Wildlife May 2011

[Anthony Darby]

I may in due course try sterile cultivation of Cyp seeds Lesley? 

[Lesley Cox]

I think it is permitted to bring in sterile material in glass but only if the species is on the permitted list. You'd have to make enquiries of ERMA to be quite sure.

[Anthony Darby]

Perish the thought Cypripedium could become a pest! Are hybrids allowed? I would have thought that any pest species would already be here after 100+ years of the "naturalisation society"? Mind you, I have never known such as this for spraying weed killer. It's everywhere! Wild flowers don't stand a chance. No wonder the only butterflies I see are cabbage whites, monarchs and small blues. There's nothing for them to feed on! Even so-called "reserves" (grassy areas we would call park land) have the grass sprayed at the edges where the mowed area stops and the bushes start. Apparently they used to strim it, but now you just get a yellow grass strip bordering mud where the previous yellow grass strip was. They are sterile environments except for ducks and pukekos! The lady who brought the geckos imported some Saracenia spp. from the UK (why, the garden centres are full of them?!). She said they had to be "dipped" here because the chemical they used was banned in the UK!

[Maggi Young]

Can I again remind everyone... and Anthony...... that the preferred size of Forum pictures is a maximum of 760 pixels wide!

[Anthony Darby]

Oops! I just use that default fit screen size. I think it's sometimes the vertical that doesn't fit?

[Peter Maguire]

From last weekend (Sunday 1st, so just permissible in this thread) -

Large White male (Pieris brassicae). A second brood individual with no black spots on the upper forewings. These butterflies certainly don't waste time where procreation is concerned!

[Lesley Cox]

Hybrids may be imported provided both (or however many) parents are also listed on the Biosecurity Index (permitted list). You probably have this by now but in case not is it found at

http://www1.maf.govt.nz/cgi-bin/bioindex/bioindex.pl

(note the 1 after www. Many leave it out and can't make the address work.)

A quick check shows that there are 19 species of Cypripedium listed at the present time. You would also have to clear with CITES which is administered in NZ by the Dept. of Conservation. If imported as plants (ex nursery) quarantine is involved and endless inspections of exporting source etc, but sterile material may bypass this. Obviously, have a chat to local MAF and ERMA.

I had a similar experience as your person who imported Sarracenias, with my last plant import in 1993 (haven't bothered to try since because of the costs and general difficulties). Everything, mostly saxifragas, primulas and all of Elizabeth Strangman's genetic base for her hellebore breeding programme which she generously gave to me, had to be dipped with various chemicals before they left the UK but the chemicals concerned were banned not by the UK as such but the the EU. They were therefore dipped on arrival in NZ, the details of which I won't bore you with(incompetence at Auckland airport) resulting in a total loss of the entire consignment.

[Anthony Darby]

I think that covers most of the ones I would want to consider. I see they put parviflorum = calceolus! No spotted leaf forms. Would only be able to do this if we moved south.

[annew]

When I went to find my trusty old walking boots in our garage yesterday, I discovered mice had shredded the linings and made a nest in one of them! Expensive mice...
On the plus side, our first 2 swifts came screaming over this morning, so I'm watching to see if they are interested in the nest boxes.
Just remembered - We put up house martin boxes last year (http://www.jacobijayne.co.uk/popular-nest-boxes/house-martin/single-and-double-house-martin-nests/), but so far, we have a blue tit showing interest in one, and the house martins have tried, but seem to have difficulty getting in. Has anybody any experience with these?

[Anthony Darby]

I saw several monarchs (Danaus plexippus) feeding on manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) today. Here are two females, plus a fat female springbok mantis (Miomantis caffra) and a manuka cultivar with spreading habit and deep pink flowers.

[Stephenb]

   That reminded me of something. My first cycle trip to work of the season one year. My training shoe was a bit more difficult than normal to put on and I didn't notice the smell until I took it off at work....the cat must have deposited a mouse in there in the course of the winter!

[Stephenb]

It's over 20C for the first time this year (this qualifies today as a "summer day"). This has brought with it an influx of migrants and I can hear both Willow Warblers and Whitethroats singing this morning...

[mark smyth]

Anne a friend has nine of those house martin nests on his house and they use them. You could get Barry to make the entrance larger and the martins can then fix it to their liking.

It's good to know your swifts are back. More will come when the wind moved back to the south. A Spanish Plume is supposed to be coming back also bring more record breaking temperatures

A fight in one of my nest boxes. This intruder arrived late and was possibly looking for a place to roost for the night. The fight was going from 10.10pm until after I went to bed at after 12.30am
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCKldNx0VVc[/youtube]

A very dirty victor at 6.30am that morning. Very dirty but probably happy. Later that afternoon it returned clean and with a mate
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Y0D3l1lI4&feature=related[/youtube]

[mark smyth]

This bird arrived home at 2pm today 8th May 2011
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mict-OsuI8[/youtube]

30 minutes later there were two in the nest
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf8vPmE200A[/youtube]

[Ragged Robin]

Walking in the New forest today I came across this dramatic looking Dragonfly....(libellula depressa)...never seen it before....thought it was a hornet at first!