On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 9:41:03 +0100, RichardS wrote
(in message ):

"Jill Tardivel" wrote in message
...
Was it like this?

http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/P2/P21395.HTM

we get them in our garden - don't know what they are though
and I wish the site above gave more clues



it's amazing - that was exactly the photo that I was searching for. funny,
isn't it - you know exactly what you're after, sit with google in front of
you, but completely fail to describe something accurately in search-engine
terms!

I think the best chance for identifying them is to stick them in a container
and identify what emerges from it.

Sorry, I'm only a bit over a week late in responding....

That photo shows what a typical moth (or butterfly) pupa looks like. You
won't see what kind until it emerges, but it could be pretty spectacular- the
hawk moth pupae look rather like this. FWIW I recognise this because in the
1950s when it was still considered ok to "collect" butterflies and moths, I
did so and I also nursed several large caterpillars found in the wild into
adulthood. If you bear in mind that the pupa potentially contains the entire
full-sized adult butterfly or moth but with the wings in a deflated and thus
very thin and wispy state laid flat against the body, you'll get an idea of
the final size. When it emerges, the wings inflate with blood, generally
attain a size much bigger than the rest of the insect, and then dry and go
hard- it is a wonderful thing to watch. It could be something other than a
moth- many other insects have pupal stages too- but that photo was a
"lepidoptera" (butterfly or moth) pupa.

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