The Butterfly Experience, as experienced by me...

When I saw this in the local press...

I couldn't resist checking it out. This is almost within walking distance of my front door. I wasn't expecting too much; I knew space would be limited and it is brand new, only opened for the first time on July 2nd of this year. Located within a local garden centre in a purpose built enclosure...

The butterfly Experience opens at 11am and closes at 4pm but on arrival soon after 11am there was nobody around to oversee visits and take the entrance fee of £2 per person (£1 for children). Somebody soon appeared though and suggested that it would be in order to look around and then pay on the way out. A (returnable) identification chart was helpfully provided (could have been even more helpful by having all the correct species listed) and before you could say 'Butterfly, Butterfly,flutter around, Butterfly, Butterfly, touch the ground...' I was  trying to acclimatise myself to the heat and humidity of the interior of the building.

Identification charts

Small it is and so there will never be a huge variety of species here, but from speaking to staff, the response from visitors thus far has been "Very encouraging and positive" and an expanded 'Butterfly Experience' next year is not out of the question. Somebody has obviously researched the needs of these tropical creatures and how to correctly house and care for them. The unit is well thought out and constructed with plenty of warmth, light and moisture. At one end there is a chrysalis house...

Interesting for me was the fact that the pupae all seemed empty. I guess you might expect that in mid-July, but will there be enough butterflies to sustain the population until the end of August, given the short life span of these insects? Although, I believe that the Owl butterflies can live for as much as 130 plus days: the Blue morpho and Flame, maybe a month or less?

In fact, let me see if I can get somebody on the telephone right now and put these questions to them.

In case you are unsure what a phone looks like ;-)

Alright then, I did manage to speak to a really helpful member of staff and this is what he told me. There are weekly deliveries of extra pupae/stock throughout the open season. With regard to the winter months; the whole shebang is dismantled to be re-instated next year prior to opening again. Any remaining butterflies or caterpillars, pupae, are handed over to a professional breeder, who will care for them until they are needed again. The plants I imagine won't cause a problem, as this is run by a capable garden centre anyway.

I also asked again about expansion plans and was told that there are no firm plans as yet, but the response has been fantastic from visitors,  including many school visits, and that the online feedback has been amazing too. 

I also understand from our chat that there are inspections from a wildlife organisation to ensure all is as it should be. 

There was one, large pupa that I picked up from the floor that appeared to be complete, whether it was still viable or not, I am not sure. I just placed it somewhere safe.

Butterfly houses are not great for taking photos because of the humidity and unnatural backgrounds, but I did get some photos so that you have an idea what to expect should you plan a visit...

Blue Morpho - Morpho peleides 

Common Lime Butterfly - Papilio demoleus

Leopard Lacewing - Cethosia cyane

Leopard Lacewing pupa- Cethosia cyane

Here is a photo I took of three different instars of the Owl Butterfly caterpillars..

Owl Butterfly caterpillars- Caligo memnon

Owl Butterfly caterpillars- Caligo memnon

Owl Butterfly ova (eggs)- Caligo memnon

Not sure of species for these eggs that I spotted, poss same as above?

Lastly. here are just a few of the butterflies that I photographed with my mobile phone...

Owl Butterfly - Caligo memnon

Iphidamas Cattleheart - Parides iphidamas?

The Flame -Dryas julia

Blue Morpho - Morpho peleides 

                                            

Common Lime Butterfly - Papilio demoleus

And so my impression is that it is a promising start and well worth a visit. Hopefully it will grow into something even better.

A stormy exit...

Time for a little update on the blue tits that have been using a nest-box in the garden. When we left them in my last update, they were all doing well and seemed close to being about ready to leave the nest.

As it happened, they were very close to leaving. In fact it was just the next day, I was watching the box and saw signs of the first one appearing at the entrance hole...

 It wasn't long before the temptation to leave became too strong, and out it came into the big, bad world: well, my garden at least...

 Followed quite soon after by most of the others...

