Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Nick_the_grief on May 03, 2011, 09:08:06 PM
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Apologies if there is one already but my t'interweb is sooo slow tonight I can type faster than it can upload :D
From Yesterday.. My first dragonfly/damselfly for Warwickshire this year ( there's been loads spotted but I haven't seen them)
Hairy Dragon flies mating. At firts we thought it was one "hatching" from the exuvia till I looked at the photo on the computer and zoomed in! THey're not usually out for another 2 weeks by me so well early.
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5680673898_01a62d5de4.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/e-bygum/5680673898/)
And another ready to pop out under the cover of darkness
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5189/5680674396_5de889f1c4.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/e-bygum/5680674396/)
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The first swift of 2011 is back in one of my nest boxes.
It returned on
3rd May 2011
3rd May 2010
7th May 2009
This bird and it's mate were the firsts swifts to nest on my house back in 2007.
Only 9 and half pairs to return
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here it is and its probably thinking "why did I leave sunny Africa for cold nights like these?"
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_lsnv2_4lA[/youtube]
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Amazing, and to think it probably hasn't touched a solid surface since it was last in that box in 2010! 8)
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Here are my geckos. First the Northland green, or Gray's gecko (Naultinus grayi). These are adult and should produce twins next February. They are a bit skinny at the moment. Green geckos are diurnal and like to bask in the sun. Being diurnal must be a relatively new adaptation as they have the eyes of a nocturnal gecko with its slit pupil. In contrast, the green day geckos of the western Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Seychelles and Mauritius), which are similar in colour, have round pupils.
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Here are the Auckland greens, or elegant gecko (Naultinus elegans). These are juveniles and the recessive yellow form. They would normally be the same colour as the Northland gecko, but don't grow as big. In both species the colour and pattern does not indicate sex. Males have swellings at the base of the tail where the hemipenes are kept and have spurs at the base of the tail for stimulating the female. Their eyes have no lids but have an 'optic', which is kept clean with the tongue. The optic is sloughed of during a moult.
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Here is one of my forest geckos (Hoplodactylus granulatus). I think this is the male? The pair are adults and although larger, can be safely housed with green geckos. Different species of greens must be housed separately as they hybridise. This is a big no-no and not allowed. This species has now been put in a new genus which is at the moment called genus 'B'! These geckos are nocturnal.
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brilliant. How did you persuade the licencing people to let you keep them?
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brilliant. How did you persuade the licencing people to let you keep them?
Quite routine. You join the NZ Herp Soc.; contact a licencee to recommend you; build your cage to the desired spec (mine exceeds it - DOC man was impressed, even though it is identical to one in the latest Herp newsletter - he even took pics); apply for permit to keep and breed captive geckos; have you cage inspected and Bob's your uncle you have a permit! It also helps that you have kept and bred geckos in an unforgiving environment like Scotland for 30 years.
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Anthony they are lovely. I am scared of worms but I like fogs and newts. Hope we get to see the babies in February. You will be so happy getting them.
Feed them up like you said they are a bit skinny, we all need a little fat around us ::) ;D like the Auckland greens.
Angie :)
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I have a fly trap and a moth trap and am breeding fruitflies. The mothtrap is a "Moonlander" from Worldwide Butterflies Ltd (www.wwb.co.uk). Not as efficient as my MV trap, which was sold on fleabay. I'd had it 40 years! It could trap enough moths to feed a hungry swift!
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Here are the Auckland greens, or elegant gecko (Naultinus elegans). These are juveniles and the recessive yellow form. They would normally be the same colour as the Northland gecko, but don't grow as big. In both species the colour and pattern does not indicate sex. Males have swellings at the base of the tail where the hemipenes are kept and have spurs at the base of the tail for stimulating the female. Their eyes have no lids but have an 'optic', which is kept clean with the tongue. The optic is sloughed of during a moult.
I like these little fellas Anthony. My daughter had been "babysitting here friends little friend Darwin ...
