Dont enter if you dont like spiders! I warned you!! :)

[jonjon]

I've been in the garden today! I didnt get much done as I was too distracted by all things creepy crawly! A part of my childhood I just simply cant shake off!!! But I thought I'd share my findings

I'm going to start with my first finding and also my favorite!! Arachnaphobes shouldnt be looking because i did warn you! But I found a hunting spider, also known as the nursery web spider! I've never seen one before!!





And we have bee's!!! We bought a bee hive last year in hopes to attract them but nothing ever filled the vacancy Until now, we have a hive of Tree Bumblebees!! They're quite placid, let us watch them for hours! Until i think i got a little bit too close and one did decide to chase me back into my house! lol but that was my fault! These guys are new to the UK as well, they have been here since 2001. Not causing any trouble yet, so are quite welcomed





We also have a family of starlings that have moved in :/ made the biggest mess possible with their poop down the side of the house! I wondered what was making all the racket first thing in the morning!!! >_<



I also found this little fella I have stored him someplace safe so he can pupate and emerge as... ( we dont know yet) and I can watch him!!




And while taking pics of this guy, i was completely unaware of what was sitting right next to me! Last year I collected a different caterpillar, a White Ermine Moth. Since nothing happened after he pupated I didnt think she would ever emerge so I left her in the tub i put her in and forgot about her A whole year later and just about to put my new found caterpillar in the tub and this is sitting on the side! Newly emerged with eggs too!! However, the eggs are the biggest mystery as I know for fact this girl hasnt mated with another... Cant find anything online about it so study shall begin into if they actually hatch or not!!





And thats todays adventures!! I also found two other pupates, a redish brown which i have collected to emerge and currently creating my own eco system I like studying them and I'm going to start a log and a diary to record what i find, when and where.

[JamesG]

It's all fine and good until they start eating each other (and your plants).  Thanks for sharing.

[jonjon]

The biggest bummer with caterpillars is that I've found they're quite susceptible to becoming everyone else's zombies. Particularly wasps. It's horrible to see!

[JamesG]

Heh.  Here in the SE US we have "mason wasps"  solitary wasps that build jar shaped mud nests.  I had to remove one yesterday while working in the yard and when I broke it open 4 lethargic (paralysed) green caterpillars fell out. I felt bad both for the cats and for ruining the wasp's hard work...

On a lighter note, I was also cutting the grass in the backyard and I noticed some stuff growing under a hedge of rose bushes (I am not a particularly attentive gardener) and looking closely... they were blackberries! An entire bramble of blackberry plants nestled up under the roses.  I collected a bowl full of blackberries as a surprise bounty.