Wildlife in the garden - Indian summer?

[Peter Insole]

Going back to your Elephant Hawk moth caterpillar Mickoo: here's one we reared back in 2018...



Most butterfly and moth species are specialists, feeding only on particular plant types. This is mainly due to peculiar adaptations that enable the caterpillars to tolerate various chemical defences that the majority of plants produce. While some species use subtle camouflage to disguise themselves amongst their food plants, others brazenly deploy scare tactics - as this wonderful beast does!

The Elephant Hawk larvae normally feeds on Willowherb, but sometimes can be found living on Fuchsia in our gardens!

During our care of a couple of specimens, I was surprised to discover a really neat, and possibly unique trick: At first, the creature feeds just like any other and grows at an incredible, but predictable rate. However. when it reaches a certain size and weight it cannot then reach the flowers and seed pods, it's apparent favourite part of the plant, far out on slender stems that would not otherwise support it. The solution is to hold fast at the rear end on a thicker branch, stretch out and grab the nearest flexible one, haul it in and bite a little vee shaped chunk to create a folding point that it could bend towards itself. It would repeat that as many times as required to finally bring the delicious tip down to a comfortable feeding position!! One of those bends can be seen at the left in the above image.

After wintering as a pupae, the resulting moth is a delight, and very much one among my favourites...



The glorious thing is not just pretty in pink, nor is it just superbly aerodynamic and built for speed, but apparently it comes with a suite of countermeasures to avoid incoming missiles (of the bat variety) as well!!

Oh dear, as humans, we think we are so clever at inventing stuff...?!!

Pete.

 

[steve50]

The Hawk Moths are stunning! Lucky to see a Humming Bird Hawk in my other half's garden last year, not seen one this year though.

 

[Peter Insole]

By the way, we had some visitors enjoying themselves on the railway yesterday.

Train services were only briefly interrupted by this splendid fellow on the line though...



Not a tortoise this time, or even a Tortoiseshell come to that, but at least a close relative of the latter, being also a member of the Nymphalidae family!!

Sorry, just showing off now!

Pete.

 

[Big Train James]

These shots are from last summer, but we are getting very close now (hopefully) to the emergence of this year's batch. While there were plenty of catepillars, all but two transformed out of sight. We were lucky enough to spot two pupae. We didn't catch the moment the butterfly emerged, but very soon after as it waited for wings to harden.



All very rewarding/inspiring. We have even more of the butterfly milkweed this year, so we are hoping for lots of new visitors.

Also spotted last year.....Spicebush Swallowtail - female (I think)


And this Red Admiral (I think)


I've also been seeing Bee Hawk Moths lately, which are the same as Hummingbird moths. They like the Phlox we planted a couple of years ago. Hard to get a picture, they don't sit still for very long!

Jim

 

[steve50]

I saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth in my garden at the weekend, apologies for the phot but the thing was so damn fast! It was around on Buddleia and Verbena for a good 5 mins or so. This year those plants have been so valuable for bugs and things, they are always covered!

 

[LarryG]

It really is a wild life in my garden with this idiot for company. He went through a phase of liking banana and was as tame as they come stood on the table beside me....


....Bloody show off as well.....

 

[Ressaldar]

In that first picture, he is quite intimidating to say the least!

regards

Mike

 

[John Rich]

It really is a wild life in my garden with this idiot for company. He went through a phase of liking banana and was as tame as they come stood on the table beside me....
View attachment 168486

....Bloody show off as well.....View attachment 168485

Great couple of piccies, Gulls seem to have a bad press these days as stealers of chips but I think they are great looking birds.

 

[Osgood]

Gull has got me worried.....

 

[Osgood]

And there was this Banksy last year during his 'Norfolk retreat' - a creative compliment to the Celotex offcuts! (picture from BBC news website):

 

[Focalplane]

Although not in my garden, I thought this might be interesting. This is a Laughing Gull, a Texas species, taking a saltine cracker from a passenger on the Bolivar Ferry, Galveston. Only after I took the photo did I realize that the bird's feathers were momentarily "flustered" as the bird took the cracker.

 

[simond]

They’re beautiful birds in the air

And a confounded nuisance if they infest your space. I loathe pigeons but at least they don’t fight back…

 

[mickoo]

When you work in and around Gulls they're not so friendly, in fact they're an obnoxious filthy pest if not controlled.

Cannot deny their grace in flight though.

 

[djparkins]

in fact they're an obnoxious filthy pest



View attachment 168496

Kind of reminds me of another species!

 

[oldravendale]

As a sea angler I rather agree with Mr Mickoo.....

Brian

 

[Focalplane]

This from my back yard and very much down to earth

 

[Tim Hale]

With apologies to Nemo​

 

[Genghis]

Came across this tiny one - about 6" long - while on my morning walk.



I think it is a juvenile common mock viper. Its triangular head was already under the leaf by the time I had got my phone out. Not uncommon to come across snakes while out and about and always an exercise in sphincter control when I spot one.

Dave

 

[Focalplane]

My example is just a common slow worm but it still gave me a start. Ironic since I spent time in Indonesian jungles when a young geologist and the locals, once they found out I didn’t like snakes would bring me ones they found, exclaiming “Ular!” (Malay for snake). A fellow geologist I worked with told me he had arachnophobia, also not well equipped to do fieldwork!

 

[simond]

When I was in India, we saw a few, but the driver found a very small snake (maybe pencil sized) in our garage. He put it in a clear plastic water bottle and brought it to the office for me to see. It was clearly extremely cross, and very aggressive, as it kept trying to strike through the bottle at anything which moved near to it. We didn’t manage a positive identification, but the suspicion was a young viper of some sort. It was eventually dumped in a field some distance from the office.

We also saw a smallish snake on our recent trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina, the locals were clearly convinced it was dangerous, and as we were at a school, it was somewhat unceremoniously and efficiently killed.