Hunting the Sphinx ligustri
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By Ed Crane
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On the walk home you carefully note each hedge lining the front gardens of the bungalows along Bowford Avenue. The green ones are most likely to hold your prize – unkempt specimens or those due for the shears. Scanning the ground you see pea-size patterned tubes like tiny black grenades. You’ve waited weeks for this. Pushing one with the toe of you shoe testing its freshness, it flattens into a miniscule wet pat – you know it’s there. You hope it’s not out of reach. You cannot see it. There’s no time to linger. Nan’ll have lunch ready. Cold lamb slices between thick bread.
During afternoon classes you caress the empty Dinky Toy box in your bag. School’s out, and soon you’re in front of 24 Bowford Avenue hoping the residents are at work. Tracking a vertical line from the most recent pat you look deep inside the green shrub. Seeing the flash of lime green you reach in. It forms its defensive boxing glove like stance. Gently prising each sticky foot from its branch you admire the plump animal’s diagonal purple and white stripes and shiny black tail-horn before slipping it into the box ready to start your collection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx_ligustri#/media/File:Sphinx_ligustr...
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This takes me back!
Walking home from primary school with my sisterfriend, peering through over grown privet hedges around St Gabriels abandoned chapel, looking for the tell tale tracery of white meandering lines on a leaf, which when split, would reveal wee maggoty creatures.
Your submission is a little piece of joy, well remembered and constructed.
Best
Lena xxx
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I'm not sure I ever did this
I'm not sure I ever did this as a child, but now I feel I've made up for that - thank you Ed!
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I think I found two of those!
I think I found two of those!!! They are ENORMOUS aren't they? Once when my sons were little, and then once quite recently. I have a pic somewhere on my phone - will go and look for it
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I've found the pic and it's
I've found the pic and it's actually an elephant hawk moth - sorry - got it wrong! I wish I could add the pic here
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So are the tubes the shed
So are the tubes the shed skins of the caterpillars? I never did such detective work as a child, my education lacked something on the practical nature instruction it seems, though we were well taught to look out for flowers and learn their names, and birds too!
Thank you for this piece. Rhiannon
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Oh, that's so interesting! I
Oh, that's so interesting! I did google the droppings. The privet hawk moth does look rather like the elephant hawk moth, which I have seen, doesn't it? But I'd never heard of looking out for the droppings! And yes, we had Observer books, but probably not 'Insects'. I think Ladybird books were probably more with my children.
Rhiannon
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