Hummingbird Hawk-Moth

As many of you will know Bryony is most definitely not a moth person yet I have her to thank for the subject of this post. We were heading out in the car yesterday when she spotted something larger hovering at the bottom of the drive. Her initial thought was a large insect and it wasn't until I took a closer look that I realised it was a Hummingbird Hawk-Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).

I've never actually seen one before, although I think one put in a brief appearance at my sister-in-laws wedding which I saw as a shape flying away. Fortunately they are kind of hard to confuse with anything else.

After a few photos I thought I'd try a video to show you just why it's called a hummingbird hawk-moth. Unfortunately the camera was playing up (it's working fine now so I'm assuming operator error) and it kept stopping after recording just a second or so; the longest useful clip contained just 14 frames shot at 25 frames per second!

Rather than showing the raw video I've cropped and processed it (a complex procedue that itself can and will fill a technical blog post at some point) to produce an animated GIF that loops around to give you an idea of how it behaves.

I saw it again, briefly, this morning in the back garden but by the time I grabbed the camera it had gone. Hopefully it will be back and I'll get some better photos and video.

Large Skipper

Last year we were fortunate to see a Dingy Skipper butterfly in the garden. On Saturday we had the much more common variety, a Large Skipper, visit the garden. It seemed to really enjoy sunning itself on some bricks we've been using to mark out sections of the garden as we continue to work on adding borders.

I thought we had seen one in the garden before, but there is nothing written in my butterfly book, so it might be a new species for the garden. Either way it was a nice diversion from working in the garden!

Garden Bunting

While the garden is beginning to look really good after the hard work we've put into it this year, we aren't about to start hanging out the bunting. That doesn't stop a bunting enjoying the garden though. Specifically a Yellowhammer visited this evening. Sorry about the rather poor photo, but it was taken hand held in poor light (we lose direct sunlight to the garden by about 4 o'clock due to the railway and trees) and through the kitchen window which is definitely in need of a clean.

I haven't heard it sing the traditional "little bit of bread and no cheese" song yet, but I'm assuming it is primarily the male that sings, and this would be a female. Either way a nice new addition to the species list for the garden.

Up North

I was outside doing some gardening this afternoon when I came across this moth, which I'm fairly certain I haven't seen in the garden before. I also had no idea what the moth was so I had to look it up.

Given the number of books in our house you shouldn't be surprised to find that I actually have two moth books; a photographic guide by Chris Manley and an illustrated one by Waring, Townsend and Lewington. While the illustrated one contains more textual information I find the photographic one easier to hunt through, so that was where I started.

It didn't take me too long to identify the moth as a Sallow (or in Latin Xanthia icteritia) the only problem is that the photographic guide suggests that common throughout Britain during September and October. Now I know the weather has been confusing the wildlife this year but we aren't even half way through August yet.

Fortunately the more detailed, illustrated guide came to the rescue. It says that there is one generation a year which flies September and October in the south and August and September in the north. So I'm guessing Penistone is in the north; thank goodness for that!

Skipper, The Garden Isn't Really That Dingy!

Given that we seem to have been having something approaching summer for the last three weekends we've spent quite a bit of time working on the garden. In fact, depending which direction you look, it's starting to look really good. There is still an awful lot of work to do so fingers crossed summer will continue for a few more weeks.

Anyway, while we were sat out in the garden enjoying lunch yesterday we spotted a new species of butterfly for the garden. At first we thought it might be a moth from the way it was flying, but it turned out to be a Dingy Skkipper (or if you prefer the Latin Erynnis tages). Not only is this a new species for the garden, I don't think I've ever seen one before anywhere else. In fact I'm quite surprised to see one in the garden, as my guide suggests it prefers south-facing downland slopes, something our garden definitely isn't.

Crocallis Elinguaria

I don't tend to go out looking for moths at night, not because I wouldn't enjoy it but because it would probably not go down well with Bryony who really doesn't like moths at all. This means that I really don't know how many different species we get in the garden but this Scalloped Oak (Crocallis Elinguaria) that was hiding by the bins the other week is one I haven't seen in the garden before.

Having done a little gardening yesterday I can also say with some confidence that we will again have lots of Cinnabar moths next year as there are very hungry caterpillars everywhere.