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_ha6Jrc2IquA/TbblVLFVL4I/AAAAAAAAA9s/6SNydZlv8bw/s144/2011-04-26%2015.29.12.png)
He's a cutey as well but my wife said your not having one of those to both me and Daughter ... and we hadn't even asked !
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Bearded dragons are available here too. No permit required. 8)
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Here are the forest geckos today. Clearly the male doesn't mind the rain. The female is in the sheltered part of the cage.
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They all look beautiful Anthony. I'm so pleased you were able to arrange their keeping as I was worried you yould really miss your UK wildlife such as the chameleons and others. These will be some compensation. A pity it's not so easy to arrange for cyps and other plants. :'(
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I may in due course try sterile cultivation of Cyp seeds Lesley? :-\
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I think it is permitted to bring in sterile material in glass but only if the species is on the permitted list. You'd have to make enquiries of ERMA to be quite sure.
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Perish the thought Cypripedium could become a pest! ::) Are hybrids allowed? I would have thought that any pest species would already be here after 100+ years of the "naturalisation society"? Mind you, I have never known such as this for spraying weed killer. It's everywhere! Wild flowers don't stand a chance. No wonder the only butterflies I see are cabbage whites, monarchs and small blues. There's nothing for them to feed on! Even so-called "reserves" (grassy areas we would call park land) have the grass sprayed at the edges where the mowed area stops and the bushes start. Apparently they used to strim it, but now you just get a yellow grass strip bordering mud where the previous yellow grass strip was. They are sterile environments except for ducks and pukekos! The lady who brought the geckos imported some Saracenia spp. from the UK (why, the garden centres are full of them?!). She said they had to be "dipped" here because the chemical they used was banned in the UK!
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Can I again remind everyone... and Anthony...... that the preferred size of Forum pictures is a maximum of 760 pixels wide!
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Oops! I just use that default fit screen size. I think it's sometimes the vertical that doesn't fit?
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From last weekend (Sunday 1st, so just permissible in this thread) -
Large White male (Pieris brassicae). A second brood individual with no black spots on the upper forewings. These butterflies certainly don't waste time where procreation is concerned!
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Hybrids may be imported provided both (or however many) parents are also listed on the Biosecurity Index (permitted list). You probably have this by now but in case not is it found at
http://www1.maf.govt.nz/cgi-bin/bioindex/bioindex.pl
(note the 1 after www. Many leave it out and can't make the address work.)
A quick check shows that there are 19 species of Cypripedium listed at the present time. You would also have to clear with CITES which is administered in NZ by the Dept. of Conservation. If imported as plants (ex nursery) quarantine is involved and endless inspections of exporting source etc, but sterile material may bypass this. Obviously, have a chat to local MAF and ERMA.
I had a similar experience as your person who imported Sarracenias, with my last plant import in 1993 (haven't bothered to try since because of the costs and general difficulties). Everything, mostly saxifragas, primulas and all of Elizabeth Strangman's genetic base for her hellebore breeding programme which she generously gave to me, had to be dipped with various chemicals before they left the UK but the chemicals concerned were banned not by the UK as such but the the EU. They were therefore dipped on arrival in NZ, the details of which I won't bore you with(incompetence at Auckland airport) resulting in a total loss of the entire consignment.
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I think that covers most of the ones I would want to consider. I see they put parviflorum = calceolus! ::) No spotted leaf forms. :( Would only be able to do this if we moved south.
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When I went to find my trusty old walking boots in our garage yesterday, I discovered mice had shredded the linings and made a nest in one of them! Expensive mice...
On the plus side, our first 2 swifts came screaming over this morning, so I'm watching to see if they are interested in the nest boxes.
Just remembered - We put up house martin boxes last year (http://www.jacobijayne.co.uk/popular-nest-boxes/house-martin/single-and-double-house-martin-nests/), but so far, we have a blue tit showing interest in one, and the house martins have tried, but seem to have difficulty getting in. Has anybody any experience with these?
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I saw several monarchs (Danaus plexippus) feeding on manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) today. Here are two females, plus a fat female springbok mantis (Miomantis caffra) and a manuka cultivar with spreading habit and deep pink flowers.
