Mini Beastie Boys & Madame Butterfly
- racheljbielby
- Aug 1
- 5 min read
Following on from the special on bees, I thought we'd have a wee focus on the garden minibugs and beasties this month. I seem to end up with lots of random photos of beasties on my phone -which is much better at macro-photography - which I forget about come blog writting season! So this month the floor is open to them...
Despite many years as an ecologist, I confess that invertebrate are not my favourite subject matter - the main contributing factor to this is the [often] horrendously long-winded and complex Latin naming and lingo required for identifying them correctly. This is compounded by their naturally small size [in this country at any rate...those Atlas moths (Attacus atlas) are in a class of their own] and whilst it is possible to collect them [do people still use pitfall traps?], I just find them fiddly to identify without accidently removing a limb...potentially making correct identification for the next unwieldy human encounter more difficult "why does this 'spider' have six legs?"...ooops.
Despite all this, I do find them fascinating. The sheer scale of variability, colour, design and profession is seemingly endless. Look at these two below. Ok so neither of these were actually in THIS garden, but I found them at the work garden just down the road in Lasswade - so not a million miles away. So on the left we have the cute little 14-spot ladybird (Propylea quattuordecimpunctata - probably a good one for Scrabble) - who knew ladybirds came in black and white-ish? And apparently they're common! Then there's this attractive moth dude on the right who is Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis). You can just about make out the metallic sheen on the photo - but it's really striking in real life. This little guy was hanging out under the parsley plants, but apparently they enjoy honeysuckle, buddleias and red valerian, while the caterpillars enjoy nettles. Both of these were complete 'firsts' for me - and so generally unusual compared to what I'd normally think of if someone asked me to think of a "ladybird" or "moth". Isn't nature amazing???
[Thought: if enthusiastic birders are called twitchers...are enthusiastic inverts called itchers?]
As with the rest of the wildlife in this house [and garden], the invertebrate are neither shy nor retiring. Literally just a few minutes ago as I headed out the side door to water some plants, I was accosted by a spider web, cunningly constructed across the threshold. Is it an early intruder detection method? Are they super into Halloween and have got the decorations up early? Or are they living in hope of capturing us - are we their intended prey?
[sorry, that got a bit dark for a bit - moving on!] But seriously - how am I supposed to actually USE this watering can [left]???
When it comes to identifying inverts I am generally at the whim of whatever my phone suggests it is [my phone is much more reliable with animals than with plants - although it does helpfully suggest it is in fact a "plant"]. I really hoped to not becoming one of those people who use their phone to identify stuff [particularly plants] [sorry, if that is you] BUT it is often a very helpful place to start, even if it is not the particular sub sub species. So I apologise to those people - but please feel free to send me any unknown plant photos - I do love a bit of a challenge!
So, on to the cast:
First up is the classic 7-spot ladybird model (Coccinella septempunctata), three spots on either wing casing with the seventh in the middle at the back of the head.
There have been SO many of these guys. One night I encountered a bit of a party going on down at the 'all-you-can-eat' aphid buffet on the lupin in the front garden....
And this [below] is ladybird pupa! Ladybirds go through a four-stage life cycle: Eggs [hatch out within a week] > Newly-hatched Larva [only 3mm long] > Fully-grown Larva > Pupa [delightfully described as "the stage where the body dissolves into a soup" to reform into an adult beetle]. The pupa can be seen on vegetation in July.
Next up is the Common Red Soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva). I did not know until recently that these guys eat aphids, as well as pollen and nectar - here they are enjoying some ragwort. Apparently their larvae eat slugs and snails [presumably only the tiny ones].
Talking of slugs and snails...the clammy, muggy weather of July really brought them out in the evenings...The tub [below, left] contained 40 slugs and10 snails collected in the space of half an hour. They were humanely relocated [and no, I didn't chuck them over the fence to the neighbours!]. The slugs took all of this in their stride [?] and made the best of this 'speed-dating' opportunity as I found this pair in the morning [below, right [NSFW]]. These are OBVIOUSLY Black Slugs (Arion ater agg) - frustratingly they come in all manner of colours including: brown, black, grey, green, orange or red; I have yet to see a green version.
Next up is the Vine Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) and not really a beneficial insect [for us at any rate, other vine weevils think they are the bees knees]. These are a very love/hate species as they can be a serious pest for many gardeners, but look at their cute little probscises! I think they could easily feature as a loveable character in a children's cartoon. Fascinating fact [serious gardeners look away now!] females weevils have the ability to reproduce without the need for males [this is called parthenogenesis]!
Next up we have a very unusual shaped moth, found in the bathroom one afternoon, I assumed it was a crane-fly at first, until I saw the wings. This is the Beautiful Plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla) [you see what I mean about the Latin right?] According to Wikipedia you need to get up close and personal with it to be exactly certain about what sub species it is - but that might just be Wikipedia...no... apparently another more reputable invert page is suggesting that as well. Ah well...as missed opportunity there. But look at those legs! They appear to be commonly found in gardens [less common in bathrooms] and their larvae munch on hedge woundwart, cranesbills and heather.
Finally we finish off with some lovely butterflies...The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) at the top of this blog entry; and this interesting angle on a Comma (Polygonia c-album).
Red Admirals are migratory butterflies ["coming over here stealling our...uh..um...nettles"], laying their eggs to munch on nettles and hops [can they get high/drunk?] before flying off again. However it seems that with the warmer winters we are having, they have been observed overwintering in the south of England.
Commas are also making a come-back from a previous period of decline. They also like nettles, but complement their diet with currants and willows. Before they hibernate for the winter they search out nectar or rotting fruit, presumably to get a last sugar rush before the big snooze.
What can you find in your garden?
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