October 2016 - Part 2
13th October 2016 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
The weather was grey, cloudy, and quite cool, but I decided to pay a short visit to check on the well-being of the two Swallowtail broods. I was pleased to see the the 'senior' caterpillar was still in place, but its plant is now turning a reddish-pink colour, which isn't too good for its green camouflage markings. I eventually worked my way around to the site of the tiny caterpillars, and was delighted to count 6 of them on the same plant. Last time, I thought I saw at least one tiny caterpillar on another plant, so maybe I missed one today, or it has been eaten. I've numbered these 'baby' caterpillars, as it's very difficult to tell them apart ! There is still some water in Rock Bath 1, and a single Southern Green Shieldbug was seen.
14th October 2016 - (Friday, Péntek)
My visit today was on a nice sunny morning, although a cool wind blowing across the site meant that hat and coat were needed. The 'senior' Swallowtail caterpillar is still in position, and, upon checking the 'young brood', I was able to confirm that we do, indeed, have 7 of them ... as I found the single that was hiding on a different plant. I'm not sure how these babies will survive as its very late in the season. I found three different species of Ladybird today: 7-spot, Harlequin, and Adonis', and I was surprised to see a Common Winter Damselfly. There were 3 different stages of the Southern Green Shieldbug on display, including the adult version. I didn't expect to see any butterflies today, but an Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow surged up from the footpath in front of me, and I was able to track it to its new resting place near the reedbed.
16th October 2016 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
As the adult butterflies seem to have ended their SQ tenure for 2016, it was time for the Swallowtail caterpillars, Shieldbugs, and Ladybirds to take centre stage. As you will see, the 'old' caterpillar is still in place, although it has shuffled back down the stem. I found all 7 small caterpillars still in their positions, and I added another - No.8 - from another Hog's Fennel plant. I found 4 or 5 Ladybird species. Some of these will require careful deliberation before I can settle upon the correct species names. I also found 3 species of Shieldbug, including 10 individuals of Graphosoma lineatum ssp. italicum. Birds seen were Tree Sparrows and Blackbirds.