YELLOW MOTHS AND GREEN BUDS

Blimey does it feel like its been a long, long time since its been anything like this warm.

It gives me a very good feeling to see that the large Lime tree at the end of the garden is tentatively producing its first, small, green leaves - in a month or so, we won't be able to see if there's one of the Woodpeckers on its branches - so dense will be that tree's foliage - and personally speaking - I can't wait.

Yesterday, even though the Met Office got the forecast spectacularly wrong, was warm - and the insects and arachnids responded as though all of them had had a simultaneous "button push".

Anna and I were outside after I returned from work at half past ten, trying to take a photo of a VERY large House Spider on the fence (it wouldn't sit still, so no worries for you arachnaphobes out there), when I spotted a beautiful Brimstone Moth had fluttered into the kitchen.

Click on the photo above to enlarge it or click HERE to take a flying trip to the "New Warren" (my online photo album), where I've uploaded quite a few pics recently - all in their large size and with explanatory text...

I hear the weather really IS going to be very summery tomorrow (friday).

AT LAST!!!

ANGLE SHADES MOTH CATERPILLAR

Thats the green "model" of Angleshades moth caterpillar above.

NB. About three weeks later (13/01/08) - found the brown "model" of the same species of caterpillar in the garden, crawling up our woodpecker post.

I'd like to say it is quite obviously mad, but to be honest, the woodpecker post is probably the safest place in the garden for it! No woodpecker has gone near it. Yet...

Photographs of this caterpillar below...

A GREEN CHRISTMAS?

Merry christmas to all who have nowt better to do on Christmas Day than visit BG! My excuse is that I'm working...

I found this wee beastie on the exterior kitchen wall this morning. I think its an Angle Shades Moth Caterpillar (again), but am waiting formal ID from an expert entomologist on WAB.

Could be a long wait...

Two close ups of the head of the caterpillar are posted above. Click on all images to enlarge...

NB. Comfirmed as Angle Shades Moth at 8pm.

LARGE WHITE BUTTERFLY CHRYSALIS

Whilst taking down our old nestbox from last year, I noticed a very large, (well, large for a chrysalis anyway, at around 3cm long), chrysalis hidden in my old Scotland fleece which acted as wadding around the old (and new, now) birdbox.

This wonderfully-coloured chrysalis (quite a spectacular example in fairness) belongs to the Large (Cabbage) White Butterfly - the scourge of all gardeners' nasturtiums everywhere!

This butterfly has the rather unusual habit (among butterflies) of attaching its chrysalis to a window sill (or fleece?!) in an upright manner, ie head up, rather than hanging with the head down, as most pupae are formed.

If you look closely at my photographs, you may be able to make out the silken thread, about two thirds along the chrysalis (from tail to head) which enables this unusual behaviour to occur.

Luckily we have no nasturtiums, or cabbages for that matter, nor do we intend to plant any in the future - just potatoes for us this year I think, and maybe one or two courgette plants.

I didn't see many of the adult White Butterflies this summer, in the garden, so I feel quite lucky that we've got a little chrysalis overwintering with us...

In the meantime, its gone back into the fleece, which is now wadding for the new box (see above post).

RANDOM MUTTERINGS

For future reference (for me).
After a brief cold snap, the weather has turned much milder again over the last day or two, the return of the wind direction to a more prevailing wind direction having much input in that.
I think all the bats are hibernating now, as are the hedgehogs.
The only bumblebees alive are the Queens in their nests - the males are probably all dead.
Warm afternoons have brought a few localised hatches of midges and I've seen only one adult Harlequin Ladybird in the last week - on November 26th - will that be the last of the year? I doubt it. I certainly haven't seen any larvae crawling around though, and many pupae have not eclosed, nor will they, I'm guessing.
One, lone Plume Moth is the only moth I've seen for a week or so.

As for my Peregrines....
After a little help from local experts, it seems like there are UP TO FIVE Peregrines in the area around Berkshire.
I know they roost/hunt at Crowthorne and Theale and Reading itself.
The pair that I took a photo of seem both wild (no jesses) and the female that I snapped is the largest Peregrine by far, round these parts. She's HUGE.

Three Peregrines (we think) regularly roost in the town centre (on the Thames Tower, where I've seen them), one of them being a falconers escaped tiercel (with jesses).
For the last two winters, this male has overwintered at Theale gravel pits, and last year attempted to nest with a 'wild' female. Sad to report that Southern Electric's helicopter put pay to that nest on one of the Theale electicity pylons. A real shame.

I seem to be the main person for reporting the birds in town - mainly because I can pass the station every day if need be, on the way to/back from work, and I look up occasionally also.

I'll keep m new camera in my bag, and keep having a look, and with luck, I'll get a decent photo or two soon...