By the way I'm not sure why I started using the Latin names of the moths for the post titles but if it is annoying people let me know and I'll switch back to their more common names.

She Wears A Black Cap

Since we bought our house we've seen quite a few interesting birds in the garden some of which I've blogged about (try here and here) and Bullfinches are now so common as to not be something out of the ordinary. Recently though we have had a new interesting visitor to the garden; a female Blackcap.

Apologies for the state of the photo but it was shot on full auto, at the limit of the camera, through a window that needs cleaning, and without the help of a tripod; i.e. not ideal shooting conditions. Anyway at least it helps record the fact that a female Blackcap was eating the tayberries (incidentally I've now picked over 6lbs and turned 3lbs into jam). This was actually the second time I'd seen the female, but we definately have a pair in the area as the first bird I saw eating the tayberries was the slightly easier to identify male.

John, Paul, George, or Ringo?

During a rare dry spell we did some gardening this afternoon. There were a lot of butterflies around (Gatekeepers, Small Tortoiseshells, and Ringlets) but there was also a beetle.

Now I'm not very good at identifying beetles, but I thought given the iridescent purple strip down either side of it's body and the iridescent blue markings on it's head that for once I would have no problem finding out what it was. Unfortunately I can't seem to identify it from any of the books we own or the internet.

Anyone have any ideas what it is?

4lbs and Counting

In common with the rest of the country Penistone, has so far, had a rather wet summer. Unfortunately this has limited somewhat the amount of gardening we have been able to do; even when the sun is shining the ground is so water laden as to be impossible to work with. This means there is a lot of weeding to do, but it also means that the actual plants in the garden have been kept well watered.

One plant that seems exceptionally happy is the tayberry. We only planted this last year and while it grew quite a bit during the summer it's gone crazy this year. It's obviously happy given the amount of fruit it's producing. So far I've picked just over 4lbs of fruit and there appears to be no end in sight. I'm not quite sure what we are going to do with it all yet; they've been washed, dried and frozen.

Tayberries, for those who don't know, are a cross between blackberries and raspberries and so I'm thinking jam might be a good way to go.

Phragmatobia Fuliginosa

Another day, another Latin post title! We spent an hour or so in the garden yesterday afternoon during the only time of the loooong weekend when it wasn't raining. Given that we weren't out for very long we actually got quite a bit done.

While gardening we saw at least three more Cinnabar moths and I also saw a species of moth, Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia Fuliginosa), that I don't think I've ever seen before, and is certainly a new species for the garden.

As you can see from the photo on the left it was sunning itself on the lawn. While I could see that there was definitely a bright red underwing it wasn't until I tried to move it off the lawn (so as not to accidentally stand on it) that I saw just how red it's body is. Unfortunately I didn't get to see it fly or open it's wings, maybe next time.

Tyria Jacobaeae

Some of you may remember that last year I blogged about the very hungry caterpillars which were taking over the garden. They were the caterpillars of the Cinnabar or Tyria Jacobaeae moth. Last year I only saw one moth throughout the whole summer, but my assumption was, given the number of caterpillars, that this year I would see more. Being day flying moths they are much easier to spot and identify than many other moths and so far in six days I've seen five moths flitting around the garden.

The Last 8 Seconds

Last Sunday Bryony and I spent an hour counting the birds visiting our garden as part of the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch. This is something we've done a number of times before and this year we saw the usual suspects; Robin, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Starling, Sparrow. We also had more interesting birds such as Goldfinches, Long Tailed Tits, Bullfinches, and a Siskin (which interestingly we've never seen before in this garden although we have seen during a Big Garden Birdwatch at our previous house). We also had a Sparrowhawk make a passing appearance. Unfortunately the Sparrowhawk decided to reduce our Bullfinch count by one! These two photos were, according to the camera, taken just eight seconds apart.

Now firstly from these photos it is clear that I need to clean the windows and use a faster shutter speed, but just after I'd taken the first photo the Bullfinch went right, straight into the path of the Sparrowhawk and became lunch. Now I have no problem with the Sparrowhawk needing to eat but why couldn't it have gone for one of the more numerous species? A Sparrow maybe? I'm sure they would taste roughly the same!

