30 Days Wild - day 5

We had a really long day out in nature yesterday, so today has been a little more sedate although we have still spent some time wild. Each year we extend the amount of garden we use for nature and wild flowers. Today we have been watching a regular garden visitor of ours, the cinnabar moth laying it's eggs on the ragwort.

A very attractive red and black moth, the caterpillars are orange and black striped and my daughter affectionately calls them 'tiger pillars'. I will add photographs when our batches of eggs hatch.

My daughter has spent some time looking at the wood lice and feeling them tickle her hand, they are one of her favourites along with snails. We are hoping to create a special habitat for them soon.

One of the new wild flowers in our garden this year is common fumitory and it's doing really well at the moment and attracting the wildlife.

Another wild flower doing well is the oxeye daisy a big favourite with the bees and today I have noticed these beetles... strangely called a varied carpet beetle, the adults like pollen.