Wednesday, 17 August 2011

Signs of Autumn?

Although  meteorological calendar has autumn starting in September, there is a definite feeling that the seasons are already changing.  Not only are the days getting shorter, it seems to get dark at 8pm now and there is a definite chill in the morning.
There are more obvious signs that summer has come to an end.  The lavenders in the garden have lost their flowers and as a result there are no more bumblebeees on them.  Having existed for for only the spring and summer, most bumblebee nests will now be collapsing and will no longer be  requiring them.
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The blackthorn along the old canal, once in bloom in spring has now produced it's fruit:
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The barley growing in the fields is south Abingdon has now been harvested, leaving just stubble:
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This impressive caterpillar may appear to be a symbol of spring, but it is  actually looking to borrow into the leaf litter. Where it will pupate and see out winter, before hatching into an adult hawkmoth next summer.
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Still with autumn commencing there are other things to look forward to, the appearance of impressive fungus, the starlings forming their murmation and the return of Doctor Who.
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7 comments:

  1. Rachel M18 August 2011 at 02:56

    I love those hawkmoth caterpillars. We have some peacock caterpillars which we keep in a mesh 'cage' until they pupate and then hatch. I've been really struggling to find nice nettles for them -they (the nettles) seem to be very poor this year, probably not enough rain.
    PS So we're not the only waiting for the return of Dr Who (Aug 27th)! Going off topic somewhat, did you know that for a while Tom Baker lived in Marcham when they were filming Dr Who? We lived there until I was 10 and we were too scared to go near his house!

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  2. Richard18 August 2011 at 10:29

    Hi Rachel,
    I considered doing the same with the cinnabar moth caterpillar eating the local ragwort. But by the time I got round to doing it, the ragwort had been cut - perhaps next year?
    What a fascinating fact about Tom Baker, I wonder if there are any stories of him frequenting the pubs of Marcham?

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  3. Rachel M27 August 2011 at 09:01

    Hi again Richard,

    I know I'm 'off topic' but here's a bit of info about Dr Who filming locations during the 70s:
    http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/androidinvasion
    My Dad recognised the pub in the background when they filmed in East Hagbourne because he'd had his stag night there!

    PS Back on topic: we hatched about 50 cinnabar moths last year -didn't see so many of their caterpillars this year.

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  4. Richard29 August 2011 at 12:34

    Hi Rachel,
    Please keep the off topic Doctor Who comments coming. We're going through the Tom Baker back catalogue on LoveFilm, so I'll be seeking out Android Invasion.
    Well done on hatching the cinnabar moths last year. That is an incentive for me to do it next year - any advice?

    Richard.

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  5. Rachel M4 September 2011 at 09:17

    Hi Richard,

    Some years ago my daughter was given a 'Butterfly Garden' (http://www.gardenessentials.co.uk/products/6101010__Pop_Up_Butterfly_Garden_With_Coupon_For_5_Caterpillars_And_Food) which we now use for keeping caterpillars in. It's big and airy so is much better than a jam jar (which is what we did when we were children). You can sometimes see them in garden centres and toy shops.
    By the way, if you ever find another hawk moth caterpillar ( or any variety) take it home and pop it in a jam jar with something like mesh/old tights on the top. Put a bit of soil in the bottom and a stick to climb up when it hatches. A few leaves ( a bit of research on the internet will usually help) might be useful but usually when you see one crawling along the ground it is usually finding somewhere to pupate as you said above. My Dad always told me to occasionally sprinkle in some water to prevent it from dessicating.I've had some great results hatching moth caterpillars this way.

    By the way, hope you're enjoying the new season of Dr Who. I left all my daughter's dolls house dolls on my sons pillow last night! (Sat 4th Sept)

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  6. Richard7 September 2011 at 14:30

    Hi Rachel,

    Thank you very much for your advice, I will certainly try and raise some cinnabar moths next year, and if the blog is still going then I'll record their progress.

    I am indeed enjoying the new Doctor Who season, how did your son react to that?

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  7. Rachel M11 September 2011 at 02:03

    Hi Richard,

    He saw the funny side! The dolls keep turning up around the house now. Next week's trailer looks promising.

    By the way, we hatched 6 peacock butterflies this week. The weather was awful the day they hatched so I didn't release them until the next day. They all flew off and we kept seeing them around the garden.

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