Wildlife on Fuerteventura

[Gone Fishing]

I think you're right Sam

At first glance of the small image it looked like a horse fly, but in the larger image if you click it you can see the hairy end of its abdomen.

A quick Google came up with this link which also mentions active searching on hot gravel during the middle of the day.
https://elp.tamu.edu/ipm/bugs/diptera-ap...flies-1-2/

[Gone Fishing]

Couple of IDs needed today please.

The second is a bird of prey. I don't know the difference between kestrels, hawks etc. This one didn't come very close but it appeared to have rusty colouring.

Judging by the small size and your description of the colour, probably a kestrel Tamara

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

one of my favourite lizards has lost his tail - I'll be following progress as he hopefully regrows a new one.

 

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Expansion on today's post in the Environmental/Gardening section.

Asclepias curassavica or Tropical Milkweed

I've been on the lookout for a Milkweed for a while as I'd heard it was a favourite of the Monarch butterfly and grew well out here. I popped in to the large garden centre on the ring road at Puerto today and was surprised and delighted to see a display of Milkweed being promoted in a prominent spot. On closer inspection all of the plants contained at least one large Monarch Caterpillar. It's not often you see a shop selling plants where the leaves are being chomped as you queue to pay! The sales girl was even checking that each plant had at least one caterpillar as they were sold.

I bought 2 so the caterpillars had each other for company, well that's my excuse. The plants grow to about 1M high and have bright orange flowers on and off all year so a welcome addition to any garden. I've been told they are tolerant of our sun and wind and do like a regular drink. The next 3 pics are mine. The ones later in this post are from Wiki.

   

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monarch butterfly

Female
 
Male
The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae.[4] Other common names depending on region include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black veined brown.[5] It may be the most familiar North American butterfly, and is considered an iconic pollinator species.[6] Its wings feature an easily recognizable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm (3 1⁄2–4 in)[7] The viceroy butterfly is similar in color and pattern, but is markedly smaller and has an extra black stripe across each hindwing.
The eastern North American monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the northern and central United States and southern Canada to Florida and Mexico.[4] During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north. The western North American population of monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains often migrates to sites in southern California but has been found in overwintering Mexican sites as well.[8][9] Monarchs were transported to the International Space Station and were bred there.

Larvae
The caterpillar goes through five major, distinct stages of growth and after each one, it molts. Each caterpillar, or instar, that molts is larger than the previous as it eats and stores energy in the form of fat and nutrients to carry it through the nonfeeding pupal stage.

The first instar caterpillar that emerges out of the egg is pale green and translucent. It lacks banding coloration or tentacles. The larvae or caterpillar eats its egg case and begins to feed on milkweed. It is during this stage of growth that the caterpillar begins to sequester cardenolides. The circular motion a caterpillar uses while eating milkweed prevents the flow of latex that could entrap it.
The second instar larva develops a characteristic pattern of white, yellow and black transverse bands. It is no longer translucent but is covered in short setae. Pairs of black tentacles begin to grow. One pair grows on the thorax and another pair on the abdomen.
The third instar larva has more distinct bands and the two pairs of tentacles become longer. Legs on the thorax differentiate into a smaller pair near the head and larger pairs further back. These third-stage caterpillars begin to eat along the leaf edges.
The fourth instar has a different banding pattern. It develops white spots on the prolegs near the back of the caterpillar.
The fifth instar larva has a more complex banding pattern and white dots on the prolegs, with front legs that are small and very close to the head.[4]

At this stage of development, it is relatively large compared to the earlier instars. The caterpillar completes its growth. At this point, it is 25 to 45 mm long and 5 to 8 mm wide. This can be compared to the first instar, which was 2 to 6 mm long and 0.5 to 1.5 mm wide. Fifth-instar larvae increase in weight 2000 times from first instars. Fifth-stage instar larva chew through the petiole or midrib of milkweed leaves and stop the flow of latex. After this, they eat more leaf tissue. Before pupation, larvae must consume milkweed to increase their mass. Larvae stop feeding and search for a pupation site. The caterpillar attaches itself securely to a horizontal surface, using a silk pad. At this point, it latches on with its hindlegs and hangs down. It then molts into an opaque, blue-green chrysalis with small gold dots. At normal summer temperatures, it matures in 8–15 days. The cuticle of the chrysalis becomes transparent and the monarch's characteristic orange-and-black wings become visible. At the end of metamorphosis, the adult emerges from the chrysalis, expands and dries its wings, and flies away. Monarch metamorphosis from egg to adult occurs during the warm summer temperatures in as little as 25 days, extending to as many as seven weeks during cool spring conditions. During the development, both larvae and their milkweed hosts are vulnerable to Weather extremes, predators, parasites and diseases; commonly fewer than 10% of monarch eggs and caterpillars survive.

Link to the full info on Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_bu...Life_cycle

[Gone Fishing]

The eastern North American monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the northern and central United States and southern Canada to Florida and Mexico.[4] During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north. The western North American population of monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains often migrates to sites in southern California but has been found in overwintering Mexican sites as well.[8][9]

Monarchs were transported to the International Space Station and were bred there.

One of the most incredible migration stories on Planet Earth.
I'll be impressed if yours make it all the way to Mexico Tamara

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Caterpillar 1 who is at the 5th instar wanted to go walkabouts today and I had started worrying about the number of lizards, geckos and birds that feed in my garden so I moved the pots of milkweed, complete with caterpillars, into a fine-meshed shade area I normally use for seedlings. The frame is made of wooden slats and I added a large terracotta pot on it's side so hopefully there will be a suitable place for them to pupate. 

 

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Some positives, some negatives   

Firstly, the lizard that lost it's tail recently has started to grow a new one, about 0.5cm of growth showing   


Next, a gecko had also lost it's tail, unfortunately it had also lost it's life   


Third, at first sight I thought it was a young bird or a bat on the ground but closer inspection revealed a moth? I very carefully placed a coin next to it to get scale, took pics, then the wind flipped it over and I realised this was also deceased    Can anyone identify it?
  

Lastly, for today, Monarch caterpillar #1 has suspended itself from the netting roof of it's enclosure, hopefully about to pupate   

[Gone Fishing]

Hi Tamara

If you look closely at the first of your photos of the moth (with the 50c coin) you'll see the pale skull pattern behind the head, so a Death's Head Hawkmoth is what you have there.

If you scroll back to posts #16 and #69 your caterpillar in #16 may have gone full circle, caterpillar, pupae, moth.

As your moth has a rounded tip to its abdomen, rather than a pointed tip, it was probably a female.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Wow! I never realised they were so large.
Thank you so much GF, I really appreciate all your input.

[Gone Fishing]

Hi Tamara

Seems like your garden is a microcosm of what many of the native insects and reptiles look for in an ideal habitat.
Probably due to the flowering plants and shrubs that you provide for them.

Something I recently read about the Death's Head Hawk moth, is that they are known to raid bee nests for honey and it emits a loud chirping sound which is thought to imitate the noise command of queen bees which calms the bees so they don't attack the moth.




And in case you're thinking that you may have seen a Death's Head Hawk moth somewhere other than your garden - the film poster for The Silence of the Lambs featured a moth covering Agent Clarise Starling's (Jodie Foster's) mouth.