Two eyes and an unexpected reply...

 

As Julie Andrews once warbled: Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. Assuming that is, you have not already guessed what this is from the photograph? 

I was on one of my many trips around local woodland the other day, just looking out for bugs and insects, when I spotted something on a birch leaf...

I thought I might have some idea of what this could be, but I was intrigued and so decided to try and investigate further. I took the leaf home with me and once in my studio, very carefully eased off the top layer, to reveal a pupa/chrysalis inside. It seemed very pale to me, and my guess was that it had only recently formed?

I took a few more images once I had released it from the cocoon so that I could get a clear view. I wouldn't normally recommend doing this, but I was most careful not to injure or upset the pupa in any way, and having done it once before, knew if I was diligent and conscientious,  it would come to no harm.

If you study the bottom one of these photos, there is a big clue as to the identity of what would eventually emerge from the pupa. Don't see it? Okay then, let's divert our attentions to something else for a moment or two, and then I'll explain.

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You might recall how in my last update I mentioned I had sent an email to Patrick Barkham at The Guardian Newspaper, after reading an article he wrote in which he was 'very unkind' let's say, about a Tachinid fly. Well surprise, surprise, I recieved a reply from him. Here it is...

Hello John,

Thank you for your email and I agree with you. I wrote that piece 11 years ago when I was younger and more foolish and had not yet given deep thought to various environmental crises and our relationship with species.

 I would definitely not use such language today!

V best,

Patrick.

Hoorah! The man has a conscience after all. I wrote back thanking him for his honesty. I also pointed out how even things you wrote 11 years ago can come back and bite you in the bum! 

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So where were we? Oh yes, the clue. Here, I have highlighted it in the next photo...

It was this image that confirmed, 99% anyway, that my suspicions were correct.

Have you got it now? Try this then...

Oh come on - I can't give you any more clues without telling you what it is! Okay then, I'll reveal all; here's the full monty.

 Erm, no actually. In true full monty style, I'll tease you just a little before the big reveal. How about a couple of recent garden finds; a lovely, minute, Misumena vatia Crab spiderling first...

Followed swiftly by a Brimstone butterfly that was visiting the buddleia...

Oh and, another spiderling that I found in the same woods as the pupa...

Yes: a beautifully pristine, male Vapourer moth. 

That's a wrap I think: or at the very least, something that rhymes with it! Time for my meditation...

A trip to Trumpton (part 2)

People have been asking me, am I glad to be home? The answer I give is, yes and no. It's bitter-sweet. I love the closeness and familiarity of the UK. I love how intimate our countryside is by comparison with the states. Flying over my home county of Kent demonstrated just how 'green and pleasant' it still is, despite it appearing to be a concrete jungle at eye level.

There is, or at least appears to me, to be an urgency about life in California that isn't happening here (yet), even the dog walkers and mothers out walking their babies in strollers, are not walking at all, but running.

Yet, I did love so much about the west coast. I am already missing those huge, open spaces where I felt like a (wimpish) Crocodile Dundee, not knowing quite what I might discover, and how dangerous it might prove to be. Americans seemed much more open to stopping to chat with you and would regale you with tales such as..."Did you hear about the 74 year old guy who got air-lifted to hospital after being bitten by a rattler?"

At an amazing place I had heard about (and so of course wanted to visit) close to Santa Cruz, where the monarch butterflies all congregate to pass their winter; although there were none to be seen when I arrived of course, I bought this field guide to American spiders...

The author describes how he overcame his fear of spiders by taking a 5-day, field school class in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and asks that others try to overcome their own fears, and even help to protect them... 

In case this proves tricky to read should you be viewing my blog on a phone or tablet, it says that "Too many people fear these beneficial creatures. Spiders need human friends to educate others and protect them from being needlessly killed."

And so, with that mantra in my head, I shall do my part here by sharing a few of the photographs that I took. You can educate yourself a little by trying to look at these pictures rationally...can't you? Ok then...bugger off for a moment whilst those with an open mind do so, and I will see you back here post 'spidergate'...

