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[Taz2]

That must have been great to watch. They are always so lively and seem to enjoy being out as a family if you know what I mean. I hope they got some hunting done as well as larking about!! One of the names for a group of weasels is a Confusion. Sounds about right!

Taz x

[CLKD]

We watched Weasals in Northumberland - for ages.  They were playing around a Castle gateway of all places!

[CLKD]

Last Friday : GOSH a whole week ago :
we bought a trail camera.  DH fixes it on the patio at night and anything that moves by, including my legs  , sets off the film - there has been a hedgehog with 3 feet and 4 legs, other hedgehogs, several cats, moths 

I was watering the neighbour's fuschia in a pot last night and was aware of being watched  - 6 elephant hawk moth caterpillars  - don't know how *he* will feel but I am DELIGHTED!

[Taz2]

Ever heard a housemartin sing? https://www.facebook.com/pages/HART-Wildlife-Rescue/116648618390823

Taz x 

[CLKD]

why is it 'in' ?

We watched house martins today feeding young in the eves of the House we were visiting.

[Taz2]

I'm not sure why it's staying in the hospital as it wasn't one of my "pick ups". I'll try to find out. Looks pretty lively.

Taz x

[catdude]

Buddleia in the garden absolutely alive with butterflies in the heat today. So good to see what used to be common insects but now getting rarer. Numerous Small Tortoiseshells, Red Admiral, a couple of Peacock butterflies, one Painted lady and what felt like dozens of Small and Large Whites.

[Taz2]

Yesterday I found out what was killing my peacock butterflies. I had seen bits of wing lying around on the patio and wondered why in a sort of abstracted way but then I watched as a hornet took one off the butterfly bush. It had quite a struggle to start with but ended up by sawing off first one wing, still couldn't take off with it, then the other and eventually severing the head from the abdomen. It flew off with the abdomen and came back five minutes later for the head. Sad for the butterfly but interesting to watch

Taz x

[CLKD]

Ahhh - maybe the wasps are taking our butterflies, I can't blame the kitten for *all* the wings laying around 
I had a ham sandwich today but was bothered by wasps so took a small piece off: held that for the wasp who calmly nibbled quite a large piece off the piece before flying off, leaving me to eat my sandwich in peace 

[Hurdity]

This is really spooky as I was coming onto this thread to talk about wasps and butterflies and see there is already a conversation about it!!!

My husband has been killing the cabbage white butterflies that have been getting under the netting and laying eggs on our purple sprouting broccoli plants which are then ravaged by caterpillars. He told me about the wasps cutting up and carrying off the bodies so I had a look today and saw it for myself. Because the netting is too small (the holes) and the butterflies are too heavy to carry, he said he had watched them cut up the bodies and wings.

I didn't see the chopping up process but watched a wasp underneath the netting repeatedly try to drag a piece of dead butterfly through the netting but it was too big. Eventually it managed it but had great difficulty flying off with it - and it looked really odd flying around carrying this one wing (and bit of body) of a cabbage white!! Unbelievable.

We have two big buddleia bushes so they have been absolutely alive with butterflies this year - was watching lots of peacocks, small tortoiseshells, a yellow brimstone and a comma today ( as well as hundreds of cabbage whites grr!)

Hurdity x

[Meggie]

About the cabbage whites - are we as well to leave the yellow eggs on the brocolli leaves and let the wasps take them 'cause we've been going out each night and squashing the eggs !

Blackbirds are digging up my leeks after the bi white beetle grubs underneath - how do I stop them damaging all my produce ................. is it a case of keep grubs and they'll eat the roots of my parsnips and leeks or have no grubs and keep the birds ...... but less produce

I Don't Know !!

Meggie

[Taz2]

The wasps wont take the eggs Meggie - they want the butterflies or the caterpillars themselves to feed to the young wasps which are now almost fully grown and ready to fly the nest leaving behind all the workers to kick up their heels and have a few weeks of partying hard before they are killed in the colder weather. Their job is almost done!

Taz

[CLKD]

Did anyone see the film about potter wasps ?

[Limpy]

The past few weeks there have been lots of buzzards calling.
Suspect it might be the young ones who've been turfed out, and are trying to set up their own territories?

[ariadne]

I didn't see it CLKD - was it interesting?

A squirrel has taken all the walnuts from my tree on the allotments again this year, I didn't think there was one around because several walnuts had fallen onto the grass and hadn't been taken over the past few weeks so I had gathered them up amd placed them on a garden chair near the allotment shed. Went up last night to get some apples and found not a single walnut left on the tree. Had to laugh when I saw that there was a pile of empty shells on the garden chair where I'd placed the fallen nuts. I had visions of a fat little squirrel sitting on the chair, munching his way through my stash       Maybe next year I'll get there first.

Talking of apples, my apple tree on the allotments has had it's best ever year and the apples are just gorgeous - big fat red and juicy. I don't know what variety it is as we inherited it but they look similar to Braeburn. Because we are going away on Tuesday, it seemed a shame to leave them so picked loads and gave them all away today.

The windfalls (the ones that haven't been feasted on by wasps) are going to a friend's rabbit.

ariadne xx