Sunday 9th March 2014 - Down in the garden

Today, Bev and I decided to spend some time out in the garden tidying it ready for the Spring.  This involved the usual pruning, weeding and general tinkering about.
 
Whilst pottering I noticed an interesting looking caterpillar crawling over the plants below the Honeysuckle.  I took a number of record shots and quickly went to check it out in a number of my butterfly/moth books.  It turned out to be quite a result as it was a Scarlet Tiger moth larva.  Interestingly we had an adult Scarlet Tiger fluttering around the garden for a few days last summer.  The main food plant of the Scarlet Tiger moth larvae is Comfrey, of which  we have none in our garden.  They will however also feed on Honeysuckle and Nettle (both of which we have present)

Scarlet Tiger (Callimorpha Dominica) Larva



 

























A while later Bev called me to let me know she had found another caterpillar crawling across the floor.  This time I immediately knew what it was, a Ruby Tiger moth larva, a species I have recorded regularly at Shenstone.  Amazing, two tiger moth larva in one day in the garden!

Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) Larva

Also observed whilst working out were a Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Common Plume moths and a queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee. 

Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla)














A Common Frog was seen with it's head sticking up out of the surface of the pond, so I decided to pop back out on the evening (when they tend to be more active) and check again by torchlight.  This time I counted 10 Common Frogs in total (2 of which were mating), rounding off what had been a great day's wildlife in the garden
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3 comments:

  1. Warren Baker18 March 2014 at 11:32

    Well done Jase for saving a bit of space for the wildlife :-)

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  2. Anonymous19 March 2014 at 05:53

    Scarlet Tiger is a species i`d love to see (caterpillar or adult). Nice one, Jase.

    PS : going to see a band (The Mighty Kahunas) in a couple of weeks. Been wanting to see em for a very long time & now they`re booked for my local town.
    Go on youtube and put The Mighty Kahunas bassfest 2 in the search. Pretty sure you`ll agree they`re one fine band :-)

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  3. Jason K20 March 2014 at 03:56

    Cheers Warren...every little bit you can do in a garden for the wildlife helps!

    Thanks Deano! Will Google them later mate. If I can afford it my next local Punk gig will be The Vile + Billyclub on Good Friday

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