Mystery moth and even more mysterious dwellingI'd like to be able to write about two creatures that fascinated me last week in La Serena. The trouble is, I don't know what they are!
On the left is a caterpillar, one of thousands that were crossing the track between two fields of autumn-sown barley. They were not processing nose-to-tail, but moving in loose herds, each group covering about ten to thirty metres of ground, separated from the next group by a hundred metres or so. On the right is a hole about a centimetre in diameter. In front of it the ground has been cleared, either deliberately, or by frequent passage of tiny feet. You can just make out a horseshoe shaped collection of seeds around this bare area and behind the hole. It is on the shaded side of a large stone, part of a line of rocks in an area of unploughed grassland. Any help would be gratefully received and acknowledged!
1 Comment
|
AuthorLaurence Rose is a conservationist, writer and composer. He has worked for the RSPB since 1983. Archives
March 2018
Categories
All
|