Concrete bollards and soft bodies...

Yes, it's Solmonath or Mud-month once again.

Have you heard of Anna Quindlen I wonder? She was a journalist for The New York Times, before becoming a successful novelist. In her semi-autobiographical novel 'One True Thing' (1994) she wrote this dark piece:

 "February is a suitable month for dying.  Everything around is dead, the trees black and frozen so that the appearance of green shoots two months hence seems preposterous, the ground hard and cold, the snow dirty, the winter hateful, hanging on too long." 

C'mon! February isn't all that bad; shortest month and all that. No, I much prefer this upbeat writing:

"Keep your faith in beautiful things; 

in the sun when it is hidden, 

in the Spring when it is gone." 

A fella called Roy R. Gibson penned that: no idea who he is, unless he's related to Henry Gibson? Oh yes you do! Well, if you don't know of him, shame on you. Loved his poetry back in the day...

The alligator is my friend
He can be your friend too
If only you would understand
That he has feeling too

The alligator is my friend
He likes to wink and flirt
I'd rather have him as my friend
Than wear him on my shirt

The alligator ate my friend
He can eat your friend too
If only you would understand
That he needs protein too.

    Henry Gibson 1935 - 2009                   

Shall we get right on with the update then? May as well, after all we are both here. Oh yes, just before we do; I read that a picture of an egg garnered over 11 million likes on Instagram recently, and so I thought my own  photo of eggs must be worth a few likes?  If not, a giggle?

  

And so what has been happening on the nature front since I was last here about three weeks ago? Not a great deal in my back yard is the answer. At least nothing exciting enough to warrant a change of underwear! Our seasonal weather has pretty much precluded any form of macro photography, and when I tried one day to venture out with my 'biggy' birding lens, I could barely hold it steady against the strength of the wind. 

I could share a couple of photos that I did manage though...

Sorry! Can't find the photos: be with you in 2 shakes, recite the soliloquy from Hamlet to yourself or something whilst I locate the file...you know the one, 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' etc...

Winter can be hard on the poor little robin...

I feel another of those 'did you know' moments coming on...

Did you know, that your forefinger is the most sensitive? Apparently so; imagine how great we would be with our hands if each hand was composed of four-forefingers! But that isn't the 'did you know' I was wanting to share. No, it was this:

Did you know that February didn't even exist until around 750 BC. The month’s quirky timing dates back to the 10-month Roman calendar, which began in March and ended in December. They eventually added Jan and Feb to sync better with the 12 lunar cycles.

How is it possible for tiny aphids to withstand the worst winter can throw at them?

I somehow managed to grab a picture of this unusual aphid on a concrete bollard whilst out walking. They do seem to be okay in the coldest of cold weather. Despite their soft bodies and fragile appearance, aphids have quite low super-cooling point values. Which in layman's terms I think means they are able to lower their temperature to below freezing without becoming solid.

How do you feel about getting excited by me? Yeah...thought so! Well this next photo opportunity got me excited, I don't mind admitting. The list of critters spotted in my little semi-urban garden is  ever increasing, but until now, has never included this next visitor...

What do you mean "Doh! it's only a grey squirrel" I know most folk view them as vermin, but I love to see them and think they are much maligned. He (if it is a 'he', how do you sex a squirrel?) was hoovering up the loose bird seed with some relish.

Well I 'Googled' how to tell the sexes apart and learned that you need to look for a descended scrotum and testes in males! Yeah...maybe not then.

Collembola or springtails, are also tiny creatures that do well in winter; here's one that was out for a stroll on a frosty plant pot...

I am still finding collembola in the garden, but mostly just the common ones this year...

These are both Dicyrtomina saundersi, a quite common species.

Slightly less common, at least in my garden is Entomobrya intermedia...

Lichtensia viburni!

Who, or indeed what, is Lichtensia viburni JJ? If I told you that it has an alternate name of Viburnum Cushion Scale would it help?

In that case, a picture paints a thousand words...

Providing I have my ID correct, this is the creature in question. Now I know it looks a little like a UFO, but it is actually classified as an insect. In fact, I believe this to be an immature female (aren't they all!) of the species.

Would you like a little info on these? Good, because I am about to impart the very same. By the way, this is not information that I hold somewhere in the recesses of my cranium, no, I cribbed it from Wikipedia: Scale insects vary dramatically in appearance; from very small organisms (1–2 mm) that grow beneath wax covers (some shaped like oyster shells, others like mussel shells), to shiny pearl-like objects (about 5 mm), to creatures covered with mealy wax. Adult female scales are almost always immobile (aside from mealybugs) and permanently attached to the plant they have parasitized. They secrete a waxy coating for defense; this coating causes them to resemble reptilian scales or fish scales, hence their common name.

