Wildlife 2007

[jomowi]

Tom

The attached pic of Primula scotica was taken on 9th july 2004 Strathy point although there are numbers of other good sites

Brian Wilson

[shelagh]

What a brilliant picture of Pr. scotica, it looks far more robust on the screen than it does on the show bench, which I have to admit is my only experience of it. The colour looks better too.

Shelagh

[Maggi Young]

I have split off Cliff's fab fotos from the holiday he and Sue have just had in the Usa, to its own page : see here for beginning of that thread : http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=611.0

Enjoy!

[annew]

I just found a bumble bee nest in my strawberry bed.  The question is, how much do I really want those strawberries?

[Maggi Young]

Dunno, Anne,....... how far is it to the nearest "pick your own" farm?

[mark smyth]

above ground or under? They are the most gentle of bees so either way pick your own

[Lesley Cox]

I believe bumble bees can sting, but as Anthony says, they're very gentle and seem too silly and "bumbling" to bother. I regularly pick them up in my bare hands to put them outside when they've come in a door or window. I wouldn't be avoiding the strawberries.

Reading a notebook yesterday, a collection of short esays from a local botanist, I discovered that NZ has
about 40 species of native bees. All are solitary and none either stings or makes honey. The smallest is just 2.5mm in length. I have at least two species here, little tunnelling insects whose homes are visible as small holes on the surface of the sunnier parts of my rock garden.

[fermi de Sousa]

Australia also has a number of native bees which is one good reason not to introduce bumblebees! Unfortunately I haven't been able to capture some of the fascinating "blue-banded bees" on camera - yet!
I'll post them here when I do!
cheers
fermi

[Anthony Darby]

Lesley - it wisnae me that said bumble bees are gentle (not!). Attack is not a defence they use and you would have to grab one (or stand on it) to be stung, but they can get annoyed when you are trying to persuade them out of the greenhouse.

[Armin]

It's a joy to observe all the butterflies on my 3 Buddleja scubs in full blossom now...

Melanargia galathea.jpg
 Melanargia galathea wings closed.jpg
 Melanargia and bee.jpg
 Inachis io.jpg
 Inachis io closed wings.jpg

[Anthony Darby]

Lovely pics Armin. Nice to see the Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) in your garden. I think the nearest colonies of this butterfly to us are around York? Strange it hasn't spread north yet, being a grass feeder so not restricted by foodplant, or for that matter, habitat?

[annew]

Strawberry jam duly made! I'll try not to annoy them. Marbled whites around York, eh? I'll be on the lookout.

[gote]

I agree with Antony (yes it can happen  )

Bumble bees are nice to have around. They do not sting unless you more or less sit on them. They pollinate, but are said to sometimes take a short cut to the nectar by biting the spur of a flower. I never caught them doing that but i often find holes in the spurs of Corydalis. It is interesting to note that there are no Aconitums where there are no bumble bees.
If you poke at them with a finger they usually just rise a hind leg and wave: "please go away I am busy". I would just be careful not to damage te nest when picking the strawberries.

I also agree with Hans on the hornets (if that is Vespa crabro). They are quite friendly unless you disturb their nest. If they seem to be too close, they are probably looking for a fly or something else edible that sits on you. They are known to have snapped away a fly that sits on a human.

Some of the insects are quite nice to have around. We have a kind of beetle that actually will dig a dead mouse into the ground. They excavate under the mouse until it has sunk under the surface. (sorry no picture and you would not like to look at it anyway)

I like the beetle in the picture the colour is nice and it is fashinating that they fly with the front wings - shell - what is the English word? closed. I forgive them that the eat a little of my roses and peonies.

Göte

[mark smyth]

Shell or wing case is OK but Carapice is the word. I would have thought that all beetles fly with with the wing cases open

Here is a visitor to my garden last week. On the other side half of the front wing was missing, maybe a bird caught it, leaving it flightless. Ghost Moth Hepialus humuli

[annew]

I think it's actually elytra, Mark. That's a lovely moth, it looks like it's wearing a fur stole.