Beating (and a weaveri update)

Here is a tiny Mottled Umber caterpillar shaken from an elm at Hollins Hall, Baildon VC64, this morning.

I lay a ground sheet underneath the tree and then shake branches vigorously and see what drops off.

This particular elm isn't quite in leaf yet, after the harsh winter, so I will probably wait a couple of weeks before returning to gather some larger larvae.

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The Ectoedemia weaveri mines now have opaque central blotches where the larvae have lined the inside of the leaf with silk and become cocoons.

Apparently, because the leaf is tough, the larvae prepare for their escape as an adult by gnawing through to the cuticle and then constructing a silk-lined corridor directed to this spot.

I am expecting an emergence at some point in the next fortnight.

Sleeving

Two "sleeves" of fine netting arrived by post from Worldwide Butterflies today.

I am using the smaller one to contain this Light Emerald (Campaea margaitata) caterpillar on a branch of my garden birch tree.

The idea of the sleeve is that it overcomes the problem of wilting when cut food plant is used. The fine netting keeps the caterpillars in and the predators out and when large numbers are being reared there is a considerable saving of effort.

Tomorrow I may go and look for caterpillars of Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria) which I have usually been able to shake off elms at this time of year. I have some elm in the garden and would like to rear some caterpillars with the intention of seeing the wingless females of this species.