Finally, tempted by the parents, who sat outside the nest calling and offering food should the youngsters emerge to get it, the last of the brood exited the nest box...

They hung around the garden for a while and I managed some phone pictures...

And so I can report that this year, the story had a happy ending: well, not exactly! You see they could not have picked a worse weather day to fledge. I guess they must have been out of the box for no more than a couple of hours, when the heavens opened and we had a downpour, followed by thunderstorms through the night. I did spot some of them in a neighbour's garden the next day and so I am hoping that they got through okay.

At least my efforts to protect them from the cats worked out and they had the best possible chance of survival. I shall clean the box and prepare it for next year.

Here's a short video to end this update: I apologise for the horrible shaking, I was trying to hand-hold my 400mm lens at full zoom...

Somebody keeps putting topsoil on my allotment...

...the plot thickens!

Here's the scenario: 3rd March 2017 I was sitting quietly in my studio today, just reading-up on bloody-nosed beetles. I had seen a Flickr photo posted by my friend Tim, and was intrigued as to why they are common where he lives in Jersey, and yet, I have not found any locally. It was a faint, fluttering noise that distracted me. I stopped and listened; it seemed to be coming from the corner just under my window. 

   Once I had removed all of the gumpf that was obstructing my view, I could just make out movement between the end of the worktop and the wall; the gap is tiny. Using the back end of a plastic scalpel handle (the only thing to hand that fitted), I tentatively worked my way along the gap. As I reached the far end of the worktop, out popped a very tatty looking, but rather large moth.

   It doesn't take the world's best expert in identifying moths (which is handy, 'cos I am far from that) to know right away that this is a male emperor moth. No problem identifying the moth, but would it be so simple to work out where it came from and what it was doing there? Probably: it is surely obvious? I have a number of emperor moth pupae/cocoons that are over-wintering, and like the hawk-moth I recently blogged about, one must have emerged early.

   All I needed to do was examine each cocoon carefully to see which one was no longer intact. A job made somewhat easier by knowing that the larger ones were likely to be female; as my moth is male, I only need check the smaller ones. And so one-by-one, I gave them the third degree. Having scrutinised all but one, I knew, because I am sharp as a new pin with these things, it must be the final one! Nope...that one was intact too. Eh? I must have missed something? I probed them all one more time with the same result, all intact. 

   Well now...

Assuming this isn't an unexplained apparition (can you have an explainable apparition?) there has to be a rationale. Think JJ...think! Er...erm...

   Awe...ah! Jeez, I....maybe...no wait!  I had emperor moth larvae once before and I kept them in here, in my studio. I remember that I had raised them almost through to pupation and had read that they pupate on their food-plant. Reassured that they would indeed build a cocoon on the bramble they had been feeding on, I left the lid off their house one night and come morning, there was no sight of any of them. Despite a frantic search, I didn't ever locate a single caterpillar.

One of the original caterpillars

   I assumed that they must have found their way outside and into the garden. I put it down as a learning experience and determined to do better if I ever had another chance. Could it possibly be that one of the original larvae did manage to build a cocoon and it remained here undetected? Is there a faint chance that this moth emerged from that cocoon?

   Well I do know, have heard of these insects remaining as a cocoon through two winters, and even read of a case where one didn't emerge for three...but four? Is that a possibility? I would like to think so, and frankly, what other explanation could there possibly be? I have contacted a couple of people who know far more than I about moths, to see if either of them can give me a definitive answer. I'll let you know how that pans out.

And that's where you might expect this fable to end. But no...

   The two days weren't quite as annoying as that flashing image, but I had another nasty head cold, so they were fairly tiresome. Anyhow, back to the narrative; you know how it goes...'I was sitting quietly in my studio today, when I heard a faint, fluttering noise that disturbed me'. Surely not? It couldn't be, could it?

Well slap my ass and call me Samantha! As they say...don't they? Oh! Okay then, stone the crows, I'll be a monkey's uncle! This time it was emanating from t'other end of the building. It didn't take long to discover that it was indeed a second moth. Another male emperor, and this one seemed to be newly eclosed as it looked perfect. What a beauty it is too; I have seen some fabulous moths in my time but this one...

