Author Topic: Not a plant but need help identifying... (Read 7668 times)

welsh_cob · « **on:** May 03, 2015, 11:17:39 am »

Found two red cases in the garden while weeding, they look like a cocoon. They're dark red and about an inch in length, they were in damp mud and move every now and again. A friend told me they thought it had been eggs laid by flies, then a larvae and the larvae turns into a 'castor'?

I've put them back in the same place but wondered what they were, any ideas?

Fleecewife · « **Reply #1 on:** May 03, 2015, 11:51:44 am »

I've always assumed they are big beetles, which are beneficial in the garden so I leave them be. I've never watched what one hatches into so I don't really know for sure.

adamhfc · « **Reply #2 on:** May 03, 2015, 12:25:36 pm »

Its the cacoon of a moth and if when it hatchies if female will lay eggs and the caterpillars love your plants and veg

Fleecewife · « **Reply #3 on:** May 03, 2015, 04:11:21 pm »

Quote from: adamhfc on May 03, 2015, 12:25:36 pm

Its the cacoon of a moth and if when it hatchies if female will lay eggs and the caterpillars love your plants and veg

adamhfc · « **Reply #4 on:** May 05, 2015, 08:15:13 pm »

Got that from a Google search

Marches Farmer · « **Reply #5 on:** May 05, 2015, 08:34:42 pm »

Dark red sounds like leatherjackets - larvae of the cranefly.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #6 on:** May 06, 2015, 12:12:57 am »

I googled it too and got Noctuid moth - of which there are about 40k species worldwide. Couldn't find anything about any damage, except obviously it has caterpillars which eat plants, don't know which ones.

Oh well, I'll chuck them into the hedge from now on

cloddopper · « **Reply #7 on:** May 07, 2015, 09:46:42 am »

I too go with the crane fly ( daddy long legs ) larvae idea but it is called a pupae at this stage of development . The lavae is the grub that emerges when it hatches .

A few weeks ago the whole area of fields was alive with crows digging them out for eating & feeding their chicks with them.
When the pupae hatches the lavae come out as a soft matt green is light brown caterpillars about 24 mm to 26 mm long .

If you put " crane fly pupae " into Google and look in the images there is a real nice picture of a crane fly's reddish brown pupae on a loam earth back ground.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #8 on:** May 07, 2015, 10:25:51 am »

Maybe it's time we had a pic of the actual things welsh-cob. From google, the moth and the crane fly pupae seem pretty much the same to me. The only real proof would be to hatch them and see what comes out.