wildlife

[Anthony Darby]

Holly blues are double brooded, alternating with the first generation feeding on holly, mainly the berries, and the second feeding on ivy flowers.

[johnralphcarpenter]

OK, not the usual sort of wildlife that we see on this Forum. We have a Big Cat Sanctuary near us, dedicated to conservation of wild cats big and small - see http://www.whf.org.uk/. They have breeding populations of many species, and work with other institutions to conserve threatened species. Not normally open to the public, but they do a range of "experiences", so I bought my cat-mad wife a "Ranger for a Day" experience. She said that she had never seen so much cat poo in here life, but had a wonderful time and got to hand feed the white lions. She took lots of photographs, here are a few.

[johnralphcarpenter]

More.

[johnralphcarpenter]

More.

[johnralphcarpenter]

More.

[Chris Johnson]

Chris.

I am sure that the Hawk moth had just hatched out locally as it was in pristine condition.  Two years ago I had one in the garden in June and then found a larva crawling along the garden path in August.  I collected it and gave it to my grandchildren in Edinburgh who overwintered it in their garage in Edinburgh hoping to have a moth hatch out but when they checked it in April, there was no trace of it.

I found out from a member of our local Scottish Ornithologists Group that there has been a colony of Holly Blues in Belle isle park in Ayr, for over 10 years.
My garden would also seem to be the ideal habitat with the gable wall covered in ivy and a mature Holly tree within 8 feet of the ivy.
I am convinced that my Holly Blue had just hatched in the period of warm weather as it was in a fresh condition..

Tom

An interesting local population. The national database suggests northern England as its most northerly distribution on a regular basis. Good years will see them spreading out but these are not always sustained.

[Anthony Darby]

The change in butterfly and moth populations in the last 40 years has been spectacular. Forty years ago there were no peacocks, commas or orange tip butterflies in Central Scotland (Stirlingshire and South Perthshire). Now all three are reasonably common here. I can't comment on the moths as I stopped trapping on a regular basis twenty years ago, and many moths migrate long distances, whereas butterfly migrants tend to be restricted to a few well known species, and none of the above.

[latestart]

The change in butterfly and moth populations in the last 40 years has been spectacular. Forty years ago there were no peacocks, commas or orange tip butterflies in Central Scotland (Stirlingshire and South Perthshire). Now all three are reasonably common here. I can't comment on the moths as I stopped trapping on a regular basis twenty years ago, and many moths migrate long distances, whereas butterfly migrants tend to be restricted to a few well known species, and none of the above.

We have found the same in the east of West Lothian. I remember getting very excited when the kids said we had Peacock butterflies in the garden. It was about 10 years after that before we saw the Orange tips. Both are now common but the Comma is a rare visitor. I thought I might have bought them in on plants from south of the border. Tortoiseshells used to be our most common species but even they are seen less often. I caught this one feasting in the garden last evening.   

[Anthony Darby]

Unlikely to have brought commas in on plants, unless you are transporting hop plants or elm trees. They have spread naturally. I saw my first in Dunblane in 2009. 100 years ago they were confined to three central counties in England.

[Chris Johnson]

We have found the same in the east of West Lothian. I remember getting very excited when the kids said we had Peacock butterflies in the garden. It was about 10 years after that before we saw the Orange tips. Both are now common but the Comma is a rare visitor. I thought I might have bought them in on plants from south of the border. Tortoiseshells used to be our most common species but even they are seen less often. I caught this one feasting in the garden last evening.

Small Tortoiseshells used to be one of the commonest butterflies but suffered a catastrophic decline over a number of years; it is are now on the increase again. I recorded Orange Tip in woodland near Stornoway last year (second Outer Hebrides record), and hopeful that a small colony will develop. It will never be common as this is the only suitable habitat here.

[TC]

While Cindy was wandering round a craft fair in Troon. I went to the harbour and was lucky enough to have close encounters with an Icelandic Gull and some Black Guilemots
resting on the harbour wall.  The first winter gull was hanging about with some immature Herring Gulls outside the "Wee Hurrie" chip shop -  gulls are always on the scrounge.
As it posed nicely, I gave it a piece of my muesli bar !

[fermi de Sousa]

After our meeting at the FCHS Hall on Saturday we saw this chap (Laughing Kookaburra-Dacelo novaeguineae) sitting on a boulder outside and it made a dive into the garden to come up with an earthworm - well, snakes are hibernating at this time of year! We have them at home hunting mice, I think,
cheers
fermi

[Anthony Darby]

This adult male katydid (bush cricket - Caedicia simplex) surprised me this afternoon.

[FrazerHenderson]

Caterpillars

[mark smyth]

My red mason bees were a disaster this year. I had about 150 cocoons. April was hot with high teens centigrade with c.100 emerging. Most gave me the finger and flew away never to be seen again. c.50 didn't emerge. May then went very cold with little or no activity due to freezing nights and as low as 4c during the day. With a life span of only 6 weeks most females died from starvation and the cold temperatures. I only have 4 filled tubes.

Will anyone have spare cocoons of red mason or other solitary bees next year?