On an ebb tide at Belderra Strand, Co Mayo, I found this lad, stranded. I’m wondering what kind of jellyfish it is and whether it stings. Michael McArdle, Westport
Of course it stings – that’s how jellyfish catch their prey. The stinging tentacles that hang from underneath even sting when they are washed up, so bí cúramach. This is a blue jellyfish, Cyanea lamarckii, an Atlantic species that can inflict quite severe stings on humans with its eight long clusters of tentacles.
This is the start of a honeybee colony in a tree. I have four empty hives nearby, but they haven’t bothered with them. I never saw this before; maybe it was the warm weather that caused it. Paul Dunne
I consulted with the Hymenoptera expert John Breen, who said that originally honeybees nested in cavities such as hollow trees and caves. Humans started offering them hives as cavities and this is where we are accustomed to seeing them now. But nesting elsewhere can still happen. If the bees swarmed and the weather got bad shortly afterwards, the swarm could be stuck where it was. The tree was leafy enough to be almost a cavity and so they started building. In this case the swarm may have moved on after a few days – it’s just a single small beginning comb.
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This shield bug was walking on the patio table. Is it a Juniper shield bug? Clare Kelly, Co Louth
No, it is the much more common hawthorn shield bug. We have 17 species of shield bug in Ireland, and the Hawthorn shield bug is one of the most common, with the National Biodiversity Data centre holding 1,256 records from all around the country. The juniper shield bug – once extremely rare – is now somewhat more common, as it will also feed on the berries and cones of cypress trees which are now being planted in gardens. There are 149 records of this species.
I found this caterpillar on the path on my walk. It is a lime hawk moth caterpillar. They are extremely rare in Ireland and have only had 100 sightings. During their change from caterpillars to moths, also known as pupation, they stop eating and burrow underground. They then stay in their chrysalis for nine months. I was amazed by the beauty of the caterpillar and was very happy that I found it. Jaimie Shevlin (13), Dublin
This species was first recorded in Ireland in 2010 in Drumcondra. Since then, there have been about 120 records. It is slowly expanding its range outwards and has reached Newcastle in Wicklow and Clonee in Co Meath. A night-flying adult, the caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the lime tree.
What are these ‘berries’ on my potato plants? Jason Cross
They are the fruit of the potato plant which contain the seeds. Potato plants bear flowers in late summer. These are pollinated by insects and so fruit pods form with seeds inside just as happens in tomatoes, aubergines and peppers which are all members of the same family – the Solanaceae. However, unlike the latter three, these fruit and seeds on the potato plant are very toxic and contain high levels of poisonous chemicals called solanine and chaconine.
The underground tubers – spuds – are, on the other hand, extremely safe to eat unless they have been exposed to light while growing and turned green. In that case they will then contain solanine too and should not be eaten. Potato breeders use seeds from potato fruits to grow new varieties, selectively breeding for desired traits. The rest of us plant small “seed potatoes”, to be sure that all our underground crop of tubers is exactly the same.
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