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:) That reminded me of something. My first cycle trip to work of the season one year. My training shoe was a bit more difficult than normal to put on and I didn't notice the smell until I took it off at work....the cat must have deposited a mouse in there in the course of the winter!
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It's over 20C for the first time this year (this qualifies today as a "summer day"). This has brought with it an influx of migrants and I can hear both Willow Warblers and Whitethroats singing this morning...
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Anne a friend has nine of those house martin nests on his house and they use them. You could get Barry to make the entrance larger and the martins can then fix it to their liking.
It's good to know your swifts are back. More will come when the wind moved back to the south. A Spanish Plume is supposed to be coming back also bring more record breaking temperatures
A fight in one of my nest boxes. This intruder arrived late and was possibly looking for a place to roost for the night. The fight was going from 10.10pm until after I went to bed at after 12.30am
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCKldNx0VVc[/youtube]
A very dirty victor at 6.30am that morning. Very dirty but probably happy. Later that afternoon it returned clean and with a mate
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Y0D3l1lI4&feature=related[/youtube]
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This bird arrived home at 2pm today 8th May 2011
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mict-OsuI8[/youtube]
30 minutes later there were two in the nest
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf8vPmE200A[/youtube]
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Walking in the New forest today I came across this dramatic looking Dragonfly....(libellula depressa)...never seen it before....thought it was a hornet at first!
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I've never seen one either, Robin.... googling it tells me it is meant to be common.... not round here it ain't!! :D
Super photo... the intricate lines around where the wings "attach" are fascinating... like a living cantilever bridge.....
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Yes, it's supposed to be at home in the New Forest and easy to photograph! Your description of the pattern is great...it really is boldly designed not exactly elegant ;D
Now I want to find them all!!!!!
http://www.newforestdragonflies.com/DFbroadbodied.html
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Lovely photograph Robin - you need to find a male now, the difference is that the abdomen is powder-blue - definitiely not a hornet! ;)
Maggi,
using stone age technology (a.k.a. a book) it seems that whilst they might be common, they don't really get further north than Yorkshire, and they're only really common in southern England/Wales. I've never seen them round here either. There is a four-spotted chaser, similar body shape, duller coloured body, but with yellow-infused wing bases that does occur in Scotland, mainly on the western side. I saw some on Rannoch Moor last year.
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I first saw this species here in South Yorkshire some eleven years ago and is now well established and fairly common. Not seen one yet this year but wont be too long now. One of my favourite dragonflies.
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I saw a Small Copper butterfly two days ago and a Red Admiral today, but neither stayed still long enough for a photo.
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This moth was in the Moonlander trap this morning. It's a slender burnished brass (Thysanoplusia orichalcea) and first appeared in New Zealand in 1984. It's alternative names associated with its caterpillars were probably coined by the different people it offended: soybean looper, cabbage semi-looper and sunflower semi-looper.
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How does it semi-loop then?
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How does it semi-loop then?
I suspect because it's a noctuid and not geometrid it has more false legs so just rattles along like a normal caterpillar but arching its back somewhat. Geometers are called inch worms in the States and they are true looper caterpillars because they only have four false legs. http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5093/5499597869_a2ce68bd7a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/acamaloz/5499597869/&usg=__GrrketvPCucGvRN1HvzLjnyhhRA=&h=500&w=333&sz=86&hl=en&start=16&sig2=kocranaRz6vzszPM7BjFEg&zoom=1&tbnid=uxYn1QDjz7VSlM:&tbnh=138&tbnw=92&ei=OFjOTfbLGom4sAOF3vW9Cw&prev=/search%3Fq%3DThysanoplusia%2Borichalcea%2Bcaterpillar%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1034%26bih%3D751%26tbm%3Disch0%2C400&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=515&vpy=304&dur=164&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=100&ty=166&page=2&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:16&biw=1034&bih=751
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lovely moth. I think I had one of those or like it in my garden last year
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Scottish game estates want to be ALLOWED to kills birds of prey and corvids :o :o :o :o
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0116lfs/Fair_Game_Scotlands_Sporting_Estates/ (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0116lfs/Fair_Game_Scotlands_Sporting_Estates/)
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Looks like Araneus diadematus. I discovered them and ran to get the camera and they were scattering.
