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Beautiful pictures, xilpa! The 'dead'-looking spider in your picture is not a dead male, but the discarded exoskeleton of the female which has just moulted.

Very nice pictures! It's a very variable snail, both in shell ornament and in size - I myself found the difference between garigue and garden specimens very striking.

beautiful pictures of what arguably are the nicest monocots ever not from a bee's point of view though!

IL-PINE wrote:name now changed to Tudorella sulcata

In fact it's recently been found to be an endemic species, so now it's Tudorella melitense (Sowerby, 1843). Things are changing quickly since DNA barcoding came into common use.

Very nice shell indeed, one only needs to look at a fresh specimen to understand the 'sanguineum' epithet.

xilpa wrote:Loads of them stuck to the wall in my garden but I have never seen one move, they all look dead.

Try looking when the weather is damp, they should be foraging around for algae and lichens.

I saw that letter as well, had no idea it was you RB. Agreed, nothing is natural at all about this pest spreading in the Maltese Islands. Like the Oxalis tragedy it will probably run its course and alter the ecology irreversibly. I think the RPW should be genetically modified to prefer agave instead...

Very interesting photographs. I've seen LCL samples along the southern rdum of Malta absolutely riddled with this species' tubes. Also look out for Strombus casts which are also very commonly associated with Kuphus' presence.

Amazing, thanks.

Its head looks as if it belongs to some kind of hawkmoth. 'Death's head' type has extremely variable larval patterns, but then I don't see the 'horn' on its posterior which hawkmoth caterpillars usually have. Best method would have been to collect the caterpillar with some of the lelluxa and wait fo...

Speaking of butterflies, I'd love it if anyone could post a picture of a Danaus taken in Malta. I've never had success in seeing one, so far. Also, has anyone ever come across its caterpillars?

RB wrote:

D. Cilia wrote:They are quite attractive as you undoubtedly also noticed.

RB

Indeed! I'm no expert, but these little plants have always fascinated me.

Wow, thanks! Is that sedum particularly uncommon?

Manwel Dimech, of course! No idea about the apple/ prunus hybrid though .

What about these? Thanks in advance.

MWP admin wrote:We have to wait a few days more. Have you checked from the same shop? (Ex-sapienza?)

Yes, since (used to) I get most of the literature I need from there. We'll have to wait, indeed.

MWP admin wrote:I checked a week ago from Sapienza (Valletta) but they did not have it

Did that just today before I saw this thread, what a coincidence! Not available yet. And it's not called Sapienza's anymore either...

Wow! Congratulations MWP, will you upload the full record anytime soon?

ok, thanks! do you know the limonium species as well?

Some attractive plants with a couple of uncommon species, enjoy!

MWP admin wrote:It is much more common than it is thought

I'll have to look harder then, I've never seen one...

excellent news

Yes, that is Capsodes! Very frequent on squill and asphodel (the so-called Ermes habitat). Keep those pics coming!

Hmmm no... those bugs are more orange-reddish and instantly recognizable. It might a be an uncommon species as I've never seen like it. Did you take any note of the plant it was on?

Tetralonia for sure! Great dynamic picture, pity about that big 'C' on i but of course I understand the reasons. I'd say that the males compete more for the female attention in nature than vice-versa, and usually they look much more beautiful. In humans it's definitely the females which are FAR mor...

The area where I live was full of them up to some years ago, I remember sitting out with my bro at dusk and trying to count them as they flitted past. With great sadness I have to say I rarely see them anymore due to the building 'developments' (hah) which have taken place in my area since then. MWP...

family Ligaenidae, no idea beyond that though! welcome back conch!!

Indeed MWP, that's the larva of a dipteran the name of which eludes me right now. The artificial stream in the 'chinese'-styled garden at university was full of them last November.

what a cute little critter probably Philaenus sp., difficult to identify though!

looks like Maniola jurtina. nice photo!