Wildlife mid 2009

[Anthony Darby]

I only ever did get that one female Hyalophora cecropia (Robin moth), and 10 males! The other day a female Eupakardia calleta, a moth from New Mexico. Yesterday this male emerged and they'd mated by lunch time! This is him today.

A fabulous looking Moth, Anthony, such handsome colouring and pattern - almost looks hand painted! - is it much smaller that the Robin Moth?
Can't believe the 10 to 1 odds!

More or less the same size.

Erica, your beetle looks like a Bee beetle (Trichodes apiarius); the butterfly is a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)?

Here's a pic of Sundance eating a locust. I dust his food with Calcium and vitamin D3 supplement. Took me a while to find him, parked on the greenhouse light. He took the locust from my hand.

[Stephenb]

Angelicas are magnets for bees and wasps. Here is my Angelica gigas with a couple of (I'm guessing) White-tailed bees.

[Arykana]

Erica, your beetle looks like a Bee beetle (Trichodes apiarius); the butterfly is a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)?

Yes, we call bogáncs lepke - but the Painted Lady sund so much nicer They are coming in big groups, like clouds
Trichodes apiarius is szalagos méhészbogár /almost the same in Hungarian - is very often come in my garden

[Ragged Robin]

Angelicas are magnets for bees and wasps. Here is my Angelica gigas with a couple of (I'm guessing) White-tailed bees.

What a great shot of your purple angelica with the bees, Stephen, how tall does this angelica grow?  Would like to try here if it is hardy enough

[mark smyth]

A Scottish Golden Eagle was poisoned last month http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-223556

[Lesley Cox]

The Angelica gigas will grow to a metre if it has ample moisture. Mine grows to about 70cms as it doesn't get watered. I mean they rather than it as it is monocarpic (biennial with me, dying down the first year but coming back to flower) and dies after flowering/seeding but is well worth going on with year by year. I've counted 80 honey bees on one flower head at one time. They just adore it. It should be reasonably hardy because of that dying down thing.

[Lori S.]

I've had them get to 2m here when I've grown them (and they are hardy biennials here).  In this area, the flower heads are extremely attractive to wasps, rather than to bees (which perhaps just avoid the wasps!  I certainly would!)

[Stephenb]

The plants shown are about 1.3m and self-sows (in moderation), taking 2-3 years to flower here depending on location.

However, when I first started growing this I had expected a giant of a plant as I assumed that the botanical epithet gigas means giant and it's sometimes called Giant Angelica. However, it's quite a small plant for an Angelica...

This is the biggest I've grown, the 3m+ Angelica heterocarpa from SW Europe - unfortunately,  it self-sows in a big way too:

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for all the information everyone, I shall definitely try Angelica gigas as the colour and form fits in with the wildness of our garden and hope will attract more bees 

[Anthony Darby]

A Scottish Golden Eagle was poisoned last month http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-223556

Sad indeed. Some gamekeepers only work at reflex level.

[Paul T]

Some pics at a friend's bird feeder (or below it) the other day....

I love the Rosellas, but the pic of the two Galahs was just so perfect.  

Please click on the pic for a larger version.  If pics are too large, please let me know.

[mark smyth]

makes a good change from the armies of starlings over here. I used to breed Crested pigeons

[Anthony Darby]

................and galahs cost about two grand in the UK! I have a friend with two females!

At long last, the last of the 'big five' in my garden - a Comma (Polygonia c-album). This butterfly hibernates exposed to the elements in amongst dead leaves in hedges and bushes. The ragged outline of the underside is very leaf-like, including a wee c-shaped "crack" to complete the disguise. Also a newly emerged Painted Lady showing the lovely salmon-pink colour.

[Lesley Cox]

Beautiful butterflies as always but I love your galahs Paul. This could be an entry in the AGS photo competition surely.

[Paddy Tobin]

Paul,

These are all wild birds? I imagine they are as they seem free in the garden. What good fortune to have such beauty coming freely to your garden.

Paddy