Micro moth of the day: the cork moth (probably). The larvae feed on bracket fungus and I've stashed a few old logs around the garden so I hope it's emerged from the fungi growing on one of those.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
If an insect is definitely identified as invasive - is it ok to kill it? I stopped using any kind of pesticides in my garden and don’t kill any insects (except for the lily beetles), but what about for example the above mentioned weevil - would it be beneficial for the environment to step on those?
I saw two of these this morning. Looking them up, they seem to be maybe ashy mining bees. (?) One was struggling, falling over on it's back, stumbling about. I put it on an allium head where it snoozed and ate and flew straight off, which seemed like a bit of a quick result. I've not ID'd them before, but then I wasn't paying as much attention as this year.
It's good to remember to put bowls of water about for birds and insects to drink, with rocks in so there is somewhere to sit.
I was watching a great tit this morning collecting sheep wool in the garden. It seems late to be collecting bedding, but I guess not.
If an insect is definitely identified as invasive - is it ok to kill it? I stopped using any kind of pesticides in my garden and don’t kill any insects (except for the lily beetles), but what about for example the above mentioned weevil - would it be beneficial for the environment to step on those?
Up to you I suppose. These weevils are now widespread and don't seem to do any noticeable harm so probably a bit pointless to kill the odd one or two. Vine weevils and lily beetles tend to be more destructive though so kill away.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I was watching a great tit this morning collecting sheep wool in the garden. It seems late to be collecting bedding, but I guess not.
Sometimes if their first nest fails or the young fledge early enough they will nest again. They could be making a new nest if the old one failed or just relining the old one to tidy it up a bit.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Can anyone please help identify this caterpillar species. I've got a lot of these hanging out on my roses - mainly on the buds. They are about 1-2 cm long, quite thin, and have fine hairs all over.
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I stopped using any kind of pesticides in my garden and don’t kill any insects (except for the lily beetles), but what about for example the above mentioned weevil - would it be beneficial for the environment to step on those?
But at least it’s tiny 😅