Wonderful Nature - Thread

[BlackCurtains]

Woodlice are isopods which are crustaceans Terrestrial isopods need a damp space to live happily and can stay underwater for a few hours. A lot of people keep them as pets (I've been looking into getting some, just need money) or keep them as a clean up crew for amphibian and reptile habitats. They come in all different colors! They're lovely little creatures

I found a small dead lizard in the closet I don't remember seeing a live one so I guess it came in through the door and my cat chased it down the hallway.

[Beth3346]

@BC i just learned that pill bugs are a type of woodlice. i never knew. i used to play with them when i was a kid and my mom would get mad at me for bringing them in the house.

[Gator]

I discovered a new species of butterfly yesterday!  A giant swallowtail butterfly.  Apparently it does live in the eastern United States, but I've never seen one before.  I'd post a video from my phone but I don't know how. 
Also, Blackcurtains, last year I had the Florida state butterfly too(I forget it's name)!  I live in north Georgia so I was surprised.  We also have non-native Joro spiders taking up residence, and yesterday I had to save a skipper and a yellow swallowtail from the webs. 

[Heart Of Midnight]

Gator, Nice butterfly sighting! That Giant swallowtail butterfly looks really wonderful! (I looked at images on google.)
It is probably related to the Common yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon) that lives in Finland. They have a somewhat similar appearance.

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I think the wasp's nest I mentioned earlier has quieted down. I haven't seen any movement there. But, in the attic of my house there is that movement!  I have been outside for several days watching how numerous wasps go in and out! And the most disgusting thing for someone who is afraid of wasps is that the sounds they make can be heard loudly in my bedroom all the time! 
My laptop and its table are just below this nest.. I hope the roof and wall structures are strong and these critters will never get through there!  I want the frosts and winter to come soon!

[Beth3346]

i heard an owl last night. i'm not sure where it was but i like owls. at least my chihuahua didn't bark at it this time. she think's she's so tough.

there are lots of bug and toads in the yard since we finally had some rain. Luna, the puppy, likes to chase them and i have to drag her away. poor toads are just minding their own business doing whatever toads do.

[Artemesia's Garden]

I found caterpillars in my veg patch today. I squashed them  

[Heart Of Midnight]

Wasps are still crawling in the attic.  They haven't come through the wall or the ceiling yet. Fortunately, listening to music covers the sounds they cause and I can sometimes forget those creatures completely.

  I recently looked out the window and saw several silent lightning that occurs in thunderclouds, i.e. they are not ground lightning. (Is there another English name for them?) I like exactly these weather phenomena at the end of summer! They are truly amazing in the middle of the darkest moment of the night!
Thunderstorms and rain have been promised during the day on Sunday.

[Beth3346]

@HOM i hope you find a way to get the wasps out of the attic. i love lightning storms like that at night. another word for silent lightning is sheet lightning. i looked it up to make sure i wasn't just misremembering the work and it turns out there is thunder but the storm is so far that the curvature of the Earth causes the thunder to reflect off the Earth's surface before the sound gets to you. Weather is so fascinating.

[Artemesia's Garden]

We have hornets in a willow tree. They are surprisingly large. I need to check that they are native and not non-native ones in case they munch on our honey bees.

@LAW Are the wasps bothering you around the outside of your house at all?

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[Heart Of Midnight]

@LAW i hope you find a way to get the wasps out of the attic. i love lightning storms like that at night. another word for silent lightning is sheet lightning. i looked it up to make sure i wasn't just misremembering the work and it turns out there is thunder but the storm is so far that the curvature of the Earth causes the thunder to reflect off the Earth's surface before the sound gets to you. Weather is so fascinating.

Autumn is already starting, so maybe it won't be long before the nest goes quiet. The weather has cooled radically and the summer heat is gone. From the end of the week, the temperature can drop to 4 degrees Celsius at night.
When I can't see them flying from their nest anymore, and I can't hear their sounds and it's already been freezing at night, I'm going to go look in the attic.

Thanks for telling me another name for this weather phenomenon.

@LAW Are the wasps bothering you around the outside of your house at all?

They don't bother me at all outside in the garden or yard. At least not yet. Let's see, now that autumn is progressing, the wasps run out of work and food from nature. Then they get frustrated and angry. Will they then let me go in peace..
I've been wondering if I should put something for them to eat somewhere in the corner of the garden to keep them calmer. I have food available for the butterflies (a mixture of overripe fruit, jam and red wine vinegar), but luckily the wasps haven't come there at least yet.



(I think you guys have Leave a Whisper moniker as abbreviated? Mine is abbreviated as HOM or HoM.  )

[BlackCurtains]

Speaking of wasps, there was one on the outside of my window yesterday that stayed there all day. It must have been injured. It's gone today.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Well, the hornets are certainly the native ones but contrary to the RSB website they do eat honeybees because my husband saw a hornet flying off with one! Hopefully they don't take too many. He got a few combs of hedgerow honey yesterday and is going to finish extracting the honey tomorrow.

[BlackCurtains]

I saw a bunny out last night. They stick to the little park areas. It reminded me that there used to be a lot of squirrels around but I haven't seen any in a while. Maybe it's too hot and they are staying in the woods.

[Heart Of Midnight]

I killed 12 wasps in my bedroom today! 
Most of them couldn't fly, they just stayed in place on the floor, on the chair and in the window. When I approached them, they were immediately alert, so they were not in such poor condition as I thought at first.
I was in the shower last night and therefore left the bedroom window open until morning. In the morning I noticed some of these creatures and in the evening the rest when I came back home. In the morning I had closed the window and I thought there wouldn't have been more than the few I killed then...  I believe they all came through the window, even though it has a window with a mosquito net, the window frames have two small round holes through which these critters fit in. I don't think they have broken the wall yet, because now the windows are still closed and no more of them have been seen. I did think of putting tape on the wall/ceiling over all kinds of gaps where the sounds of their critters are heard. I don't want to wake up to 10,000 wasps taking over my bedroom!    Even now, I'm constantly looking at the floor to see if there is a wasp crawling anywhere. I had one of those over my wool socks when I got home, but luckily I wasn't wearing those socks at the time! I hope that winter will come soon!

[Artemesia's Garden]

They can be a 'bit much'. The picture I posted is a wasp trap, you put fruit juice and water in it and let it ferment a little, then they fly in and drown. A bit sad, but tidy and effective. A couple of honeybees followed DH indoors after the combs of honey he had stolen harvested and I just went out to the shops, I couldn't really relax knowing they were in the house. However, they all perform some sort of ecosystem function, and the bees give us honey so I guess we have to be grateful.

I hope next year has better rainfall and hopefully turns into a better year for butterflies. I have dog violets, black medick and common vetch in my garden as ground cover in a lot of the awkward areas. I found this websiite and saw that I have quite a few other plants on here too https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/foodplants.php?style=butterfly Some of them like wild thyme, everlasting pea, Viola, ribwort plantain, wild strawberry are really easy to grow and quite attractive. I don't have garlic mustard which I think would be nice, I think you can eat it as well.

Post merge:

Sorry for the double post but I just discovered this really cool bird! It's called a Shoebill and it lives in swampy parts of Africa. It has a lot of personality.