Death's Head Hawk Moth (2 Viewers)

[CJW]

And it was French!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Geraldine]

Yes, only arrived here by mistake, poor little thing. And no-one had any honey on them!

 

[jayhunter]

I don't know about used to eat apples with maggots I still eat fallers in my garden. Just pray I don't see half a maggot although with the Doctor Atkins diet thing meat is OK.

 

[Geraldine]

Hi Bob,
The thing about apple maggots, they eat nothing but apple, they taste of apple. It's only when you know about it, isn't it!

 

[jayhunter]

I am of the old school I still feel that Apples and tomatoes in the old days had a really nice taste to them now they taste of nothing. Same with potatoes give me the old King Edwards any day, maybe this is why we have lost the Death's Head Hawk Moth they don't like the taste of our modern potatoe crop.

 

[Geraldine]

Hi Bob,
They taste better since I gave up smoking in January.
Also I recently bought an electric steamer. The veg. taste good done in that. It's the taste of mint on potatoes I can't recapture.
I can still remember the taste of a Beauty of Bath apple straight from the tree. Can't beat it!
Did you know you can get any old variety of apple tree, and possibly other fruits, from Brogdale Nursery in Faversham, Kent? They are a sort of fruit library linked to the Royal Horticultural society I think. If I had a garden, I'd have a lovely time buying fruit trees.

 

[jayhunter]

I bought a steamer about ten years ago, the best investment I ever made. I still put a couple of sprigs of mint in with the new Jersey Royals and Pembrokes, great. Thanks for the info on Brogdale Nursey I had heard of it from a TV progamme last year, just that we don't get down to Kent very often as the son-in-law was relocated to Essex a few years ago, the only time we venture into Kent is to take the Grandsons 5 & 6 to Leeds Castle for a day out. Maybe I should suggest a days apple tasteing at Brogdale instead. One of my favourites was the Worcestershire Pearmain. I have just been outside of the Design Block where I work looking for a monster moth seen hovering outside our third story windows. It was trying to find a way into the eaves, I couldnt see the colouration as I was below it and staring straight into the sunlight, just hope it wasn't something I haven't seen before. I rescued dozens of Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillers last year from off the road outside and put them into the flower beds which are filled with weeds I might add. So it could of been one of my rescued babies trying to get to see me!!

 

[James Armstrong]

Hi Bob,

There's a website:- www.brogdale.org.uk

james

pp Geraldine

 

[jayhunter]

Cheers James I just transposed the g and the d and I got there.

 

[Geraldine]

Hi Bob,
We used to have a Worcestershire Pearmain as well. They were lovely. And we had a gorgeous one called Lord Grosvenor, which was a cooker, but ripened to yellow, and was wonderful then as an eating apple. Oh, those were the days!
Brogdale is quite a good family day out, (depends on your family, my grandchildren love it), there is a tour around the orchards and a talk on how they have developed the strains of apples, about grafting etc., there's a garden centre, and a shop, (chutneys, jams that sort of thing), and you can buy, very cheaply, whatever fruit they have in season. Plum season is a good time to go.

 

[Geraldine]

Oh, did you find the moth again, or did it get away?

 

[jayhunter]

No it scarpered whilst I was working my collegue who saw it with me from the window saw it out on the grass when he went out for a cigarette break and never bothered to tell me he said it was the biggest moth he had ever seen .It had landed on the grass and was sun batheing I went out at lunch but it had flown off. Drat and double drat.