NB. Lunchtime today - and I've just seen one lone winter butterfly (Red Admiral) on the window - so there's a few of those about in this warm spell too...

RUBY TIGER MOTH CATERPILLAR

Anna found this little furry beastie crawling up a single lane road on our walk around the marshes in Hampshire on Sunday gone.

I thought it might be an Ermine moth caterpillar of some sort, but the people on the excellent WAB site have identified it as a Ruby Tiger Moth Caterpillar!

Excellent!

The Ruby Tiger Moth adult is a fantastic looking moth - very conspicuous indeed - click HERE to follow my WAB link and observe another member's photo of the adult.

I hear that the caterpillar can exist from July to the following April, and does indeed overwinter as a larva - so no problems with finding it on a very warm, sunny day in October then!

It prefers coastal habitats and inland heaths - again, that tallies up nicely with where we found it!

Good stuff! I'd love to see the adult now!

ANGLE SHADES MOTH CATERPILLAR.

I spotted this green caterpillar on a Lily? leaf in the paddock this morning.

Its not the best photo, and there are billions of species of green caterpillars in the UK, but I think this is the Angle Shades Moth caterpillar. (If it isn't - the people of WAB are on it at the moment, I'll change the title and text of this post as and when).

Size:2-3cm (very lively and stretchy)

Obvious features: pale cream line running down each side of larva, head to tail. (not obvious in this photo).

Broken thin white line running dow top of caterpillar.

Very faint oblique darker green patches at top of caterpillar.

The entomologists on WAB I'm sure will come up with an identification today (or a confirmation of my ID) and if they do, I'll ask permission from a member , to post a photo of the adult Angle Shades Moth, which is quite unique in markings, to pop on this post. (or the moth it is finally identified as).

x

x

NB. A day later, and no-one from WAB has confirmed my identification, very unusual for the "WABers", though I'm not particularly surprised as this is quite a poor photo of a green caterpillar, and I was easily the best person to identify it, as I had it in front of me.

I'm pretty sure it IS an Angle Shades Moth caterpillar. These wonderful moths when at rest (as an adult) rely on superb camouflage for defence against predators.

They look exactly like a dead, semi-curled up leaf. (see photo - courtesy and copyright of Endomart).

Angle Shades Moths have 2 broods a year, the last one being as late as October - that tallies up nicely with my ID.

A new moth species for the garden then, and a new moth for "Blue-Grey".

Good stuff.

"BULLSEYE"(CONSPICUA) HARLEQUIN EATING MOTH EGGS

ANOTHER Harlequin-related post?!

Yep.

I told you I'd get a photie of another common type of Harlequin Ladybird.

The most common type is the (multi-spotted, orange) Succinea "model", of which I think ALL my photos of Harlequins are so far. The second seems to be the Spectabilis "model", black with at least 4 red marks - a bit like the quadripustulata form of the (normally red) 2 spot Ladybird, although a lot bigger.

I found what I refer to as the "Bullseye" Harlequin, the Jim Bowen of Harlequins (although admittedly better-looking than Jim), in the lower paddock this evening, munching on some MORE Noctuid Moth eggs by the look of it.



So, I took its snapshot and flicked it over the fence, good-looking or not.

I'll contact the good Ladybird people on the WAB site to find out the ACTUAL name of this colour variation of Harlequin (I know its not succinea or spectabilis), and find out whether or not they do actually like eating moth eggs.

(later. Yes they DO eat moth and butterfly eggs - so much so, that in North America this is proving a real problem for rare butterflies).

This post may change slightly when I procure that information...



NB. Whilst I was lying alongside the paddock, photographing the ladybird, one of our (now adult) Blue Tits visited the feeder a few feet away from me. Slightly alarmed it didn't hang around, but nice to know, and I'm sure it'll be back...

NB. (later)
OK. The actual name for the Jim Bowen Bullseye Harlequin is the CONSPICUA form.
There you go.

LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING

This is the Large Yellow Underwing moth, possibly our most common large moth in the UK. I found it on the exterior of the back door early this morning, took it inside for a photo session and will release it tonight, when it stops raining.
Unlike the Lesser Yellow Underwing, which I found (and posted on) early in the year, this moth has less well-defined oval marks (above its kidney-shaped marks) on its forewings, and exhibits a black mark near the posterior of the forewings, which doesn't quite touch the wing margins. (That will be quite important in terms of identification, if I am ever lucky enough to find and photograph a Lunar Yellow Underwing Moth)! It has bold yellow/orange underwings bordered by a black margin. Visit my photo and post on the Large Red Underwing, and substitute an orangey-yellow colour for the bright red found on that moth's underwings, and you'll get the idea. Both moths use these bright colours as a predator deterrent.

