Nature pics

[bim]

Lovely pictures of the owl and kingfisher. They always remind me of superman when they fly past and you get flashes of the metalic colours.

 

[bim]

Further to my earlier post the datura flower, I managed to get a picture of a pine hawk moth feeding. Slightly out of focus due to the breeze moving the flower around. This one looks a bit bedragled must be coming to his end or drunk from the nectar.

 

[Topper]

View attachment 67047 Last week we stayed one night at a quirky place called The Raptor Foundation near St Ives Cambridge, unfortunately I forgot my camera charger so had to take 'snaps' with my phone View attachment 67046

 

[Lazarus]

Wot, no "selfie"?

 

[bim]

On the last pic in the foreground never seen one of these before but the swmbo says she sees one all the time!!
Joking aside; lovely pics. We have been there before didn't know you could stay there; mind you it was quite a few years ago.

 

[rolfw]

Thanks Paul, these are from today, same little pond, but this Coypu was in the nearly dried up and now milky stream, think the farmers have been spreading phosphates.

 

[skomedal]

Another unrecognized caterpillar with very distinctive markings, spotted this afternoon.

View attachment 67058
~3cm, very hairy, looking at the coloration think it might also leave a bad taste in the mouth of predators.

Have search various caterpillar id sites without result.

All help appreciated

Regards

 

[Lazarus]

Thanks Paul, these are from today, same little pond, but this Coypu was in the nearly dried up and now milky stream, think the farmers have been spreading phosphates.

When we saw Coypu in Normandy, our French host informed us they make a nice Pâté!

 

[Lazarus]

Another unrecognized caterpillar with very distinctive markings, spotted this afternoon.

View attachment 67058
~3cm, very hairy, looking at the coloration think it might also leave a bad taste in the mouth of predators.

Have search various caterpillar id sites without result.

All help appreciated

Regards

I've had a browse through our various books, but it's a mystery still.

 

[skomedal]

Damn it will be miles away now, still at least got a snap of it if rare

Regards

 

[bim]

Another unrecognized caterpillar with very distinctive markings, spotted this afternoon.

View attachment 67058
~3cm, very hairy, looking at the coloration think it might also leave a bad taste in the mouth of predators.

Have search various caterpillar id sites without result.

All help appreciated

Regards

I think it's definately a member of the fritillary family. The nearest I can get to it is Argynnis aglaja Dark green Fritllary. It lays eggs on violets so are there any about, and the butterflies like thistles.

 

[skomedal]

Thanks bim,
Not the Argynnis aglaja Dark green Fritllary caterpillar, plenty of violets, but no thistles.

Maybe another issue for the natural history museum after the school hols.

Regards

 

[skomedal]

Re. post 587
Mailed the lepidoptera curator of the Natural history museum in Oslo a copy of this photo, he just mailed me with reply :-

Hei,

Dette er larven til en nattsommerfugl, Acronicta cinerea, i familien
nattfly (Noctuidae). Den er også kjent under navnet Acronicta euphorbiae.
vennlig hilsen
Leif Aarvik

Google translate:-
This is the larva of a night butterfly Acronicta cinerea, family
Owlet Moths (Noctuidae). It is also known under the name Acronicta euphorbiae.
sincerely

So its an Acronicta cinerea moth caterpillar



Good to have an information source

Regards

Still say a big thanks to member bim


Edit English name is :-
Sweet Gale Moth

 

[Topper]

Young Horace the hedgehog really is becoming too tame for his own good, I do not feed him but he is always running (yes running) across our lawn, sometimes coming within two feet of humans

 

[bim]

Re. post 587
Mailed the lepidoptera curator of the Natural history museum in Oslo a copy of this photo, he just mailed me with reply :-

Hei,

Dette er larven til en nattsommerfugl, Acronicta cinerea, i familien
nattfly (Noctuidae). Den er også kjent under navnet Acronicta euphorbiae.
vennlig hilsen
Leif Aarvik

Google translate:-
This is the larva of a night butterfly Acronicta cinerea, family
Owlet Moths (Noctuidae). It is also known under the name Acronicta euphorbiae.
sincerely

So its an Acronicta cinerea moth caterpillar

View attachment 67085

Good to have an information source

Regards

Still say a big thanks to member bim


Edit English name is :-
Sweet Gale Moth

I think your picture is much more explicit than the professional one, what does the moth look like?

 

[bim]

Took this pic yesturday, it's a bit distant and they are very fast moving but this one went straight up the side of our house. It's approx 1 mtr long. Local name black snake. It's a shame they heat up in the mornings on the tarmac roads and often get run over by cars.

 

[Lazarus]

Lovely creature.

You're so right about snakes being decimated by cars - we were in Puglia not so long ago and the roads were quite literally awash with squashed serpents. A heck of a shame.

 

[skomedal]

I think your picture is much more explicit than the professional one, what does the moth look like?

This is the male adult not as attractive as the caterpillar.


Seems they are not very common in norway.

Regards

 

[bim]

I'm sure some people aim for them and speed up as we have found if you slow down a bit they can sence the car and move quite fast.

 

[bim]

This is the male adult not as attractive as the caterpillar.

View attachment 67090
Seems they are not very common in norway.

Regards

You're right there about the moth, you wouldn't give it much of a second glance. Come to think of it I may have seen some here.