And an adult one looks like this...

Oh no it doesn't!


The blue tits have been constantly checking out the nest box since early January...

Erm...I think that might do for this update and so I will take the advice of the great Ray Charles and hit the road Jack. I will leave you with this waffle-like fungi that I discovered in local woodland...

Yes they do, no they don't, yes they do, NO...they don't!

I am really tempted to begin this update with yet another rant. However, having given the matter a great deal of thought, ok...not too much thought at all, I have gone for substituting 'rant' with 'question'. And here it comes: "What would you get if you crossed a seal pup with a shark and an aphid?"

No I haven't gone crazy (well, that's a matter of conjecture) and this isn't a photo-shopped image or even some sort of genetic mutant. Why would you need to hybridise when we already have creatures like these. Nope, this is the large (giant) willow aphid: Tuberlolachnus salignus. 

Professor of Entomology at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, Professor Simon Leather, wrote in June of 2014 "The large (giant) willow aphid, Tuberlolachnus salignus, is, in my opinion, one of the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries". He went on to say that it is sometimes regarded as the largest aphid in the world. What is the great unsolved mystery that surrounds this aphid? Professor Leather again: "A great unsolved mystery about this aphid is the function of the dorsal tubercle, which so closely resembles a rose thorn, or to me, a shark’s fin". 

And the professor's conclusions? "Nobody knows".

But it doesn't end there, as the comedian Jimmy Cricket used to say..."Come 'ere, there's more". 

There's a second unsolved mystery... knew you'd be pleased!

The second mystery is that every year, in about February, it does a disappearing act and for about four months its whereabouts remain a mystery.

Professor Leather: "We have an aphid that spends a substantial period of the year feeding on willow trees without leaves and then in the spring when most aphids are hatching from their eggs to take advantage of the spring flush, T. salignus disappears! Does it go underground? If so, what plants is it feeding on and why leave the willows when their sap is rising and soluble nitrogen is readily available?

So here is a challenge for all entomological detectives out there. What is the function of the dorsal tubercle and where does T. salignus go for the spring break? Truly a remarkable aphid and two mysteries that I would dearly love to know the answers to and yet another reason why I love aphids so much".

You and me both professor. Oh and whilst I think about it, are you sure about this statement, 'when most aphids are hatching from their eggs to take advantage of the spring flush'. I wonder if you have read the article in my link at the bottom of this update?

Jimmy Cricket

You see...the reason I can't forget about this latest faux pas is that, well, I kinda lambasted the local and national newspapers last time over their poor research skills and yet this one seems to out-stupefy the papers. What troubles me about this latest find is that it concerns the University of Illinois. Bad enough you might think that a university is publishing 'facts' about insects that are incorrect; worse still is that this is in a GUIDE FOR TEACHERS entitled 'Let's talk about insects'. 

Number one on their list of important facts for teachers to impart to students is that 'all insects hatch from tiny eggs'. VIVIPARITY is what I suggest they look up in the dictionary! Most insects lay eggs but NOT all. The university of Michigan run something called 'BioKIDS' and their mission statement is to 'promote students' deep understandings of current science topics'. And yet.....

Sacré bleu!

Here's where it ties-in nicely with my aphid story. Let's get the correct information from The Amateur Entomologists Society eh? Quote: "Viviparity means to give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Most insects produce eggs but some, such as aphids, are viviparous and give birth to live young".

Changing tack then: I recently found a couple of nice fungi ...

This bracket fungus, possibly Piptoporus betulinus or 'Razor Strop' and a beautiful one that I found in local pine woods that I think is a coral fungi, but as always, happy to be corrected...

It's quite odd just how many times this phenomenon occurs but once again, no sooner had I said that I hadn't seen a particular bug this year, than one appears as if by order. I am referring to my old friend 'Issus coleoptratus' this time. I posted a photo of a nymph in my last update, stating that I hadn't seen an adult...

The nymph from my last update

The adult I found a few days later

I think that concludes today's business and so I will bid you farewell until next time and leave you with a couple of phone pics of the glorious Kentish autumn that we have been experiencing...

                                           Giant Willow Aphid link is HERE

Don't waste your walk chatting on the phone...

The countryside isn't an extended office-get off your phone and watch what your dog is doing, stop it from messing on the footpath and from pestering people (me) who want to experience the surroundings in solitude.....

Did I say that out-loud? I was just letting off steam...

I should begin this update with a reflection on my last-you might remember it was partly about some fox moth caterpillars that I had discovered as eggs and had assumed they had reached maturity as larvae...

