Post your nature questions here....

[disco-barry]

I will start, today has been a great day for spotting things at my gf's house (preston way)

I have seen an orange tip, something which resembled the common blue i recognise but it seemed richer and several other butterflies.

I have also seen two kingfishers down by the brook by her house and alot of squirrels and little birdies.

Now my question is i've seen an insect which looks like an humming bird hawk moth other than it has wings like a wasp or fly say, can anybody let me know what it is?????

Post all questions and hopefully other members will be able to help you out.

[Mondy]

For a split second i thought this thread said:

Post your naturist questions here....

Anyway. Believe it or not, i do have a question(seriously).. Is it just me or are the bees this year bigger than any other year?

[disco-barry]

They're really big aren't they, harmless though unless you try to hit one.

[Bobby]

For a split second i thought this thread said:

Anyway. Believe it or not, i do have a question(seriously).. Is it just me or are the bees this year bigger than any other year?

They are, global warming is making them bigger.

[Mondy]

*cough*

[Nick F]

Seems to be alot of big beasties flying around and also abundence of ants these last few days, particularly for mid-spring, seems the mild winter failed to kill off much in the way of over wintering insects. Just hope beasties and bugs don't reach epidemic proportions this summer after such a mild winter.

[pottyprof]

Ladybirds are currently doing a grand job on the super fat aphids. 4 spot red with 4 spot black..

Was going to spray the tree etc but with the team onboard why bother??

[jethro]

Ladybirds are currently doing a grand job on the super fat aphids. 4 spot red with 4 spot black..

Was going to spray the tree etc but with the team onboard why bother??

No spraying allowed, Big slap on wristie for you PP, leave well alone and nature will sort it out for you.

[Greyowl]

I will start, today has been a great day for spotting things at my gf's house (preston way)

I have seen an orange tip, something which resembled the common blue i recognise but it seemed richer and several other butterflies.

I have also seen two kingfishers down by the brook by her house and alot of squirrels and little birdies.

Now my question is i've seen an insect which looks like an humming bird hawk moth other than it has wings like a wasp or fly say, can anybody let me know what it is?????

Post all questions and hopefully other members will be able to help you out.

Was it near water Barry?

[Somerset Squall]

No spraying allowed, Big slap on wristie for you PP, leave well alone and nature will sort it out for you.

haha, I think not, I have Pulvinaria Innumerabilis bugs killing my acer tree. Suffice to say, they will be killed, by me.

I also have some pesky bugs which I don't know the name of which were boring through my apple tree the other day, they got a swift spray and havent reappeared. Had I left it any longer the apple tree would have died as they had managed to eat 1/4 of the way through the trunk.

I also have some something that is killing the christmas tree in the garden, but I cant see any bugs on it- but knowing my luck there are some bugs somewhere killing it. I never had such bad luck with the trees in the garden this year, bugs seem to be out in full force, particularly flies which are sworming everywhere and leave what would be a peaceful spring day a noisy one, full of a background angry buzz.

[Hiya]

I will start, today has been a great day for spotting things at my gf's house (preston way)

I have seen an orange tip, something which resembled the common blue i recognise but it seemed richer and several other butterflies.

I have also seen two kingfishers down by the brook by her house and alot of squirrels and little birdies.

Now my question is i've seen an insect which looks like an humming bird hawk moth other than it has wings like a wasp or fly say, can anybody let me know what it is?????

Post all questions and hopefully other members will be able to help you out.

Some type of hoverfly or drone fly.

[James M]

Well to reply to the posts about big bees, isn't that because they are mostly Queens who have come out of hibernation and will be looking for somewhere to build a hive, and because the worker bees who are generally smaller aren't around yet (well not many anyway). Though someone correct me if Im wrong.

Edited April 16, 2007 by James M

[Great Plum]

We were cleaning out the garage at the Scout hut and found an old wasp's nest with a queen wasp buzzing around it. Suffice to say, we destroyed them both!

[Mondy]

We were cleaning out the garage at the Scout hut and found an old wasp's nest with a queen wasp buzzing around it. Suffice to say, we destroyed them both!

Murderer :unsure:

[disco-barry]

They are nearish to water but not close but in the Garden and round the front of the house....they were just hovering infront of flowers like they do shoving there long noses in collecting pollen.

Interesting.

[Zachary]

I saw my first bee today!

[Gray-Wolf]

Hoverflies are wicked to while away an afternoon to (without the 'Poppy tea') They are like the Kestrels of the garden (they hunt the smaller bugs so they are good guys!) and always return to there aerial 'perch' after a sortie (they also mate up there and eat their prey from the same area and crap from there....) Yer average back garden will have a couple of territories. I know folk who 'whistle them' onto their fingers! (I think the fly use his finger as a perch really....must be a b*gger all that hoverin'!)

[M'Lady]

We were cleaning out the garage at the Scout hut and found an old wasp's nest with a queen wasp buzzing around it. Suffice to say, we destroyed them both!

There's an old saying that if you would be free of enemies for the year, you should kill the first wasp you see. if you would be free of wasps, you should do the opposite!

Personally I loathe and detest wasps... but since I don't have any enemies, I'm stuck with them.

I have noticed the wasps and bees seem to be huge this year. *shudder*

Also as I walked to school with the little lords today I noticed a lot of Bluebells already blooming... I don't remember them flowering mid April before... aren't they usually May flowers?

[Angel15]

There's an old saying that if you would be free of enemies for the year, you should kill the first wasp you see. if you would be free of wasps, you should do the opposite!

Personally I loathe and detest wasps... but since I don't have any enemies, I'm stuck with them.

I have noticed the wasps and bees seem to be huge this year. *shudder*

Also as I walked to school with the little lords today I noticed a lot of Bluebells already blooming... I don't remember them flowering mid April before... aren't they usually May flowers?

My bluebells have all flowered at the bottom of the garden - not sure if it is about time or not though and regarding the wasps and bees - I have noticed there are wasps aplenty !!! I hate them, and worry in case one of my cats chases and snaps one up for lunch and gets stung in the mouth!! And yes the bees seem to be huge! I might have to invest in a fly screen for the french doors this year ...

[Somerset Squall]

my cats chases and snaps one up for lunch and gets stung in the mouth!! And yes the bees seem to be huge! I might have to invest in a fly screen for the french doors this year ...

One of my cats is awful doing that, it's always eating flying insects in the garden, including wasps. Hasn't harmed her though as far as I can tell.

[The Penguin]

My question is, why does next-door's cat always sit on the bonnet of my car and not their's, and secondly, how many times does one have to bat a cat before it gets the message?

[Greyowl]

My question is, why does next-door's cat always sit on the bonnet of my car and not their's, and secondly, how many times does one have to bat a cat before it gets the message?

Your car is probably cleaner than next doors and you need a bigger bat.

[The Penguin]

Your car is probably cleaner than next doors and you need a bigger bat.

Ah, thank you. I'm off to get a dirty big bat.

[Pickles]

My question is, why does next-door's cat always sit on the bonnet of my car and not their's, and secondly, how many times does one have to bat a cat before it gets the message?

Don't you drive a Jag? Are you sure you are not looking at the badge on the bonnet?

[The Penguin]

Yes well I know that now! You were just waiting 'til I'd destroyed the front half of my car, weren't you?

Anyone want to buy a semi recycled Jag and half a baseball bat?