Return of the Emperor

 

Goldfinch and Blue tit.

I placed a feeder of Sunflower hearts next to the window and after a few days, it was very busy.

These hearts are always popular with Finches.

 

Emperor in the garden

 

Elephant hawk moth caterpillar

Don’t eat me birds… I’m a snake!

This is what he will grow into… very pretty.

 

Butterfly eggs and young

 I’ve been watching flocks of Cabbage white butterflies flying around these plants for days and just thought I’d check. Sure enough eggs and hatchlings abound.

Unknown Grasshopper

 This very large and highly detailed grasshopper is proving hard to identity with all my reference books in storage.

 Speckled Bush Cricket.

Damselflies mating and laying in the pond.

Bee update

 Well I opened the box today to check on those tiny rescued Mason bee eggs. To my surprise some had actually hatched and seemed quite healthy munching on their pollen packets. I counted three but there may be more. I’m not quite sure what to do with them after they cocoon. Do I put them in the fridge until next April or let them alone and let them hatch this year. I’ve got some more research to do.