Geoff wrote:I see quite a lot of those, I think it is a butterfly or moth, must hatch one sometime. I think it is rather bigger than what Pam found.

thank you both for these. What I found was similar in form, but much smaller, and paler in colour. Same *type* of thing, though.

Pam

[quote="Geoff"]I think you have a fly puparium. I have found this page in my "Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe" by Michael Chinery. thank you - the bluebottle pupa has the right general form - although my finds were proportionately longer and thinner. An...

I guess that the next I find will have to go in a matchbox with some earth,then wait for it to "hatch".Unless,of course,we have an entymologist on site who might know the answer.[/quote] well, no entymologist has popped up yet - so I look forward to ther esult of your hatchery! What a good...

Sounds a little bit like ladybird eggs, though they are normally found on the underside of leaves in little clusters. There is a picture of them here m thanks for this - but alas, not. The picture clearly shows eggs: round, a bit translucent. The things I found were more cigar-shaped, not transluce...

peter wrote:Pam, I haven't a clue, but any chance of a photo to aid those more clued up than me?

Sorry, Peter, great idea, but I don't have the equipment to be able to do this!

Pam

Can anyone help me identify this (Google hasn't helped): I'm clearing out compost that was in a pot all last season and overwinter. I'm finding a lot of small orange cocoons, a bit over 1mm in diameter and 3-4mm long. I can't be sure to pick all of them out, so I'm wondering what they are and if it'...

I have a dwarf ornamental cherry which -this year for the first time - has tiny black fruits on it, about the size of elderberries. Does anyone know if these are edible? A Google search hasn't produced an answer! Thanks.