Minibeasts were rife in Church Walk as I was strolling home from work this afternoon. First is this dark beetle, which is exactly the right size and shape for a rosemary (or lavender) beetle, but if so, then it should have metallic green and purple stripes. This one appears to be completely black, which is somewhat confusing. In fact I believe this is the leaf beetle Chrysolina Banksi. No common name I’m afraid ...
Other stuff included this neat little 14-spot ladybird, a bronze shield bug, and the two ladybird larvae shown below. When I got home, my wife and daughter said they had been out the back of the house listening to a cuckoo a short distance away. 20 years in this house, and we have never heard a cuckoo nearby!
OK, your masterclass in ladybird larva identification starts here …
Not all ladybird larvae look like this, the small species are quite different, but most of the larger black-with-red-spots one are similar. They take the form of a black, agile carnivore with spiky orange markings. The one on the left will metamorphose to become a 7-spot, while the one on the right will be a harlequin.
Finally, there were several of these almost translucent green caterpillars wrapped up in nettle leaves. I think this is the larva of the mother-of-pearl moth.
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