Things I find while gardening.

[Kazaam]

Changed the watering to once every 2 days as the plant seems to enjoy it.

 

[Kazaam]

I'll be going to France at saturday, won't be back for a good 10 days.

Expect pictures after that!

 

[Kazaam]

I spend most of my time in France walking through rivers such as this one.

Caught this little guy drowning in it.

Random flower:

Graphosoma Lineatum:

More river:

Found my little guy a female:

Oh, the species is Lucanus cervus by the way.

They make a cute couple:

Caught myself a watersnake:

Pics are a bit blurry, they were taken in a hurry as it was trying to get away.
Another snake:

Dem beetles vary a lot in size:

Dem area:

Podarcis Muralis eggs:

Huge grasshopper:

Saturnia pyri caterpillar:

I caught like 200 of those Lucanus cervus beetles in this field, they start flying at 9-9:30 pm and stop when the bats appear.

Mimas tiliae moth was trying to crawl into my shirt.

 

[The Snark]

Vanda. Equatorial. Grows year round with up to 4 flowering cycles per year but normally just 2. The farther from the equator the more likely to only get 1. Watering: You can't water it too much unless the temperature gets very cold. Some growers here keep an algae laden pond (ultra high nitrogen) that they dip the entire plant in once per day. The big exporter down the road has a pressure watering system that draws water from a nutrient tank. The plants get up to 4 heavy mistings per day. He raises and sells around 150,000 a year so he has to be doing something right.

Orchids are pretty much unique, unlike any other plants in the world. Sprouted seedlings can create their own biosphere. They are often (factory) raised in hermetically sealed glass containers and need no air until they reach maturity which can take up to 10 years or more depending on the subfamily.

I've been thinking of going down to the big grower and doing a photo essay of his operation if there is the interest.

 

[Kazaam]

I've been thinking of going down to the big grower and doing a photo essay of his operation if there is the interest.

That would be neat!

 

[Kazaam]

The caterpillar from the 'Found myself a new pet today, it's an Arctia caja' post hatched out of it's cocoon today!

It's a female.

---------- Post added 07-25-2013 at 02:52 PM ----------

I also found this Pholcida eating one of my escaped crickets today!

 

[The Snark]

I'm wondering how a pholcid, natures professional clutz, managed to catch that cricket. Maybe they are better at grabbing crawlers than aerial acrobats?

 

[Kazaam]

I'm wondering how a pholcid, natures professional clutz, managed to catch that cricket. Maybe they are better at grabbing crawlers than aerial acrobats?

Maybe the cricket caught the pholcid.

 

[Kazaam]

Building some insect-frames at the moment.

Haven't been working a whole lot, that's why I'm not posting pictures daily.

---------- Post added 07-30-2013 at 02:21 PM ----------

 

[Bryan64]

All these pictures are very good, you really know your stuff. I would be hard pressed to classify so many :3

 

[Kazaam]

Well, a few months ago my leopard geckos laid eggs for the first time....and you can guess what happened today.

Expanded clay aggregate makes good incubating substrate, I think.

 

[Kazaam]

Update on the babies, they've eaten for the first time and they seem to be doing great.

My Pachnoda marginata larvae pupated a while ago, and they started hatching today.

---------- Post added 08-03-2013 at 10:40 AM ----------

Decided to take a look at the Saturnia pyri cocoon, looks healthy and all.

 

[Sadistik]

Kazaam, you posted that you caught 200 Lucanus cervus?!?!
I hope you know that these are protected by European law and that you are not even allowed to keep a dried specimen of these in the Netherlands. I really hope you meant that you saw these and didn't catch them all.

 

[Kazaam]

Kazaam, you posted that you caught 200 Lucanus cervus?!?!
I hope you know that these are protected by European law and that you are not even allowed to keep a dried specimen of these in the Netherlands. I really hope you meant that you saw these and didn't catch them all.

I didn't keep them baby, it's all fine.

The framed ones were already dead, found them in the river.

 

[Kazaam]

Found some wild sundews.

Random Fungi

Badger den

 

[Shrike]

Those baby geckos are gorgeous. Nice work! Did the sundew capture a moth/butterfly in the second photo?

 

[Kazaam]

Those baby geckos are gorgeous. Nice work! Did the sundew capture a moth/butterfly in the second photo?

Thanks!

Yeah that's a Pararge aegeria.
Oh and the sundews are Drosera intermedia I think.

 

[Kazaam]

So my Buthus sp (I think it's an atlantis) gave birth last night.

And so did one of my centipedes apparently, and I've made a thread about it earlier in the Myriapods section of the forum.

While I have some experience raising them (atleast, when they've left the mother), tips are always welcome.

Oh and I'd like to add that since I've been posting things that aren't related to field trips at all I think my thread should be moved to another section of the forum, I'm not sure which one though as it's kind of a mix of everything.
I could make seperate threads too but I'd rather keep it together.

 

[VickyChaiTea]

I enjoy this thread. <3

 

[Kazaam]

Update on one of the geckos, the other is in good health too but not half as calm and photogenic.

They seem to be doing incredibly well and are little blackholes when it comes to eating.