Or....you could lock yourself away in a cupboard somewhere and spend the next few minutes giggling to yourself like a little schoolgirl about the fact that there is a bird-turd spider!

Phidippus audax

Phidippus audax, commonly called bold, or daring jumping spiders, range in size from around 13 to 20 millimeters. That is much bigger than our largest salticid here in the UK, the fence-post jumping spider: which is about 10 millimeters in body length. These spiders have been known to jump from 10 to 50 times their own body length, which they achieve by suddenly increasing the blood pressure in the third or fourth pair of legs. Like most jumping spiders, P. audax tends to prefer relatively open areas to hunt in, as they actively seek and stalk prey and do not build webs to catch food.

I was trying to be clever and get a natural light shot of this one, but it was late in the day when light was poor.

Phididppus johnsoni, or Johnson jumping spider, or even as I like to call them 'JJ' spiders, are one of the largest and most commonly found jumpers of North America. Sometimes (wrongly) confused with the venomous red back spider. They quickly became one of my personal favourites and I would always be on the lookout for them on my walks. Sometimes the abdomen can be bright red; the females, as in my first picture here, have a black stripe on the abdomen. 

Phididppus johnsoni (f)

Phididppus johnsoni (m)

From the largest, to what must surely be some of the smallest jumping spiders I have ever seen...

I have not been able to get to species level with either of these yet but neither was more than 5mm in length.

This next little gallery is  of the crab spiders that I photographed, well, some of them...

Incidentally, that first crab spider is Misumena vatia, or the goldenrod spider. I read that they sometimes get called banana spiders too, because of their striking yellow colour. In fact, these spiders have a real clever trick that helps with camouflage whilst sitting on goldenrod, or any other flower: any other flower that happens to be white, yellow or green that is, because they have the amazing ability to change between these colourways. Like this...

That's probably more than enough arachnids for one update and so let's move on to something that might appeal more shall we. 

This raccoon was living in one of the large parks, where people are actually feeding them. Usually nocturnal animals, they are encouraged into the daylight by easy pickings. 

Raccoons are apparently noted for their intelligence: studies show that they are able to remember the solution to tasks for up to three years.

A weevil threesome

And I thought I was enjoying the sunshine!

I didn't see too many butterflies but there seemed to be several species of skipper butterflies around. I think this one could be a Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

Perhaps the only wasp I spotted (no ID as yet)

This next find was something of a moment for me: I would not have seen it at all had I not decided to lift a largish stone to see what, if anything, was beneath...

Potato Bug - Jerusalem Cricket - Child of the Earth: Take your pick, all of these names refer to this insect. Despite their name, Jerusalem crickets aren’t native to Jerusalem, and they are in fact mainly found in the western half of the United States. (Incidentally, they aren’t true crickets either.) They can be found throughout Arizona, New Mexico, and all along the Pacific coast of the country, being found all the way from British Columbia down to Baja California and many other parts of Mexico. Habitat wise the Jerusalem cricket mainly lives in underground burrows, but they can be found above ground in warm damp places.

Jerusalem crickets can grow up to two and a half inches long, and they have long spear-like legs that they dig into soil with. 

I did lift a few other stones, as well as some bark, and you can discover what else I found lurking beneath in my next USA update. 

A couple more photos then before I bring this already overlong update to a close...

Anthrenus species - Carpet Beetle

And finally this photo of an American politician.....sorry! I mean this reptile: a  Western Fence Lizard that seemed to be omnipresent: again, I don't mean this actual lizard you understand, rather this species of lizard. 

Phew! I apologise profusely for dragging you all the way down here to the eventual end of this humongous entry; and after starting with all those spiders too. I am forever in your debt for having stuck with it...you did stick with it didn't you? Yes, you must have done, or you couldn't be reading this. If there is anything I can do for you (sans lending you hard currency) then do please let me know. 

I am away now to dowse my laptop-sore eyes with Optrex. You have a lay down in a darkened room followed by a cup of green tea, and before you can say Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper, all will be well with the world once more. 

'Keep it real, peace out'

"The most dangerous caterpillar species in Britain!"

