Thorben Danke

Wer hätte es gedacht? Ein Insektenbuch als Bestseller! Unser Buch 'Von Angesicht zu Angesicht - Auf Augenhöhe mit heimischen Insekten' wurde in die Spiegel-Bestsellerliste aufgenommen. Mit diesem Herzensprojekt wollen wir den Insekten eine Bühne geben, ihnen auf Augenhöhe…

Louse fly, Ornithomya cf. avicularia. Here you can see a greatly enlarged view of the claw of a louse fly. It’s no wonder, since once it lands on the skin, it can only be removed with great effort and precision; simply brushing it off doesn’t work so well.

If you like caterpillars, this is a tough sight to see. I’ve been able to observe and occasionally photograph the poplar hawk-moth (Laothoe populi) caterpillars on a poplar tree in my yard. I also spotted one high up in the tree at night using UV light (see last photo). One day,…

Wissensbuch des Jahres 2025 Unser Buch „Von Angesicht zu Angesicht“ wurde für die Wahl zum Wissensbuch des Jahres 2025 in der Kategorie Ästhetik nominiert. 🎉 Ihr könnt uns mit eurer Stimme unterstützen: konradin-service.de/umfrage/index.…

Hawk-moth‘s of central europe. 1-Convolvulus hawk-moth / Windenschwärmer (Agrius convolvuli), 2-Oleander hawk-moth / Oleanderschwärmer (Daphnis nerii), 3-African death’s-head hawkmoth / Totenkopfschwärmer (Acherontia atropos), 4-Privet hawk moth / Ligusterschwärmer (Sphinx…

Paper silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudatum. Fascinatingly forked hairs like those of spiders and bees, scaled like butterflies but without wings. These nocturnal creatures feed on paper and cardboard. They use their own cellulase to break down cellulose fibers into sugar, which…

🇬🇧🌱New green collage featuring lots of caterpillars. Most of these insects are hard to find in a green environment, but some of them glow in UV light at night. Have you ever tried it? 🇩🇪🌱Neue grüne Collage mit vielen Raupen. Die meisten dieser Insekten sind in einer grünen…

🇬🇧Leg of a musk beetle, Aromia moschata, panorama stack of 987 single shots. 🇩🇪Moschusbock (Vorderbein), Aromia moschata, Panorama-Stack aus insgesamt 987 Einzelbildern.

🇬🇧No, not a candy 🍭The proboscis of a bat hawk moth (Hyles vespertilio). A moth from the family of hawk-moth’s (Sphingidae). 🇩🇪Nein, keine Süßigkeit 🍭Der Rüssel eines Fledermausschwärmers (Hyles vespertilio). Ein Nachtfalter aus der Familie der Schwärmer (Sphingidae).

Hawk moths, or they big and beautiful caterpillars😍 Pappelschwärmer, poplar hawk-moth (Laothoe populi) Lindenschwärmer, lime hawk-moth (Mimas tiliae) Totenkopfschwärmer, death‘s head hawk-moth (Acherontia atropos)

Six-spot burnet, Zygaena filipendulae. Here you can see part of the abdomen and parts of the hind wings to the left and right.

One of my favorite insects: any kind of cuckoo wasp. These shiny, metallic flying gems always invite me to take a break and observe them, whether I’m out for a walk, in the middle of a conversation, or in a hurry. Simply fascinating.

🇬🇧A fresh hatched ladybug. Ladybugs are initially light and soft. The wings unfold to harden after being inflated. 🇩🇪Frisch geschlüpfter Marienkäfer. Marienkäfer sind zunächst ganz hell und weich. Die Flügel werden nach dem aufpumpen zum aushärten entfaltet.

🇬🇧Knee of a dung beetle, Anoplotrupes stercorosus. It is always amazing how many motifs such a beetle carries with it. You can lose yourself in it... and enjoy. 🇩🇪Knie eines Waldmistkäfers, Anoplotrupes stercorosus. Es ist immer wieder erstaunlich wie viele Motive so ein Käfer…

Bee under UV-light (365nm) The bee doesn’t really fluoresce like some caterpillars and in reality (for the human eye), the eyes shine much more than the hair. There is probably a shift in the wavelengths inside the camera. But still an interesting perspective. Heading up for eggs…

🇬🇧Hymenoptera, one of the four mega-diverse insect orders. Approx. 160,000 species in all colors 🌈 🇩🇪Hautflügler, Hymenoptera, eine der vier megadiversen Insektenordnungen. Ca. 160.000 Arten in allen Farben 🌈

🇬🇧Mirinae bug, Calocoris affinis. Green wherever you look 💚 The offspring of this bug hibernates in the egg. 🇩🇪Grüne Distelwanze, Calocoris affinis. Grün wohin man schaut💚 Der Nachwuchs dieser Wanze überwintert im Ei. #bug #hemiptera #wanze #entomology

🇬🇧Some larvae I observed in the garden. These are the larvae of Hymenoptera. The larvae usually live on plants and resemble butterfly caterpillars. There are about 800 species of sawflies in Central Europe. I think the larvae’s eyes, or rather their dark outlines, give them a…

🇬🇧German yellowjacket, Vespula germanica. Incredible details on and around the tongue of a familiar visitor at the garden table. 🇩🇪 Deutsche Wespe, Vespula germanica. Unglaubliche Details auf und an der Zunge einer bekannten Besucherin am Gartentisch.

🇬🇧Tetracampidae. Look at this beauty. I had no idea about the variety of chalcids (Chalcidoidea), especially those that we perceive as small black dots. There is so much to discover 🤯 🇩🇪Tetracampidae. Schaut euch diese Schönheit an. Ich hatte keine Ahnung von der Vielfalt der…

Jewel beetle, Anthaxia nitidula. Once you get a feel for the size of these beetles, they’re hard to miss. It took me almost 40 years to do it 😉 You can see the female on the top and the mal below.