Bloody Nosed Beetle - Update!

We had almost given up hope of seeing any beetles pupate when mum found one on the landing! It had escaped from the tank. Since then four more have emerged. The beetles come out of their pupa at night. So far 5 out of 9 have come out. We have put them all back on the bank where they came from.

Violet Ground beetle

When dad was digging in the garden, a large beetle appeared. It was a lovely colour - black but with purple edges. We looked it up in a book and found it was a Violet ground beetle - not common in Pembrokeshire.

Dragonfly

When we were walking along the road near Pwllderi, we sadly found a dead Dragonfly. It was a Golden Ringed Dragonfly. We think it had been hit by a car, which is a bit unlucky, because hardly any cars ever go down that road. 😩

Pink moth

This is me with another Elephant hawk moth. I love them!

Privet Hawk moth

Last week we caught a huge Privet hawk moth. This is our biggest moth - it was a bit scary!

Chough Survey

We have been helping to count Choughs on the coast. Choughs are a type of crow that has a red bill and legs. at this time of year the young have fledged and are being fed by their parents. We saw 6 Choughs.

Bloody Nosed Beetle Latest News

We are still waiting for the beetles to come out in the insectarium but there is some already out in the hedge. Hopefully we will see some in the insectarium this weekend. I will keep you posted!

Still no sign on July 3rd!!! We are getting worried

Nettles

Nettles are really useful plants lots of insects like them. They do sting but we like to keep them where we can.

Labyrinth Spider

These spiders build a funnel web and lay their eggs in it. They are common in the hedgebanks.

Orchids

Now June has arrived the Orchids have appeared. Pembrokeshire is great for Orchids. This one is a Southern Marsh Orchid.

Chicks

Lately we have seen a lot of chicks. These are Stonechat.

Elephant Hawk Moth

Elephant Hawkmoths are my favourite moths because they are bright and pink. They come out in June and we caught this and let is go.

My Insectarium

We have been looking at the lifecycle of the Bloody nosed beetle. These are really common in Pembrokeshire, and we have some in the garden. I thought it would be good to collect the larva and watch as they turned into adult beetles. Dad got the old fish tank out of the loft and we made them a new home, which we have put in my bedroom. The larva feed on Goosegrass (Caci Mwnci!) so we filled the tank with that. They have settled in well. Sometime soon they will drop into the soil and pupate, into adults. This takes 4 weeks. I cant wait!

Moth Trapping

We have done some more moth trapping in the garden . We caught lots of moths. Including a Pale Tussock moth which I thought looked like a teddy bear because it was so furry. When we let it go, it stuck to my hair!

Fox latest

We are seeing the fox a lot. We think it has cubs to feed. Yesterday it walked right past our house.

Poplar Hawk Moths

Poplar Hawk moths are really big. Because they fly at night you don't often see them. We caught this in our moth trap. We let it go in the morning.

Angel Shades

Moths can be really pretty. This is called Angel Shades.

Bluebell

Bluebells are common in the spring. This is a photo of Bluebell woods in flower. I like Bluebells because they are my favourite flower. This woods is near Llanrhian.

 

Speedwell blue

 There is lots of Speedwell on the hedge banks at the moment. It is very common.

St Marks Fly

St Marks Flies come out in April. They are named after St Marks Day which is on April 25th , about the time they come out. They have dangly legs when they fly. They don't bite. They like these Alexanders.

Orange tip

Orange tip are common in the Spring. They feed on Garlick Mustard. This one is feeding on a Bluebell.

Moths

Moths come out at night and so we don't see them very often. Me and my dad sometimes put out a moth trap in the garden. We catch moths at night and release in the morning .These  two we caught last weekend. These are a Peppered Moth and a Muslin Moth.

Bullfinch

This Bullfinch was at Aberfelin. This is a male,the females are duller.

Fox

This is our local fox he is our friend. This is him in action. We think he is hunting for mice.

Red Campion

This last week the red campion has just come in to flower and we found out there is a lot of it in Pembrokeshire.

Brimstone Moth

Moths fly at night so they are not seen very often. Some are very colourful like the Brimstone moth.
They are very common in gardens and hedges.

Ladybird

The are lots of ladybirds in the garden this year I think they like the warm weather.
This is a 7 spot ladybird.

Oil beetle

Oil beetles are rare. Pembrokeshire is a good place to see them. They come out in spring. We have seen lots this year on the roads and paths near Trefin.

Common Lizard

Lizard like the sun because they are cold blooded because they are reptiles.They like the coast.

Navel wort

There is a lot of Navel wort in my garden. It grows in hedges, banks and walls. It is called Navel wort because it looks like a belly button.

Celandine

There is lots of Celandine in the garden. In Welsh it is called Llygaid Ebrill, which means April Eyes, because it comes out in April!

Bioblitz

I am doing a bioblitz of my garden with my dad.This is a list of all the living things we find in or see from the house and garden.

This is the list so far.