Padfield

[Pete Eeles]

Lovely to see you both, Guy, and it was lovely making a new friend Minnie is clearly a good judge of character

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

That picture again, so Pete can't hide on the previous page of the thread!



Minnie had been waiting to meet Pete for a while.

Guy

[MikeOxon]

If anyone is worried about the state of the world today, don't - Pete and I have put it right (with a little help from Minnie).

That's a relief My thanks to all three of you.

Mike

[David M]

How do two butterfly legends from different countries meet 'by coincidence'?

[Padfield]

There's not much that can't be put right by the judicious application of malted barley and fine hops, Mike.

OK - it wasn't entirely coincidence, David! The meeting of those two butterfly legends, Minnie and Pete, was engineered by me.

As I was coming home from a mid-morning walk today I spotted a hawfinch land in a tree near my house. These two pictures, taken on a very grey day, were taken from exactly the same spot, at wide-angle and maximum zoom respectively (the second picture is a crop):





This camera carries a good zoom! I just haven't had a chance to try it out on any wild butterflies yet!

Guy

[bugboy]

Bloody hell thats a good zoom! And of a bird I've yet to add to my personal twitch list!!

[David M]

It is indeed one hell of a zoom. Methinks Monsieur Padfield is going to royally entertain us this year!

[Padfield]

Thanks Bugboy! I haven't seen a UK hawfinch since my schooldays, though I do a lot less birdwatching now so that probably says more about me than them.

The butterfly season feels a long way off right now, David. I can't promise to entertain you royally but I'm certainly looking forward to it for myself.

Guy

[Pete Eeles]

I wouldn't normally post an image in someone else's diary but, now that I'm home and able to get the images off my camera, including this image from my side of the table seems wholly appropriate. Chewing the cud with Padders is always a delight and this trip was no exception. I think Minnie was the star of the establishment, judging by the number of admirers she had while we were there!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Neil Hulme]

"If anyone is worried about the state of the world today, don't - Pete and I have put it right (with a little help from Minnie)."
I certainly trust you two more than any politician I'm aware of. It's about time we had people with an environmental conscience in charge. Vote 'Butterfly Party'!
BWs, Neil

[Padfield]

Thanks Pete - I'm very happy you posted that picture!

If Cameron won't play ball I might suggest to the BBC that Minnie take up that empty seat, Neil. A well timed yawn, a bit of bottom licking (her own, of course) and those doleful, silent stares she has mastered would be far more eloquant than the pompous cant and hot air the rest of them will be pumping out to the nation.



Today was not a butterfly day. I set out this afternoon in icy cold and returned in heavy snow:



Nevertheless, I did manage to get a glimpse of the white admiral caterpillar I had failed to photograph the other day. It was a matter of getting the angle just right, so the flash illuminated a little of the tiny creature lurking within the hibernaculum. It's out of focus, because the camera focused on the twig, but I'm sure that's him:



Elsewhere, Trijaṭā was welcoming the new snowfall, hoping it would cover her up again and hide her while she carries the hopes of a generation through the winter:



This is Durgā:



Guy

[Jack Harrison]

Trijaṭā was welcoming the new snowfall, hoping it would cover her....

and earlier

Sugrīva today. Like all his brothers, sisters and cousins....

We all know you are a real expert in iris cats, but this surely is reaching new heights in being able to assign gender at this early stage?

Jack

[Padfield]

You might remember, Jack, that when Trajan pupated the experts advised me confidently, on the basis of the shape of the chrysalis, that he was a she; so I renamed him/her Plotina. His/her copse was subsequently cut down, I rescued him/her, and a few days later a perfect male emperor - Trajan - emerged into my living room. Sexing iris early stages is obviously a tricky business, even for the pros, and I must admit I have absolutely no clue which of this season's crop are males and which are females.

Nevertheless, I named them after male and female mythological characters and having conferred personalities on them I'm stuck with the genders too. Trijaṭā (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trijata), whose name means, 'having three locks of matted hair', was a good demoness, who helped Sītā in captivity, and Sugrīva (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugriva), whose name translates as, 'having a beautiful neck', was a male monkey, who came to be king of the monkey kingdom. Sadly, Sītā disappeared the day she was due to change into third instar and Rāma, the hero who was supposed to save her, was sucked dry by some unknown bug in second instar. All the caterpillars I know to be still alive are gods, demons or monkeys.

Guy

[Padfield]

Guy

[Padfield]

The taming of the shrews...

I've long lived with mice in the house, as my late, lamented Kitten Cat was not much of a mouser. Sadly, Minnie is a highly proficient mouser, so most of the rodents have either been killed or have taken their bags elsewhere. HOWEVER, it seems Minnie won't go near shrews, so it is the patter of their tiny feet and their shrill cries that keep us company now! Like all wild animals, shrews can carry diseases, but they are probably more hygienic houseguests than mice and I've never been big on hygiene anyway. They doubtless help get rid of cockroaches and other potential hygiene hazards in the summer (cockroaches are quite common in Switzerland) so it's swings and roundabouts.

Currently, my shrews are vegan, as there are very few insects around and their main diet is therefore Minnie's organic, vegan dogfood:





This one looks quite a fat chappy, and the numbers have gone up since I got Minnie, so I guess it suits them!

They never leave droppings in the food dishes (unlike mice, which leave them anywhere).

Guy

[bugboy]

I may be completely wrong but I'm sure Shrews give of a nasty smell to keep predators away which is probably why Minnie allows them free lodgings, probably grudgingly

[Padfield]

I may be completely wrong but I'm sure Shrews give of a nasty smell to keep predators away which is probably why Minnie allows them free lodgings, probably grudgingly

The internet agrees with you - that's apparently why cats don't eat shrews (though apparently they'll sometimes catch them and not eat them).

Guy

[Padfield]

Sarasvatī is submerged again:



She has always had a predilection for watersports. This was her the day after hatching, on 4th August 2014:



It's still snowing here, and very cold air is moving in tonight, but today the ambient temperature was warm enough for snow and thaw at the same time - hence the water droplets. This video, taken yesterday, gives an idea of what the emperor woods are like at the moment (the background noise is the nearby stream - at altitude, where the air is very dry in winter, many species prefer to breed near streams):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUX7Yki2H-A[/video]

But flower buds are breaking on the sallow and the countdown to real spring has begun.

Guy

[Padfield]

The white stuff continues to fall out of the sky:





Minnie taking a breather while out skiing yesterday:



She kept up as best she could but next time I will take the backpack so she can get a ride on the downhill bits!

Guy

[Goldie M]

I love the snow scenes Guy and Minnie seems to enjoy herself more than you do Goldie