Unusually Warm Day Encourages Garden Minilife

Unusually warm today - 18degrees at midday with very little wind brought out  a lot of insects, spiders etc including this Beetle Larva, Harlequin ladybird and various other insects. Spiders were also on the move and I think the white 'mushrooms' are spiders egg sacs. Even a small Geometrid caterpillar feeding on the Knapweed.

 

Garden Species List Continues

Some species from yesterday's garden session - never seen a colour morph of the Hairy Shieldbug before but pretty sure this is what it is. Still lots of species and fair numbers of many plant bugs and also Spiders. The caterpillar seems to be the Garden Tiger rather than Jersey T and the other hoary creature is a Larder Beetle larva. ID sheet at end.

The Next Generation in the Garden

The garden has lots of caterpillars and nymphal plant bugs and minute spiders as the next generations begin. Calophasia lunula, the Toadflax Brocade moth, is a recent immigrant to the UK but is now very widely spread - we have a good population every year, a very attractively patterned caterpillar. Plant bug nymphal stages are difficult to tell apart but generally they are found on the same plants as the adults which helps!! The garden has dozens of small flower spiders with different colours and pattern.

Elephant Hawkmoth

Last year, we had a lot of Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillars on our Greater Willowherb and I kept one chrysalis over the winter. Yesterday, it emerged as this beautiful moth. I released it in the morning back onto Greater Willowherb and it remained completely stationary hoping its camouflage would protect it. It flew off during the night.

More Species Emerging in the Garden

Lots of activity in the garden today - with less breeze and warm temperatures lots of species were on the move including a couple of new species for the garden - the Europaean Paper Wasp and Pied Shieldbug plus, possibly, the Speckled Wood. Have found over a dozen Scarlet Tiger caterpillars - they are devouring the Comfrey at quite a rate.