Sunday, 26 August 2007

Hello, hello, I'm back agane - Molesworth 2

2 weeks without resorting to the blog. I shall regale you today with an anecdote, taken from the most excellent British Wildlife, volume 18, number 6, August 2007, page 430, Reptiles and Amphibians. I am too lazy to retype the entire snippet but the essence of the story is this: a live (yes, live) Natterjack toad, Bufo calamita - a name guaranteed to make me chuckle in its own right - was discovered in a bag of prepared salad in Sainsburys in Huntingdon. This, I believe, was John Major's old constituency but I'm sure there is no connection. The origin of the salad was Portugal, where the Natty is commonly encountered. Per British Wildlife, herpetologists wishing to to try their luck should go for Sainsbury's "Herb Salad".

I confess I have moved the apostrophe from after the terminal S at the end of Sainsbury to before it. I am not sure whether it refers to the entire family, in which case I am wrong, or the single concept of the supermarket chain, in which case I am correct in my humble opinion. BW and I shall have to agree to differ. This really bugs me and therefore qualifies under "Birds,bugs etc.".

The rather natty (twice in one post) moth is Prooedema incisalis. I am especially fond of this moth as it is a) one of the first I caught in Hong Kong when I returned in 04 and b) rather easy to identify. I am currently in possession of a splendid small black and blue spider but it won't sit still to be photographed. I am hoping it will sleep at some stage but perhaps it and I share a sleep cycle in which case we are both going to dip on the experience. Check back to see if I am successful.

1 comment:

ulaca said...

I think the toad wanted to get away from all the accusations and counter-accusations surrounding the little girl who went missing.