Hairy Minibeast

Penny spotted something hairy creeping past the back door. I managed to capture it in a small plastic petri dish. Unfortunately it then refused to do anything but curl up.

LCD microscope photo:



I let it go again and waited for it to start moving. Unfortunately for a small beast it can really move fast. The best I could get as it rushed for cover:





It turned out to be a Ruby Tiger Moth caterpillar. Hair in tufts, about 25mm long. Right time of year for a second brood. Have seen the adult moths from time to time in the longer parts of the lawn.

A Hairy One

Moving a few items round in the garden so there was less chance of them taking off in the strong winds from Storm Dennis I was quite surprised to see



a hairy caterpillar curled up among the inevitable scurry of pill bugs.

One possibility is that it is the caterpillar of the Ruby Tiger Moth.
I have previously seen the moths in my garden but  I could well be wrong.

Tiny Green Beastie

Having trimmed back part of an ivy bush I was cleaning the hedge trimmer when I spotted something tiny and green crawling under the handle. It was difficult to photograph there but eventually it found its way down to the lid of the wheelie bin:





As it was no more than 10mm in length I didn't even notice the hairs until I had the macro lens really close. Those, I thought, should make it easy to identify. Wrong. I gave up after looking at well over a hundred green caterpillar photos and not one was a match.

Unknown Caterpillar

I am in the process of demolishing a lean to wooden shed as the roof is shot through and the wood rotting. That also gives the opportunity to move a couple of water butts. When I lifted the base of one I spotted this caterpillar hiding underneath:



I made a few attempts at identification but so far drawn a blank. Anyway, see previous post, it's not my month for getting identifications correct. Its length was somewhat over an inch, say about 35mm. After a short while it crept off to find another hiding place.

Abraxas grossulariata

Spotted next to my side gate yesterday:

     

Abraxas grossulariata  (Magpie Moth) caterpillar



I took this photo of a Magpie Moth in 2009:



This is a Summer daytime flying moth. The caterpillars may be found feeding on Blackthorn and Hawthorn but can also cause widespread damage to the leaves of currant and gooseberry bushes.

Busy Bees

On the few occasions recently when the Sun has shone my heather plants have been swarming with bees. I would guess they are coming from a local smallholding where there are lots of bee hives. They were making the most of a sunny period with the temperature reaching 14˚C.









I only saw one bumble bee. Usually it has been the opposite, lots of bumble bees and few honey bees.

They were not alone - seemingly basking in the Sun was this lone hairy caterpillar:





It appears to be the caterpillar of the Ruby Tiger Moth which feeds on heather, amongst other things. The adult can be seen here on the ukmoths site.

Friday at the Flicks - Windy, Caterpillar, Hedgehogs, Greenfinches

It is nearly a week since the remains of Hurricane Katia passed over the country. Fortunately, here anyway, wind strength was well down on those forecast as possibilities. Mainly gusts in the 35 to 45mph range. We had stronger winds last January. For wildlfe it matters not what the weather is like, life must go on and they have to eat.



In spite of the wind it was a glorious sunny day. As I checked out the garden pond a movement in the grass caught my eye. At first I though the grey shape crawling through the grass was one of the newts but on closer inspection it turned out to be an Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar. They are large, stretching to about 3.5 inches ( 90mm) long. Every so often it would stop and investigate the vegetation and the ground. I read somewhere that they bury themselves underground to pupate and remain there through the winter. Holding the TZ7 steady was difficult in the blustery conditions.



I said earlier in the week I had managed to take some video of the adult and juvenile Hedgehogs so here they are. Focussing a bit iffy in places as the camera was on manual focus and I couldn't find the switch while I was filming from the darkened kitchen. Notice how perfect their table manners were while they were being filmed - not once standing in the dish. Most unusual.



Finally a short clip of the Greenfinches which are a very welcome sight as it shows their numbers are recovering a bit after two years of finch disease. This goup of seven or eight are mostly juveniles.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you wherever you are.

Unidentified Black Caterpillar

While clearing a patch of weeds this morning I spotted this caterpillar. I've looked at photos of black caterpillars until my eyes blurred over but haven't managed to positively trace it as yet. Length nearly 2in (50mm). My best guess is Elephant Hawk Moth.