03 August, 2024

iNat Year 2024 - goals and monthly recaps (-September)

So I have decided on this year's iNaturalist goals.

  1. First and foremost continue my streak which started on 30th Dec 2020. Since I don't work so much and I also don't have any international flights scheduled, it's just a matter of perseverance. If I don't find time during the day, I can always do my nightly moth-walk of about 1,5 h.
  2. Make a photo book at the end of the year. I started this in 2014 and it's growing into a nice collection. For that I should find at least 100 new-for-me animal species. Or at least 100 which haven't been featured in another book. Since the book of 2022 is about 2 months house-sitting in France (150 species) and 2023 about 3 weeks travelling the length of Germany (150 species, on which I am still working), there are quite a lot that don't yet appear in any book.
  3. I would really like to find 100 species of animals on thistles, from snails munching on the leaves, to butterflies and bees on the flowers, beetles laying eggs into the stems, finches eating the seeds, spiders building their web between the leaves etc. If I will be able to identify the species of thistle, that's enough botany for me.
  4. Secretly I am also counting the number of animal species seen in this year, since I didn't manage to find 1000 animals last year and only just made it over 1000 in total. And since I won't travel this year, it will have to be 1000 animals of Andalucía, which makes it more interesting but also more challenging.
    I just changed the order so that the new month is in the beginning.
    By the way, if you are curious about my progress, you can see it here.
    And if you want to help, these are the animal observations of this year that need ID.

September highlights

Collage9+1Sept
For this month I can only blame myself and the cat for not making more larger day-trips. The cat became really ill in the second half of the moth (nearly recuperated now) and I had to go to the vet daily with her. So I mainly did my nightly moth-walks. Surprisingly enough there are still new moths to be found and the composition of species varies daily.
Metasia cuencalis (Geometridae) was found after midnight on the morning of the 4th of September. The beautiful grey dagger Acronicta psi (Noctuidae) is from the 17th. I saw the first Devonshire Wainscot Leucania putrescens (Noctuidae) on the 11th, though this better photo is from the 6th of October. The 4th of September brought me another lifer, the snout moth Stemmatophora brunnealis (Pyralidae). The green bug Brachynema germarii was spotted on the 9th, but this photo is from my second encounter also on the 6th of October. From the 7th-15th was gall week during which I luckily had the possibility of two day-trips. On the 10th I went with some friends to our local nature reserve El Torcal de Antequera and on the 14th did a long hike in the vicinity. Both days brought me two galls each. Andricus coriarius is a gall wasp (Cynipidae) on oak, the aphid Forda formicaria forms on Pistacia terebinthus, the round gall is also a wasp on oak: Cynips quercus and the last is Baizongia pistaciae, again an aphid on Pistacia.
The photo on the right shows juvenile flathead grey mullets Mugil cephalus (Mugilidae) seen in the estuary of río Fuengirola on the 28th of September.
The tally for RG animal species was at 737 on the end of September. The October has started quite well, so there is still hope.

August highlights

Collage9xAug
Another hot summer month that didn't make me feel like going on 15-km-hikes. So the photos of this month's lifers are from the immediate surroundings, from my nightly moth-walks and from snorkelling off the beaches of Málaga (and one from Almuñécar).
The first row is from nightly walks in Antequera. On the 12th I saw Hypotia corticalis (Pyralidae). On the very hot night of the 8th/ 9th, when it was still 30°C at midnight the tiger beetle Myriochila melancholica (Carabidae) was active. Though they are normally diurnal, they will apparently also come out on hot nights. They are not adapted to night life and don't see very well in the dark and so I could get closer to it than I would have during the day. The gold-banded etiella moth Etiella zinckenella (Pyralidae) is from the 7th. The elegantly striped bug Ragliodes delineatus (Rhypochromatidae) was found in the local pine forest on the 29th. The jewel beetle Dicerca aenea (Buprestidae) is from the 30th also from Antequera. Finally I managed to spot a new cricket Eumodicogryllus bordigalensis (Gryllidae) on the night of the 12/ 13th.
The last row shows sea-life.
The blenny Molly Miller (what a name! :-) ) Scartella cristata (Blenniidae) was seen on the 15th when I went with a bus tour to Almuñécar (province Granada) for a day on the beach and celebrating a local fiesta with a show of fireworks.
I found the cute tube hermit crab Calcinus tubularis (Diogenidae) on the 9th off Málaga. The last one in the row is actually the first lifer of the month from the 1st August, the comber Serranus cabrilla (Serranidae).