What does one call a collection of spiderlings?
An internet search says a "cluster"
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What does one call a collection of spiderlings?
with all those legs..... "a tickle"??
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Must have been a big egg batch?
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Saw this caterpillar on my Raspberry bushes today, does anyone know what variety of moth butterfly it is?
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That's a lackey moth caterpillar (Malacosoma neustria). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackey_moth
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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.
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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?
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Looks like the crab spider Misumena vatia Melvyn?
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If you put the spider on a pink anemone, would it turn pink, chameleon-style? Ok Anthony, I'm just kidding. ;D
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If you put the spider on a pink anemone, would it turn pink, chameleon-style? Ok Anthony, I'm just kidding. ;D
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?
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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!
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Looks like the crab spider Misumena vatia Melvyn?
Thank you for identifying it Anthony.
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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
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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! :o
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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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 :D
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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!
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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! :o
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.
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I think this chap should have found a better hairdresser.
Angie :)
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Super photo, Angela.... of whatever that is ??? I see what you mean about his hairdo but I have no idea what he is. :-\ Can't say I like the look of him!
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I don't like the look of him either. To many creepy crawlies going about :o ;D
Angie :)
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That hairdo cut in stripes is quite trendy Angie, several of our rugby players have something similar. I enjoy looking at cricket grounds where the groundsman and his staff have cut it in various stripes and sometimes in a tartan pattern.
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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! :o
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.
..............then what you need is "Bugga Off", which is also available on that website. Mind you, if you look at the ingredients it is the same as Miss Muffet's Revenge regardless of what they say about targeting specific beasties.
I think this chap should have found a better hairdresser.
Angie :)
Difficult to pin point Angie, but could be a robber fly such as Empis tessellata?
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Lesley we only have trendy flies here ;D
Anthony you have so much knowledge in that head of yours. ;D Has your wining programme been on yet over there, you will be so famous. ;)
Angie :)
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Crumbs Angie, forgot to check!
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Walking in the New forest today I came across this dramatic looking Dragonfly....(libellula depressa)...never seen it before....thought it was a hornet at first!
Erika has pictured the same creature today in Hungary... http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5426.msg201969#msg201969
I never saw it before and now it appears twice in a few days, in England and Hungary. Wonderful things to learn here!
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Here are two pictures of some more or less domesticated wildlife, being Charles, a tuatara, part of a permanent exhibition at Southland Museum in Invercargill. If I remember correctly, they were taken in year 2000. There were a number of tuatara present, some small babies of just a year or two and at least one well over 100. Charles is over 70 now. In one pic he is on my arm and the other, on his curator's. (Mine is not the hairy arm. :D)
Tuatara are literally living dinosaurs, having been on earth since the time of their larger, more famous relatives, the only dinosaurs still alive so far as I know.
Charles looks armour-plated and spiky but his skin felt more like soft rubber and the spikes along his back were pliable and bendy, quite soft to touch. Tuatara are protected of course and there are many on some of the off-shore islands.
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I just love those. I saw some in Auckland Zoo. I hope to see them on one of the islands in the gulf when I get the chance.
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Found this chap in a pot of not too healthy snowdrop bulbs. I thought by the colour it was a wireworm but it semed too fat and soft. I didn't see the millipede till I had the camera lined up. It then ran over the other beastie looking for a place to hide.
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I think that may account for the health of your snowdrop bulbs Roma? It's possibly the wrong colour for a beetle grub, but could be a caterpillar?
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Last Sunday someone emailed the Beechgrove Potting Shed with a question about yellow/orange grubs he had found around some daffodil bulbs he'd lifted from his lawn. The panel decided they were chafer grubs and spoke about that.... I wasn't at all convince but didn't know what they might be... but this photo of just such a yellow/orange grub makes me think they were wide of the mark with their chafer grub diagnosis :-\ :-X
Have you got a close-up , Roma that could show what it's got in the way of legs.... cos I think that might help? ??? :-\
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chafer grubs are white with brown heads and C shaped when at rest
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Exactly my point! I think a lot of people know what chafer grubs look like. I thought that it was obvious when the beasts were a yellow orange colour that they couldn't possibly be chafer grubs.... but the "experts" just heard "lawn" and leapt to conclusions!
