Quiz Answer

The beautiful pattern from yesterday is the abdomen of a European garden spider, Araneus diadematus, an orb weaver. 

The suggestions I got were fascinating, and could conceivably have been:

a cowrie shell

snake skin

mould

something Dale needs to have looked at by a professional

frog/toad skin

caterpillar

some kind of plant

two people suggested it might be part of an insect,

and one said

an arachnid! (which it is)

Every time I went back to re-photograph it, the little rascal would scurry off into the brush. Why? Because spiders have sensory hairs on the legs and bodies that alerts them to puffs of air and vibrations. These thin hairs on their legs and bodies are called trichobothria - so effective and sensitive.

Count My Spots

The Seven-spot Ladybird beetle is an aphid hunter, and here's one honing in on its banquet of rose aphids (those little green guys on the stem, and under the furthest leaf - there are a lot of them).

The scientific name of this little native is Coccinella septempunctata, literally translating as the 'seven-spotted scarlet beetle, so apt!

Just look at this fierce face - it must be terrifying for an aphid to see this armored, dome-shaped tank approaching!

Darting Visitor

Common darter is a reddish dragonfly that's been coming to our pond, but never staying still long enough to get photographed. I stalked it this time, and waited patiently at a frequently used landing spot - success at last! And then I read on Wikipedia that its 'habit of repeatedly returning to a sunny spot allows you to easily predict where they are going to land, which is why it is one of the easiest dragonflies to photograph.' Harumph ... it has taken me a few weeks to nail this one down (shh, don't tell anybody).

Prickly Visitor

Our resident hedgehog has been partaking of the food we've been putting out almost daily, and certainly very regularly. Since they're nocturnal, we don't always get a chance to see them ourselves, but we got lucky one evening when it came earlier than usual - Dale took this pic from the living room window when the camera spotlight turned on. 

Our feed station has to be cat proof, otherwise they'd munch all the food before the hedgehog got there. So, we've made a maze of bricks inside an overturned tote bin, forcing the animal to weave and turn inside the tote in order to reach the food bowl.

and we've cut a small entranceway into the plastic tote. Though we've seen cats peek inside this entrance, they're nervous about the interior labyrinth that doesn't lend itself to a quick escape. This way, only the dim, adorable hedgehog gets to eat the food!

Overnight Slime

 This slime mould appeared overnight on our new pond log

The next day it looked like this

and it became more pink as the hours went by (this is 2 hours later). This apparently happens as its reproductive structures mature.

Slime moulds! Phenomenal things - they can move as a creeping mass to hunt for food, consuming yeasts, bacteria, and fungal spores. They're not fungi, plant or animal - they're classified as protists.

Incy Wincy Spider

This helpful house spider does a good job of making itself look fearsome - total bluff, though, it's harmless. I love seeing the sparse hairs on its legs at (safe) close range. There are some beautiful markings on its abdomen too, and its arm-like mouthparts look like eyes on stalks.

Old World Shrub

Viburnum opulus or Guelder rose (it's not really a rose) has spectacular showy berries that almost look artificial.

The leaves look very maple-like

This is an ornamental shrub with berries that are only edible if cooked, at which point they apparently smell like 'musty old socks' (Eat weeds).There are so many in my yard, and they look so luscious, but I'm not sure I'm that desperate!

The Magic of Grey

Speckled wood butterfly beautifully enhanced by the grey background

Silverweed shadow

Wall lettuce over grey water

Blood-vein Moth

What a beautiful moth! This beauty landed on me and I had to call Dale to capture it without me disturbing it.

It's a blood-vein moth (Timandra comae), widespread in Wales, with beautiful, fringed antennae which you can see against my sleeve if you look closely.

Restored Wetlands

Our town was permitted to put in a tarred carpark near the local store, provided we also established a wetland habitat as a buffer between the asphalt surface and the River Cain. It's become a beautiful spot full of butterflies and other pollinators that buzz.

I'm learning not to panic when I see stands of Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria ) - they're native here, and I don't need to pull them out (though the urge is strong!).

