Entomological Christmas Cards, Hasti-notes and Insect Awareness Posters

For those Arthropodologically devoted and Entomologically addicted..........

  Presenting a unique and whimsical series of 20 drawings available as Christmas cards, hasti-notes and insect awareness posters.

    Insects depicted in role-reversal, human-like situations!

• Available Designs
  • Christmas cards
  • Hasti-Note cards
  • Posters
• Ordering information
• "The Millennium Bugs"
• Biography of Artist
• Awards
• Watercolours

Christmas cards have multilingual "Seasons' Greetings" in English, French, and German. Later designs available in Spanish also.

Hasti-notes are blank inside.

Images for many of these cards.

Price List for Cards:

All cards are same size (5.5 x 7.25 inches); can be ordered a mixed series, only $11.95 (Canadian) per pack of 10, including envelopes. Due to annual fluctuations in the Canadian postal rates, latest prices can be supplied upon request.

The following designs have been issued in "22 x 29 inches" format, suitable for classroom or wall:

Price List for Posters:

Posters cost $7.50 each plus $1.00 for mailing tube. Due to annual fluctuations in the Canadian postal rates, latest prices can be supplied upon request.

Please order early, as mail can take longer than envisioned, especially at peak periods. Cheques in Canadian or U.S. funds preferred. Overseas: money orders in Canadian funds would be greatly appreciated. U.K. personal cheques in Sterling welcomed.

E-mail: $nbsp;

Mailing address: Barry Flahey, P.O. Box 298, Manotick, Ontario, K4M 1A3

"The Millennium Bugs"

"The Millennium Bugs" is the latest in a series of drawings designed as a means of promoting an interest in the study of insects and to hopefully create a much needed public interest and awareness of ongoing studies and research in the field of Entomology. Most insects selected for these illustrations were loaned by the Canadian National Insect Collection in Ottawa, Canada, while others were collected by the artist. All were drawn accurately as viewed through stereo and compound microscopes.

The thumbnail image shown left is a very small section of the 'Millennium Bugs' card. Click on this thumbnail to see the full card (file size is 109k) Select 'Back' in your Browser to return to this page.

The bugs shown from left to right are: a Spider Wasp (Pompilid), Episyron oregon, emerging from a computer screen to parasitise the European Cross Spider, Araneus diadematus. A Tachinid fly, Istocheta cinerea, (a major insect parasitoid in the Diptera), is poised to attack and lay its eggs on the thorax of an adult Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica. An Ichneumonid wasp, Ephialtes picticornis, has emerged to parasitise the caterpillar of the Obliquebanded Leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana, (an economically important insect pest of apples and other fruits).

The parasitoids and their hosts are all well established species, but such is not the case of the Starry sky beetle, (or Asian long-horned beetle) from China, depicted at the centre terminal. Reports out of New York and Chicago of heavy infestations of living and apparently healthy maple and other hardwood trees suggest a widespread invasion in 2000 unless quarantine agents are not vigilant at seaports and other points of entry. These beasts enter the country in wooden packing crates, usually in larval form.

Miscellaneous other pests include the Lygus bug, Blackfly, Sawfly larva, Termite, Dog tick, Rat flea, Powder-post beetle, Mosquito, Carpenter ant, Asparagus beetle and dermestid larva. The Ladybird beetle, the Dytiscid, the Damselfly and the Springtail are the only non-pests species depicted.

