Wildlife May 2011

[ArnoldT]

Anthony:

I have to admit I didn't see it.  I reached over a pot to pull a week on a raised part of the garden and felt the spider silk.  Looked down and saw all the buggers running for cover.

[Melvyn Jope]

I noticed this 'white' spider on flowers of Iphieon uniflorum Alberto Castillo earlier in the year, now that has died down it has moved on to Anemone coronaria, can someone identify it please?

[Anthony Darby]

Looks like the crab spider Misumena vatia Melvyn?

[Lesley Cox]

If you put the spider on a pink anemone, would it turn pink, chameleon-style? Ok Anthony, I'm just kidding.

[Anthony Darby]

If you put the spider on a pink anemone, would it turn pink, chameleon-style? Ok Anthony, I'm just kidding.

They do actually tend to match the background of their preferred flower and can vary from white through yellow to green, but I think this would be genetic?

[RichardW]

spent an hour at the weekend watching Spotted Flycatchers, back early this year and nest building already, saw something I haven't before & I thought at first was courtship display, but turned into a very aggresive fight!

[Melvyn Jope]

Looks like the crab spider Misumena vatia Melvyn?

Thank you for identifying it Anthony.

[Neil]

That's a lackey moth caterpillar (Malacosoma neustria). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackey_moth

Thanks Anthony, I was hoping for something a bit more exotic if its eating my raspberry bush

[Anthony Darby]

Looks like the crab spider Misumena vatia Melvyn?

Thank you for identifying it Anthony.

Here in New Zealand they sell a spray for spiders - Miss Muffet's Revenge! (http://www.wetandforget.co.nz/missmuffetsrevenge.htm) It take it no one has told them that if you kill spiders you get more flies. The total mass of flies eaten by spiders in the UK annually outweighs the total UK human population!

That's a lackey moth caterpillar (Malacosoma neustria). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackey_moth

Thanks Anthony, I was hoping for something a bit more exotic if its eating my raspberry bush

The caterpillar's quite exotic.

[Maggi Young]

That's a lackey moth caterpillar (Malacosoma neustria). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackey_moth

Thanks Anthony, I was hoping for something a bit more exotic if its eating my raspberry bush

When your rasps are fruiting I can come and eat them while wearing an exotic costume... would that help? Raspberries are my favourite!

[mark smyth]

great photos Richard.

I went out on Sunday looking for merlins, white stork, whinchat, woodpeckers, red grouse and ring ouzel. Couldnt find the last four probably due to lashing rain

Two storks in N Ireland and probably the same ones that were in Scotland last year.

[Anthony Darby]

I went for a walk down the Cascades Walkway in Pakuranga at 6.45 this morning while My son was at hockey training. Like spring. Every other tree or bush had a song thrush in it singing merrily away.

[Lesley Cox]

That's a lackey moth caterpillar (Malacosoma neustria). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackey_moth

Thanks Anthony, I was hoping for something a bit more exotic if its eating my raspberry bush

Even the plebs amongst us enjoy raspberries Neil

[Lesley Cox]

I went for a walk down the Cascades Walkway in Pakuranga at 6.45 this morning while My son was at hockey training. Like spring. Every other tree or bush had a song thrush in it singing merrily away.

We had snow last night!

[Lesley Cox]

Here in New Zealand they sell a spray for spiders - Miss Muffet's Revenge! (http://www.wetandforget.co.nz/missmuffetsrevenge.htm) It take it no one has told them that if you kill spiders you get more flies. The total mass of flies eaten by spiders in the UK annually outweighs the total UK human population!

I certainly didn't know that. I don't deliberately kill spiders, my main battle is against woodlice that come in the bathroom window (a flatworm also slithered in during the last heavy rain), but this info, if correct, should be plastered across the doors of every hardware or garden shop that sells spider repellants. Flies, especially blowflies are infinitely more disgusting (and disease carrying) than spiders.