Poplar Hawk moth larvae

Laothoe populi

I found this guy the other day climbing up a fence post, right next to our small and only Poplar tree we have growing. The tree is about 4 years old and the first year, a goat we had around the place made handy work of its leaves. Thankfully it recovered, however this year again it fell victim to this fellow as he munched a path towards his first flight, and terrestrial freedom.

Silver-washed Fritillary.

Pre- mating behaviour.

Female is in the top of both images. In Ireland we have four species of Fritillarys. Dark Green, Pearl-bordered and the Marsh Fritillary the only Irish invertebrate officially protected by the EU habitats Directive. Sadly little is been done to adequately protect existing SAC sites for the Marsh Fritillary that require an abundance of Devils bit scabious found only in the Ireland's bog landscapes. The Silver-washed Fritillary can be found throughout Ireland and favours woodland edges where bramble is abundant.The Dark-green Fritillary however is mainly found in coastal regions such as the Raven Nature Reserve in Co. Wexford while the Pearl-Bordered is restricted to the landscape of the Burren in Co. Clare where major effort is needed to manage this unique habitat due to the encroachment of scrub mainly hazel. Scrub trees prevent the growth of it's larval foodplant: Common Dog-violet which may render this unique butterfly extinct in the near future.

Red Admiral

Sparrowhawk

        Male Common Blue Butterfly above, I have seen very few this year and have yet to see a Female   which are much darker with brown colouration at the edges of its opened wings.

Close up of a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly. The larvae of this species are often abundant at this time of the year and can be easily viewed as they feed on the Common Nettle. Look for Nettle patches that grow in non-shaded areas.

Crab Spider
Today when I checked back yesterdays prey was gone, but the wet weather allowed for an interesting shot to be got.

Crab Spider Misumena vatia
They inject enough neurotoxin to paralyze the prey along with digestive enzymes to liquify the tissue, which is then digested. Ill check back tomorrow to see how its getting on, so more photos to follow.

Crab Spider Misumena vatia with prey

These are amazing little creatures. They sit and wait on flower heads to ambush their prey, which can be as big as Bumble Bees and large Butterflies. They can change colour over a period of a week or so to match the surrounding vegetation. This is an amazing adaption they have developed in order to be a successful ambush predator. This species is found in North America and Europe where it plays an important economic role controlling so called pest species such as flies and grasshoppers. 

The bottom field with a carpet of wild grasses and yellow buttercups

Small Copper Butterfly.

 As the name suggest these are a small butterfly, and are difficult to keep track of when in flight. They blend so good into the ground at times that only for their bright colouration it would be near impossible to find. Nearly all butterflies in Ireland are seriously threatened by habitat loss, so instead of keeping your laws and grassland neat and tidy in the traditional sense of the word, why not go a bit wild and let the joys of nature enter your life " to keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering" (A Leopold)

The Comma Butterfly Polygonia c-album shown here feeding on the early flowers of a Willow.

The Comma may be a full time resident here in Ireland now especially in areas along the East coast such as Co Wexford, where it has been recorded in the last 4 years. The real test to prove if it established will be to find evidence of mating, or better still some larvae. According to UK Butterflies;the primary larval foodplants are the Common Nettle, Currents, Elms, Hops and some Willow species.