If they listen properly to the question, there's often a clue... but getting them to listen is not always easy! :-X
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I've zoomed in a bit but the pictures are not so clear. I think it has 6 legs at the front and none at the rear. Do caterpillars always have false legs behind? I'm afraid after I took his photograph I dropped him on the floor and stood on him. I suppose I should have kept it to see what it turned into. You can just about see the mouthparts in the second pic and the third shows the underside.
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I think it is a beetle of some sort. Maybe the orange colour is from what it ate?
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I saw a stunning Demoiselle today. I've forgotton it's name. Bright green with black eyes on it's wings. It wouldnt sit for photos.
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Do caterpillars always have false legs behind?
I don't know.... but Anthony will, I hope!
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Yes, caterpillars do have false legs, up to 5 pairs. I'm with Mark, a beetle grub.
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The Australian magpie has a mean reputation. I quite like it because it has a very musical call. It's more crow than magpie (yes, I know magpies are crows, but crows aren't magpies).
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There's a wonderful poem by Dennis Glover about the magpie's song. I think it's just called "The Magpie Said." Have you come across it yet? The magpie is also a wonderful mimic and I once heard our farm man calling his dog until I remembered he (the man) was in town. The call was from a magpie, exactly the same few words in the same tone and inflections.
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There's a wonderful poem by Dennis Glover about the magpie's song. I think it's just called "The Magpie Said." Have you come across it yet? The magpie is also a wonderful mimic and I once heard our farm man calling his dog until I remembered he (the man) was in town. The call was from a magpie, exactly the same few words in the same tone and inflections.
I didn't know the poem before but I found this, from Wikipedia :The Magpies is the most famous poem by New Zealand poet Denis Glover (1912–1980). It helped define New Zealand's distinctive style of poetry. The poem was first published in Glover's 1964 anthology Enter Without Knocking.
and also this:
http://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~tf/poem10.html
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That's the one Maggi, and yes, the magpie really DOES say those exact words, in a sort of sing song voice and several at once sound like a choir and really lovely, especially in the pine trees at 4am on a summer morning ;D. The NZ magpie, is, of course, actually the Australian magpie.
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I think the one on the South Island is different from ours here?
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Not sure about that Anthony. I know that 50 years ago, the magpie was confined to the N.I and the top of the South, but has gradually moved south to be everywhere.
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The northern form has much more white on it and is the white-backed magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen). The southern form is black-backed which was introduced separately. Australian magpies dive-bomb people at nesting time and live in family groups headed by a dominant pair with several generations of offspring.
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Yes Anthony is right. I wondered what on earth a horrible noise was one day so I came flying down the hill to investigate. It was about 4 magpies attacking a mopoke owl baby which had fallen or been tossed out of the nest. The young owl I took to the vet (a friend) who found that it was ok and I left it with her as I knew that the magpies would kill it otherwise. I had a pet galah at one time but the maggies killed it. When the maggies have young before you realise it you feel a rush of air as they fly low past you and then sit in a convenient gum tree to sharpen their beaks for the next run.
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Thay are also said to attack new-born lambs which is why farmers don't like them.
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Thought that was crows Lesley. I haven't seen maggies attack any of our kids (goats) when they are born. Foxes, now they are a completely different. Not good.
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This one eventually sings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XilaFMUwng&feature=related
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Magpies are fairly smart birds. There is a group (adolescent gang) of them hanging around my place at the moment. They will come right up to the house when they think there is no one about but generally disappear it they see you. They like to look at themselves in the rear view mirrors of cars too. There was a bit of a scuffle going on between two groups of birds out in the paddock yesterday but they must have resolved the issue whatever it was and were soon were back giving a harrier hawk a hard time. They can be aggressive at times but we dont bother them and they dont bother us. It is a different story for the cat (even though they sport the same colours). I was walking down our drive one accompanied by the cat when she got dive-bombed by a magpie - It was not interested in me but the cat rapidly took cover. A lot of people hate them with a passion (a) because they are australians and (b) they are said to drive away native birds but I dont think they do all that much harm. They favour open country so pastoral farming suits them and provides them with lots of food (insect pests) whereas most of our native birds live in forests.