Predaceous Diving Beetle, Dytiscus verticalis (Dytiscidae, Coleoptera); Manotick, Ont., Canada.
Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle, Coccinella septempunctata (Coccinellidae, Coleoptera); Hove, U.K.
Toad Bug, Gelastocoris oculatus (Gelastocoridae, Hemiptera); Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A.
Monarch Butterfly (chrysalis), Danaus plexippus (Danaidae, Lepidoptera); Manotick, Ont., Canada.
Damselfly, Calopteryx maculata (Calopterygidae, Zygoptera); Frelighsburg, Que., Canada.
Asparagus Beetle, Crioceris asparagi (Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera); Manotick, Ont., Canada.
Carpenter Ant, Camponotus herculeanus (Formicidae, Hymenoptera); Manotick, Ont., Canada.
European Cross Spider, Araneus diadematus (Araneidae, Araneida); Nfld., Canada.
Spider Wasp, Episyron oregon (Pompillidae, Hymenoptera); Hayes, Alta., Canada.
Japanese Beetle, Popillia japonica (Scarabaeidae, Coleoptera); Riverton, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Tachinid Fly, Istocheta cinerea (Tachinidae, Diptera); Ardennes, France.
Asian Longhorn Beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Cerambycidae, Coleoptera); China.
Brown Dog Tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Ixodidae, Acarina); Vermont, U.S.A.
Tarnished Plant Bug, Lygus lineolaris (Miridae, Hemiptera,); Ottawa, Ont., Canada.
Ichneumonid Wasp, Ephialtes picticornis (Ichneumonidae, Hymenoptera); Hayes, Alta., Canada.
Obliquebanded Leafroller (larva), Choristoneura rosaceana (Tortricidae, Lepidoptera); B.C., Canada.
Obliquebanded Leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Tortricidae, Lepidoptera); B.C., Canada.
Powderpost Beetle, Lyctus planicollis (Lyctidae, Coleoptera); Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Varied Carpet Beetle, Anthrenus verbasci (Dermestidae, Coleoptera); Ottawa, Ont., Canada.
Asian Longhorn Beetle (larva), Anoplophora glabripennis (Cerambycidae, Coleoptera); China.
Springtail, Tomocerus flavescens (Entomobryidae, Collembola); Ottawa, Ont., Canada.
Oriental Rat Flea, Xenopsylla cheopis (Pulicidae, Siphonaptera); Kamloops, B.C., Canada.
Blackfly, Simuliium venustum (Simuliidae, Diptera); Manotick, Ont., Canada.
Nothrid Mite, Nothrus borussicus (Nothridae, Acarina).
Sawfly (larva), Tenthredo sp. (Tenthredinidae, Hymenoptera); Bern, Switzerland.
Dampwood Termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis (Hodotermitidae, Isoptera); Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Mosquito, Aedes stimulans (Culicidae, Diptera); Manotick, Ont., Canada.

All these insects are noted in a key on the rear of each card and in most cases have been identified to genus and species.

Barry Flahey

After several years at art school in England, Barry began his career in Fine Arts as a technical artist in aviation, followed by an interesting period as an artist in the Middle East. Seeking further adventures and subjects to paint, he came to Canada in 1970. He is presently a scientific artist with the Research Branch of Agriculture Canada where he draws and paints insects viewed through microscopes for the Entomology Department, and also illustrates plants in the field or from herbarium specimens for the Botany Department. The prerequisites of this detailed and exacting work, plus skills formulated as a technical artist, have provided Barry with the ideal background for nature art. and cartooning. Having worked in all media, he prefers the unforgiving qualities of transparent watercolour and pen and ink.

Many of Barry's watercolours and pen and ink drawings have won national and international awards at juried exhibitions in Canada and the United States. Many of his paintings commissioned while he was in the Middle East are prized by members of the Saudi Royal family. He has illustrated books and scientific journals. His whimsical entomological note cards and posters are extremely popular with scientists and people with an interest in insects in general. He now has an international following.

The highlight of his artistic endeavours was a two month visit to Canada's high arctic, an experience which has provided a major source of inspiration for present and future works.

A month long exhibition of Barry's insect paintings, entitled "Beauty of the Insect World", was held at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Ottawa. He has had shows at the Ottawa City Hall Gallery, The Algonquin Provincial Park Visitor Centre Gallery and the Montreal Insectarium. He has participated in many group shows, including two travelling exhibits that visited many cities across Canada.

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