The next two lifers are the highlights of the month - or maybe the year!
Collage2xAug
The ant-lion Myrmeleon almohadarum (Myrmeleontidae) was only described in 2016 and my observation is the 3rd on iNat.
On the night walk of the 14th, actually on the 15th, two minutes after midnight I saw this cat sitting on a fence. It took me a while to realise that with this long ringed tail, it's not a cat, but a genet! Genetta genetta . And I saw it "en vivo y en directo" that is live and not run over and also not by trail cam but with my own eyes!
So, even the total tally until the end of August is only at 682 RG animals, it was quite an exciting month!

July highlights

Collage9+1Jul24
Even though the overall species count was not high, I did manage to get my 10 lifers for the collage. On the 9th I went to the Sierra de Torremolinos (further down I will write a bit more about this excursion) and saw crested tits Lophophanes cristatus (Paridae). On the 28th I found two galls, which could be iDed. Tetraneura akinire was on Ulmus minor and is an aphid and the walnut blister mites Aceria erinea form galls on Juglans regia leaves.
The dead moth was found in Málaga after a day on the beach on the way to the bus station and still needs ID, but the ants were IDed as Paratrechina longicornis by the amazing identifiers @max_devis and @ard23 . The nice live moth is Nola infantula, (Nolidae) which was found on a moth-walk on the 27th. Also on a nightly walk I came across Dryadocoris apicalis (Pentatomidae). The following photos are from my weekly snorkelling-trips to a beach in Málaga. The edible crab Cancer pagurus (Cancridae) is actually not known to occur in the Mediterranean. I saw it on the 12th of July. The mediterranean fanworm Sabella spallanzanii (Sabellidae) was found on the 19th. The cute Caneva's blenny Microlipophrys canevae (Blenniidae) is from the 26th.
My favourite lifer of this month has to be the harlequin sea goddess Felimida binza (Chromodorididae), seen on the 19th.

Sharing the winner's podium with the sea slug is this beetle.
Collage_Buprestis_sanguinea
Ever since I found a dead beetle of this species seven years ago, I wanted to see a live one. So at least once a year I organise a trip to Torremolinos and hike through the mountains in the summer heat. For the 9th the weather report announced a temperature drop to only 25°C. So I took an early bus to Málaga and then the cercanias train to Torremolinos. In the mountains behind the town and the motorway grows the foodplant of the beetle, the joint pine Ephedra fragilis. The temperature was definitely more than 25°, but still supportable. I tried to stay in the shade of the pine trees and when I saw the crested tits I thought, well, at least the trip was not completely useless. I usually always encounter what I least expect. I did look at every joint pine though - and suddenly there was this couple of Buprestis sanguinea (Buprestidae) right on top! I am especially happy to have found male and female, because they look so different. What a day!
The overall RG animal species count for this year is at 631. Unfortunately special lifers don't count any more than say a cockroach.

June highlights

Collage10xJuni
I have sorted the lifers of June into groups. The first row has new species of moths.
Epicallima mercedella (Oecophoridae) and Enolmis acanthella (Scythrididae) were found on my moth-walk of the 13th. Euchromius anapiellus (Crambidae) is from the 27th, also seen on the moth-walk in Antequera.
The beetles in the next row are Coptocephala scopulina (Chrysomelidae) from the 18th, Dermestes undulatus (Dermestidae) from the 15th and Anthaxia ignipennis (Buprestidae) from the 11th; all seen in and around Antequera.
Once a week I take the bus to Málaga city and go snorkelling at a beach. Since I am now in the third year, lifers become rarer. The axillary seabreams - Pagellus acarne (Sparidae) were observed on the 21st. I took the photo of the small periwinkle - Melarhaphe neritoides (Littorinidae) on the 29th, when the water was rather cold, so I mainly stayed very close to the shore and only up to my hips in the water. The next shell Euspira guilleminii (Naticidae) I found in about 1 m deep water on the 21st. It looked different, so I dived down to collect it. I was right, as it has only 10 observations on iNat. Then I realised it is inhabited. The hermit crab inside is the photo on the right. It was an iNatFirst, because the species Diogenes curvimanus (Diogenidae) was only separated from D. pugilator in 2021. I'm very grateful to @pierrenoel who identified it.