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(http://cs10142.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97716365/y_57ecf433.jpg)
I was going to shoot WB graft started to grow when found this company of two insects.
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Remarkable image Olga ... many thanks for posting.
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Olga, I don't recognise the one on the right but I would kill the one on the left on sight - the detested vine weevil.
Great shot. Paddy
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Paddy, I did that... with the left insect. They eat my pear tree. The left one could be probably Pristiphora abietina. Another undesired guest in the garden.
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Olga, Hate those vine weevil, love your photos.
Angie :)
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Local farmers say magpies attack the eyes and the abdomens of new lambs.
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Local farmers say magpies attack the eyes and the abdomens of new lambs.
If that is the case then clearly pastoral farming suits them!
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Are farmers confusing your magpie with our magpie?
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Mark: Swifts have arrived over the last week at their northernmost Norwegian breeding (Trondheim) with flocks of up to 50 reported, but I've yet to see one....Only about 10C at the moment, so they probably haven't got down to business yet!
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Good to hear that. Expect non breeders in a few weeks. These are the birds you will target. They havent arrived in the UK
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A few snaps of wildlife from a week in the Scottish borders.
1. Bullfinch, eating dandelion seed at the side of the drive.
2. Bullfinch, returned the next day and eating dandelion seed in the rear grassed area.
3. Sparrows, photo courtesy of MrsG, the chicks fledged 10 minutes after this was taken.
4. Mrs Pheasant, a regular visitor to the garden with her husband.
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The gales last week were good for birdwatching on the coast. On the sea front in the teeth of a screaming gale, a Great Skua appeared and started feeding on the carcase of a dead seal.
When I got out the car to have a better look, I could hardly stand up. In order to take any sort of reasonable picture, I had to set the ISO to 1800 in order to use a high shutter speed. The loss of quality is obvious but it was that or no picture.
The next day we went further up the coast and saw large groups of Storm Petrels and Leach's Petrels blown in by the westerly gales. The highlight was a flock of 50 Long Tailed Skuas sitting in the sea waiting to continue their migration to Arctic Norway and Russia. The day previous there had been a count of 600 birds. It has been discovered by a local birder that this is one of the main flyways of Skuas going North. At this point they head inland to the East coast, then across the North Sea presumably to points North. Seeing these birds made the weather bearable
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Are farmers confusing your magpie with our magpie?
In what way?
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for pecking out eyes?
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Mark, someone will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the UK magpie is in New Zealand.
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Quite correct Lesley. No European magpies here. As with many animals, the Australian 'magpie' is so-called because of its resemblance to a species from the old country, being pied, i.e. black and white.
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Good to hear that. Expect non breeders in a few weeks. These are the birds you will target. They havent arrived in the UK
Not sure I understand - why should I target non-breeders? So that they will know where to come next year? Why is the migration of non-breeders so delayed?
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Are they non-breeders because they are too late? Are they last year's youngsters and need another year on the wing?
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Swifts that are arriving in Norway now have nest sites to go to where they laid and raised chicks last year. Playing the CD lure will not make they leave their tree hole or hole in a building for a comfortable nest box. They are fixed on the nest year for every year that they live.
Travelling with them may be swifts that are now breeding age, around 3 years, but no-one know for sure. These birds help form the large screaming parties. They hope to one day find a nest close to or among the breeders.
Following about a month later are the non-breeders which are 1, 2 or 3 years old. They are non-breeders because they are either too young or are breeding age but have no mate or nest site. They will want to find a mate and a nest site and this is where the lure comes in. They are fooled in to thinking there is an existing colony and they come to investigate and find unoccupied nest sites. They then go off to find an mate and come back.
