A Comma emerges

The long promised sunny spell finally arrived on Sunday 10th October and after watching a Comma nectaring on my Sedum spectabile I noticed another one emerging from its chrysalis on the Hop.

Strange Goings-on!

Garden Spiders (Araneus diadematus) are abundant in the garden at present and have started to build web bridges between their shrubbery and my car each morning.
An idiot moth has laid eggs on a sock drying on our washing line. Commonest things being commonest, I suspect the species to be a Large Yellow Underwing and have released the young larvae into the weedy part of the lawn.
I have just watched a Red Admiral butterfly displace a Small White from an Edelweiss flower. That's a first for me, here in West Yorkshire, but it's probably not an unusual scenario in the Austrian Alps!

Grey Dagger Caterpillars

I discovered last year that Grey Dagger caterpillars are easily found on isolated Rowan trees like this one on Barden Moor.

I returned to the same tree last weekend and took this photograph.

Comma pupates

A Comma caterpillar, from my garden Elm, pupated today. The discarded larval skin can be seen close to the point where the pupa is attached to the twig.

Chrysalids of this species typically last 10-20 days.

Holly Blues and Harley Davidsons

The August Bank Holiday in Baildon brings both Holly Blues and Harley Davidson motorbikes.
I've also just seen a Large White butterfly that seemed to be the size of a dinner plate!

Masked Mugwort Muncher

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) can be found in unmanaged grassland and its distinctive flower-spikes are easily seen on road verges. Yesterday, whilst driving along the M62, I noticed that Mugwort grows alongside the motorway almost to the highest point at Junction 22.
This "masked" caterpillar was found on Mugwort growing at Apperley Bridge VC64 on 23rd July 2010.
It grew quickly over the next couple of weeks before pupating and emerging as a Silver Y moth (Autographa gamma) on 21st August.

Back Home

I arrived back from the annual holiday in France last weekend. This moth with the spectacular antennae emerged from a caterpillar that I found wandering across the supermarket car-park at Mondeville2 in Normandy.

Don't panic! The moth was released in France. I wouldn't want to import trouble. Having said that the French are not averse to gypsies leaving France.

Whilst on holiday, my Rosebay Willowherb beetle larvae pupated and then emerged as adults. The appear to be Flea Beetles of the genus Altica and could be either lythri, palustris or oleracea. Apparently these three species are difficult to tell apart.

I kept having to "rescue" Cinnabar moth larvae in the garden of the rural gite where we stayed. These were devouring their Ragwort foodplants and then wandering-off across the gravel drive in search of more food.