Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[Daphne]

I wish I could report an unexpected egg visiting a box....no such luck

 

Anyway, I'd dismantled an eglu to give it a thorough clean but when I started on the nestbox I thought I was seeing a scorpion (unlikely I know) About 1.5" long, black, tail up in the air....ahhhh I thought and decided to leave well alone until I found my reinforced gardening gloves. Looking it up in a book I've found out its a Devil's Coach Horse which can give you a nasty nip and is aggressive (although I think they mean to other insects not us!) so do be careful

[Redwing]

I had to Google it

 

You'd never see me again if I found one of those in my garden I'd be heading for the hills leaving a cartoon style dust cloud in my wake

[ohcarolina]

Whoa - I'm in West Sussex so lets hope they're not coming my way!

 

Mind you, Crawley isn't a place for the fainthearted - especially on a Friday night

[Redwing]

I spent too long working in Crawley to know that you arent kidding

[ohcarolina]

Small world

[Daphne]

OMG...helllllllp....looking for the terrified smiley......just this minute came across severely large maggots in a super (bees)...possibly waxmoth larvae....huge....Dr Who Scary maggots in a tunnel...heeeeeelllppp! Typing in my beesuit, hope to be back later

[vickichicky]

If Daphne doesn't re-post soon we might have to send out the search party!

The film 'Tremors' comes to mind.......

[Daphne]

I phoned my beekeeping neighbour who happens to be the vet - she came over for a looksee and said the chooks would love them (no chemicals have been used on this particular hive). Cue one very brave Daphne - picked the vile things up (about 10 of them) but I could feel them wiggling about through my marigolds and the chickens were scared witless by the apparition of large mad person dressed in a white spacesuit dancing about flinging grubs as far away from me as possible. Yuk Yuk Yuk. PS She also said I could save them for the maggot racing one of the local clubs puts on to raise money They do really shift. And I think they breed just by looking at each other. OMG. Horrible. I've still got to go back and look in the much bigger brood box but I'm sure I'm going to encounter hundreds. I'm not sure I'm brave enough so I'm going to put that off. They are about an inch and a half long and quite fat. What a wuss I am; I was like this with ticks. What happened to nice, relaxing, pre-weekend doddle Fridays

[Redwing]

ok I'm not going to sleep tonight so I absolutely cannot begin to imagine how you feel

[Griffin]

Oh my giddy aunt! I'm fine with creepy crawlies and spiders but THAT is neither!

[Alis girls]

Daphene please keep these beasties away from NW London - I think I have happened across the scorpion thing - maggots - no can do. someone on Omlet some yrs back pulled our roasting bars to find a family of mice. I think might have been winter 2009. Does it ring a bell with anyone?

[Angie]

That is not a nice looking bug, The devils coach horse. I think the BBC bug watch wanted anyone that found one to photo it and send it in to them.

Now as for wax worms i feed them to my tomato frogs and lizards, when they start to change i spray and kill them rather than risk them turning into moths and escaping as they feed on bees and cause havoc if they get into a hive.

Meal worms go to the chickens dried and live ones. yum yum

[chickanne]

Know what you mean by the Dr Who thing Daphne!

 

My OH and his friends have just started keeping bees. WhenI went with them and saw a piece of comb with bee lavae (all white and big eyes!!) in it I had a Dr Who moment. Must be my age - still remember hiding behind the sofa watching the original series.

 

On the subject of maggot racing, as a teacher its a good way of getting students to collect data for speed and acceleration calculations. You just have to count them all back in at the end of the lesson or they might end up in the canteen as a prank!! (This did happen during an OFSTED inspection!)

The girlies do love the leftovers tho'........