Well that turned out to be quite wrong as they continued to feed and grow and now have evolved into something quite different...

As well as being hirsute,I have also learnt that this colouration is referred to as rufous, meaning reddish-brown and is actually used as an adjective name for many animals, and in particular birds. It's also where the name of the moth is derived I guess.

A spider....Oh! Spider alert for those who are averse here...a spider that I have been seeing fairly regularly of late is the crab spider Misumena vatia...

These are remarkably able to change colour from white to yellow, although I have read this can take up to 20 days with the reverse only taking 6 days. 

It's thought that this species lives for no more than 2 years and so, let me think...20 days to change, 6 to change back...erm......over 2 years, only 28 times max?

These spiders don't spin a web to catch their prey-rather they use the colour change/camouflage trick and then grab their prey with front legs that have tiny hooks at the tip. Then, instead of wrapping the prey in silk as many spiders do, they will (here comes the gory bit) hold the prey and suck all of its bodily fluids dry.

And so what is the web/silk in my photo above? Well this is a female and I know that they use silk to protect their eggs (yes, these spiders lay eggs) and so I assume that's what's going on here and she is protecting her offspring.

-----------------------------------------------------

Having been lucky enough to see painted lady butterflies this summer,I began searching for evidence of egg laying on thistle. It was always a long shot and I found none, but did discover more moth eggs...

A few days later these extremely small caterpillars began emerging...

Having moulted at least once (not quite sure how many times) they looked like this...

I'm sure you won't be too surprised when I tell you that I have no idea of identity at this stage,

 but will try and keep observing to see if later instars provide better clues.

     I did come across another couple of eggs that I am sure are moth...

They turned this amazing red colour just before hatching...

What emerged however, was not bright red larvae but...well...I have to be honest here and say that I've failed to get any photos that I am happy with as yet-but as soon as I do, I'll post here...

-------------------------------------------------------

A couple of strange ones now-something unexpected that I found on alder and has been puzzling me ever since. This little bug? Parasitised somehow or is it as simple as it hasn't emerged properly? 

All I can really add is that it was still alive at this stage but didn't make the following day. I did see something similar a few years ago, but that involved a fly-I have tried to locate that picture but my filing system is less than perfect and....no chance!

Again, with this next 'thing' I have photographed one before but didn't get a positive i.d. at the time, with most people thinking it was spider related...

It was only around 15mm or so across and woolly looking. It was firmly attached to the underside of the leaf and there was no sign of activity close by. Tell you what...if I find out what this is for sure I'll tell you, as long as you tell me if you already know?

Enough for now, just to add that for anyone who follows my monthly article in print, I promised to provide a full list of butterfly species spotted within half a mile of home this year...

They are, in no particular order, to date:

Brimstone

Common Blue

Speckled Wood

Comma

Peacock

Red Admiral

White Admiral

Large White

Small White

Green-veined White

Gatekeeper

Silver-washed Fritillary

Small Tortoiseshell

Small Copper

Green Hairstreak

Large Skipper

Small Skipper

Orange Tip

Holly Blue

Painted Lady

Ringlet

Clouded Yellow

Until the next time...

A Cinderella moment?

It's the morning of 18th Jun and I am up early to close down the moth trap before it attracts too many day-flying,undesirable insects.
Checking the contents,I notice a pair of large,green moth eggs....

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE FOR A LARGER VIEW

An examination of the catch from the previous night reveals that there can be only one culprit; the large,female,poplar hawk moth. I check my reference books and they confirm that these are a 'reasonably easy' species to raise and so I decide to save the eggs for observation.

Within a few days the caterpillars were already visible through the eggs...

I prepared a suitable home for them and collected lots of poplar ready for their emergence and then....waited...

As soon as the tiny caterpillars emerged,they began to have their first feed by eating the whole of the eggshell...

I guess at this stage,they were around 3mm long

When this was done,they began to wander in search of the food plant that would sustain them through to pupating. I made sure they climbed on to the poplar leaves and then photographed them once more...

By just seven days following my discovery of the eggs,they had already moulted for the first time...

And now look...only 2 weeks since I found the eggs-talk about a Cinderella moment!

This photo (above) was taken this morning-the 4th July 2013 and what a change there has been.

I am now hoping to be able to continue caring for these until and beyond pupating so that I can then complete the life-cycle by photographing the moths emerging next year.

Aside from the pure enjoyment of watching these creatures, there is so much knowledge to be gained from observing natural behaviour in a controlled environment. It is something that would be impossible to do in the wild and I now feel I know so much more about these fascinating critters.

I hope you have shared in both my enthusiasm for the subject and the joy of seeing what I saw?

Until the next time then...