Yes, it was Saturday December 18th 2010 when I wrote the following words in my first ever blog post: "In the beginning: I'm making a start on this new blog today. It's cold and snowy in Kent, with little to offer in the way of interesting, outdoor macro subjects to photograph".

And today July 12th 2017 I am here writing my 200th update. According to statistics, most people quit blogging within the first three months (you spend time working on something without a reward, the harder it is to continue doing it). For me the truth is that I love doing these updates and would probably continue even if they weren't being read. Thankfully, due to some loyal followers, my little blog continues to be accessed in at least a dozen countries, with UK, USA, Netherlands, China and Belgium being the top 5 regards amount of views. 

A sample of just some of the bugs and insects that I have featured here over the past seven years...

What have I got that is special for this update? How about...

 "The most dangerous caterpillar species in Britain!"

That is how I have seen the caterpillar of the puss moth (Cerura vinula) described. The puss moth is quite an easy moth to identify and inhabits wooded, or lightly wooded areas where there is plenty of willow or poplar. Here's a recently emerged adult moth that I photographed in 2015...

But it's the larvae that interest me most. As with all larvae, they are predated by many other creatures. In order to protect themselves, they have the ability to spray formic acid at their attacker! 

A Puss Moth Larva - Cerura vinula

Formic acid is interesting in itself and gets its name from the Latin name for ant "Formica". There is a little video of wood ants spraying the acid, it's on YouTube if you feel like having a look. Formic acid is actually found in the bites and stings of many insects, including bees and ants. It is also a contributing factor when you get stung by nettles. It's used by farmers to preserve animal feed, bee-keepers use it as pesticide against the deadly Varroa mite and if all that leaves you wanting more, then I can tell you that it is used in the treatment of warts and as a toilet bowl cleaner.

I'm starting to feel a tad guilty now, because the other day I had to rescue yet another bee from the bird bath. I really don't know why, or how they get into the water, but once in, they seldom get out...

This one however lived to see another day and once dry, flew off seemingly unharmed by its dunking. I think this is probably a wool-carder bee. 

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I have been having a few early morning walks whilst this hot weather has been with us. I tried a few evening ones too, but the mosquitoes gave me such a hard time that I soon stopped those. In a local, uncut meadow, I found this large beetle. Unfortunately it was quite low down in the grasses and even so, the light wind was enough to make it almost impossible to get a perfectly focused picture...

This is most likely Nicrophorus investigator. There are other similar beetles but I think judging by its size and the reddish antennae tips (that you cannot see well here because of the movement) it seems to fit. As always, there are mites attached. This is the beetle that uses carrion to house its young.

In the same woods that I found the puss moth larva, I also spotted this fabulous grasshopper nymph. Possibly a field grasshopper but wouldn't put my house on it...that would flatten it for sure!

I was pleased with those two finds but ecstatic over the next: a species of butterfly that I have never seen before, let alone photographed. It was in woods that I know well too and have surveyed for insects in the past. There was another survey in about 2010 I think, and this butterfly was definitely not on their list either. It's the beautiful purple hairstreak...

A Purple Hairstreak - Favonius quercus

The UK Butterflies website says this about it: "It is often difficult to locate, due to its habit of flying in the tree canopy, where it feeds on honeydew. However, the adults are occasionally seen basking at lower levels, on various small trees, shrubs and bracken". It's the side of the wings that you can't see here that have the purple colour, although not as much in the males as females. 

One day whilst out walking without the camera, I managed to capture these 2 pictures of a brimstone butterfly with my phone...

When I found this crab spider, its face was still covered in the remains of its dinner (been there!)

And this is what it had just been dining on...

The crab spider here is Misumena vatia: It's the same spider that in a recent BBC 4 programme about life in our back gardens, Chris Packham

said could change colour to match the background. He didn't mention that it is only the mature females that have this ability; and that the colour changes are restricted to white, yellow and green(ish). 

Well I have lots more that I could share, but I think there is more than enough here for one update, so I shall save it for next time. Instead I will leave you with a few shots of something that has not featured much at all in the updates...until now: it's the humble garden snail...