Thursday, September 17, 2015

It's fun to wander through, the alphabet with you...

Why is it sometimes so difficult to know where, or how to start a piece of writing? After all, there are only 26 letters in our alphabet and all I have to do is to pick out a few and order them into some semblance of recognisable language and half the battle is already won?

Perhaps I will take the alphabet as my lead this time and try to structure this update in alphabetical order.

Here goes then...


Is for.....Bugger! I don't have anything beginning with 'A'


Is for Barkfly...


There are currently 68 known species of barkfly in the UK, although they are much under-recorded and so this is likely to rise at anytime. You might think that with only 68 to chose from, I could readily identify this one? Wrong! Too many similar looking ones for this barkfly novice to pick from.


Is for Caterpillar...




This caterpillar was displaying behaviour I have never seen before. It seemed to be pulling at the surface of the leaf and extracting sap? Or...certainly there was some kind of translucent liquid involved, that it appeared to be covering itself with. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to observe it for more than a few minutes. Having had a look around the internet for an explanation, I am still no wiser. 

Whilst we are on the letter 'C' I found a stem of dry grass that had a whole colony of emerging caterpillars...


Once again I can offer no ID for these tiny larvae. They were really small though, three of the eggs fitted into a 1mm length.


Is for Dead Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar...




This elephant hawk moth caterpillar was still firmly attached to the willowherb it had been feeding on, but had failed to reach pupation for some reason. When I spotted it, it was being 'up-cycled' by a female scorpion-fly.


Is for (live) Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar...



It has been a good year locally.




Is for a Fence-post Jumping Spider...


Marpissa muscosa
I know I am probably going to regret this when I get to letter 'M' but here is the largest jumping spider we have in the UK. 



Is for Groundhopper...



A Common Groundhopper (Tetrix undulata)
At 8-11mm the Common Groundhopper is related to Grasshoppers, but is smaller and well armoured.  These are to be found in drier places but also woodland rides, which is where this one was. I'm not sure but, possibly this is a female?


Is for Harvestman...



Leiobunum rotundum-A Havestman
One of the long-legged Harvestman that can be found from late summer, though autumn. I think there are roughly half the amount of Havestman species to Barkflies in the UK with a couple added to the list quite recently. Some of these are southern species only and I really should make an effort to see how many of those I can record.





Nope!



Is for Lizard skin...




Is for.....erm...Damn! I knew I should have saved that spider. OK, give me a minute, I am determined to find something.

Here's a little musical interlude whilst I search...it's a banging toon!

(This won't show in the emailed version of my blog. You will need to view online)




Be honest..you skipped it didn't you? Your loss. I have my finger on the pulse of popular culture, especially the latest trends in music and you'll only have yourself to blame when this becomes 'Top of The Pops' and you still haven't heard it. Oh well...I tried...



Is for Mystery...


When I saw this I was convinced I had found my very first Bristly Millipede. Well, convinced for a few seconds anyway. Looking closer through the macro lens, I could see that it is probably a beetle larva of some description.


Is for Nothing to be seen here!




Is for Oh Please Quickly go to the letter 'R'...


Is for Robberfly...


I found this large robberfly sitting in the sunshine on a fence, as they like to do.


Is for Sawfly Larva...



Eriocampa ovata-An Alder Sawfly Larva
These larvae grow to about 2cm long and are covered in a white, powdery substance that is supposed to camouflage them as bird droppings. They lose this in the final instar and become green.

Is also for Speckled Wood...

Pararge aegeria - A Speckled Wood Butterfly

Is for Troilus luridus...

Troilus luridus - A Bronze Shieldbug
A woodland species of shieldbug that can be found as an adult from July onward. If you are not an adult...you shouldn't even be looking!



Is for...U Very well know I don't have anything for these letters...


Is for Wasp...


Okay... Okay! It's not a wasp it is a bee. Be pedantic, I don't care!

Let me try that again?

Is for Woundwort Shieldbugs...


This year has been a really great year for these bugs in the garden. There are still plenty to be seen, and at most stages of growth too.



Is for...


Until the next time...

Its fun to wander through the alphabet with you...(link)

Saturday, September 05, 2015

Ecdysis in motion...





I thought you might need this when you realise that I have posted a second blog update so soon after the last one?

What are the exceptional circumstances that warrant such actions? Just that I found this Tortoise Sheildbug final instar nymph and it looked kind of...well, odd to me...



When I say odd, I really mean that the colour seemed very different to other late instar nymphs I have found and so I wondered if it might be close to moulting. Whether the colour was an indication of that or not, I still can't say for sure but I did return to where I found it a couple of hours later and...guess what? I had to hunt around for it and found it eventually underneath a leaf...


11:53 am

11:53am

11:55am

11:56am

11:58am

12:04pm

12:06pm


12:10pm

12:12pm



13:04pm


15:35pm


16:02pm
I decided to let the photographs do the talking for this update. I was lucky with this one that it was so close to home and I could keep popping back to check progress. I have seen this happen a few times now with different species, but it never fails to amaze me just how tricky and dangerous, let alone, exhausting the whole process is.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the pictures.

Until the next time...