First Go with TrailCam and a Mixed-Bag of Garden Sightings

The top photograph shows David installing our new TrailCam in the hope that we might be able to record a few night visitors over the coming weeks. We have never used one before, but spurred on by reports from a couple of friends who have recently set up these cameras, we thought we would buy a fairly basic model and see what happened. I have a good idea of the creatures who visit our garden by day from the Homepatch Species List I have been keeping for the last few years, but little idea of what happens after dark or when we are inside. 

The second photo shows a kind of tunnel between the ivy and the fir tree. We have often seen cats in that area, but two of the regular felines have now moved elsewhere with their families, and we rarely see a cat in the garden. 

36 hours on and we uploaded the film. There are no great revelations to date (and thankfully perhaps, not even a rat), but the camera had been triggered several times, mainly in the dark, once yesterday morning in thick fog, and a few times in the daylight. 

The Blackbird below is the first identifiable creature to be caught on camera. Watch this space!

We have checked the garden for more ladybirds, and have located more 7-spot and Pine varieties. We have also seen a couple of bees . . .

 

. . . and a hoverfly (below), complete with shadow.

The 7-spot below is definitely keeping company with what are probably spiders, though I haven't been able to count their legs with any accuracy. I had wondered if they were Dock bug nymphs as we get a lot of Dock bugs in this part of the garden, but I don't think they are a good enough match.

We have had wasps' nests in the garden the last couple of years (well, one in the shower vent, so perhaps more in house than garden), so it was no real surprise to see this insect inspecting last year's nest site, which, thankfully was definitely in the garden and not in the house. I am fascinated by most insects, but do not get on well with ticks or the Common Wasp. I shall post this picture on to iSpot.

It has been a joy to see our Crocus, Miniatire Iris and other bulbs opening in the sunshine. We have a good show, albeit a miniature one, of Tête-à-têtes, in readiness for St David's Day (though these may technically be more Narcissus than Daffodil ... I wonder if you know).

Back to our mix of ladybirds again ...

 

 

 

And finally for now, a rather gruesome photo of what seems to be some kind of (perhaps beetle or weevil) larva demolishing an earthworm. A tiny corner of roofing felt came adrift from the old shed and this is what was underneath it ... I am hoping the folk on iSpot can enlighten me as to what exactly is going on.

 

After some fairly dormant months in our home patch, it suddenly seems as though there is a lot of activity even if I am still awaiting my first butterfly sighting!

My view of the Elephant Hawk-moth Larva

Having posted a few photos taken earlier in the week by David of an Elephant Hawk-moth larva he had seen en route to the nearest Post Office, I was absolutely delighted this afternoon to learn that there was a caterpillar in very close proximity to our home. As you can see it was busy eating its way through some Rosebay Willowherb leaves when I arrived.

I like the way its shape seems to mirror the grass seedhead just below it!

Not much left of the plant!

Elephant Hawk-moth larva

We seem to be a day or two behind most wildlife spotters at the moment!

I had seen several pictures of this rather handsome Elephant Hawk-moth larva on social media, and had remarked to David how interesting it would be to see one. I would also like to see the adult moth with its pink and green-gold markings.

Well, he took a parcel to the letterbox yesterday, passing some rough ground with a clump of Rosebay Willow Herb, and came back with these photos, which he has allowed me to share.  

One website compared the length of this caterpillar to an adult's finger, and the centimetre rule in the photo above will give a more accurate picture. The distinctive eye-like markings help to ward off potential predators: there is a good feature on 'fake eyes' here. 

David revisited the waste ground today, and made a short video of the larva munching away, which you can see here.

Day 17, #30DaysWildCreativity: Nourishing Things That Grow Nearby

The world had hardly changed

when I planted twenty-five seeds, each one a dry husk from which the vibrancy of life would spring. I waited, willing the first shoots to spike through the soil, hoping the slugs and snails would find other sources of nutrition. Within a month, green plants began to take shape, bearing stems that became umbrella handles underneath a ring of miniature leaves.

Some days raindrops pattered down from brooding skies. A few bounced off the seedlings: others landed on the leaves and became tiny snow-globes of life. As rainbows gave way to bursts of sunshine, the plants grew and began to develop a range of markings. This morning there were three distinct colour forms; vibrant green, deep kale green, and mottled green and cream.

Each stalk propels its leaf towards the light. Each leaf spreads in diameter, providing the perfect wet-weather shelter for a mouse. I pick a single stem and twiddle it round between index finger and thumb. I check for signs of butterfly eggs and blackfly, but there are none. I roll the small leaf and squeeze it, inhaling an earthy draft of pepper. I am reminded of piquant pasta suppers in last year’s heatwave. 

But no eggs could mean no larvae, which in turn could mean a dearth of white butterflies.

 

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This post was written in response to Dr Miriam Darlington's #30DaysWildCreativity meme for Day 17 of #30DaysWild. We were invited to look 'more closely at things growing nearby and see how nourishing they are'.  

#30DaysWild, Day 8: Knapweed Surprise

I seem to have been preoccupied with correspondence during the last 36 hours, so, with some reluctance, I will pass over Dr Miriam Darlington's tempting #30DaysWildCreativity meme offered today by her guest, Sarah Acton, though I would like to try it at some point. 

Instead I have opted for this morning's discovery which follows on perfectly from yesterday's post about the new Knapweed plant in our wild garden...

Look! Caterpillars at last! 

I am pretty excited, particularly since they were not there yesterday, and I'm not entirely sure I know whose larvae they are (I had wondered Angle Shades since the moth had been in the area, but I am not sure the pictures match). I am in the process of trying to find out, but do leave a comment if you can help. 

In yesterday's post I wrote about what insects the Knapweed might attract, little thinking that by this morning there would be at least four hungry mouths feeding on the plant. The weather has not been particularly bright or warm, but, as they say, what a difference a day makes...

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UPDATE, August 2020

Having guessed these were moth larvae, I am now wondering if they might be Hoverfly larvae. The reason is the photo in the pop-up window labelled 'Hoverfly larvae' on this UK Safari page. Other suggestions from kind folk on iSpot are both types of Orthosia; O. gracilis (Powdered Quaker) and O. gothica (Hebrew Character) and