www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

JohnR wrote:A handy insect repellent when you have forgotten the real thing, is crushed elderberry leaves rubbed on exposed parts. It certainly works for midges at dusk.

I've often wondered why Elder, native here for who knows how many millennia, is so rubbish for insects. For instance, there's just ONE micro moth that uses it as a foodplant! And it's probably been here longer than oaks. Didn't know about the crushed leaves acting as a deterrent, but that certainly helps explain the lack of species utilising the stuff.

Gibster.


PS - spent a night in a building in rural Nicaragua coupla years ago. No lights (no electricity at all actually), earthen floors, an almost dead torch...we were in our fold-out bed when something ran across Sam's face. Then my arm. Then another on my leg...in the dying beam of the torch we saw various pupa-carrying ants, roaches and even a scorpion scurrying across the floor/bed. Playing our torch onto the nearside wall we found out why - ARMY ANTS fanning out at speed and heading our way. RUN!!! I don't think crushed elder leaves or DEET would have saved us... although Skin-so-Soft might have.

ChrisC wrote:i thought marmite was supposed to be a repellant. no idea how true it is though.

Chris

Depends on whether you love it or hate it.

Coating the stomach lining with the fermented juice of the Elder berry stops you feeling the insect bites,,, your legs, feet, and other extremities. There is a fungus that thrives on old, and dead Elder bushes. Auricularia auricula judae or Jelly ear, the former common name is now dropped (politically incorrect).

Zonda wrote:There is a fungus that thrives on old, and dead Elder bushes. Auricularia auricula judae or Jelly ear, the former common name is now dropped (politically incorrect).

Indeed it has, which is the very definition of pointless as the latin is still there for all to see..!

The ICZN makes no provision for changing sensibilities. Auricularia auricula-judae is here to stay. I wonder what the most politically incorrect binomial is...

In any case, the Romans didn't eat jelly and have no word for it. The closest I can come up with is Auricularia auricula-glutinosa.

Guy

padfield wrote:The ICZN makes no provision for changing sensibilities. I wonder what the most politically incorrect binomial is...

How about Natica josephine (a marine snail).
Innocent sounding to most, but in Italy, natica means 'buttock', and Josephine is a derogatory term for The Pope.

The imp-ish little twerp in me likes:
Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass)
Bugeranus carunculatus (the wattled crane)
and last but by no means least: Enema pan (a rhinoceros beetle)

Piers.

Good start Felix!

The impish little twerp in you might also like this slightly tangential website:

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/sillymols.htm

Yes, there really is a mineral called 'cummingtonite'!!

G

'Welshite'

Capital work there Padfield, capital work. Impish minds think alike.

I think you'd both better come to my office for some rattan action on the glutaeus maximus. Although my eyes have been opened to a certain extent, and i have developed a fresh interest in Rhinoceros beetles. Eew!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-h ... s-12804689

Tick alert!!

Dave

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13447191

Trev

I've never been bitten yet, touch wood, but I've become paranoid about these things after reading all the horror stories. I now carry a pair of O'Tom Tick Twisters in my camera bag, which I hope to never need!

I still say wear long trousers tucked in your socks and cover your trousers in 50% DEET. The ticks will die almost instantly and you may set a new fashion trend.

Just don't get DEET on anything plastic or rubber like cameras or binoculars or they'll rot.

dilettante wrote:I've never been bitten yet, touch wood, but I've become paranoid about these things after reading all the horror stories. I now carry a pair of O'Tom Tick Twisters in my camera bag, which I hope to never need!

That's my approach, plus trousers which I can see the blighters on and tucked into my socks. I still have reservations about spraying DEET onto clothing given the effect it might have on the subject of interest.

Bill

Those fortunate enough to spend time out of doors should pay heed because the disease is extremely serious. The more so if left untreated. I say this with good hindsight, having seen a fellow butterfly enthisiast go down with the infection (picked up in France) which I think contributed to his early demise only 3 years later. He was given antibiotics but the illness was left undiagnosed for over 6 months...

It's also worth remembering that there all manner of other infections that ticks can cause if they bite and given that Lyme Disease itself has only been identified since the 1970's together with the rapid rise in infection detected in UK and the request for ' scientific specimens' it's clear to me that others are taking it seriously, so please be sensible. My advice:

1 Use repellent particularly in shoes, on trousers and socks.
2 Wear light clothes if you can to increase detection of ticks.
3 Try and stick to open paths.
4 Tap vegetation ahead of you with a stick if you have no choice but to brush past it. This should dislodge any ticks.
5 Shower when you get home.
6 Put all clothing into a wash cycle, ie, don't wear it again until washed.
7 Check shoes for tics after your trip. A friend of mine is convinced that a tick he was bitten by had remained in his shoes for ten days. He hadn't been in the countryside for that period and neither had he worn his 'trainers' until the day he got the tic.

I'm truly sorry you lost a friend to a tick-borne disease, Julian. But I have to say I don't like your measure no. 4. There are plenty of other creatures trying to make a living in the vegetation who risk being knocked off too, and possibly trodden on as you then walk past.

So, for balance, I'll add an extra measure. Check your domestic animals for ticks every time time they come in from the outside (in tick season and weather). Brush them with a pet brush for at least ten minutes. Not only will you make your pets love you forever (the word 'brush' made my dog leap with joy) but you will remove one of the major sources of ticks for many people.

Guy

OK, now I'm paranoid!

Fair comment Guy. I think it's advice which is useful.

Came back from France with two of the little bu##ers attached to back of my leg, dropped off quite soon , dont think they like Hobgoblin ! Picked them up in Crecy Forest, think it was the French getting their own back for whitewash in August 1346 !!


Dave C (grumpy)

Have to add, I visited G.P. for peace of mind and was given the all clear. Joking apart, I would suggest anyone being bitten by Ticks get checked out. Julian's friends story is a sobering tale (especially as I was victim in France) . This is the first time to my knowledge Ticks have bitten me, never had a problem in the U.K.



Dave C (grumpy)