Tuesday 7 June 2011

First houseleek flower of the year


The first houseleek flower of the year has opened today on an arachnoideum variety called 'Jubilee' which has made a large mound in a pot.

According to the Sempervivophilia web site there are two 'Jubilees'. Mine, from Belgium, would appear to be S. arachnoideum 'Stansfieldii' x S. montanum f. raised by A. Hansen in the UK in 1969.

Sunday 5 June 2011

Moth eggs


On a rising crosier of Sempervivum arachnoideum var. I noticed a batch of moth eggs. I know of very few things that eat houseleeks (apart from the n0n-British Apollo butterfly), so it will be interesting to see how they develop.




Wednesday 1 June 2011

Larva on Pastel



This morning I spot a small caterpillar on a rosette of Sempervivum 'Pastel'. I think it had been blown of nearby bushes.

Anyway, it perambulated about and was clearly not interested in eating any houseleek. Eventually I rescued it and put it on some Japonica leaves, probably its original food plant.