DERELICT SUNDAY - BUT NOT QUITE EVERYTHING!

We had a good service at Church, but I didn’t feel like going out too far, so we just went to Liddington, which is only a few miles from where we live.  We knew that there was plenty of dereliction at this particular place, so because I didn’t feel too special, we just parked and walked a little way.

We believe this may be a fertiliser spray tanker, but it obviously hasn’t moved for quite some time - and was therefore surrounded by weeds.  On the yellow wild flower at the front, we could see lots of caterpillars - see extra - but I couldn’t remember what they were called, except that we had seen them before and I recognised them.

When I got home, I still didn’t feel brilliant, so must confess I went to bed, in the hope that if I could sleep, I would feel better when I got up - I do think that the antibiotics I am on for the cellulitis in my leg are probably to blame, but thankfully, I only have one more day to go before the course is finished.

I still don’t feel “on top of the world” but did some research and found out the caterpillars were Mullein Moth larva - I then read that their scientific name is "Shargacucullia verbasci" - which then made me think of the flower, Verbascum.

More research took me to another website, where I found out the following information:

“The flowers are Great Mullein, a native biennial, most frequently found on calcareous, free draining soils in rough grasslands and waste ground. It is dependent upon its long-lived seed for regeneration which it produces in prodigious amounts.  If, in late summer, you find a sorry looking Great Mullein stripped of all its leaves it is likely to be the work of the larva of the mullein moth (Shargacucullia verbasci), a large, brightly coloured caterpillar covered in black and yellow dots.”  

Definitely a “Eureka” moment and of course, I do enjoy a challenge!

So here, for the Derelict Sunday challenge, (and also the Wild Flower Challenge too) is a derelict spray tanker, completion with a Great Mullein plant, which was indeed stripped of most of its leaves along with many Mullein Moth caterpillars, enjoying chomping their way through the remainder of the leaves.  You may also notice that there is someone alongside, looking at the caterpillars and also many ladybirds on the adjacent nettles - I hasten to add that he is not “derelict”!!  It says that these wild flowers are easy to grow from seed, but Mr. HCB is not keen to have them in our garden, as he is afraid his brassicas may also be eaten!

Some years ago, GadgetKid sent me a little book entitled “The Little Prince” and I remembered this quote from the book:

“Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars 
     if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.” 
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry : The Little Prince

P.S.  In other news, whilst sitting in the garden last night at about 8.30, I could hear what I thought was Gregory Great Tit, not at Oak House, but in a tree just outside the fence.  We then saw a baby Great Tit on our sculpture, but it quickly flew over the fence and up into a tree; there is no evidence of any more babies at Oak House, so we hope they fledged successfully and are now having a great adventure with Mum and Dad.