Two New Critters On The Block?
I had to meet a maintenance guy at our property in Ongar this morning, so took my long lens in the hope of capturing birds in the huge, beautiful pine tree in the neighbouring garden.
I found the above bug on a doorstep. I had never seen one (IRL)* before but had a hunch that its presence might be related to the pine. I was very excited to learn that it is a western conifer seed bug. They are native to the USA and first started to appear in the UK around 2008 - 2011. They feed on pine and this one was probably trying to get into the building to hibernate. Shame I didn't have my macro lens with me to get a decent shot of it.
I found the large orange slug on the path at Fishers Green. It was stretched right out but Ollie dog sniffed it, which has made it pull in its horns and contract. I'm wondering whether it might be a Spanish slug, Arion vulgaris, first spotted in the UK in 2012?
*I'd forgotten that I had Googled and identified this bug for PicturePoems when she blipped one in 2017. :)
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