If they are too young they will either occupy the nest and defend it, bring in some nesting material or make a nest. These are usually called practice nests. If they are breeding age they will lay their first egg around 10 days after getting together. Swifts attract swifts so once you get your first they should pull in others
They are late this year because of the wind from the west which later this weeks becomes an easterly again
Lots of reports of swifts fighting for nests this year and throwing out eggs. When weather is bad the swifts dump an egg or all because of the lack of food.
In the videos below two females fight over a nest site. The pair has already laid eggs. Males fight males and females fight females. A swift tries to dump the egg out of the nest entrance. A new egg is laid
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxcoC_X_3BM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae_2Yl8BcKE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvUIrXZCkLw&feature=related[/youtube]
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Thanks for the clear explanation, Mark! There's much more to swifts than I realised! Good to understand what's going on...
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Someone needs to write a new book
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Someone needs to write a new book
Yes guess who ::) ;D
Angie :)
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havent a clue ;D
Just in about swifts nesting in Bialowieska Forest Poland
"Common Swift - a stable, regularly breeding population. In 1985 to 1994 it was estimated at 600 - 700 pairs. The general occurrence of Swifts nesting in the woods is one of the peculiarities of the Bialowieska Forest. Its typical breeding habits are open flood-plain and Hornbeam, sometimes coniferous forests. In the forest, unlike in the cities, it usually breeds in small agglomerations of a couple of pairs. Besides, like elsewhere, it also nests in villages. Once there was also a small breeding colony in nest-boxes in the Bialowieza Glade".
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real or fake? The lower jaw looks too big
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and .... http://shobestudios.photoshelter.com/gallery-img-show/2010-Whale-Feeding/G0000G7Akxq4FgnE/?&_bqG=7&_bqH=eJxL8jVzsgjPSS5MLC7zMAjw9EhzKi6tDMpLKzexMja0MjK1snKP93SxdTcAAndzx.yKQhO39DxXtQCQqJq7Z7y7o4.Pa1AkNkUAPf0b4A--&I_ID=I0000v3fFtzN93iU (http://shobestudios.photoshelter.com/gallery-img-show/2010-Whale-Feeding/G0000G7Akxq4FgnE/?&_bqG=7&_bqH=eJxL8jVzsgjPSS5MLC7zMAjw9EhzKi6tDMpLKzexMja0MjK1snKP93SxdTcAAndzx.yKQhO39DxXtQCQqJq7Z7y7o4.Pa1AkNkUAPf0b4A--&I_ID=I0000v3fFtzN93iU)
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I.e. faked. ::)
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Could some kind person please confirm whether the pictured swallowtail is a) the Iberian swallowtail or b) the Spanish swallowtail?
The image was captured in the Picos de Europa National Park at the end of May 2011.
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I think your butterfly is a "simple" swallowtail....Papilio machaon as opposed to the Spanish, Southern or Scarce swallowtail - Iphiclides podalirius f. feisthamelii
Main difference is the amount of blue near the wing tips, I think.
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I think your butterfly is a "simple" swallowtail....Papilio machaon as opposed to the Spanish, Southern or Scarce swallowtail - Iphiclides podalirius f. feisthamelii
Main difference is the amount of blue near the wing tips, I think.
Many thanks Maggi ... quite fitting for me to find the 'simple' swallowtail. :D
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It's a beauty, Cliff and precious little simple about it, I'm sure.
You had good luck with flora and fauna in the Picos, it seems. Are you home now?
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It's a beauty, Cliff and precious little simple about it, I'm sure.
You had good luck with flora and fauna in the Picos, it seems. Are you home now?
Hi Maggi,
Home safe and sound thanks, after an amazing nine days in this magnificent location. The weather was very kind to us, only two mornings of gentle rain interrupted wall to wall sunshine and the flowers responded to this benign climate, orchids were especially good and we were fortunate to visit some sensational meadows. I am hoping to create a Keynote presentation/lecture with such an abundance of images, but hope to find some photos for the forum when time and tide allow.
May we just thank John and Clare Dower for introducing us to this superb destination?
Marbled White