Two other species were not new, but they deserve a honorary mention.
Collage2xJuni
On a long hike on the 18th I saw this mother red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa with more than 10 chicks.
The snorkelling-day of the 21st also brought me this marbled torpedo Torpedo marmorata (Torpedinidae), which fled in front of my feet in only knee-deep water. Two memorable experiences.
Mainly through the snorkelling I have managed to raise the number of RG-animals to 575.

May highlights

CollageiNatMai24
The animals in the grid on the left side are all lifers for me. I have changed the order a bit to make it more interesting looking. The micro-moth Cosmopterix pulchrimella (Cosmopterigidae) was found on the 4th in Antequera. On the night-walk of the 7th I saw the beetle Calosoma maderae (Carabidae). On the 12th I was very surprised to suddenly stand in front of this beautiful western black-eared wheatear Oenanthe hispanica (Muscicapidae) at the Torcal de Antequera. The night-walk of the 11th brought me an interesting fly Oxyaciura tibialis (Tephritidae). On the 24th I wanted to start my snorkeling-season, but the water was still rather cold. So I mainly stayed on the beach collecting some shells, like this Columbella rustica (Columbellidae). I was very excited to have found another tephrid fly on the 28th, similar but different: Aciura coryli (Tephritidae). It was sitting on an almond tree which was totally covered in honeydew. I saw a lot of interesting insects there, but most of them are not/ cannot be identified. On the 30th I photographed a colourful wasp, which could be identified as Ctenochares bicolorus (Ichneumonidae). The honeydew-tree brought me another cute little fly on the 25th: Trigonospila transvittata (Tachinidae). Finally I found a caterpillar on a fig-tree on the 30th, which turned out to be Choreutis nemorana (Choreutidae).
The insect on the right is not new, but belong to those that I have to see every year. It flies only for a few weeks in early summer, so I really made an effort to find it. It is the two-winged spoonwing Nemoptera bipennis (Nemopteridae).

I think I have by now covered a lot of the easy to find and/ or easy to identify species. Even though I saw a lot, the tally is (only) at 471 RG animal species.

April highlights

Collage9+1April24
Those insects which could be titled "50 shades of grey" were all new for me in April. 7 of them I found during my nightly moth-walk, where I now have a fixed route with the best lit facades.
Aethiessa floralis (Scarabaeidae) was found in Fuente de Piedra on the 6th. During a moth-round on the 14th I spotted this tiny Shiny Spider Beetle Mezium affine (Ptinindae). The night of the 17th brought me this Plumed Fan-Foot Pechipogo plumigeralis (Erebidae). A lacewing that could be identified as Pseudomallada genei was found on the night of the 20th. On the 22nd I found a new member of the large genus of Idaea, the Portland Ribbon Wave Idaea degeneraria (Geometridae) and this Long-legged China-Mark Dolicharthria punctalis (Crambidae) (which I just realised is not new). On the next day I went to the local pine forest and saw the planthoppers Tettigometra impressifrons (Tettigometridae) on thistles! The night of the 26th brought me a "punkish" Antirhinum Brocade Calophasia platyptera (Noctuidae). On the 28th I went on a day-trip to Córdoba and included a bit of colour with this hoverfly Ceriana vespiformis (Syrphidae). The highlight of the month has to be the moth on the right, because it was not only new for me, but also an iNatFirst! Meanwhile there are two more observations by me and two by someone else, so it can't be that rare. Cleonymia pectinicornis (Noctuidae).

But I also have to show some nice birds.
Collage6xVögelApr24
The Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida (Laridae) was seen in Fuente de Piedra. The next two photos show drakes trying to impress their females: White-headed Ducks Oxyura leucocephala from the Guadalhorce-mouth in Málaga and a pair of Marbled Ducks Marmaronetta angustirostris in Fuente de Piedra. The next two photos are herons - the Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides is from Fuengirola and the Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax from Córdoba. The woodchat shrike Lanius senator was seen in Málaga.

Spring started really slowly and we haven't reached "Spanish" temperatures yet. But I managed to reduce last month's backlog and am now at 388 RG animal species.

