Lesley Smitheringale Fine Art

The First Summer Garden Guests

Well, I think we are having an early summer in Queensland, Australia as the temperatures have been reaching 30 degrees centigrade already and it is hot and sticky.  Whilst this can be uncomfortable for us humans, the hot summer weather brings about gorgeous summer guests such as butterflies, hoverflies, dragonflies, cicadas and a whole lot more which I am still discovering in my garden from year to year.

Spring has arrived in Queensland!

Due to the spring weather that is now upon us in Queensland, Australia, I have noticed a lot more insects fluttering and buzzing around plus all the spring blooms which are bursting with vitality, colour and fragrances in my garden.  The flowering Jasmine for instance has the most beautiful smell and it’s just a shame that it only flowers once a year at the end of August. I couldn’t resist capturing the early signs of spring with my camera.  Spring has a knack of cheering you up, don’t you think?

Garden Guests Diary: Casper the Friendly Ghost [21 May 2008]

I have seen this miniscule critter twice in my garden and despite looking up my reference books and scouring the internet, I cannot identify this bug. He is tiny, measuring about 1cm in diameter and I don’t know if he is a young butterfly/moth/grasshopper who will grow into something larger or if this is as big as he gets. I have nicknamed him Casper the Friendly Ghost as he is so ghostly white, almost transparent like his identity! It’s really bugging me, excuse the pun and there must be someone out there who can identify him. Please put me out of my misery and I would really appreciate any help you can offer. Here are some pictures of my friendly ghost …

He looks as if he is turning green in this photo - could he be a very young grasshopper?

He is attached to my black car in this shot and you can just see his reflection!

A fellow blogger has identified this bug for me and he is a planthopper - This planthopper is white with pale pink margin round the wings, pink legs and faint pink dot in the centre of the wing.

Source: Oz Animals

World’s Largest Moth

I am relieved that these massive insects are not native to Australia as I would not cope well - I freak out when I see a Granny’s Cloak Moth (considerably smaller).

The Atlas moth (Attaacus atlas) is found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia and is considered to be the largest moth in the world. The females are larger and heavier and the wingspans are from 25-30cm (8-10 inches).

Atlas moths are unsteady fliers and the female does not stray far from the location of her discarded chrysalis and she seeks a perch where the air currents will best carry her pheromones.

Once mated, the female lays a number of spherical eggs 2.5 mm in diameter on the undersides of leaves. Dusty-green caterpillars hatch after about two weeks and feed voraciously on the foliage of certain citrus and other evergreen trees. The caterpillars are adorned with fleshy spines along their backs which are covered in a waxy white substance. After reaching a length of about 115 mm (4.5 inches), the caterpillars pupate within a papery cocoon, interwoven into desiccated leaves.

The adult moths emerge after about four weeks.

Sources: Wikipedia Oddity Central by spooky and BBC UK

Ladybugs Tie the Knot and more …

THESE FANTASTIC PHOTOGRAPHS CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS WEEK taken by members at http://pixdaus.com/ If you like these photos you may wish to vote for them.

An invasion of ladybugs - I wonder what causes this ….

“Family of Bugs” by someguy http://pixdaus.com/?fun=2&name=some%20guy

“Stop the Cats- Deer!

“Anade …by Pawel” http://pixdaus.com/pics/1206985280eEEGLtq.jpg

“Catch me - by Beny” http://pixdaus.com/?fun=2&name=pirizoe

http://pixdaus.com/?fun=2&name=jchip8

This one struck a chord and it seems that no matter where we go, whether it be humans in a night club or birds in the bush, MALES SEEM TO RULE!

Garden Guests Diary - Spider Webs - 12 April 2008

I’ve been brushing against spiders and their webs but they just keep on building them despite me accidentally breaking them apart when I’m trying to get a bit closer to nature in the garden. I do try to tread carefully but sometimes it’s hard to see the fine, intricate webbing that they weave..

See more of my abstract spider webs here

Garden Guests Diary - 11 April 2008

A big and fat caterpillar but I don’t know what kind of butterfly or moth he will turn out to be and two damselflies getting very “intimate”.

Help the Honey Bees!

A mysterious illness is killing tens of thousands of honeybee colonies across America, threatening honey production, the livelihood of beekeepers and possibly crops that need bees for pollination. The cause of these losses is an alarming phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder or “CCD”. When a hive experiences CCD, the honey bees mysteriously leave their hive and die.

You can download the gorgeous screensaver and/or wallpaper plus make and send a bee-mail

Bee Facts: Bees fly approximately 10 to 15 miles per hour and visit about 50-100 flowers in each pollination trip.To produce one pound of honey, honey bees must visit two million flowers and fly 55,000 miles. When a honey bee returns to the hive after finding a good pollen source, it gives out samples of the flower’s nectar to its hive mates and performs a dance that details the distance, direction, quality and quantity of the food supply. The richer the food source, the longer and more vigorous the dance.

This website is beautiful and well worth a visit - please help in any way you can.

Enormous Spider’s Web

Don’t visit this Park if you suffer from Arachnophobia …

An enormous spider web has been found at Lake Tawakoni State Park, Texas, US.

It is not the work of one giant spider - rather, millions of small ones have been spinning away and now it is twice the size of a football field. Park rangers are not sure why the spiders have joined forces - they describe it as a rare occurrence. The web covers a 180m (590ft) stretch of trees and shrubs in the park. Although it was initially described as “fairy-tale” white, it has turned brown from all the mosquitoes caught in its trap.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6972062.stm

Garden Guests Diary - Drinking Companion [1 April 2008]

While I was happily celebrating with you all about the 24,000 visitors to my site, I was joined by a garden guest. I have no idea what this “drinking buddy” is and he looks like a young orange palmdart butterfly but I’m not convinced due to his very long legs but they might look longer because he is so tiny. Again, if any of you can help me out here with identification of my new friend, I would appreciate it. Here he is..

I recently discovered what my drinking buddy is - a Plume Moth

Plume Moths hold their narrow wings at right angles to their body when at rest. Their flight is fairly weak. The antennae are short and held out in front of head at right angle to each other. They have long thin legs with spines. The species shown here is common in gardens where the larvae feed on geranium plants. Pupae are thin with many white bristles.

Source: Oz Animals