As a child I was fascinated by the loud cicadas in Spain and also by the much smaller crickets in our own polder garden. Sometimes you could find dangerous looking grasshoppers with wicked sabres to their backsides in the hedge next to the school. That fascination stayed with me. So I'm forever alert to the insects in Hunky Dory.
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| Chrysolina coerulans |
In Hunky Dory it likes to live on my Monardas, to eat the pollen and nibble on leaves. There are a lot of horror stories on the internet about this beetle, who adores mint so much it can strip entire fields, apparently. Because of my refusal to spray with poison, I catch them when there are too many, but so far they are not a problem.
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| Phyrrhocoris apterus, see post 161E |
I have written before (briefly) about this firebug, but here is some more info: a firebug will eat leaves, sure, but also aphids! In fact they will eat dead insects, so they are useful crawlies in spite of their colours which warn of danger. They don't bite or sting and are not poisonous. In my garden it likes the Centaurea, but I meet it everywhere else as well.
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| The Asian Cocinella |
Although I have many more European ladybirds, I also see the Asian kind. In my garden the European cocinellas like to overwinter in between the leaves of the Artichokes, and they will fly to the Rhubarb leaves as soon as they appear. The Asian kind has more spots and can also be red or yellow. This kind is poisonous and invasive. I see them everywhere, the one in the photo was on my Desdemona rose.
Ladybirds in general are poisonous and have a bite you can also really feel as a human. They are known for getting rid of your aphids (yay), but they do also eat other insect's larvae, leaf beetles, spider mites, and aren't shy of a caterpillar. I welcome them, as long as they don't crawl into my bra again.
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| Not a Red Admiral |
Last Summer the butterfly I saw most frequently was the Vanessa Atalanta. The one on the photo is the Peacock, sorry. Let's try again.
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| The Red Admiral |
Found it!
This butterfly can live up to a couple of years and enjoys my Buddleias, Thistles, Echinaecias, Knautias and here it is sitting on a Scabiosa.
Having said that, last Summer saw very few butterflies. And this Spring so far has been far too wet and windy for butterflies, the poor things.
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| Deilephila elphenor |
This moth I only spotted once, unfortunately, in August 2023. And I did not manage to take a good frontal photo. But take my word for it, it is gorgeous, with a wingspan of 7cm. The common name is Elephant Hawk Moth. It had a preference for my Valerian, which I have masses of, so I hope to see it this Summer as well! And take a proper photo.
Obviously I share Hunky Dory with many other insects, especially bumblebees, hoverflies and all kinds of leaf beetles, but I will save that story for another time. And perhaps I'll write a blogpost about everything I meet in my heavy clay these days.
Have a lovely weekend!
