“The difference between literature and journalism is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read.”

There's a quote I once read that goes something like this: "The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it". Which is my way of illustrating that 'blogging time' is not always as readily available as I would wish. Since I have found time to compile this update, shall we indulge? (By the way, I have updated both the Magnet and Wealden pages with November articles now. Links at the top of this homepage).

You may recall this from a recent post...

It was a short story about how this company were misusing an image of an invertebrate. Well, blow me down with a feather, and other expressions of amazement! No sooner had I settled on the thought that it was a 'one-off' than this was brought to my attention by Eagle-eye Cherry (obviously I have changed her name for fear of reprisals). Take a look please...

At first sight it seems quite innocuous? Yes, and probably is, but it was the word caterpillar that attracted my attention: this is not an image of a caterpillar, rather a larva. An easy enough mistake to make, but along with the headline text, it piqued my interest enough to read inside. It read: This little creature hosts a fungus that is the source of a compound called cordycepin, which could be part of a radically different way to treat the pain of arthritis. 

So far so good. I could believe that is a possibility. The name of this little creature then? "The Ghost Moth Caterpillar". Wait a little, itty-bitty minute, a what? This is not a ghost moth caterpillar, or the caterpillar of any other species of moth for that matter. It's a sawfly larva, quite distinctive. I wonder if these people do any form of research whatsoever.

Let's move on. Yes, let's move on to...yet another piece of piss-poor journalism (excuse my French). The local press are the offenders this time...

Somebody calling themselves SophieAM has put their name to this incredibly stupid writing. Did you write that headline yourself SophieAM? Perhaps your brilliant journalistic skills were more in evidence in the actual article? Maybe you were only trying to grab my attention with that leader headline? Okay, you did get my attention, although I fear for the wrong reasons, but still, tell me more...

"Millions of ladybirds carrying sexually transmitted diseases are making their way to Kent. Harlequin ladybirds are flying to Britain from Asia and North America due to the mild autumn winds, and they pose a threat to native ladybirds as they carry an STD called Laboulbeniales fungal disease".

I know it's said that sarcasm is the brain's natural defense against the less intelligent but....REALLY! Flying here from Asia and North America on mild autumn winds are they? According to Sophie, "Large numbers of ladybirds have already been spotted across Kent, including in Cranbrook, Tunbridge Wells and Thanet". Yes, and almost every other part of the country if you were to DO SOME RESEARCH! Let's try and get a different angle on this story from another newspaper, just to try and balance things a little. Here's how Kent Online reported the story...

Hmmm... I am not sure which is stranger, this reportage (actually, I am not sure I can use that word because it refers to 'factual' reporting doesn't it?), or the reporters name here of 'multimediadesk'? That must have been a mouthful for the vicar at the christening? So this lot think that harlequin ladybirds have 'black wings, rather than our common red'. Then go on to say: Is it some sort of mating season? In the same newspaper, someone calling herself Joanna Missis Shed said: "We have loads everywhere inside and most are black with 2 red dots". Nicely observed Missis Shed. 

Should we be concerned about this 'invasion' then? Will they cause us harm? Well, "they could congregate in a corner and go to sleep until spring". Worse still, 'Kent Live' point out "they can leave a nasty smell & leave stains on furniture". Like teenagers you mean?


The final word comes from The Independent newspaper. This is a 'national' and can be relied on to publish the real facts...can't they?

No seems to be the definitive answer. At least they don't think the ladybirds flew here, but were the result of a wet summer. Dangerous though, very dangerous! "they can be murder on the wallpaper". Oh yes, and "exude chemicals that could ruin your curtains". 

No mention of hibernation being the cause of so many ladybirds then. From the research I have done it also seems that the "Sexually transmitted disease" they are "riddled with" could well have been transmitted by our native 2-spot ladybirds. I did have a quick foray into the Cranbrook jungle to try and locate this 'explosion' of harlequin ladybirds. I found a few, maybe even a few more than most years but nothing exceptional...

A phone grab

A few recent finds, in all honesty, there is not too much about now at this late stage of the year. Still, here's what I did unearth...

Kleidocerys resedae 

Kleidocerys resedae 

The Birch Catkin Bug belongs to the Lygaeidae family and is commonly found on birch trees. I often see them late on in the year as the adults overwinter. About 4-5mm.  

Capsus ater

I was quite surprised to see this little mirid bug. It feeds low down in the grass and that's where I spotted this one. Don't think I have seen them past September before though. Around 5mm.

Issus coleoptratus (nymph)

An old favourite. Plenty of these tiny planthopper nymphs to be found, but as yet, and it is getting quite late now, I haven't seen an adult this year. These are interesting creatures as the nymphs have small gear-like structures on the base of each of their hind legs. These gears intermesh to keep the legs synchronised when the insect jumps. The don't actually fly. The nymphs then shed these gears before becoming adults. Quite why they no longer need them as adults I have yet to discover.

In local woodland I photographed this looper caterpillar on a fallen leaf. 

A tiny video now. This is a Red Admiral in my garden that I photographed in slow-motion as it was taking off. Detail isn't much but it's kinda fun...

The usual reminder about having to view these vids directly on the blog as they don't always show in the emailed version.

And just for a laugh...an even slower version:

And I think that will suffice for this particular update...

I will leave you with this final thought: There are actually only two things we fear when we are born: loud noises and falling. Our fear of insects has been handed down through the generations and is also partly due to unfamiliarity, we just don't see many bugs enough to become familiar with them. As well as fear of insects in general (Entomophobia) there is Lepidopterophobia (fear of butterflies), Melissophobia (fear of bees) and of course, the one we all know, fear of spiders-Arachophobia. 

