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.

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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...

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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...

How to write a good blog...

Erm.....
I just wanted to begin a bog entry with that word! I've been reading about the 'correct' way of writing a blog and apparently, you should always get right to the point of the blog and always be decisive, never hesitant.
I've always fought against people telling me the right way to do things, after all it's all subjective? It's my blog? One person's right way might not suit the next?
Oh bugger! Now I've broken the other rule about not getting to the point!
Best crack on then, whilst you're still there..

You'll now be rolling around laughing at my pre-amble no doubt (if not then humour me) and so whilst I'm tickling your funny-bone, I couldn't resist a quick photo when I passed this sheep when out walking t'other day...

What I've always wondered about sheep is:why is there only one word to describe singular and plural? I'm trying to think of another British animal that has the same for both? 

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW

Eriocrana subpurpurella

The weather is still unfavourable in the main but we've been lucky enough to get a few hours of sunshine here and there, and that has been the time when I've been out with the camera and I've been able to find a few interesting things. The early moths are a welcome sight and this golden winged beauty was a nice find. Good numbers of these are appearing around oak trees now-it's a species that I usually see around the first week of April. But as with the cuckoo, that was also later this year and the damselflies which I've yet to find, it seems we may be a little behind here.

An even better find at the same location was the moth pictured below;this moth is the same species but the more uncommon form 'fastuosella' that has these wonderful dark blue, metallic blotches on its wings.

Eriocrana subpurpurella f.fastuosella

My ladybird sightings have consisted of almost exclusively 7-spots but I did see this 24-spot recently. These are one of our smaller ladybirds at around 3-4mm and are vegetarians. I've also read that it's unusual because it seldom has wings. It has a fine covering of hairs that makes it appear duller than most too.

A 24-spot Ladybird

Last year I photographed one of these that had just emerged and had yet to gain its spots: all ladybirds emerge without spots and then acquire them in the first few hours.

A freshly emerged 24-spot Ladybird

Whilst checking Jack-by-the-hedge for brassica bugs, I found this little sawfly-I'm not sure of species on this one but possibly Dolerus species? This one is a natural light shot.

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Here's another of those 'can you identify' type pictures to ponder...

Any ideas?

Here's another big clue-does this help at all?

If you're still unsure as to what the top photograph is, then take a look at these profile shots...

Yes, these are Alderfly eggs. I visited local lakes a couple of days ago to look for early damselflies (non to be seen) and spotted these eggs in huge numbers. They were on most of the reeds beside the lakes and each batch contained, I guess close to one thousand ova. They must be expecting a high rate of predation once the larvae emerge and drop into the water. I know that they can take up to two years to mature and so I guess numbers will deplete during that time, otherwise we'd be overrun with these insects.

 Amazing how regimented they are

A side-on view 

A close-up

Like many aquatic insects, the adult life of alderflies is short – just a week or two from the time they emerge in late April to the end of June. By contrast the larvae live underwater for around 2 years, or occasionally three.
 The dark brown adult alderflies, which carry their wings folded in the shape of a tent over their backs, emerge from ponds, rivers and lakes in spring and early summer to mate and lay their eggs.

This last photo shows the alderfly actually in the process of egg-laying.

Even though my bug-hunting days have been few and far between through April, there is so much to see on the good days now that for once I have quite a bit more that I could share with you. However, nobody wants to spend too long reading a blog and so what I think I'll do is call it a day and then perhaps add another entry in the next few days. Call it a second instalment-it consists of photographs that were all taken over the same period and so will supplement this entry nicely. 

Until the next time then...