These/those little things (wildlife) you find in your garden

Well, I did stumble across this guy when I was prepping my front garden shortly after moving into my house last year. I'm not sure who was more surprised!



Then of course there are these little rodents that are often in my garden.

 

Syd, That wild looking thing in my hand is a tomato horn worm chrysalis. I found it in the garden as I was getting ready for planting. The picture of just its "tail" end sticking up I found in the high tunnel as I was getting ready to plant in there. I took it out of the place I found it and forgot about it. later I found that the other bugs in the area had dined on it. it was nothing but a hollowed shell.

chrysalis.http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/field/hornworm.htm

 

Hi Donna - ronni - carolyn - all
Donna. Gosh you certainly have a good varied selection of "visitors" there. In the fourth pic - the large green caterpillar with the mauve and white side stripes and "tail" I recognise instanly as a Privet Hawk Moth - in an earlier post in this topic I referred to them and also an Elephant Hawk Moth we had in our last garden. Surprised that you get them also and so presumably the Privet Hedging shrub is also popular in the US. When at school years ago I was well into biology etc and kept a few large Puss Moth caterpillars in a glass tank to watch them develop. These also had that same "rearing up" attitude and a "tail". Reading them up stated that the "tail" was actually a sheath for a "whip" which they could put out and protect themslves from attacks by a parasitical fly (Ichneuman)sp? which actually landed on their backs and injected its egg into them to hatch and live within them finally killing them. I wonder if this is the same with the Privet caterpillar and any others with "tails".
ronni. Now thats something I am sooo glad we do not get here in UK - the Adder being our only poisonous snake. Are the little dogs chihuahua's?.
carolyn. So the pupa was a pest then - I was hoping it was going to be that of some exotic Moth or Beetle.
Am editing here - Have managed to retrieve some of the pics of the garden visitors here so will attach. Regards to all. Syd.


( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Sydney Smith's Garden )

 

Hi all. Just for interest this. Not in our garden but immediately outside and against the front garden wall in the pavement is a tall telegraph pole. Three days ago wife happened to be looking out and saw a Tree Creeper fly to the bottom of it, shin up to the top, sit there a few seconds and then fly off. Syd.