The Large Yellow Underwing is a fat, chunky moth, (as can be seen from the last picture I took). A Noctuid moth (like the Lesser Yellow Underwing and Large Red Underwing (posted on HERE) it feeds on many wild and cultivated plants, often in gardens, and probably is the most likely candidate for the creature which deposited those unidentified eggs on the clover leaf in the "Lower Paddock"...).

It rests with its antennae folded right back under its wings (as below) and when it starts to feel a bit frisky, it unfolds them and starts to quiver its wings rapidly to warm up and start to fly (see second picture).

Its numbers are boosted in the south of the UK by migratory Large Yellow Underwings, but it is fair to say that if you find a large brown moth in your house, chances are it will be this one.

NB. (later). Just in case you were wondering if I did manage to successfully release the little niblet or not - here's proof...

You can just about make out a flash of the moth's yellow underwings in this shot, as it quivered, readying itself for take-off...

I popped the moth under the hide (which is incidentally falling to bits, and will be thrown in next doors skip this week I think); it immediately perked up, uncurled its antennae, took a short stroll, quivering its wings, and flew strongly into the large Lime tree above. Where it was promptly eaten by a blackbird. XXX(Not really).

PLUME MOTH

I got up early this morning and found this Plume Moth (Emmelina monodactyla) resting on the internal kitchen wall. Only the outer third of its wings are divided into plumes, but you'll need a magnifying glass to see that I expect, they look solid at a glance!

This is a very common moth in the UK, it can be found all year round (but dormant in winter), loves hedgerows, and its favourite foodplant is Bindweed. Not surprising then that I've found one - we are constantly cutting back the rampant Bindweed in the back garden.

You'll have seen this moth I'm sure, although their defence strategy relies on NOT being seen - their wings are rolled up at rest, so that to passing predators they resemble a bit of dried grass.

(AS YET) UNIDENTIFIED MOTH? EGGS

I found these little beauties this afternoon, whilst watching a Garden Cross Spider construct her orb web in 'The Lower Paddock'.







I think they are hundreds of Moth eggs. Possibly butterfly eggs though I suppose. Deposited on this leaf yesterday, I think.



Now then, do I rear them inside - or do I leave them where they are and see what happens naturally?



The latter, I think.







I'll let you know what happens, of course.





NB. 11/09/07 Well. The eggs, last night sometime I assume, became larvae - pictured below. I still don't know what they are - some kind of fly or micro-moth? I hope someone on the WAB site manages to identify them for me, for I fear they will crawl away quick sharp and I will never know what the turn into. (This happened to a fellow member of WAB, who has her own wildlife site which I'll try and put a link to on "Blue-Grey", when I get some time...)

NB. 13/09/07 - Bad news I think. I was expecting these little larvae to move away from their "birth leaf" pretty quickly, which I'm sure some did, after munching some of the Red Clover Leaf. This afternoon, however, I couldn't see any of the wee beasties - but I DID see a fat Harlequin Ladybird larva sitting on the same Clover leaf. Did it tuck into the little larvae? My guess is... I think so. A shame.

SMALL TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY

During our day or so in the Cotswolds, we saw many nice creatures (and plants)- loads of (very vocal indeed!) Buzzards, a great view of a male Sparrowhawk, which we watched from above, patrolling a hedge near Westmancote, on the side of Bredon Hill, 2 species of Woodpeckers and the usual Gloucester cattle and sheep - all great stuff!

I know the Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly is about as common as butterflies get, but I do love the warmth of the Cotswold stone ( a honey coloured, oolithic limestone, famous for its golden colour and fossil content, particularly sea urchins) buildings, and so do these butterflies obviously!

Small Tortoiseshells can be distinguished from the rarer, (southern), Large Tortoiseshells by their much wider distribution, and their brighter colouration - look especially for the blue marginal wing markings which the Large lacks - they are more dull orange in colour.

Tortoiseshells are one of the butterflies that overwinter as adults, by finding a spot of shelter in an old tree or shed.

PHOTO CHANGE NOTIFICATION - BRIMSTONE MOTH

For your information, I've uploaded my own photo (taken this morning) of a Brimstone Moth which has "blown" into the garden today, on these loverly August blustery winds and driving rain (when will it ever end?!).
The original post on the Brimstone Moth was posted on 28th April 2007.

RED UNDERWING MOTH(S)

Anna and I both (separately) saw these very large moths flying around the garden late last night.

When I got up at 5am this morning, two had settled beneath a couple of our first floor window ledges.

A climb onto a stool to take the photo (not great I'm afraid) and a gentle poke with a bamboo pole, to show Anna these moths' incredible bright red underwings, and they were identified.