Hypnosis is said to help, and with that in mind, I have included subliminal hypnotic cues throughout this text to start you on the path to a cure. 

                                                 Or have I ? 

"I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it".

To quote D.Ream "Things can only get better..."

Note: Actually, Prof. Brian Cox (erstwhile member of D.Ream) might well be able to supply the definitive answer as to just why the weather is behaving as it is this year?


And so here we go with another blog update...
As we climb deeper into this weird summer here in the U.K. most of my plans have bit the dust. At least, if there were any dust they would have done! It's not that I haven't been able to do the things I planned, just that most have ended in disappointment.

Perhaps I'm guilty of setting my sights a little higher with each passing year too but there's no escaping facts-2012 unless things change really soon, will go down as another strange time for many invertebrates (and those who choose to photograph and record them.)

All that is just a taster to the main course though, and keeping the food analogy going, it's going to be something of a schmorgesborg of an entry this time.

130+ words already-apologies, let's crack on then...

Close to Hastings is The Pebsham Countryside Project. Described as 'An open space with access for all' and spread over a vast area with mixed habitats, it seemed like a promising site for bug-hunting.

The day of my visit had been forecast as poor weather but it actually turned into a beautifully warm summer's day. Perhaps that was the problem? Maybe the inverts didn't want to be out in the hot sunshine and were all hiding away. 

I certainly struggled to photograph anything of interest-oh it's there alright, I have no doubt that. I'm sure on another day the results would be much better but today, although I did spot a fabulous adult slow-worm, a small heath butterfly, a few dragonflies and unidentified longhorn beetle-sadly, I managed to avoid getting photos of any of them somehow!

It won't take long to list what I did find either. Have a look at the following two photographs because they are the sum total of my pictures taken that day...

The longhorn beetle pictured above is a fairly common beetle at this time of year. Rutpela maculata, still a nice find for me though as it was actually the first one I'd seen this year. These are also known as spotted longhorns and I've read that the adults only live for between 2 and 4 weeks. That spotted, yellow camouflage of course is its attempt to look a little like a wasp to avoid attacks from birds.

Ichneumon stramentarius

Again, this Ichneumon wasp was great to see. I think it may even be the first one I've ever photographed. That is of course with the proviso that I've got the identity right for it.

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Blean Woods close to Canterbury are alive with Heath Fritillary butterflies right now (providing you know where to look) and so I was assured of finding some to photograph on a recent visit...

Heath Fritillary

After taking more photos of these beauties than is healthy, I had a roam around other parts of the wood to see what I could spot.

When I came across this little bug pictured above, I thought I knew immediately what it was-that being a plant bug named Capsus ater. When I checked this out however, this bug is characterised by it's somewhat oval body shape and this one seems a little long/stretched when compared to other examples. It does have another tell-tale sign though, the antennae do seem to be swollen at the second segment and so possibly I was right all along?

Cryptocephalus bipunctatus

This  was a good spot. I have only found this leaf-beetle once before and it may have even been at Blean.Once again I hope my i.d. is correct, there are other possibilities!

A bit more luck at Blean then but once again, the finds were few and far between. 

I've been promising myself a return visit to the Rare Breeds Centre at Ham Street since it re-opened for the season in May. It has a butterfly house that I like to check out whenever I get a chance: this then was the next excursion. Would I fare any better here?

Nope!

Let's give them the benefit of doubt and say that I miss-timed my visit and the season was almost over.

It has to be that or the butterfly house is sadly in decline. I know I did speak to one of the people who's job it is to care for the butterflies last year, and they were telling me that with all their other duties, it was impossible to give the butterfly house the amount of attention it required.

On the day of my visit this year I couldn't find a single example of a native species in the British Butterflies section-I'm not saying that there weren't any, but numbers must have been very low if I couldn't find one at all.

I did slightly better in the tropical house, where I think I spotted around six species but I had to hunt for those and their condition for the most part meant that I didn't feel I wanted to photograph them.

This Indian Leaf-butterfly was the highlight and almost made the visit worthwhile on its own. I managed this shot using natural light but it wasn't an easy thing to photograph as it was in front of the pale poly-tunnel material making for an awkward contrast.

Wandering round I found part of a wing from a long since deceased butterfly underneath a food tray and I decided to bring it home so that at some stage I can try a real close-up shot of the wing structure (if it stays in good enough condition.) 

And so it was that I left the Rare Breeds Centre a lot quicker than originally planned. On the way back to my car I was looking at the vegetation beside the pathway and found this pied shied-bug...

A frustrating few days then-that's how it goes sometimes and there will be other times when I'm spoiled for choice. As long as it evens itself out over the season, then I'm happy.

A flickr friend,STVPX(thewaspwhisperer) recently found a white earwig. In her text that accompanied her excellent photos (take a look at her whole photostream using the link, some fabulous work) she explained that the colour was due to a recent moult. That reminded me of one that I found myself but had put it's colour down to it being a junior. I now know the correct reason, so thanks must go to her for that.

Here's the one I found...

That seems more than enough for this particular entry-as I mentioned at the top, it's been a bit disjointed due to circumstances but I'll try and cobble together a more coherent entry in the next few days to get things back on track. If you've stayed with me this far, I thank-you. If not, then please do come back for the next edition! Oh, hang on, you won't be seeing this will you.

Until the next time then...