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Insects of the day

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Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    A happy looking insect at the wild flower plot today, with a double dot on the back, powerful looking legs and long antenae. White campion are coming out in force, about five ft high, which is a bit alarming. 😮


  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    It's a mirid bug of some kind. It might even be https://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Miridae/closterotomus_trivialis.html  which is a fairly new species to the UK. There's a few similar ones with the double spots though.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Thanks WE.
  • FritillariaScotlandFritillariaScotland Posts: 67
    Hello Knowers of All Things, you've been such great help with my gardening dilemmas this year, it's really appreciated.
    I've found this wee fella on my echinops today. I didn't have the heart to move it, would you be able to tell me what it is? And crucially, should I move it on? 
  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190
    it looks like the Angle Shades at the top of the page! Whatever it is, I would leave it alone, it will not do much more damage by itself.
  • FritillariaScotlandFritillariaScotland Posts: 67
    Wait a minute, could it be an angle shades moth caterpillar? 
    Here's a slightly better picture
  • FritillariaScotlandFritillariaScotland Posts: 67
    Alan Clark2 in Liverpool said:
    it looks like the Angle Shades at the top of the page! Whatever it is, I would leave it alone, it will not do much more damage by itself.
    This makes perfect sense, especially in light of my earlier posts in this thread, thank you @Alan Clark2 in Liverpool. I'm a bit slow today 🤣
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    wild edges said:
    wild edges said:
    Today's bug is this pudgy green fella who's been living inside one of my sedums (petrosedums if you want to be picky). I've no idea what it is so I've confined it to a bug box for now and I'm hoping to try and keep it captive until it turns into a moth. It'll probably turn out to be one of the impossible to identify tiny beige moths again but you never know. June/July seems to be peak TBM time of year so don't expect any updates in a hurry. :#
    Just an update to this: We have reached cocoon stage :)

    Further update: The first one has hatched. :) Predictably beige but I'm fairly confident this is the Light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana. They're quite variable in pattern so it will be interesting to see how different the other one looks in comparison.



    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    How great. What do you keep the caterpillars and larva in? It would be lovely to do this with the school kids.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    These are the bug boxes that the live food for my lizard comes in from the shop. She doesn't eat much so I only get through one or two a month but I save them up for reuse if I can. I've given quite a few to my neices and nephews to take to school. The one on top is the better kind, much more solid and with better ventilation. I imagine a quick ask on Freecycle for reptile live food boxes would find someone locally who has some. I'd send you some of mine but I haven't got any spares at the moment.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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