I reckon it had around a dozen then wandered over to another tree and had a lay down. I was in the garden for about 45mins. I used to get them in my old place but they would always bugger off after a few minutes of wanton destruction. I’ve never seen one lying down from so close(10m ish). It clearly feels quite safe here.
LOL, the cheek of it ![]()
I wonder if someone is feeding it, could explain the comfort level
Wahey! I will never understand the rules of golf - but suddenly I’m interested in golf…
Can anyone please help identify these Larvae in our wild pond (next to the Mosquitos…)
Has a curled form with a fan tail and two ‘antlers’
Since putting it together a month or so back, nice to see some other pond life that isn’t mosquitos!
They are the pupal stage of the midge larvae that’s also swimming in your water.
They do not feed in this stage of the metamorphosis cycle . In a couple of days they sit on the surface where the surface tension of the water and the hydroscopic nature of the chitin outer skeleton allows the “skin” to split and the adult midge/ mosquito to emerge above the water line
All deer are ruminants . They require bacteria in a second compartment of the stomach to digest the cellulose of plant material before it can be absorbed into the body . That’s why they rarely lie on their sides
Definitely eyed Hawkmoth as its tail spike is turning a blueish colour .
It looks like it’s in its 5th “ instar” judging by the size of its head . It will shortly enter the 6th and final instar/moult after which it will pupate as in the picture .. looks like a lipstick to start with before it goes brown . Pupating just under the soil.
Excellent! ![]()
Thanks, hopefully will attract some other predators to keep the mosquitoes down!
I’m picturing you peeping from behind some bracken whispering these posts David Attenborough style ![]()
Some longhorn moths I photographed on the regeneration project I work on.
Bearing in mind the pupa is 20% smaller than the emerged moth .
The male antennae is curled up like a spring in the pupal case
That’s not too far from the truth
I have been an entomologist longer than a HIFI nerd and I’ve been into Hifi for 60 years .
I spot things no one else ever sees , I found these buff tip moth eggs on a leaf . Sadly they were not fertile as they never hatched . There are 2,500 moths and 59 species of butterfly in the uk , everyone has a different ova ..
“Buff Tip” is such an undersell - they should be “Snapped-off Bit of Twig Moth”
- albeit a mite unwieldy name I grant you - not my pic:
It’s been a decent year for my light trap . Had quite a few moths that I haven’t seen in years . I think the warming climate has allowed a few more species to move further north to the midlands such as the pine hawk and privet hawk . The privet hawk is huge only beaten by the deaths head hawk moth which comes over from the continent as a migrant species















