www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

just sorting out my pics and videos from sunday and i watched this one again not the best video in the world but could someone confirm or deny that this holly blue is ovipositing. if it is it's on buddliea, is this a known practice?
Thanks
Chris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I73hj3Hxp0s[/video]

Wow. Certainly looks like it is thinking about it. Have you checked the plant for eggs?

BTW, your snake fly video is fascinating.

if i'd realised what it was doing i would have checked for eggs and if i could have reached them.

snake fly was a surprise on the front door, i never realised the ovipositors were so flexible. thanks for looking.

chris

Always a pleasure. If anyone could reach the eggs it'd be you.

Some interesting videos there.

Buddliea blue has a nice ring to it too.

I once watched a holly blue lay on buddleia in the garden at my old house. I netted the twig and kept looking for a larva, but there was nothing.

I've been torn trying to decide whether to dead head my buddliea.

Do I dead head now and hope to get a few more flowers this year or do I leave the seed heads for possible holly blue caterpillars and last winter I had goldfinches and blue tits feeding on them so perhaps a good souce of food for birds too (whether they were eating seeds or insects living in the seed heads I am not sure - possibly the former for the goldfinches (which also like vebena bonariensis seed heads) and insects for the blue tits)?

I have had the same decision to make in the past,Susie. But they don't seem to re-flower very well,in my experiance,so i now leave the dead heads for the birds.
However,i pinch out a few shoots in late may or june,removing an inch or two,these take longer to re-grow,spreading the flowering over another week or two.

I've personally not heard of them ovipositing on Buddleia before, but it definitely seems to be considering it in your video! I'll have to give Buddleia a go next time I have some larvae