Posted to the All creatures... forum
4 November 2009 3:54 PM
Hi Brenda
I am guessing that the caterpillars are from a moth, there are quite a few species that have oak as a food plant. Oaks have something like 300 (it may be more!) species of insect whose life cycle is dependent on this important tree. If you can get a snap of these little green chaps and post it on here it will give us all a chance to practice our caterpillar identification skills!!! If not, maybe keep one or two in a ventilated jar with lots of oak leaves and see what it turns into!
Most caterpilars are found throughout the spring and summer but many species of moth caterpillar can be found later in the summer and into autumn, providing lots of food for the mixed flocks of birds that rove around the countryside searching the woodland canopy for such insects.
4 November 2009 4:22 PM
hello yes he hit my window.. but took off ok.. big bee and it was raining..
no butterfly a few insect..
thatall from the New Forest
Life without Nature I could not cope..Being keep locked away..from the forest.. I could not stand..
freedom till I die...
4 November 2009 5:24 PM
Plenty of bees around here today. Also a dragonfly on the window sill.
5 November 2009 9:17 AM
IanH, thank you so much for your reply. Sorry to say, I stuck the branch, with the caterpillars still attached in a plant pot. Have been to look this morning but, of course, no caterpillars. Will check tree (with binoculars) and see if I find anymore that I can retrieve.
5 November 2009 6:27 PM
Saw a red admiral flying about today, it was sunny at the time.
6 November 2009 10:01 AM
Have seen bumbles, wasps and a couple of butterflies(couldn't see which) in the last few days.
6 November 2009 12:04 PM
Brenda, Thanks for the update, shame they scarpered! Maybe your resident birds had a free lunch of caterpillar or maybe they have toddled off to begin the next stage of their life cycle! Either way you can be sure that there are plenty more to go around hidden somewhere on the oak tree!
Just to add to the sightings, i spotted a late migrant hawker dragonfly this week, it was busily hawking after flies between showers. Certainly the latest i've seen one of these, anyone else noticed any late dragonflies?
6 November 2009 5:31 PM
I’m not good with my dragonfly identification but I think the dragonfly I saw yesterday was a Common Darter.
I haven’t seen a bee since the day I started this thread. What I have noticed is a huge number of wasps on the Ivy flowers. I may have seen one or two all summer and now there are over a dozen hanging around each Ivy plant.
Life is too short to waste.
6 November 2009 6:34 PM
IanH, here is a picture of a dragonfly I saw a few days ago,
6 November 2009 7:35 PM
Brilliant photo Brenda - every time I see them I've got the telephoto lens on - not conducive to that sort of close-up photography.
7 November 2009 9:30 AM
Thanks Sqiirrel, I was lucky that it stayed on the bush long enough for me to get the camera from the house. I have checked the books to identify it, but it could be a choice of maybe two or three so will leave it to the experts.
7 November 2009 3:18 PM
I saw a Peacock and a Red Admiral butterfly, a solitary honey bee feeding from the last of the Penstemon flowers and dozens of wasps.
7 November 2009 4:39 PM
Great photo WF, I've not seen any wasps for a couple of days now so I think ours must be staying in the warm somewhere.
7 November 2009 5:42 PM
Lovely photograph WF. It could even be a summer's day scene.
We haven't seen any bees or butterflies today. We have had an extremely quiet year for wasps and so I wouldn't expect to see any now.
7 November 2009 6:42 PM
Brenda H: We have had an extremely quiet year for wasps and so I wouldn't expect to see any now.
We have had an extremely quiet year for wasps and so I wouldn't expect to see any now.
Have you got any Ivy in flower? Have a look at it and see if yours is covered in wasps too.