March highlights

CollageMärz24
Steatoda paykulliana (Theridiidae) is nothing new, but one of the nicest coloured and patterned individuals I have ever seen. I found it in Jimena de la Frontera in the kitchen sink and caught it in a cup. What a great start to the day! On the same day I found this Chelotrupes sp. (Geotrupidae), which has inspired me to start a project about "Beetles with horns". On the 15th I made a day trip to the coast, collected some shells and came across this dead hermit crab Dardanus arrosor (Diogenidae). The following day brought me two lifers in my patio Crocistethus waltlianus (Cydnidae) and Cordicomus instabilis (Anthicidae). On the next day I could observe this couple of the very common Colias croceus (Pieridae). You usually never see them with open wings, so for me the mating rejection was a really lucky occurrence! The last three pictures are lifers from a day trip to Loja (province Granada) on the 23rd. Phragmatobia fuliginosa (Erebidae), Melanopsis praemorsa (Melanopsidae) and Trigonidium cicindeloides (Trigonidiidae). The hoopoe Upupa epops (Upupidae) I observed for quite a while in Jimena de la Frontera, while it found some snacks on the floor. Then for just a moment, it raised its hood! Never seen before, I thought it had something to do with social behaviour but there was no one else. Maybe it was excited about the food or afraid about the vultures circling overhead - anyway a memorable experience!
The last week of March was characterised by more or less constant rain - very unusual for Andalusia and very unwelcome because it was Semana Santa and all processions had to be cancelled. I just managed to keep up my streak and achieved only 276 RG animal species until the 31st.

February highlights

CollageFeb24
Cassida deflorata (Chrysomelidae) as larva, pupa and adult - on thistle; Abrostola triplasia (Noctuidae) new for me in my hometown; on the 18th I went for a day trip to the Bay of Cádiz and saw Afruca tangeri West African Fiddler Crabs - they only occur on the Atlantic coast from West Africa to the Algarve; as well as Numenius arquata (Scolopacidae) and Phoenicopterus roseus (Phoenicopteridae), not new, but I don't often get a photo in flight. From 29.2. to 3.3. I stayed with a friend in Jimena de la Frontera (Cádiz province). On the first night I did a moth-walk and found this new Horisme scorteata (Geometridae). The Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa is also from the Bay of Cádiz.
The number of RG animal species until the end of February is 196.

January highlights

CollageJan24

Perigune narbonea (Geometridae); gall of wasp Andricus quercustozae (Cynipidae); Cisticola juncidis (Cisticolidae) is not new, but I think a really cute photo; of Dicranopalpus caudatus (Phalangiidae)I have to show two photos, because I find the forked pedipalps really fascinating; Conostethus venustus (Miridae) on thistle :-); Deroceras reticulatum (Agriolimacidae); Menemerus taeniatus (Salticidae); Chesias rufata (Geometridae). All of those species I found walking around Antequera. The wigeon Mareca penelope (Anatidae) I spotted on a day trip to the Guadalhorce-mouth in Málaga. This day and another trip to Fuente de Piedra provided all of the usual avian suspects (except cranes) and this new duck.
The number of RG animals species for January is 103.

Posted on 03 August, 2024 12:38 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 19 comments | Leave a comment

12 June, 2024

Not quite half-time, but half-goal!

Last night I hit 500 RG animal species - 503 to be exact (and there are still a few easy ones which need confirmation). So I think it's time for some statistics.

Animal group English name No. of species
Coleoptera beetles 55
Diptera flies 15
Hemiptera bugs 39
Hymenoptera ants, bees, wasps etc 21
Papilionoidea Butterflies 39
Moths 95
Odonata dragonflies and damselflies 8
Orthoptera grashoppers, crickets etc 8
other insects 5
Arachnida spiders, harvestmen, mites etc 21
Malacostraca crabs, lobsters etc. 11
Mollusca snails, slugs, clams etc 39
Cnidaria jellyfish, sea anemones, corals etc 4
Actinopterygii ray-finned fishes 10
Amphibia frogs, toads, newts, salamanders etc 1
Reptilia snakes, lizards, turtles etc 10
Aves birds 113
Mammalia mammals 4
other animals 4
Posted on 12 June, 2024 18:37 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 2 comments | Leave a comment

19 March, 2024

Raising of a butterfly (Pieris rapae)

23.2.24 In the vegetable drawer of the fridge I found a caterpillar. It must have come out of the cauliflower. I put it in a box with holes ( when I raised young swifts I had to buy a lot of crickets, which came in clear plastic boxes with holes. I kept them just in case...) and gave it a bit of cauliflower leaf.

