The message
from Kay contains these words:
In article , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from Kay contains these words:

It's what I've always known as a leather-jacket. larva or chrysalis of
something.

Crane fly.

Except what I know as a leather jacket isn't what everyone else knows as
a leatherjacket, so it isn't a crane fly.

This thing is probably chrysalis rather than larva, is bright shiny
brown, earwig colour, pointed at one end.

The crane fly grub is the leatherjacket, but I'm pretty sure it pupates
into such a form as described.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

I always thought crane flies were daddy-long-legs but am willing to
stand corrected. Why are they foes?

Crane fly = daddy-longlegs.

Sounds more like a leatherjacket to me, and I thought they were foes.

Well, I think the accepted meaning of leatherjacket is the lava of the
crane-fly, but in my circle the pupa has always been known as that.

Howsomedever, I think it'll become a crane fly/ddy-ll)

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Pam Moore contains these words:

No way have you described an earwig or a leatherjacket.

Earwigs don't have a larval stage, and don't pupate. They emerge from
the egg as very miniature earwigs, and the mother cares for the brood.

I like earwigs, though they look quite fearsome in flight.

I once too two earwigs to the Dept of Entomology in the Natural History
Museum, and the curaror was delighted that I'd brought them alive, not
pinned to a piece of card.

Both had pincers the same length as their abdomens, but I was told that
this was not unusual in island populations. These came from the Isle of
Lewis.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

I always thought crane flies were daddy-long-legs but am willing to
stand corrected. Why are they foes?

Crane fly = daddy-longlegs.

Sounds more like a leatherjacket to me, and I thought they were foes.

Well, I think the accepted meaning of leatherjacket is the lava of the
crane-fly, but in my circle the pupa has always been known as that.

Oh, I'm so glad you said that! I was beginning to think that my father
and I were the only ones out of step ;-)

Howsomedever, I think it'll become a crane fly/ddy-ll)


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Was it like this?

http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/P2/P21395.HTM

we get them in our garden - don't know what they are though
and I wish the site above gave more clues

Jill Tardivel

"Jill Tardivel" wrote in message
...
Was it like this?

http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/P2/P21395.HTM

we get them in our garden - don't know what they are though
and I wish the site above gave more clues



it's amazing - that was exactly the photo that I was searching for. funny,
isn't it - you know exactly what you're after, sit with google in front of
you, but completely fail to describe something accurately in search-engine
terms!

I think the best chance for identifying them is to stick them in a container
and identify what emerges from it.

--
Richard Sampson

mail me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

RichardS wrote:
"Jill Tardivel" wrote in message
...

Was it like this?

http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/P2/P21395.HTM

we get them in our garden - don't know what they are though
and I wish the site above gave more clues




it's amazing - that was exactly the photo that I was searching for. funny,
isn't it - you know exactly what you're after, sit with google in front of
you, but completely fail to describe something accurately in search-engine
terms!

I think the best chance for identifying them is to stick them in a container
and identify what emerges from it.

Bit frustrating in that this image fitted the things I find in my
garden regularly and sound like the insects found by the poster - but
the site that has the photo doesn't identify the insect (AARRGGHHH!!!).

Incidentally I googled with 'lepidoptera pupa' as the search terms,
having failed miserably with 'moth', 'butterfly' and 'chrysalis'

Jill Tardivel

Bing bing bing jackpot! That's exactly what my 'thing' looked like. I did a little bit more reading - which didn't tell me much, but I did find out that underground pupae are most likely to be moth cocoons.

Thanks!

On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 9:41:03 +0100, RichardS wrote
(in message ):

"Jill Tardivel" wrote in message
...
Was it like this?

http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/P2/P21395.HTM

we get them in our garden - don't know what they are though
and I wish the site above gave more clues



it's amazing - that was exactly the photo that I was searching for. funny,
isn't it - you know exactly what you're after, sit with google in front of
you, but completely fail to describe something accurately in search-engine
terms!

I think the best chance for identifying them is to stick them in a container
and identify what emerges from it.

Sorry, I'm only a bit over a week late in responding....

That photo shows what a typical moth (or butterfly) pupa looks like. You
won't see what kind until it emerges, but it could be pretty spectacular- the
hawk moth pupae look rather like this. FWIW I recognise this because in the
1950s when it was still considered ok to "collect" butterflies and moths, I
did so and I also nursed several large caterpillars found in the wild into
adulthood. If you bear in mind that the pupa potentially contains the entire
full-sized adult butterfly or moth but with the wings in a deflated and thus
very thin and wispy state laid flat against the body, you'll get an idea of
the final size. When it emerges, the wings inflate with blood, generally
attain a size much bigger than the rest of the insect, and then dry and go
hard- it is a wonderful thing to watch. It could be something other than a
moth- many other insects have pupal stages too- but that photo was a
"lepidoptera" (butterfly or moth) pupa.

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)