It's a sad goodbye to the Stig....

Yes indeed: time for another weblog. I recently read a couple of quotes about blogging; here's the first: 'The first thing you learn when you're blogging is that people are one click away from leaving you. So you've got to get to the point, give them some value for their limited attention span.' 

How rude! You don't have a limited attention span do you? Hello...hello.....H-E-L-L-O !

OK...OK, I can take a hint -

The other quote I read was this one: 'I think blogging, by and large, is basically therapy. I think a huge percentage of people who are blogging are doing it for self-therapy.'

Pull up a couch then, I feel the need to confide...

A female moon moth (Actias heterogyna).

I wasn't really expecting this but just 20 days after pupating, one of my moon moths emerged as an adult. How gorgeous are these? Totally! My AES care-sheet had this information: Adults often emerge from the cocoons four-six weeks after pupation. This is a female and a few days later I also had a male...

Apologies, it isn't a great picture of the male is it (these are both just phone shots). I will try to get a better one for a future update. They are living in my studio now, as they cannot be released and do not feed. They actually only live for about a week or so anyway. 

One morning when I checked on them they had left me a little gift...

But are these eggs fertile? I have no idea whether the two of them 'got it on' but according to the information I have they do seem to be the right colour: the infertile ones tend to be a blueish colour. I am caring for them as suggested and will update you should the circle of life start over. 

Speaking of the - 

Last week I had to say goodbye to my friend 'Stig' the stick insect. He was quite an old man in insect terms though; I had cared for him for over a year, which is a good age for his species. I needed to ensure he had a decent and dignified internment and so I constructed a little casket from cardboard, painted it up and placed him inside. He's now in the back garden...

Alright, I know! He was only an insect, and I really don't care if this is thought of as over the top: I like to think that as a captive bug, which he would have been whether I had him or not, I gave him as good and peaceful life as was possible and I shall miss the contact. RIP Stig.

We've talked about new life and the end of a life and so how about something that might be considered half-way between? What am I talking about? Hibernation. The bug count on my walks is falling faster than an MP's reputation now, but I did spot this hibernating parent bug wrapped inside a leaf recently...

Elasmucha grisea - A Parent Bug

Think how short our own lives would feel if we hibernated. They say that we already sleep an average of 25 years over a lifetime. The other thing that always strikes me is that they cannot close their eyes, no eyelids! 

I actually saw a number of parent bugs and most were afflicted by a parasite egg...

This is most likely the work of the tachinid fly, Subclytia rotundiventris which is a specialist endoparasite of females. The fly strategically places the egg at this point so that the bug is unable to reach to remove it. After hatching, the larva feeds on its host. At the beginning the parasite feeds only on the non-vital parts of the bug, but finally it kills it.

Interestingly, the larva ‘permits’ the parent bug to continue caring for the juveniles until their third stage. However, the adults often die before the end of maternal care. Not that the ones I am seeing now will be about to give birth - wrong time of year.

On the same walk, I saw this spider walking on tippy-toe...

I think this has all been pretty cathartic for me and I am sure that your short attention span has been stretched to the max, so I shall apply the brakes at this point and end with another of my Japanese bugs that I found just yesterday in the garden...

Stephanitis takeyai - Andromeda Lacebug (Tingidae)

They sure are strange looking bugs when you look closely...

This information is from the excellent British Bugs website: This species is a fairly recent arrival in the UK and was first recorded in 1998. It is native to Japan, where it feeds on Pieris japponica and has been introduced into the USA and Europe via the plant trade. As well as Pieris, it also uses Rhododendron and azaleas as hostplants and is regarded as a pest in ornamental gardens.

I wish common sense was more common...

Many moons ago, in what seems like another life, I ran a small sign shop from this very building I am sitting in now, writing this blog update. It's of wooden construction and sits at the bottom of the back garden. Here's how it looked in those days...

That was back in the 90s and nowadays I no longer run a business from here and so the space is predominantly used for my photography and as a peaceful haven to write my magazine articles...

You can probably see that I still have all of my traditional signwriting reference books, and indeed, a small area for painting/lettering, should I get the urge...

Yes, I realise it's a bit of a jumble, or should that be jungle? But that's me, I didn't ever win any prizes for keeping my work-space ship-shape and Bristol fashion. 

Why am I telling you all this? Well, now that my little studio gets used for mostly nature related things, I store all manner of goodies in here: right now for instance, as well as the Emperor moth pupae and a number of Hawk-moth chrysalis, plus a couple of other things, it is also where my stick insect lives.  

Anyone who is familiar with my Flickr photostream will possibly have already seen a couple of pictures of the stick insect, but probably not the latest moult...

At this point in the story, I need to fess up to being a complete idiot!

You see I thought it would be best to leave a heater on in here to ensure the temperature doesn't fall too low for the stick insect's comfort. It has been working really well. Just by employing the lowest setting possible, I have managed to keep things at a pretty stable level. The bug loves it and is thriving but I completely disregarded the pupae! 

Even though I had them placed in the coldest spot, on a window sill, it must have been too warm for them and horror of horrors, one has emerged, a good 2 months ahead of time...

A Lime Hawkmoth (Mimas tiliae)

A high res version of this picture can be viewed on my Flickr page HERE

And so what's to be done? Very little is the answer. These adult moths should be on the wing May - July and so it is still far too cold to release one in my opinion. The other thing to consider is that they don't feed and so, unless there is a sudden upturn in temperatures, I guess this one will have to spend its time here with me. 

I still have several complete pupae that I think I will move to either the fridge, or to a sheltered spot outside, to prevent the emergence of anymore. They are beautiful moths and I only have myself to blame for allowing this one to emerge so early. A lesson learned/learnt!

Until the next time...