You'll not really mistake these though - there is no other moth in the UK with large grey wings this size - 4cm long at rest. You may see the brown caterpillars during the summer, but they only have one brood, and don't tend to fly like this until August.

When they feel threatened they will display that lovely bright red colouration on their underwings - ours obviously didn't feel that threatened!

Another nice moth to add to the Great Knollys Street list though!

The photo below is not mine, but does show the red-coloured underwings that I mentioned...

CONVOLVULUS HAWKMOTH

We saw a few of these beautiful moths during the fortnight - mainly as the sun started to dip below the horizon. I thought they were Hummingbird Hawkmoths, they are certainly related - and DO resemble Hummingbirds as they hover in front of a flower, and use their long proboscis to obtain its nectar.

I am led to believe that these Hummingbirds do sometimes appear in Britain, but they are more widespread over the continent, especially the south of Europe, having migrated from Africa, where they overwinter. Lovely to see.

SCARCE SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY

Stange name for the most common species of Swallowtail butterfly in Europe. (It's so named because it IS scarce in Britain).
We didn't see a lot of these large, impressive butterflies, but we did see the odd one on many days - an unmistakeable butterfly, and very nice to see...

Click photo (not mine) to enlarge.

RAGWORT AND CINNABAR MOTH CATERPILLAR

Click photo to enlarge.

As this summer fast becomes a dull washout, I thought I'd post some photos of some bright flowers on "Blue-Grey", to brighten your mood a little - and I wanted a photo of the Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar on its preferred plant anyway.

I took this photo in roughly the same spot, on the Thames towpath between Cabersham and Reading bridges as the previous post on Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars.

Ragwort is a toxic weed, no matter how bright and beautiful it looks. Should your cattle, horse, sheep etc.... start to graze on Ragwort, the toxic alkaloids contained within it will soon get to work on their liver - once clinical symptoms start appearing, your livestock is doomed!

It can also affect humans too - entering the bloodstream via the skin.

Steer clear of Ragwort... (not like me this morning), unless you want a liver transplant.

CINNABAR MOTH CATERPILLAR(S)

The Thames at Reading is lined with Ragwort in places, and (weather aside) I haven't worked out why I haven't seen any Cinnabar Moth caterpillars munching on these plants yet.

I left work this morning and decided to give the Ragwort upstream from the office another chance, and as luck would have it, managed to see a good half dozen caterpillars a few hundred yards from work.

Cinnabar Moth caterpillars are unmistakeable - they exhibit classic warning colouration, yellow and black stripes, rather like tiny Wasps Rugby scarves.

They also are an(other) exception to quite a good rule of thumb I've mentioned before with moths. Very often a showy adult moth will have a dull larval stage, and vice versa, but the bright Cinnabar Moth caterpillar becomes one of the most extravagantly coloured (crimson and jet black) moths of Britain also. (see earlier post on Cinnabar Moth for a photo of the adult moth).

LARGE (CABBAGE) WHITE BUTTERFLY

Click photo to enlarge.

These are regular visitors to the garden here, but they don't settle long, and soon bugger off to other gardens when it becomes obvious there are no nasturtiums or cabbages in our plot.

That said, I have been trying to take a photo or two of our Large White visitors, but with no success until this afternoon.

This is a battered female Large White, I expect she's taken a pounding with all the wind and rain recently.

There is a good number of White Butterfly species in Britain - the Large, the Small, the Green-Veined, the Wood, the Orange-Tip the Bath and the Marbled are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

The Large (this one) is by far the most common visitor to the nation's gardens though, and it can (usually) be distinguished by a prominent black (or dark) corner of the forewings which extends (usually) half way down the wing. That distinguishes it quite readily from the (smaller, obviously) Small White, which looks very similar apart from the extent of its black corners to its wings.

I'm trying to take a photo of the fantastic Red Admiral butterfly also, which sometimes flutters into our garden - but that doesn't stay long either.

We need a Buddleia!

(AUSTRALIAN) LIGHT BROWN APPLE MOTH

This wee beastie (no bigger, at its biggest than 2cm, so a micromoth) is the Light Brown Apple Moth, native to Australia, and commonly referred to as the "Light Brown Everything Moth", because of its voracious appetite and indiscriminate habits when it comes to selecting its food plants.

It was accidentally introduced to the UK in the 1930s, in Cornwall, and has since spread pretty-well everywhere, breeding very quickly, and eating everything in its path.

The females will lay hundreds of eggs as little as 6 days after pupating themselves, and their lifespan lasts not much more than a few weeks in most cases.

This moth is a problem. A real problem in the wine-growing regions of California, where it is estimated that this species of moth has cost the large vineyards millions and millions of dollars.

I photographed it in the garden this evening, after chasing it from the potato plants onto the Bindweed above the compost heap. It had better stay there!