The friend who fell from the skies

Animals, English language posts, European Hornet, Insectlife, Insects, Life in Slovenia, Neanderslavia, Slovenia, Videos, Vojnik, Wetlands, Zhuzhana the Hornet, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One fateful Saturday, a pair of sky warriors crashed to the ground, locked in battle.

They say every fight you can walk away from is a good fight. I guess that means our new friend had a good one indeed.

Her opponent, however, flew off. Because this is what victorious hornets do, after successfully shredding their rival’s wings.

So there she was – bruised and battered and suddenly pedestrian.

Under any ordinary circumstances, this would have meant she would be torn apart, limb by limb, by an army of gleeful ants. Unless she were lucky and a hungry bird got to her first.

But these were no ordinary circumstances. Because the turf on which she landed was ours.

She may have lost the duel but she won our love, along with a life-time supply of sugar water.

Zhuzhana, as we named her, was born a worker. But she ended up living like a queen.

#hornet #europeanhornet #Vespacrabro #pethornet #rescuedhornet #injuredhornet #rescue #feedinghornet #handfeeding #insectfeeding #insectrescue #insectlife #petinsect #zhuzhana #srsen #wetlands #vojnik #slovenia #neanderslavia

Like oversized mosquitoes but friendlier and clumsier

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Here’s a pair of creatures who get blamed for all the wrong reasons. This loved-up couple are crane flies, most likely of the Tipula oleracea persuasion.

They’re too big for any regular mosquitoes, check fingers for scale, which only makes it worse because they get accused of being giant mosquitos and swatted out of existence.

But these clumsy insects don’t bite at all. Their larvae on the other hand, do bite alright – they have a taste for plant roots and can chew their way through vast swathes of grass and crops, leaving huge dried patches in their wake.

As is often the case, good biodiversity goes a long way. If baby crane flies are giving you a headache, know that birds and ground beetles can help you keep their numbers modest and their activities focused on munching decaying plant matter, which is a good thing because it keeps nutrients cycling.

Just keep your pots and pans covered when the adults pay you a dinner visit – they have an uncanny talent for falling into open dishes.

#cranefly #cranefliesmating #tipula #insectlife #koseninar #wetlands #vojnik #slovenia #neanderslavia

The Snail

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  • Garden snails are native to the Mediterranean
  • But they’ve travelled as far as California and Australia
  • (People being followed by snails is a real thing.)
  • Growing snails on purpose is called heliciculture
  • Growing them by accident is called good biodiversity
  • If snails threaten your garden, make it firefly-friendly
  • Because fireflies eat snails and slugs
  • So do frogs, lizards and birds
  • Or you can eat the snails yourself
  • They’re a good source of protein – and parasitic worms
  • I prefer biodiversity to gastronomy, but you do you

Catch of the day: an elderly snail

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When two garden snails really like each other, they show it by mutual stabbing. They’re equipped with special love darts for this very purpose – they’re hermaphrodites and their love dueling, which goes on for hours, is how they exchange seed.
Throughout history, garden snails have loved hitching a ride with humans and this is how they’ve managed to reach some of the farthest corners of the Earth. They’re cute in their own right but their appetite can spell disaster for crops in areas where their natural predators are scarce. Good biodiversity is your friend – frogs, birds, lizards and many bugs will happily keep snails in check for you.
But if all else fails, you can always scare garden snails away with coffee grounds – they seriously dislike coffee. That’s probably for the best because the idea of fast-moving, twitchy snails is borderline disturbing.

You’ll want some clover before you scratch your nose

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An angry rescued female stag beetle
An angry rescued female stag beetle (Lucanus cervus)

I was walking on hot asphalt and so was this lovely lady.

Cars were about to join us.

Concerned for the lady’s safety, I volunteered my relocation services.

She objected by running.

Obviously, I insisted by picking her up.

She responded by spraying my fingers with a memorable fragrance.

Stunned but undeterred, I moved her to a safe location.

Just as we went our separate ways, I had a wild realization. (Can you imagine.)

The thing is, I’ve picked up many a stag beetle in the tiny little nature reserve that I run.

(Usually because they got indoors and wouldn’t leave.)

But they rarely ever ran from me, much less sprayed me.

Yet the lady I met today went full battle mode.

I couldn’t shake the thought that stag beetles behave differently around the people they know.

I feel deeply honored.

I would consider nicknaming my beetles if I hadn’t already done so.

PS. Clover is your lucky plant if you need to get rid of angry beetle perfume.

A baby beetle

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On this earth, there are 300 pounds of insects for every pound of human flesh. They fly, they dig, they swim, they bite and sting and spray. And they can make more babies in their lifetime than the whole of humanity ever has. We’re outmaneuvered, outgunned, outnumbered and sometimes outsmarted too. Just something to keep in mind 🙂

Possibly, nah definitely a leech

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One of the best things about creating a wildlife pond is watching new critters move in. This spry little slinkie – unfairly known, as I’ve learned, as the horse leech – has managed to find my magic little lake. And quite possibly, my new friend is exactly what these waters needed… because right now, they’re ruled by voracious dragonfly larvae who could use a good old-fashioned fear of God put into them… Dragonflies can murder their way through a sizeable batch of tadpoles in a disturbingly short time – a relatively well-known fact in the ponding world. But they will also actively stalk small fish, which is much less known about them. Supposedly, horse leeches hunt dragonfly larvae, so maybe nature will balance itself out.