Could it be a centipede larva? It looks a bit like the centipede at this
website: http://www.gardensafari.net/first/centipedes.htm

The above website is pretty good for identifying several other garden
inhabitants, both good and bad.


"Pete The Gardener" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 7 May 2003 14:26:05 +0100, Warwick
wrote:


Anyone got a clue what these are?...

http://www.affordable-afpers.co.uk/maystuff/bug002.jpg
http://www.affordable-afpers.co.uk/maystuff/bug003.jpg

There's a few heavily munched plants in the area where I dug them up.

Dunno, but they look as though they could be the laval stage of
earwigs?

--
Pete The Gardener
A room without books is like a body without a soul.

"Jon Rouse" wrote in message
...
Sorry if you've down this one recently, but we've not been urgling
of
late.

Whilst digging in the garden I've found quite a lot of mahogany
coloured
things that look like chrysalises, but wiggle when you disturb them.
They are about 3/4 inch long and 3/8 in diameter, a smooth cylinder
for
half the length and segmented in the other half.

Goodies or baddies?

Almost certainly a moth chrysalis.
The smooth cylinder part will become the head, thorax and 'scrunched'
up wings.
The segmented part becomes the abdomen.
There are several moths which pupate underground (all of the
hawkmoths, I think). Offhand I can't think of a butterfly which does.

Definitely not a leatherjacket/cranefly. When you consider how skinny
a cranefly is, it is unlikely that it would come from chunky chrysalis
such as you describe.

It is up to you whether you define moths as a 'Goodies or baddies'.
They are goodies in my book. ;-)

--
ned

"Adrian Jones" wrote in message
...
Could it be a centipede larva? It looks a bit like the centipede at
this
website: http://www.gardensafari.net/first/centipedes.htm

The above website is pretty good for identifying several other
garden
inhabitants, both good and bad.


Just have a look at
http://www.gardensafari.net/first/butterflies.htm

Is there anything there looks familiar? ;-)

--
ned

The message
from (Pete The Gardener) contains these words:

Dunno, but they look as though they could be the laval stage of
earwigs?

Earwigs don't have a larval stage.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

The message
from "Adrian Jones" contains these words:

ould it be a centipede larva? It looks a bit like the centipede at this
website: http://www.gardensafari.net/first/centipedes.htm

I don't think centipedes have larvæ either.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

The message
from "ned" contains these words:

It is up to you whether you define moths as a 'Goodies or baddies'.
They are goodies in my book. ;-)

They're baddies in my wardrobe.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

In article ,
says...
On Wed, 7 May 2003 15:51:21 +0100, Anthony E Anson
wrote:

I always thought those shiny, pointy, brown coloured thingies were
leatherjackets (they do rather look the part), but from previous urg
threads I gathered they probably are moth pupae.

Leatherjackets are a dull greyish brown whereas the "conker-coloured"
ones are moth or butterfly pupae (chrysalis)

The other weird thing that was pictured (I seem to have lost that
post) was probably a beetle larva and beetles are generally friends!


That was one of mine. Its problem is that it was sited next to
circumstantial evidence and had the jaws to inflict the damage from what
I could see.

http://www.affordable-afpers.co.uk/maystuff/bug003.jpg

Looks from the replies that I need to pass the pics on to a professional
to find out what is reproducing in that part of the garden and work out
whether to leave the next lot well alone or do some digging over and
extermination. (In that corner I'd even consider chemicals).

The message MPG.19250737664a59d798976f@lateinos
from Warwick contains these words:

The other weird thing that was pictured (I seem to have lost that
post) was probably a beetle larva and beetles are generally friends!


That was one of mine. Its problem is that it was sited next to
circumstantial evidence and had the jaws to inflict the damage from what
I could see.

http://www.affordable-afpers.co.uk/maystuff/bug003.jpg

Looks from the replies that I need to pass the pics on to a professional
to find out what is reproducing in that part of the garden and work out
whether to leave the next lot well alone or do some digging over and
extermination. (In that corner I'd even consider chemicals).

Generally, (but not always) the quicker insects are predators, and the
jaws in the pictures would suggest that the larva is a predator. I'd
leave them: they are probably your friends.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

http://www.affordable-afpers.co.uk/maystuff/bug003.jpg

Looks from the replies that I need to pass the pics on to a professional
to find out what is reproducing in that part of the garden and work out
whether to leave the next lot well alone or do some digging over and
extermination. (In that corner I'd even consider chemicals).

Try one of these, they may be able to help
sci.bio.entomology.lepidoptera
sci.bio.entomology.misc


--

Shan (Ireland)
http://ukdiscus.com/main.htm

On Wed, 7 May 2003 21:25:37 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Pete The Gardener
writes

Dunno, but they look as though they could be the laval stage of
earwigs?

You're going from the spanner-like tool at one end? ;-)

Yes, it vaguely reminded me of the back end of an earwig because they
have those 'spanners' too, but I'm not much of an entomologist:-)

--
Pete The Gardener
A room without books is like a body without a soul.