Bird Food

We have quite a few sources of bird food in the garden: there are five feeders as well as lots of wild flowers (the Goldfinches especially love the ragwort seed heads). I assume this means that we have quite a few small birds regularly visiting the garden. In turn this means that we are indirectly feeding this female Sparrowhawk.

She sat on top of the bird feeder for a good ten minutes happily surveying the garden. Of course any bird with any sense had buried itself so far into the undergrowth there was nothing else moving anywhere I could see. This is the third time I've seen the Sparrowhawk in the garden but the first time I've seen it sat and been able to photograph it at my leisure. Unfortunately the light was fading and I was shooting through a window which is in serious need of a wash so the photos could be better, but still a pleasant end to the day.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I always thought that the very hungry caterpillar was green with a red head. In out garden, however, they are definitely orange and black stripped!

Back in June I blogged about the fact that I'd seen three new species of moth and butterfly in the garden and that I thought allowing an area of the garden to go "wild" was partly responsible. Well one of those species was a Cinnabar moth and I knew that their caterpillars love ragwort of which there is a lot now growing wild in the garden. So every time I've gone into the garden I've been checking the ragwort for caterpillars.

On the 28th of July I saw the first Cinnabar caterpillars we have had in the garden. They were tiny. Most were less than a 1cm in length and although I used the macro lens adapter they were just too small for decent photos. By the 1st of August (when the photo in this post was taken) though they were huge! Most were now about an inch long and fat. I can't imagine how much ragwort they must have eaten in just 4 days to grow so much. Very hungry caterpillars indeed!

Not only did they grow fast but there was a lot of them. Hopefully next year rather than seeing one rather scratty Cinnabar moth we will have lots flitting around the garden.

Status: RED

We get a lot of birds in the garden, but they are usually common species; robin, sparrow, blackbird, goldfinch, starling etc. Since we moved in I've also seen less common birds including a single Great Spotted Woodpecker and a flock of Fieldfares. Last Sunday though we increased the number of birds we have seen in the garden, which also appear on the RSPB's red list, to three.

Unfortunately a host of factors conspired against me getting a good photo. It was late in the evening and the light was poor, I took the photo through a window that needs cleaning, and the white balance setting on the camera was accidentally set for florescent lighting. Anyway after playing with the photo a bit I'm happy enough with it as proof that we did indeed have a Linnet sitting in the apple tree for a few minutes.

I've had the camera setup on a tripod ready all week in case it comes back but so far nothing. Maybe it was just passing through, but hopefully it will be back and I'll be ready for it this time.

Everything But The Pig

As well as growing strawberries we've been experimenting this year with growing a whole raft of different vegetables. Whilst not all have been a success and some aren't yet ready to eat we've produced enough that last weekend I cooked a meal in which everything but the pig came straight out of the garden!

The meal consisted of a maple and mustard glazed ham served with roast potatoes and steamed carrots and peas. The carrots (Amsterdam Forcing Sprint) were grown in a half barrel, the potatoes (Vales Emerald) were grown in purpose designed sack, and the peas were grown by accident!

We actually grew mangetout with the intention of eating the whole pods. We did in fact eat quite a few mangetout in salads and in a Chinese stir fry. However, we had planted more seeds than we needed and so got lots and lots of mangetout. As we didn't eat them fast enough they continued to grow until they were essential peas in a pod. So we picked and shelled the peas and they worked perfectly.

There are still two more sacks of potatoes, three courgette plants and some runner beans growing in the garden so I doubt that it will be the only meal this year where most of the ingredients come fresh from the garden.

Pick, Soak, Boil, and Set

Pick, soak, boil and set are the four stages to making a truly heavenly strawberry jam. We planted five strawberry plants in the border last year, and while we got some fruit, there wasn't enough to do anything other than just eat them. This year, however, the plants have gone mad. So far we must have picked at least 3lb of strawberries and there are still plenty ready to pick and plenty that have yet to fully ripen.

When we came back from holiday (don't worry there will be more holiday themed posts) I had a few days before I went back to work and given the amount of strawberries I decided that some of the time should be spent slaving over a hot stove producing strawberry jam.

