromeda. All I need to know now is what it has got to do with a distant galaxy. What an amazing bug though and only about 5-6mm long.
I hate leaving questions unanswered. A quick trip round Wikipedia tells me that the Andromeda galaxy is named after the princess Andromeda, daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia in Greek mythology. Her name means 'ruler of men' in ancient greek. She was chained to a rock as bait for a sea monster and rescued by Perseus. Sounds a bit of a character!
The Pieris plant Japanese Andromeda, is named for its resemblance to Andromeda polifolia, otherwise known as bog rosemary. Andromeda polifolia was named by Carl Linnaeus after the 'ruler of men' from Greek mythology.
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| Andromeda Lacebug - Stephanitis takeyai |