Now I know that this is part camouflage, and part defence in terms of design and colour but man! Mother Nature sure excelled when she devised this one. 

Forsaking any further developments, this means that 2 of the original larva must have survived in here for close on 4 years then eclosed. I have not heard of anything like this before, but can't think of a possible alternative. Unless you know better? 

The secret world of the Cardinal Beetle larva revealed...

I think it was back in February of 2014 that I found a number of cardinal beetle larva in local woodland. In this particular spot there are several fallen trees and on one of them, the bark is now flaking off. Besides hundreds of woodlice and a few darkling beetles, there were these yellow larvae. 

I thought it would be interesting to try and observe the metamorphosis into pupa and then adult beetle and so took a couple home with me. I set up a suitable habitat inside and old fish tank and provided them with some of the bark from the tree I found them on. Then it was a case of just checking every now and then for any change once spring began to arrive and hoping that I didn't miss it. Of course I had no idea whether it would happen that year as I knew that these beetles can spend up to 3 years as larvae.

The Cardinal beetle larva

Spring 2014 came and went with no signs of either one being about to pupate. I was going to have to be patient and let them spend another winter with me. From the 1st of April 2015 I began the task of checking again, whenever I remembered to do so.

I didn't see anything happening until the 23rd of April. I hadn't checked them the previous day, but had on the 21st and so I assume that one of the larvae had begun to change sometime on the 22nd as it seemed too advanced already to have happened overnight...

How amazing that you can already see the eyes, antennae and legs beginning to form.
By 7pm on the same day you could clearly see the features had become more defined and could now also see the wing buds... 

A closer look revealed details of the mandibles and maxillary palps. The mandibles are a pair of hard, tooth-like structures that move horizontally to grasp, cut and crush food. The maxillary palps are two pairs of finger-like appendages found around the mouth in most beetles. The are used to move food into the mouth and are the maxillary and labial palps...

A view from above

I rotated this picture for a better view of the developing face

In profile

The next time I checked on the larva was at 11.35pm on the 25th of April and as you can see, there had been quite a change in colour and the features are becoming even more defined. I assume those nasty looking spikes it now has are a defense against predators?

The following morning, yet more changes with those dark patches now showing on the abdomen segments...

A closer look

You have to wonder about how aware the insect is at the stage, if at all! It would certainly wriggle around if disturbed...

This next photo was taken at 5.30pm on the 27th of April...

The next opportunity I got to check was at 7.15am on the 28th of April. And there it was; the adult beetle had emerged. Still looking very teneral but I could now see what I had suspected from the colour changes, that this was a Black-headed Cardinal Beetle ~ Pyrochroa coccinea.

You can clearly see the empty pupal case beside the beetle in this next picture...

By 6.30pm on the same day the beetle had coloured up and was becoming quite mobile...

I decided to keep the adult beetle one last night to ensure it was fully fit for release and the next morning, the 29th of April, bright and early, I returned to the exact spot where I found it and set it down on the very same fallen tree...

It was a beautiful, perfect spring morning...

This is the glade, who wouldn't want to live here?

The fallen tree where I found and released the beetle

Finally a little video of it scampering off to start its new life...

(You will need to view this online, it won't appear in the e.mail version)

What an amazing thing to be able to witness. I gained so much knowledge too of just what does happen and the timescale involved. It had taken one week from start to end and I had been fascinated by the whole thing. What a privilege and to be able to then release a perfect cardinal beetle to the exact same spot with no harm done was mission achieved for me.

The second larva had shown no signs of emerging this year at all and as it was still alive and well, I decided to return it too. I found a suitable piece of loose bark that I could lift just enough to place the larva under and then carefully let the bark settle back.

That's all for this update, I hope you found it as interesting as I did, or at least got some idea from my photographs of what goes on in the secretive world of the cardinal beetle larva.

Until the next time...