I am a sports photographer and, while recently taking photos at Carlow Golf Club, I was told that a female hare was feeding two leverets about two metres away from the window. I went outside and slowly got as close as I could and took the shot. The hare did not move at all. Pat Ahern, Co Carlow
This is a wonderful image of a working mother. Female hares can have two or three litters per year – this is her first this year. Hares do not use burrows, so the young leverets are born in a depression or form in longish grass. The mother spends little time with them, although she is always in cover close by. The leverets stay very still in the form, in which they were born, for the first few days and the mother returns around dusk to feed them – just one feed every 24 hours. After a few days the young disperse but they will return to the spot at feeding time for about three further weeks.
I saw this red damselfly on laurel in Connemara. Paul Dunne, Co Galway
This is the large red damselfly, Pyrrhosoma nymphula. It is the first species of that group on the wing every year and marks the start of the season. It is our only red damselfly – the other red ones that appear later in the summer are all larger and stouter. It is common throughout Ireland, particularly in areas where the waterbodies are acid, such as bog pools and upland lakes.
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I spotted this delicate and beautiful little chap on a whitethorn hedge in early May. I haven’t seen one before; can you help identify it and hopefully provide some background? Darren Maguire, Co Meath
This is a common wave moth. It overwinters as a pupa, and this one has now turned into an elegant adult. While it may be visiting the hawthorn for a feed of nectar to keep it going, it needs to find some willow or aspen because it is on the leaves of these trees that its caterpillars feed. These can be either green or brown with cryptic makings, and they really blend into their background to avoid being detected by pesky, sharp-eyed birds.
I found this beetle on its back and struggling on my patio. I turned it over and left it alone and a little while later it was gone. What is it? From Co Dublin by email
Lots of queries and images of this insect have arrived during May – I assume from new readers from last June onwards. This is the May bug, which emerges and flies every year in May and always graces this column then. It is a large beetle, up to 30mm long and quite heavy for a beetle. The males have impressive antennae, which can open out like a fan – all the better to detect the presence of a female. As adults, they feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs and swarm around them at dusk in the hope of getting lucky.
What is this jellyfish seen on Curracloe beach on May Day? It was about 12 inches in diameter. Is it dangerous? Judith Brassil, Co Wexford
This is an early sighting of the barrel jellyfish, which usually reaches our shores later in year when the water is warmer. Young fish and small crabs don’t think it is dangerous as they often seek shelter in the protective tentacles. It can sting us however, although the sting is usually only mildly venomous.
Please submit your nature query, observation, or photo, with a location, via irishtimes.com/eyeonnature or by email to weekend@irishtimes.com
