Photo Of The Day.

[Janet]

Unfortunately I didn't get any decent shots of the black swans...well, I got a few, but most were a bit blurred...I blame it on R.J. plying me with Guinness! I think Christine got a few though. It was good to meet up with you and Alex.

 

I'll look forward to your blog...ours petered out after a couple of weeks when the laptop died. It was repaired in super quick time by Sue and Richard from CWDF - picked up on the bank on one canal and returned to us a few days later on another canal, with time for a mini bankside banter with Tawny Owl, RWLP, Cheshire~Rose and Postcode.

 

Unfortunately we were enjoying our trip so much that we just stuck it to one side and conveniently forgot about it for the next two weeks!

 

Very disappointed that we didn't get to do the K&A as we'd really love to do the Caen Hill flight, but we did manage to fit in Foxton, which was fabulous. We also did a slight detour after a chat with a boaty chap in Birmingham, so managed to do Dudley #1, Dudley #2 and the Stourbridge Canal...three new ones to tick off our list! It also meant that we got a mini-banter with Moley, which was brilliant!

 

The Dudley Canals were fabulous - I've never seen so many fish! There were literally thousands of decent roach in huge shoals on the off-side of the canal swimming by us as we passed. An anglers dream! I did manage to catch a PB on my trip - the biggest roach I've ever seen, let alone caught! We'd stopped at Burton on Trent and R.J. went off for supplies (we were getting low on Guinness and wine) so I decided to have a bit of fishing whilst I had time. I hooked on a piece of bread and my float didn't even have time to settle before it was away...unfortunately I didn't have the camera to hand to record the moment, but it was certainly way above my current PB of just over 1lb. I'd estimate it at about 1.5lb, and that's being conservative!

 

I managed to fish just about every day, some days more successful than others, but I enjoyed every minute. It was usually an hour or so in the morning and maybe an hour in the evening before dinner, so it was very much "chuck it and chance it", but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

 

Where has the month gone?

 

Janet

[JV44]

Great stuff looking forward to the pics and a your trip megapost Steve.

[Bobj]

A pic I took this morning, Cape Hillsborough with Keswick and Skawfell Islands in the distance.

 

Edited June 2, 2010 by Bobj

[Janet]

Meet Tatty, our boating caterpillar!

 

 

He's very well behaved, despite only being less than an inch long...he was rescued from a certain drowning on the canal and is now happily esconced here at home and growing by the day.

 

Anybody able to tell me what he's going to be when he grows up? I'm stumped! I'm guessing from memory that he's going to be some sort of moth, but I'm struggling to find proper identification. I haven't kept caterpillars since I was a child, so this is keeping me immensely happy! It doesn't take much...

 

However, as soon as I find out exactly what species he is and what food he prefers, I'll release him into a suitable habitat.

 

Janet

[RobStubbs]

You can try http://ukmoths.org.uk/

 

or perhaps better still http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/gallery/...=23&userid=

 

That said it looks like the 'knot grass caterpillar' on the first page 2nd website.

 

Rob.

Edited June 2, 2010 by RobStubbs

[Janet]

Well done Rob! It does look indeed like the knot grass caterpillar, but Tattty seems a bit hairier than that. Still, that's the best and closest identification I've had so far.

 

It also seems likely that he could be the larva of a brown tailed moth caterpillar, which is apparently a bit of a pest and is fond of hawthorn, which would tie up with where I found him.

 

He may indeed be a pest, but to me he's a pet! Not quite sure what to do now. Do I release him to be a nuisance or keep him until he turns into a moth.

 

Do you think he'd make good bait?

 

Janet

[corydoras]

Well done Rob! It does look indeed like the knot grass caterpillar, but Tattty seems a bit hairier than that. Still, that's the best and closest identification I've had so far.

 

It also seems likely that he could be the larva of a brown tailed moth caterpillar, which is apparently a bit of a pest and is fond of hawthorn, which would tie up with where I found him.

 

He may indeed be a pest, but to me he's a pet! Not quite sure what to do now. Do I release him to be a nuisance or keep him until he turns into a moth.

 

Do you think he'd make good bait?

 

Janet

It looks like a brown tailed moth caterpillar to me. I'd destroy it or let it go Janet. If you keep it till it pupates, DON'T touch the adult. They have urticating hairs that can cause anaphalixis and even death. Any other pet, a cat or dog that managed to ead the caterpillar would almost certainly die.

[Janet]

Bloody hell! I've got a killer caterpillar on my hands?

 

Sheesh! I'm not going to destroy it, but I may well just release it in the morning.

 

I've just Googled urticating hairs and now I'm a bit worried!

 

Who'd have thought that something as innocent looking as a fuzzy caterpillar could be so potentially dangerous?

 

I must have been very lucky when I kept caterpillars as pets when I was a child!

 

Many thanks for the information.

 

Janet

[corydoras]

Bloody hell! I've got a killer caterpillar on my hands?

 

Sheesh! I'm not going to destroy it, but I may well just release it in the morning.

 

I've just Googled urticating hairs and now I'm a bit worried!

 

Who'd have thought that something as innocent looking as a fuzzy caterpillar could be so potentially dangerous?

 

I must have been very lucky when I kept caterpillars as pets when I was a child!

 

Many thanks for the information.

 

Janet

Err no, I don't kill nothing if I can help it, not even wasps nests unless I really have to, but these little things can be bad news. The brown tailed moth is a beautiful creature, but look with your eyes not your hands. If you managed to inhale any of those little hairs or if they got onto any mucose membranes or in your eyes it really would spoil your day.

 

If it were me, I'd keep it and let it pupate, but I know the risks and would wear a surgical mask, goggles and gloves when handling the imago, just in case

 

Beautiful, but a wee bit dangerous

 

As to being lucky as a child, you and me both. I used to love collecting cinnabar moth caterpillars and letting them pupate, but they are toxic and can be pretty nasty to those who are sensitive to them.

[n4lly]

Todays failed macckie bash.....