25.2.24 It has attached itself to the lid of the box.
P2258711-FotorOLY
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200382941

27.2.24 Now it has pupated.
P2278773-FotorOLY
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200665637

I kept the box first in the storeroom, a room next to the kitchen which is open to the patio, so always cold. When we got a really cold spell at the beginning of March, I brought it into the kitchen. It is not heated anyway and cooler than outside when the sun is shining, but not as cold at night. I checked on my inhabitant daily, but didn't see any changes.

17.3.24 The pupa had changed colour and looked darker, I feared it had died.

19.3.24 What a surprise! The butterfly has hatched! It kept sitting on the pupa and didn't move.
I opened the box and took some photos.
P3199261-FotorOLY
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/203087232
I put the lid with the butterfly into the patio, where eventually the sun would shine in. Then I had breakfast. When I checked again, it was gone.
So, I didn't observe any of the stages, neither the making of the pupa nor the hatching or the flying off and anyway it is one of the most common species, sometimes even considered a pest, but I am still happy!

Posted on 19 March, 2024 19:59 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 3 comments | Leave a comment

06 March, 2024

New project: Beetles with horns

Since I especially like beetles with horns and since I realised they are distributed at least across two families, I've decided to set up a traditional project to get an idea of the number of species and variability of the horns.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/beetles-with-horns
Please contribute

Posted on 06 March, 2024 17:51 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 0 comments | Leave a comment

12 January, 2024

Difference between Henosepilachna argus and H. angusticollis (Coccinellidae)

There is a lot of confusion about the status of those two beetles. Since I have now seen them both, I think I am able to separate them.
Henosepilachna angusticollis is the species I see here regularly - more or less daily and all year round.
Henosepilachna angusticollisEcballium elaterium
It lives (exclusively?) on squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium)
It has a pointed end and to me it seems it is paler and has slightly smaller spots than H. argus.

Henosepilachna argus lives on Bryonia sp, here on Bryonia cretica.
Henosepilachna argusBryonia cretica
It is more rounded, a bit redder and has slightly larger spots.

Literature:
https://miblogdebichos.wordpress.com/coleopteros/coccinellidae/henosepilachna-angusticollis-reiche-1862/
https://inpn.mnhn.fr/espece/cd_nom/794751/tab/fiche
https://biocostagranadinafauna.blogspot.com/2021/12/henosepilachna-angusticollis.html

Posted on 12 January, 2024 20:13 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 1 comment | Leave a comment

23 November, 2023

1000-species-challenge 2023 - finished!

On my moth walk last night I found a lifer, which I identified as Chrysodeixis chalcites and which was confirmed shortly after by @einheit21 . This was # 1000!
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?d1=2023-01-01&hrank=species&place_id=any&quality_grade=research&user_id=susanne-kasimir&verifiable=any
First of all a big thank you to all 588 identifiers, without which of course this challenge wouldn't have been possible!

Here are the statistics (in brackets the numbers of the 1st September)
Mammals: 10 (9)
Birds: 170 (165)
Reptiles: 10 (10)
Amphibians: 3 (3)
Actinopterygii: 33 (32)
Elasmobranchii: 1 (1)
Tunicata: 1 (1)

-> Chordata: 228

Hymenoptera: 33 (29)
Diptera: 16 (12)
Hemiptera: 62 (58)
Lepidoptera: 224 (150)
Coleoptera: 104 (96
Orthoptera: 9 (7)
Odonata: 24 (20)
Blattodea: 3 (2)
Mantodea: 5 (4)
Neuroptera: 3 (3)
Embioptera: 1 (0)
Archaeognatha: 1 (1)

-> Insects: 485

Mollusca: 51 (32)
Polychaeta: 2 (2)
Arachnida: 34 (28)
Crustacea: 16 (14)
Myriapoda: 2 (1)
Cnidaria: 7 (7)
Echinodermata: 3 (3)
Porifera: 1 (1)

-> Animals total: 829

Fungi: 5 (5)
Plantae: 162 (146)
Bacteria: 1 (1)
Chromista: 2 (2)
Protozoa: 1 (1)

I won’t be able to take on a new challenge like 1000 animals or 1000 species of Spain, but I’ll continue the year and see where I stand on New Year’s Eve.
Recently especially my nightly moths walks have been really successful and I wonder how many more new moths I can find.

