You don't have to go outside to find interesting nature - quite often it will come into our homes to find us. On the night in question I discovered a Palmate newt on our kitchen floor. This is the 3rd year on the trot they have come into the house at this time of year.
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| Palmate newt |
Looking around the house I soon discovered a couple more intriguing beasties. First up is this Ichneumon wasp species, harmless to you and I but bad news for caterpillars as female Ichneumons will hunt down then paralyze them before injecting their eggs into the still living caterpillar. The caterpillar is then buried in a pre-prepared underground chamber until the newly emerging wasp grubs begin to devour the caterpillar from the inside out.
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| Ichneumon wasp |
Next up was a Green lacewing which will often overwinter in people's homes and outbuildings. A true friend to the gardener they are voracious predators of Greenfly and other aphids. Some species of lacewing having sucked an aphid dry will then stick the carcass to their bodies in an attempt to smell (and look?) more like their prey, thereby enabling closer approach.
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| Green lacewing |
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