Environment

Hairy shoe (plus crab) washed up in Clare from Carolina cargo spill

Ethna Viney on a slime mould called dog’s vomit, colourful bugs and compass jellyfish

Come a long way: shoe and crab

Ethna Viney
Sat Sep 7 2019 - 06:00

This shoe plus crab obviously originated from the cargo spill at North Carolina in 2018. Many of these shoes arrived on the Clare coast in spring this year but not as hairy as this one. The crab was the gulfweed crab which lives in the Sargasso Sea.Sabine Springer, Kinvara, Co Galway

Compass jellyfish

I saw this beautiful jellyfish on Lahinch beach at the beginning of August. Is it a compass jellyfish?
Sanne Gielesen, Miltownmalbay, Co Clare
Yes. The colours and markings can vary in intensity.

Camberwell butterfly

I took this photo early in August on our driveway. What species is it?PJ Hynes, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14
It's the Camberwell beauty butterfly, a rare visitor, usually to Dublin.

Parasitic ichneumon fly

I found this chappie on my kitchen floor. Is it a wasp and is it a native?
Brian Coffey, Cabinteely, Dublin 18
It is the parasitic ichneumon fly, Ophion luteus, which lays its eggs in caterpillars on which the larvae feed.

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Ground beetle copper greenlocks

This beetle or bug was on the glass of my balcony. It was similar to the maybug but more colourful.Declan Tarpey, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
It's the ground beetle copper greenlocks, Pterostichus cupreus.

Dog’s vomit

We received several reports of the slime mould called dog’s vomit, which is the common name given to Mucilago crustacea or Fuligo septica, both of which look the same in the plasmodial stage. Slime mould is a protist, an organism that shares animal and plant or fungal characteristics and goes through several stages of development. In the next stage it produces spores. This photo was taken by Sandra Mc Donnell of Castlegregory, Co Kerry

Ethna Viney welcomes observations and photographs at Thallabawn, Louisburgh, Co Mayo, F28 F978, or by email at viney@anu.ie. Include a postal address.