Posted on 23 November, 2023 12:26 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 1 observation | 6 comments | Leave a comment

02 November, 2023

1000-species-challenge 2023 - October update

The squirrel was busy and so I can proudly present 954 species now. Now it does seem possible to reach my goal. There are still some species with "needs ID" of which I am sure, which haven't been confirmed yet.
Since I mainly made nightly walks in October, most of the new species are moths. And there are still lifer moths!
I fear I will be running out of new moths soon though, so will have to find another diverse group.
Some October highlights:

Posted on 02 November, 2023 00:17 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 7 observations | 0 comments | Leave a comment

04 October, 2023

1000-species-challenge 2023 - update

So today, 4th October, I am at 890 species; there are 89 days left in the year and 110 species to find. I can only comment this with a German saying which is translated into something like this:" Tediously the squirrel gathers its food." (Mühsam ernährt sich das Eichhörnchen).
I have realised that the best option to find something new are moths, so I am doing nightly walks around town and look at lit facades. Here is last night's favourite: Cymbalophora pudica.
The squirrel survives and I hope I will also reach my goal.

Posted on 04 October, 2023 09:08 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 1 observation | 4 comments | Leave a comment

01 September, 2023

1000-species-challenge 2023

I was challenged by @ogeukord to participate in his challenge of finding 1000 species which are identified to species with RG-label. At first I said, oh no, I don't want to - especially since I would also have to care about plants - but, yes, of course I am looking at my numbers. So high time to make it official. ;-)
Especially since he has already reached his goal and is now aspiring for 1000 beasts.

I have so far reached 850 species, which means I still have to find more than one per day for the rest of the year.
In May I was in Germany for three weeks, which has boosted my list, but since I came back it has been extremely dry and hot. That means that some of the early summer (insect) species had already disappeared, but also I didn't find as much as usual since I didn't make 10 h/ 15 km hikes. What is nicely reflected in my list is the weekly trip to the beach with snorkelling.
Here is an overview:
Mammals: 9
Birds: 165
Reptiles: 10
Amphibians: 3
Actinopterygii: 32
Elasmobranchii: 1
Tunicata: 1

-> Chordata: 221

Mollusca: 32
Polychaeta: 2
Arachnida: 28
Crustacea: 14
Myriapoda: 1
xxxxxxxxxxxx
Hymenoptera: 29
Diptera: 12
Hemiptera: 58
Lepidoptera: 150
Coleoptera: 96
Orthoptera: 7
Odonata: 20
other insects (Blattodea, Mantodea, Neuroptera, Archaeognatha): 9

-> insects: 381

Cnidaria: 7
Echinodermata: 3
Porifera: 1

-> animals total: 695


Fungi: 5
Plantae: 146
others (Bacteria, Chromista, Protozoa): 4
Here is the link to the RG species:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?d1=2023-01-01&hrank=species&place_id=any&quality_grade=research&subview=map&user_id=susanne-kasimir&verifiable=any&view=species

And if you want to help me reach my goal, here are the observations that still need ID:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?d1=2023-01-01&hrank=species&place_id=any&quality_grade=needs_id&subview=map&user_id=susanne-kasimir&verifiable=any&view=species

Posted on 01 September, 2023 10:34 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 2 comments | Leave a comment

08 March, 2023

(Un)identified Caterpillars on Brassicaceae: Evergestis isatidalis

I have recently seen a lot of caterpillars of the same species that I can't identify and will collect all the observations here.

2023/02/25: I found a nest of caterpillars in a web spun around the flower heads of some Brassicaceae:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/149666877

2023/02/25: This is the foodplant, where the caterpillars were found.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/149666891

2023/02/25: another plant, which I believe is the same species, flowering
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/149666890

2023/03/01: Photos during the day of caterpillars inside their nest
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150005914

2023/03/07: I saw bigger caterpillars on the same plants at night, one was hanging from a silk thread (as a means of hiding from me)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150532773

I think I can safely assume that it is Evergestis isatidalis, since I've seen these photos:
https://naturdata.com/especie/Evergestis-isatidalis/32501/0/
The plant has meanwhile been identified as Sinapis alba

Posted on 08 March, 2023 10:52 by susanne-kasimir susanne-kasimir | 0 comments | Leave a comment