Mutter, mutter, if that is what I think it is a lily beetle - good picture wild edges - mine are usually too busy multiplying to pose like that when I see them in the garden - I do wish the birds would find them tasty - they would have a feast here!
If I was a bird I wouldn't eat something bright red that screams when you touch it. I wonder if they do have any natural predators in this country? Apart from shoes that is.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Three years ago we had alot of orange tips here they loved the ivy, but suddenly they have gone, not a one. It makes you wonder if there was a particular plant they used that someone disposed of but I dont know which one the caterpillars use.
They seem to go for lady's smock/cuckoo flower and garlic mustard around here. I've been maintaining a patch of grass at my dad's place just for the cuckoo flower as it does well there.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Three years ago we had alot of orange tips here they loved the ivy, but suddenly they have gone, not a one. It makes you wonder if there was a particular plant they used that someone disposed of but I dont know which one the caterpillars use.
They generally feed on Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) around here as there's lots in the hedgerows. In other areas it may be Cuckooflower aka Lady's smock (Cardamine pratensis.) 🦋
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
BobTheGardener said: They generally feed on Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) around here as there's lots in the hedgerows. In other areas it may be Cuckooflower aka Lady's smock (Cardamine pratensis.) 🦋
Here's a pic of an orange tip on one of its favourite plants, Cardamine pratensis, taken 7 years ago. In those days I could go to that meadow full of those plants and was sure to spot quite a few butterflies. Those were the days...
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