Lightly Seared on the Reality Grill
Random geekery from the Low Countries
While in the garden recently, I found this guy on my corn. My limited insect identification skills are enough to know that it’s a grasshopper (watch me get corrected in the comments now 😉 ), but I have no idea as to what type.
More importantly, is it edible?
On a side note, attempting to identify bugs is something that I’m finding quite interesting even though I’m rubbish at it. If anyone can point to any relevant resources, it would be much appreciated.
Following on from yesterday’s post I can report that, with some help from our neighbour, I have successfully disentangled the pumpkin plant from the fence. We ended up having to cut away some of the plant but managed to avoid removing any of the actual pumpkins.
The neighbour was even kind enough to return the big pumpkin that had been growing on his side of the fence. All 11 kilos of it.
I also planted courgettes earlier this year and we harvested the first one yesterday. It’s a pretty decent size although I haven’t gotten around to weighing it.
While weeding and clearing, we discovered this little lady helping to protect the plants.
After some searching, I think she’s a wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) and I know that she sent me down an internet rabbit hole for much of the evening. They are fascinating wee beasties.
I tried not to disturb her too much but all of our banking about was enough to send her into hiding at some point during the day. I hope she comes back, though, as she provides a cheerfully colourful way of keeping my vegetables pest free.
This is the final post from our backyard bestiary (for now) but we do, of course, have a European garden spider loitering among the caterpillars and stink bugs. The photos I have aren’t great but I posting them anyway, (a) because I have them and (b) as a reminder to myself to go and see if we have any spiderlings in May.
Following on from yesterday’s caterpillar post, the reason I had my camera with me in the garden was that I’d previously noticed a number of black and red beetles at the back of the garden. I only found one out there yesterday, and here he is:
It turns out he’s a Graphosoma lineatum, also known as the Italian Striped-Bug or Minstrel Bug.
The question mark in the title of this post is deliberate and in place because I have never made an entomological attempt before today. But while outside this afternoon, I noticed that the nettles still clinging to our back fence were covered in caterpillars. And I do mean covered:
Obviously, I wanted to know what species of caterpillar these are and, after some searching, I have managed to convince myself that these are Red Admiral larvae.
I couldn’t find an exact photographic match but this is a native species and this does seem to be the right time of the year for them. And, of course, they were all over the nettles, which is the sole diet of Red Admiral caterpillars.
We could be in for quite a colourful autumn this year.
Lightly Seared on the Reality Grill 