Of course while making a batch of jam is rewarding, there is a feeling of accomplishment as well as a sweet food, you can't really eat jar after jar of jam on it's own. So this weekend I made fruit scones.

So the last two days have been pretty good; eating homemade scones with home made strawberry jam while watching the British F1 qualifying/race. What more could a person want?

Hortus Lepidopterans

Okay so the Latin title might not be linguistically correct, but it has a better feel to it than "Garden Moths and Butterflies" which is what this post is all about.

Ever since we bought our house we have been slowly working on transforming the square lawn, which takes up all the flat area of the rear garden, into something more interesting with flowers and shrubs etc. Last year we used a whole bunch of bricks to mark out where we wanted the borders and a pond to be. Unfortunately we haven't had the time to actually do all the work yet.

The back left corner of the garden will eventually hold the pond and a bit of a bog garden as well as a small patio and a bench. Currently though, we have simply let this corner go wild to produce an interesting habitat for good old fashioned British wildlife. This means lots of tall grass, ragwort, dock and a whole bunch of other plants. One side effect of this is that the number of species of moths and butterflies we are seeing in the garden is increasing.

So far this year I've managed to identify and photograph two new species of moth and a butterfly.

From left to right we have:

Tyria jacobaeae

A day flying moth more commonly referred to as a Cinnabar. This is likely to have been attracted to the garden by the ragwort growing wild in what will eventually be a pond as this is the favourite food of it's larval form.

Polyommatus icarus

Last year we actually saw quite a few blue butterflies flitting around the garden. Unfortunately they either flew over the fence or were eaten by the Robins before we had a chance to identify them. This year, however, I finally found one sunning itself in the border and it sat still long enough for me to identify it as a Common Blue. It's a shame I didn't manage a photo of the bright blue upper wing surfaces but all the identifying characteristics are actually in the photo.

Diachrysia chrysitis f. aurea

I found this Burnished Brass moth in the herb border today while I was mowing the lawn. It was sitting in the marjoram which isn't really surprising given that my moth book lists marjoram as one of the larval food plants.

So I'm sorry if any of my neighbors think that the garden looks a little untidy, it will improve slowly, but until we have the time I'd prefer it to be a haven for British wildlife then a boring lawn.

Bones In The Garden

We've spent a lot of time over the last few weekends working on the garden; clearing ground, planting and potting up lots of plants, sowing seeds and assembling a huge compost bin. I've spent a lot of time therefore staring at the soil in the garden. I've come across numerous bugs, grubs and caterpillars which I've failed miserably to either identify or photograph but I've only come across one skull!

I'm assuming it's from a mouse or some other small mammal that has been brutally tortured and killed by one of the many local cats -- my bet is on the vicious ginger tom cat that lives next door.

Now I have a lot of books that help with identifying things but funnily enough I don't have one that specializes in mammal skulls. Does anyone know exactly what the skull is from? If it helps it is exactly 2cm along the top of the skull and the teeth are 3mm long. If specific angles are required for identification let me know and I'll post some more photos.

Not Quite Time Team

When we moved in the main accessible area of the garden was just one large square of grass without any borders or interesting features other than a rusty old metal swing. We have quite a few plans for the garden but none of them involve a swing! So one of the first jobs this year was to remove the swing. I'd actually put it off a few times as I thought it was going to be quite a lot of work but on Saturday afternoon I was encouraged into having a go. Removing it was actually a lot easier than I expected.

I used a small hacksaw to cut the four main posts about a foot above the ground. I then started to cut it up further but my hacksaw blade broke so I resulted to trying to undo the very rusty nuts and bolts holding the rest together. After liberal application of WD40 and the production of a lot of sweat and tears I managed to separate the rest to make it easier to move and dispose of.

I then dug out the four poles which were buried in concrete. Two of them just pulled out (worrying really) but two required more effort and a spade to remove.

The last post I dug out seemed to have been set in a bigger chunk of concrete, but when I got it out it was obvious why -- it had been inscribed. So I now now that the swing was originally put up in 2002 and given that I know the names of the people living here before I even know who AS is. So not quite Time Team but interesting never the less.

So we now have a garden without a swing and can start making borders and putting in plants. Hopefully it will start to look more interesting than it did when we moved in.