Waspish behaviour and bad eggs...

When I found a clutch of bug eggs a while ago,I thought that I might be able watch them emerge and then observe some of their behaviour in an effort to learn more about them. I didn't realise at the time that the greyish appearance was to be a clue as to just how wrong I was....

What actually emerged a few days later,was this tiny parasitic wasp. In fact, each little egg had the very same occupant. I know that Trissolcus basalis is a parasite of the green shield-bug, but they are so small that I couldn't say with any confidence if that's what we are looking at here.

I decided that a concentrated search for another batch would be in order...

Sometimes...just sometimes, things go as planned. A couple of days later I found this batch of eggs on oak. This time they looked much more promising.

I didn't have long to wait before the tiny bug nymphs began to emerge en-masse...

Click on any photo for a larger view

I also didn't have long to wait to learn something new about the critters...

All 26(?) of them changed from green to brown in a very short space of time. How strange when they would become green once again at the very next stage of development?

Incidentally,isn't it wonderful how symmetric the egg laying is here...rows of 3 then 4 then 5 then 6 then 5 then 4....

They were ready to moult in no time at all and I was lucky enough to be there when a couple did just that...

An amazing thing to witness. Firstly look how large it has already become compared to the exuvia (external skeleton) it is leaving behind. Then see how the insect that is emerging is so pale and almost translucent.

I wanted to show you the large image above because it's such a spectacular thing to see. Here's a set of shots now that give you more of an idea of the emergence process...

Eventually..it breaks free of the old 'skin' completely...

And a shot of it sitting,no doubt exhausted by the effort,beside the Exuvia ...

Does it sound too crass to say that it is quite moving watching something so tiny go through this process that allows it to grow ever larger? It seems a real struggle for the bug and yet-it has no choice,it must undergo this change repeatedly, until it becomes a fully winged adult.

To give you some idea of scale, here's a picture of a freshly moulted one on a corner of an oak leaf... do leaves have corners?

After keeping these just long enough to observe the first moult and then make sure they were all in good health for a few days, I released them and they seem to be doing just fine in my garden.

I'll be back soon with yet another observance first for me that I want to share.

Until the next time then...

Oh! Just before I go...the latest photograph of the poplar hawk moth caterpillar....

What a treat eh?

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...