 Which route to choose?

The willow being trained over this part of the walkway is progressing nicely

The Blues

Ever since Rachael drew a rare Welsh butterfly for me on Mother's day, I've been on a mission to see the silver-studded blue in real life. I haven't yet achieved this feat, but captured one of the other 'blues' along the way, the European common blue, Polyommatus icarus

This little beauty is ... little, with a wingspan of up to 1.4". Only the males are blue. And they don't seem to want to settle in one place!

To see this rare version illustrated below, I'll have to examine the underside of the hindwing when its wings are closed to see the silver studs! I'm on it.

Thrilling Find

We're so very excited that our outdoor camera finally captured a hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus, a protected species) in our yard! This is brilliant news - we'd been finding scat that we'd had confirmed as hedgehog, but ... seeing is believing 

We'd put a covered feed station outside, with a narrow maze of bricks threading inside it to deter cats. The food has been disappearing for the past 4 nights, but this is the first camera capture!

We've also been placing shallow basins of water outside for it because of the current drought.

Woohoo!

The way it stretches and contracts its body makes me think of a leech's movements!

These nocturnal omnivores are often killed on roads as they forage and are also declining in numbers through habitat loss.

Heath Flowers

 Craig and I had a great time inspecting every speck of color in the landscape, and we found these treasures.

Sedum anglicum, English stonecrop

Photographing this next exquisite specimen in its natural habitat necessitated getting my shoes and socks soaked. The deep, spongey vegetation and substrate holds a LOT of water - very deceptive!

Bog asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum

This display tank at Lake Vrynwy illustrates how deeply soggy the heath can be, whilst looking like dry land to our feet. When you put your weight on it, the top sinks down into the wet below.

Common cottongrass, Eriophorum angustifolium

Round-leaved sundew, Drosifera rotundiflora

Tormentil, Potentilla erecta

Sightseeing

 A visit from Dale's friend of 55 years prompted a scenic trip with interesting stop-offs along our favorite, dramatic route nearby. This time, with botanizing, birdwatching, butterfly-gazing (and some grub) on the agenda, we spent 6 hours doing the 52 mile route (equivalent distance from Manchester, NH to Boston, MA).

The heath had changed color schemes since our visit last month! Fascinating, and so incredibly beautiful. 

It's hard to believe that the vivid greens are not low groundcovers, but gorse shrubs and bracken that stand about a metre or more above the soil surface, creating a microhabitat beneath.

The orange/red tinge to the heathlands was laid on by the European blueberry (or bilberry) amidst the  swathe of green.

 

Lilac flowered heather added yet another layer of colour to the slopes and hillsides.

I can't get enough of this scenery

It's thrilling when the only sound around is wind

Coppery Beauty

I was lucky enough to snap a picture of a live slow worm whilst gardening before it scuttled away. What a beautiful creature!

Neither worm (despite its common name), nor snake, this is the non-venomous, legless lizard, Anguis fragilis. They help keep the slug population down.

Caterpillar up Close

This is the front end of an elephant hawk-moth caterpillar (Deilephila elpenor) - one of the rewards of working in the yard is getting up close and personal with all manner of creatures.

It's one of countless species that appear to have enormous eyes, but these are merely markings, not functioning eyes

This larva will transform into this beautiful pink and gold moth

Photo from Wikipedia

Peacock Butterfly

 Look at these gorgeous wings on the peacock butterfly (Aglais io)- stunning

This is a common butterfly whose eggs are laid on stinging nettle for the larvae to feed on. It overwinters in buildings and trees.

This one was trapped in our conservatory, so I placed a jar over it and then slid an envelope across the opening. When I tried to release it outside, it sat on the envelope in the sun, giving me a perfectly plain background on which to photograph it.

Admire the Admiral

Velvety and lush -

Wings like silk; colors quite drab:

Impressive details.

This gorgeous creature was happy to sit with me for quite some time - I think its bulbous-tipped antennae are fascinating and beautiful. Its open wings are very colorful.