Have the aliens landed? Or is tonight’s challenge something more…terrestrial?
Ten Myrmecos Points (TM) for the first commentator who can give me the correct genus and species, with supporting explanation.
The cumulative points winner for the month of July will win their choice of 1) an 8×10-sized print from my photo galleries, or 2) a guest post here on Myrmecos.
Oh, tricky!
I think it belongs to Vanessa, and I’ll guess atalanta. Vanessa eggs have these flanges on them, and the pictures on the internet seem to match, too. I’m guessing atalant because the spines on the leaf near the egg are small, and I think thistle leaves have a very hairy surface, whereas nettles have smaller hairs.
Hmmm… actually I think thistles have a smooth leaf surface, either way the leaf looks more like that of a nettle than a thistle.
Someone beat me to it… but I will run with Vanessa cardui, just for a point of difference (and possible points).
Do I get credit if this is a first attempt, and I spent an hour trying to search butterfly egg pictures on google?
Hummm I’ll vote for Polygonia interrogationis… eh but it could also be P. comma.
I defer to those more expert on the egg ID, but I have to say:
– the hairs do look nettley
– the critter that produces this must have some rather fancy oviducts!
Alex, apologies for the off-topic post but I saw this and thought of you: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/835511-flying-ants-plague-london
Check out the caption
Heh. That caption looks like a bad case of deadline fever.
[...] July 21, 2010 by myrmecos What was that ornately sculptured mystery object? [...]