Gower Ranger
VIP Member
Found this wee beastie while gardening today.
He's not very big (he's my newt.)
He's not very big (he's my newt.)
Garden find
- Thread starter Gower Ranger
- Start date
MaC
Moderator
Cute 
I've to be careful lifting pots and planters at this time of year. They coorie down beneath them, and they blend in so well and sit so still that it'd be easy to crush them without seeing them.
M
I've to be careful lifting pots and planters at this time of year. They coorie down beneath them, and they blend in so well and sit so still that it'd be easy to crush them without seeing them.
M
bushwacker
VIP Member
I identified a bumble bee as a female Bombus terestris today. Last year it would have been just a bumble bee, then I found a bumblebee identification chart................
MaC
Moderator
Is it a good one with lots of the bees shown ?
Himself bought me a set from some charity or other and honestly, they're useless unless it's one of the six most common bees.
I'd love to have a clear chart that I could look that actually had a greater choice.
M
bushwacker
VIP Member
MaC
Moderator
That sounds pretty much the same as the set we got.
If you come across a better one, well one with more, would you mind and let me know ?
I bought a British Insects book a fortnight ago, and while it's about a half full of butterflies and moths, it's decidedly light on the beetles I'd hoped to see, let alone the bees.
A tad disappointing.
M
If you come across a better one, well one with more, would you mind and let me know ?
I bought a British Insects book a fortnight ago, and while it's about a half full of butterflies and moths, it's decidedly light on the beetles I'd hoped to see, let alone the bees.
A tad disappointing.
M
bushwacker
VIP Member
I'm fairly sure I heard attenborough say 90% of all things that fly are insects and 90% of those are unnamed/identified. A decent one has yet to be written.
MaC
Moderator
I'm pretty sure that the beetles, bees and flies that I see are fairly common, but I have found no clear guide.
I'd like something that separated easily, and then coded in colours.
So,
Bees
Wasps
Hoverflies
Sapsuckers
Beetles....found on plants and on the ground
*Little ones
*Big ones
Ground beetles (found in the soil)
Larvae found in the soil
Weevils
Ants
Galls
Flies
*little to big
*horseflies
*Mayflies
Butterflies
*and their larvae/caterpillars
Moths
*and their larvae/caterpillars
Spiders
Mites
I don't think that's un-doable.
Might be fun to do.
I'd like something that separated easily, and then coded in colours.
So,
Bees
Wasps
Hoverflies
Sapsuckers
Beetles....found on plants and on the ground
*Little ones
*Big ones
Ground beetles (found in the soil)
Larvae found in the soil
Weevils
Ants
Galls
Flies
*little to big
*horseflies
*Mayflies
Butterflies
*and their larvae/caterpillars
Moths
*and their larvae/caterpillars
Spiders
Mites
I don't think that's un-doable.
Might be fun to do.
bushwacker
VIP Member
Galls are wasps (afaik) that narrows it a bit. Just need pics, Ids etc and we could have a small circulation, entomologists 'bible'
MaC
Moderator
I've had them hatch out in the big jar I collected the galls into. I used them for ink and for dyeing.
Kind of cute wee things, so I just let them free
I put galls in the list because there are so many different ones, and it'd be cool to know what caused which one, kind of thing. The galls are easy to spot but the wee wasps are easily mistaken for just another fly.
So, Galls
Beachlover
Moderator
Yep, I have the Chinery too and find it pretty good along with the "British Insects" one as well.
At my place, queen bumble bees hibernate in leaf and dead grass trash over the winter.
That dross is the last thing that I clean up since it's the bumble bees which pollinate my grapes.
For years now, there has been a BB nest under both the front and the rear of my garden shed. Fine by me.
Time to prune the grapes at the end of this month and get to the apples before they hit pink stage.
After that, maybe June?, I'll get the leaf and grass trash cut to soil level. The neighbor's kid can make some money from the old man.
That dross is the last thing that I clean up since it's the bumble bees which pollinate my grapes.
For years now, there has been a BB nest under both the front and the rear of my garden shed. Fine by me.
Time to prune the grapes at the end of this month and get to the apples before they hit pink stage.
After that, maybe June?, I'll get the leaf and grass trash cut to soil level. The neighbor's kid can make some money from the old man.
Saint-Just
Administrator
I am sure most of you will be familiar with but personally I had never seen one before
MaC
Moderator
It's funny you should post that because there's a little Chinese granny whose youtube site I find interesting, and today she made pine flower cakes
The pollen is nutritious, protein rich.
I quite like pollen, I use it mostly from reedmace though, but I just add it to flour in season
M
The pollen is nutritious, protein rich.
I quite like pollen, I use it mostly from reedmace though, but I just add it to flour in season
M
bushwacker
VIP Member
Tis tree jizz, I hope she swallows.It's funny you should post that because there's a little Chinese granny whose youtube site I find interesting, and today she made pine flower cakes
The pollen is nutritious, protein rich.
I quite like pollen, I use it mostly from reedmace though, but I just add it to flour in season
M
MaC
Moderator
I make good ink from those
MaC
Moderator
I put the galls someplace where the wee wasps can hatch out safely, and only use them when the galls have holes.
Nice65
Explorer
Are you hammocking with the pooping grasshopper?