Wildlife mid 2009

[Anthony Darby]

Here is a Common Frog (Rana temporaria) I found when fixing my waterfall.

[Martin Baxendale]

Here is a Common Frog (Rana temporaria) I found when fixing my waterfall.

Your waterfall? That sounds very grand, Anthony. Can I come round for a spot of deer stalking?   

[Anthony Darby]

No problem Martin. We saw one on our walk. Too dark to photograph clearly, but she was standing in amongst the farmer's neeps! Yesterday I met Nimrod with his rifle up near the Gathering Stone on Sheriffmuir, but this time the mysterious Belgian hunter had been unlucky.

[Martin Baxendale]

No problem Martin. We saw one on our walk. Too dark to photograph clearly, but she was standing in amongst the farmer's neeps!

Ah! Fields of neeps! When I lived in Broughty Ferry, we used to go into the raspberry fields behind Broughty Ferry that grew fruit for Roberstons Jam and stuff our faces with raspberries when we were out on our bikes as kids in the summer.  In the winter when there were no raspberries, we'd stop and use our penknives to carve chunks out of farmers' neeps to eat. Raw neeps. We'd be cyclling like mad afterwards to get home to a toilet!

[cohan]

The depredations of a leaf-cutting bee on a small hosta. Neither of the two other hostas immediately adjacent to the right were touched.

These bees are quite fascinating characters. Some years ago, one dug its tunnel into a crack in my (badly settled) patio. When I moved the hose I had (as usual) left out, the poor bee arrived home with either prey or another fragment of leaf and deprived of the landmarks it had been using, could not find the entrance to the tunnel. It then began a methodical sweeping operation until it found the tunnel. As an experiment, I took two old porcelain doorknobs and placed them on either side of the tunnel, perhaps 8" apart, as landing beacons. Mrs. Bee didn't take long to adapt to these new landmarks and when she came in, she'd sail directly into her tunnel with no hesitation whatsoever.

very interesting... i havent observed any such precision work around here...

[Armin]

A regular appearing guest at my garden terrace, flashed last night on the back of a chair.

Tettigonia viridissima (female): Great Green Bush-Cricket / Großes Heupferd

[Ragged Robin]

Great shot of a Great Green Bush-Cricket she's very friendly Armin, gorgeous green too  

Your garden in the evening must be full of chirruping noise!

[Anthony Darby]

I love the sound. Not found in Scotland, but over 35 years ago I released some into my garden in Callander. They stayed nearabouts until October. I did find a couple of nymphs two years later, so eggs must have gone through two winters.

[Ragged Robin]

I did find a couple of nymphs two years later, so eggs must have gone through two winters.

That's amazing, Anthony - talk about survival!  However from your photos it seems you have plenty of frogs in your garden, which are scarcely in mine though they must be about 

[Roma]

A pristine new Small tortoiseshell on a plant of Valeriana officinalis which I haven't got round to weeding out of my garden.  The nettle patch where I saw the caterpillars is about quarter of a mile away so maybe it is from there.  I saw another two today on the wild valerian nearer to the nettle patch.

[Maggi Young]

It is perfect, isn't it? Since it likely did come from your nettle patch, you can surely  make the "Blue Peter " claim, Roma..... you know.... "here's one I made earlier" ......

Super photo, by the way. 

[Anthony Darby]

I found a patch of nettles on this evening's walk with small tortoiseshell caterpillars, so yours are well ahead Roma. It is generally single brooded in Scotland, so your butterfly will hibernate and mate in the spring.

[mark smyth]

Today while in the shed a tortoiseshell flew in. I tried to chase it out because there are too many nasties lurking in the corners. It wouldnt go and insisted in checking every nook. I caught it and put it out. It wouldnt be thinking of hibernating already!?

Anthony one of my swifts nests is now empty because the chicks fledged over the last few days. A couple of weeks ago when my chicks were ringed their nest was disgusting because the parents didnt keep it clean. There are maggots eating the droppings but they aren't blow fly maggots. How well do you know your maggots?

[Anthony Darby]

Difficult to identify, but several species of Ophyra scavenge in decaying waste matter?

On this evening's walk I came across a patch of giant puffballs (Calvatia gigantea). I brought the biggest (11" across) home to show the kids, and may go back for a smaller one for the pot!

I also saw another couple of roe deer - only one close enough to take a pic, but it was quite dark. Heidi was more interested in catching flies!

[Ragged Robin]

Roma your Small tortoiseshell looks wonderful on the wild white Valerian and the wing patterns are so pretty - lucky the V survived so you had this wonderful sight!  Persanally I love seeing Valerian (white and pink) on the verge and in rough spots - it certainly attracts insects of all sorts. I bet Stephen grows it in his garden in Norway!

Couldn't resist this snippet from Wikipedia: