gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I've been seeing people picking something the past few bike rides ...
I don't collect them in any quantity, just graze ...
Butterflies and moths
- Thread starter campanula
- Start date
I don't collect them in any quantity, just graze ...
weepiper
I fix the machines that fight climate change
Anyone know what moth this is that I saw on my walk this morning?
Otherwise loads and loads of orange tip butterflies, at least twenty, but nothing much else. I have only seen orange tips, meadow brown, speckled wood and a red admiral so far this year. No peacocks, tortoiseshells, painted lady, etc.
Otherwise loads and loads of orange tip butterflies, at least twenty, but nothing much else. I have only seen orange tips, meadow brown, speckled wood and a red admiral so far this year. No peacocks, tortoiseshells, painted lady, etc.
Callie
Pivoting
I had a garden blackberry earlier today .... Spicy!I used to get a lot of garden tigers before I tidied my garden up and removed the greenhouse and my folly building.
Now it's mostly cabbage whites trying to destroy my kale
View attachment 383674
I may extend my bike ride later and go to the nearest meadow / hedgerow .. apart from anything else I need to get my first blackberries.
the birds are eating them and pooping on the washing though 
Callie
Pivoting
Silver y I think
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
I did do a Big Butterfly Count survey the Friday before last when there was a little bit of sun
We saw Large Whites, Commas, Red Admirals, and Holly Blues.
When we weren't doing the actual count, we also saw Jersey Tiger Moths and Speckled Woods
If the weather improves at all before the 6th I'll do another count or two in our street or in the little park round the corner.
We saw Large Whites, Commas, Red Admirals, and Holly Blues.
When we weren't doing the actual count, we also saw Jersey Tiger Moths and Speckled Woods
If the weather improves at all before the 6th I'll do another count or two in our street or in the little park round the corner.
Dystopiary
putting up a hook to hang my hopes upon
Jersey tiger I think.
andysays
Love and solidarity
Some good news for butterflies
Red Admiral butterflies: Climate change sees migratory species stay in UK, says charity
geminisnake
a complex mass of conflicting ideas
Fairly sure Top Cat has already made some bramble jam so they're ready somewhere in the SE
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Fairly sure Top Cat has already made some bramble jam so they're ready somewhere in the SE
I went looking last week and I think someone’s eaten them all already.
I’ll patrol further afield next weekend
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
possibly birds, tbh ...
If the brambles [or whatever] have grubs in them, that's an added incentive for our avian neighbours to get noshing !
my "flock" go for almost anything, depending on how much food is out and what the weather's doing {or going to do}
Leafster
.
I have seen a few more Red Admirals in recent years and I've seen quite a few this year in my garden.
However, today, I'm pretty sure I disturbed a White Admiral which was sheltering from the wind and rain in my front garden. I can't remember the last time I saw one.
Steel Icarus
we move
Garden's got a bit out of hand with a lovely big patch of nettles... which are now covered in caterpillars - think these are small tortoiseshells. Or will be.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Chomp, chomp, chomp...
andysays
Love and solidarity
What are they feeding on?
Stinging nettle
andysays
Love and solidarity
OK, that's would I expect red admiral caterpillars to feed on, but from the photo it looked like something else.
Do you grow stinging nettle in your polytunnel deliberately?
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
Yesterday, I also saw several Red Admirals ...
But a lot less than in previous years.
Must check my nettle patches - I allow these to grow in several areas to feed caterpillars. {Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortishell} and small birds will eat the seeds / other i.
Also very young nettle shoots are edible for salads, teas etc [I don't, but I know people that do eat them]
But a lot less than in previous years.
Must check my nettle patches - I allow these to grow in several areas to feed caterpillars. {Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortishell} and small birds will eat the seeds / other i.
Also very young nettle shoots are edible for salads, teas etc [I don't, but I know people that do eat them]
No
I just don't have time to keep up with weeding because everything else takes ten times as long as it should, because the entire place is falling apart.Was doing pea shoots in this trough down the side of the squash, but the only thing approaching useable compost at the time was from a manure heap that had been left uncovered so full of nettle, dock, grass and other seeds (I've just started a Berkley heap so should have good compost soon...). I'm still getting a few ripe pods to snack on from the last remaining pea plants and I'll carefully cut back the other stuff to stop it self-seeding but leave the nettles be until the caterpillars have done their thing. There's enough space here though that ideally we wouldn't have any nettles growing in the garden, polytunnel, veg field or campsite areas but there would still be plenty elsewhere for the species that need them.
Especially good in a soup when wild garlic is in season! We've cut a load to dry and use as nettle hay for livestock feed too.
Dock leaves and seed are technically edible too and I'm determined to start using those somehow since we have an entire field of almost nothing else. Ducks have been eating the seeds but we really want fewer ducks, not more..
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