Well I'm blessed - I'm glad I asked the question, thank you very much Dave, I'm most grateful :lol: The Garden Tiger is a larger more 'substantial' moth and less prone to fly in the daytime than those other fine Tigers, the Jersey and Scarlet which both are frequent day flyers and to the less exper...

Despite my close on three score and ten, and a lifetime's sometimes all consuming interest in Natural History, particularly Butterflies, I have never dreamed about them. I rarely ever dream so that I wake up and discover I was only dreaming. I think that's because I always go to bed not at bedtime, ...

These Vespa species can be very efficient killers. I've rarely ever seen a Hornet in the wild but I've seen the remarkable remains of their nest in a huge Black Poplar which had snapped off near the ground during a period of very strong winds. The tree would normally withstand such high winds but no...

Hello eccles Just a wild stab in the dark,but your pink larva looks like some sort of Hoverfly larva - what do you reckon? Regards Deano Those were my initial thoughts ~ the elongated tapered appearance I've seen in other Hoverfly larvae. I also see a slight transparent quality ~ another feature of...

I first met Jack H well over thirty years ago. Nice to see you've not lost your SOH Jack ...:lol: You rascal....;) More seriously, regarding Net Rage.. I possess several butterfly nets ~ including a kite net purchased as a schoolboy back in the mid-1950s ~ Steam formed Bamboo canes with Brass Connec...

Common Blue taken on 28th (Finally got a shot of one after so long): http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/8232/commonbluemalemg9.jpg Absolutely superb picture ~ Well done ~ fabulous butterfly often afforded little import because of its name ... common. I for one am very glad this beautiful creature is ...

Power Lines through woodlands mean clearings which have to be maintained and kept clear of very tall trees and shrubs. Perfect woodland stable habitat conditions. In Kent I've also seen Heath frits in these Power Line cleared areas and in both W.Sussex and Hants, have found ova of Purple Emperor alm...

Most seasons, there are two or three Lackey Larval webs on the Blackthorn, Hawthorn and even Oaks sometimes on my property. I'm always pleased to see them. Many of the Lackey larvae appear to be parasitised ~ always sad to see that. Garden Tigers are a spectacular moth. It's over ten years since I'v...

Over twenty years ago, in the interests of preserving this special area which was then also under threat, I along with numerous others, purchased a square metre of Otmoor. Now then, what will become of all these individual 'landowners' ? Compulsory purchase ~ I could be rich beyond my wildest ~ My t...

I can still vividly remember my first sighting of this butterfly. It was back in the mid 1950s when I along with a close schoolboy friend, explored some woodlands to the West of Gloucester. Another pupil at the school, lived in a house where the garden backed onto the woodland. He told of the butter...

Excellent sequence of pictures. Thank you. Back in the 1970-80s, I knew and frequently visited an old retired Lepidopterist who lived on the Surrey/Hants border. He had several large pines in his superb garden and this beautiful moth actually bred there. He was also fortunate in that the occasional ...

Thanks for the helpful response Pete.

We have not had a labour Government since the 1970s.

I believe there are moves afoot to cut up to 15% of staff ongoing in most Gov. depts. now.

Please disregard previous ~ sussed it out with me old minces ....

John.

:lol: , Some of this years Swedish Large Blues will have English parents going back 25 or so generations. Gruditch How so....? Was 'English/Swedish'' arion stock used to repopulate Swedish localities?? I have read with interest the whole thread. I'm one of those who cannot get to enthused about the...

I composed a lengthy response to the Large Blue thread on the Conservation Forum a few minutes ago and IIRC, which is not always the case ..:)... I may have pressed the Draft or Save window instead of post/submit reply. I'm now unable to retrieve it. Hope it's not lost ~ took quite a while to compos...

Wing shape is the strong clue. The Speckled Wood is a male. Females usually have much more rounded wings and are often larger.

I have a marvellous Swiss book with 'before' and 'after' photographs of sites - that is, before and after they are trashed by development, neglect or just cleaning up. The book gives a list of species found with each photo. The effect is very striking and it would be fantastic if you can find some ...

Excellent pictures. Thanks for showing them. Fifty years ago when I was small boy, Sparrow Hawks were a rare sight in England and you needed to visit remote woodlands to have any chance of seeing one. Now, both sexes are frequent visitors to my small suburban garden and are always a welcome sight. W...

Hi all, I am new to this site and fairly new to butterfly watching. I saw my first memorable butterfly (Purple Emperor) last July in France and i've been hooked ever since. My "patch" is my garden in north east Bristol and I have planted lots of different stuff to attract butterflies. So ...